Wine to dine

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks some traditional tipples that are fit for a king to go with the medieval feast

DOMAINE DE MOUSCAILLO CRÉMANT DE LIMOUX, £14.50 (THE WINE SOCIETY) Monks are believed to have begun making sparkling wines at the Abbey of St-Hilaire in the foothills of the Pyrenees in 1531, long before the creation of champagne. Crémant de Limoux is the spiritual successor to those early fizzy wines and this example from The Wine Society is packed full of warm peach and red apple flavours, with some more developed notes of biscuit, buttered bread and a hint of toast. It has a delicious, broad and rounded feeling in the mouth, giving vintage champagne a run for its money and making it worthy of its place at any feast. CLOS TRIGUEDINA PETIT CLOS CAHORS, 2012, £9.95 (THE WINE SOCIETY) Cahors rose to fame in the early 19th century for its ‘black wines’, thanks to their deep colour and concentrated flavours, but this part of south-west France has a wine-making tradition that stretches back to the 13th century. Its wines are made from a grape called ‘Cot’ – now better known as the all-conquering Malbec. Traditionally, Cahors’ wines needed years to age to soften their tannins, but the more modern style practiced by Jean-Luc Baldès is full of bright, fresh blackcurrant, raspberry and redcurrant flavours to match the aromas of vanilla, smoke, damp earth and wet leaves. COFFELE CASTEL CERINO SOAVE CLASSICO, 2015, £8.75 (THE WINE SOCIETY) The Wine Society has been importing bottles to the UK since 1874, including white wines from the historic Soave region in north-east Italy. Soave is often mocked for being watery and boring, but this example is anything but bland. The volume is turned up, with the aromas on the nose reminding me of tinned pears with vanilla ice cream. There’s plenty of acidity to match the fruity flavours in this characterful organic wine, which means this Soave would hold its own against fatty meats like goose or even a crispy pig’s heid. BEEHIVE BRAE ELDERFLOWER AND ROSE MEAD, £5.50 (BEEHIVEBRAE.CO.UK) You can’t have a medieval banquet without reaching for a tankard or flagon of mead. Beehive Brae is a brewery and ‘meadery’ in Wishaw that uses British honey from its own sustainably-managed partnership hives across the UK. The elderflower and rose are all present and correct on the nose, yet the floral flavour is fresh, not like your granny’s old talc. It’s bright and refreshing, with a lively sparkle. BEEHIVE BRAE HONEY BEER, £4.67 (BEEHIVEBRAE.CO.UK) I’ve never really been a fan of flavoured beers – banana beers, chocolate beers, coffee beers and the likes never really hit the spot. I wouldn’t mind finding a bottle of this honey beer in my stocking though. This beer has a lovely balance of hoppiness, maltiness and sweetness on the nose. On the palate, it’s much fresher than I would have guessed, with a bit of a savoury edge to it that balances the subtle honey flavours. BUCK AND BIRCH AELDER LIQUEUR, £24.95 (ROYAL MILE WHISKIES) Created by Rupert Waites, the head chef and chief forager at the pop-up food company Buck & Birch, Aelder is an ‘elixir’ or liqueur that brings together elderberries, foraged botanicals and spices, and Scotch whisky. In the glass, it’s much darker than I imagined, almost port-like in its deep, ruby colour. Wonderful Christmas cake-like dried fruit and vanilla on the nose lead into complex sweet honey and sharper redcurrant-esque flavours on the tongue. Complex and interesting.

For a look at the first wines from Second Chance Summer’s Rob Seddon, check out Peter Ranscombe’s blog, The Grape & The Grain, on the Scottish Field website at www.scottishfield.co.uk/category/grapegrain/