Bollinger R.D. Additional Brut Champagne 2007 ($350)
Champagne is crucial for the vacation season—for toasting, gifting, or selfishly hoarding into the New Yr—and this one’s just about the highest of the road. Bollinger’s wines are heavy on Pinot Noir (70 %, on this case, with 30 % Chardonnay) and so already present appreciable richness. “R.D.” ups the sport: Récemment dégorgé, or “just lately disgorged,” implies that the wine has been aged within the bottle on its lees—the lifeless yeast cells that stay after fermentation—concentrating the richness and amplifying the flavors. The consequence exhibits all of the magnificence of Champagne and all of the complexity of a premier cru Burgundy.
Cullen Wines Kevin John Margaret River Chardonnay 2021 ($100)
Margaret River in Western Australia produces among the Southern Hemisphere’s most interesting Chardonnays, and this can be a excellent instance. It’s a wine that ought to fulfill lovers of each large, oaky Chardonnays and extra restrained, easily structured ones as a result of it goes proper down the center, with sufficient mineral acidity to calm the oak and heft. Expensive, sure, but in addition unforgettable, and a good-looking match for all the things from onion soup to pumpkin pie.
Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Vineyard Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Riesling 2017 ($30)
A pleasant shock; a textbook Riesling by an underrated producer from a area not notably recognized for the grape. It’s shiny and contemporary, with loads of fruit, crisp-apple acidity, and an extended, bone-dry end that leaves you wanting extra. A match pairing for Festa dei Sette Pesci (Feast of the Seven Fishes), the standard Italian American Christmas Eve supper, but in addition simply to sip by the hearth on the finish of the day.
Lucien et André Brunel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cailloux Blanc 2019 ($60)
The perfect-known examples of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the legendary “Pope’s wine” from France’s southern Rhône, are purple; however the whites may also be excellent. This magnificence, with citrus and mineral notes overlaying a mouth-filling opulence, is the sort of factor you’d need in your glass while you’re eating on festive turkey, ham, or goose—nevertheless it’s additionally a great match for nothing greater than snacks and dialog.
Lustau Don Nuño Dry Oloroso Sherry ($26)
Right here’s a dry wine with the richness of a candy one. In distinction to angular, yeasty, dry fino sherry (like Tío Pepe), Don Nuño is rounded, with a nostril suggesting roasted almonds and toffee, and a dried-fruit character on the palate, properly offset by racy acidity—an ideal aperitif.
Kanonkop Kadette Pinotage 2019 ($24)
Wines constructed from South Africa’s signature Pinotage grape, an unlikely cross between Pinot Noir and the Rhône selection Cinsaut, are nonetheless largely beneath the radar within the U.S., however wine like this heat, earthy purple, with its virtually meaty aroma, lush softness, and faintly peppery fruit, can match something from an Unimaginable Burger to an A5 Wagyu rib eye.
Venturini Baldini Montelocco Lambrusco Emilia IGP ($14)
Riunite was a mass-produced Lambrusco from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna area, as soon as promoted with “Riunite on ice—that’s good.” Overlook Riunite. Lambrusco may be severe stuff—however severe stuff that’s enjoyable. This one’s a great instance: vivid purple in coloration, effervescent, semidry, juicy with flavors of plums and purple berries, and all too simple to drink. It’s a basic match for prosciutto and may properly be the last word pizza wine.
Viña Ardanza Reserva Rioja 2015 ($40)
A number of the most dependably pleasing and pretty priced purple wines round are Spain’s Riojas. That is an eloquent working example—suave, refined, with a nostril that means the autumnal aromas of a humid forest ground and a taste that hints at dried cherries and Christmas spices. Convey on the roast beef or sport birds.
Tip Jar
Some wines match properly with particular meals, however you shouldn’t stress over meals pairings; most good wines work with virtually something. Simply keep away from serving delicate ones with very hearty dishes and vice versa.
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This text seems within the December 2022 subject of Los Angeles journal
The publish 8 Wines for Consolation and Pleasure Over the Holidays appeared first on Los Angeles Journal.
