Warm regards
The late autumn nights are drawing in and the temperatures are falling. Christine Austin supplies a choice of sherry, port and Madeira that are sure to warm your heart – and your toes.
ONCE the clocks go back, I miss having a real fire. My old house had one, and it was always a delight to have a crackling fire in the grate and to snuggle up close, toasting my toes. Now I have underfloor heating and while this is simple, easy and efficient, it lacks the personality that comes from having a fire glowing in the grate.
So, if I can’t sit in front of a roaring fire, occasionally moving seats as one side of my face gets sufficiently toasted, then I have to resort to putting some toe-warmers in my glass and for that I need Port, Sherry or Madeira. All of them keep cold weather at bay and they have the added benefit of staying fresh in the bottle for ages after opening, so I can indulge in a small taste after a brisk walk or a spot of gardening.
SHERRY
No longer the preserve of aged aunts and definitely not to be kept on a sideboard for weeks, sherry is now a trendy drink. Avoid the ones described as cream or medium-sweet and head for bone dry manzanilla and fino, nutty delicate palo cortado, smooth, dry amontillado and rounded oloroso from producers such as Lustau, Hidalgo and Fernando de Castilla. Some supermarkets such as Waitrose, Marks and Spencer and Morrisons also deal with these top-notch suppliers.
■ Hidalgo Napoleon Amontillado, Harrogate Wine £14.99 for 50cl: Established over 200 years ago, the Hidalgo company was in business during the Peninsular War and supplied wine to both sides, naming them Napoleon and Wellington on the labels. Napoleon is the Amontillado style, a dry, nutty fresh style of sherry that is best served lightly chilled. It goes fabulously with a piece of fruit cake properly served with a slice of Wensleydale cheese. Alternatively sip it alongside a plate of jamón and Manchego cheese. ■ Apostoles Palo Cortado, 30-year-old Rare Sherry, Gonzalez Byass, Waitrose Cellar £24.99 for 37.5cl on a mix six deal: So much more than just a sherry, this starts life as a dry, zesty fino and then ages in wooden casks in a vast airy bodega where it naturally concentrates and develops for over 30 years. The result is a smooth, figs and walnuts, butterscotch and raisins kind of wine. Tonsil-warming without stickiness, it has freshness, bags of character and, in my opinion, the ability to cure all winter ailments.
■ The Best Pedro Ximénez, Morrisons £7 for 37.5cl: From Lustau, this is the best of the supermarket PX wines. No kitchen should be without this gloopy, intense fig and raisin-filled wine. Pour it over ice cream, add to a marmalade bread-and-butter pudding, or spoon it under the lid of a mince pie. You can even add a splash to caramel sauces, or savoury gravies, especially when serving game.
PORT
Most port is sold during the few weeks leading up to Christmas, and quite often is abandoned as soon as the visitors go home. So, find that dusty bottle lurking at the back of a cupboard and splash the remaining wine into every stew and jug of gravy you make. Now buy another bottle and maybe change your mind about when to drink it. Port is not just for after-dinner drinking. Reach for a small glass of port after a brisk weekend walk with the dog or indulge in an afternoon glass of tawny port
alongside a piece of cake or a few nuts. A late bottled port is one for after dinner, and if there are several port drinkers around the table, this is the time to pull the cork on a bottle of vintage port. Don’t wait for Christmas Day to open a bottle of port, open it now and enjoy it over the next few weeks.
■ Churchill’s 10-Year-Old Tawny Port, Firth & Co, £27: Established in 1981 by Johnny Graham, who was not allowed to use his own name for the company, and so his wife, Caroline Churchill provided hers. Johnny is from the famous Graham’s port family, but that business was sold along with the name in the 1970s. Now Churchill’s port makes some seriously good ports. This 10-year-old tawny is smooth and elegant with apricot, hazelnut, raisins and a twist of orange peel. Fresh and complex, it is the perfect afternoon port.
■ Quinta do Noval Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port 2017, Waitrose £24.49: 30-yearold vines, traditional foot treading of the grapes and then aged for 5 years in Portuguese oak and chestnuts casks makes this an outstanding port. It has layers of dark, plum and red fruit flavours, rich with savoury complexity, edged with supple tannins. Unfiltered so it has power in a velvet glove.
■ Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port 2013, Majestic £29.99 on a mix six deal: From one of the finest properties in the Douro, I gave it top marks in a recent tasting, for its complex, silky, bramble and mulberry flavours. Vintage port throws a deposit in the bottle so stand it upright for 24 hours before opening and decant it. The most knowledgeable port person I have come across always strained vintage port from bottle to decanter through a (new) pop sock. It works perfectly.
MADEIRA
Never tell anyone that you have poured Madeira into their glass. Inevitably they will push it away and say they don’t like it. But offer them a mince pie alongside that unknown glass of wine, and they will love its dark raisiny fruit, dried orange peel, walnuts, figs and cinnamon spice.
Madeira is generally described by grape varieties, Sercial, Verdelho, Bual (or Boal) and Malmsey which also represent a gradual increase in sweetness levels.
■ Barbeito Boal Reserva Madeira, Field and Fawcett £17.95 for 50cl: Gloriously complex with nutty, complex figgy flavours, kept on edge by clean marmalade and citrus acidity and a fabulous length. Perfect with a slice of fruitcake, mince pies or a few Christmas chocolates. ■ Henriques and Henriques three-year old Full Rich Madeira, Waitrose £11.99 for 50cl: A great value introduction to this gorgeous wine. Try it with mince pies or fruit cake, or even with a chocolate pud.