The Connoisseur - December 2024
Hello December! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…lots of wine and mince pies and baked bacalhau! We’ve all got our favourite holiday cuisine and The Fellas have picked three wines to slide right in there with your “lütvisk” or your “oliebollen” or your “turducken”.
Wine descriptions below, and if you run out, you can order more from The Cellar.
Don’t forget, you can look up past boxes in The Archive.
Quinta Várzea da Pedra, Branco Macerado
[grape/vintage] Alicante Branco, Arinto, Fernão Pires, Malvasia Rei, Moscatel-Graúdo, Seara Nova, Viosinho e Vital / 2022
[region] Lisboa
A Sunday Times crossword, a hand carved wooden puzzle, a Sphinx’s riddle. This “orange” wine requires thoughtful patience and an open mind to let its mutliple layers and angles melt into harmony on your palate. A multi-grape blend from different plots combines into a symphony of tree fruits, fresh herbs, earth and flowers.
Pairs well with almond crusted sea bass, a hearty ciopino, roast quail with thyme and rosemary, an aged gouda or quiejo de cabra.
Read more about it in The Cellar.
Vinha de Santa Maria, Reserva Tinto
[grape/vintage] Alfrocheiro, Tinta Roriz e Touriga Nacional / 2022
[region] Dão
Like a cherry pie wrapped in a 90s indie rock ballad – sweet and delicate and feisty. This wine’s got character without being rude. It’s got just the right amount of fruit and spice for a smooth and easy listening experience.
Pairs well with duck confit with chestnut and morel mushroom risotto, a camembert melting onto the cheese board, a beef phô with vermicelli noodles.
Read more about it in The Cellar.
Quinta Vale de Fornos, Reserva Syrah
[grape/vintage] Syrah / 2015
[region] Tejo
Dig your fingers into the freshly-turned soil of these low Tejo hills and take in the view of the river making its way along the alluvial plains. Feel the sun on your back and smell the fruit bushes creeping beneath the weather-beaten, centuries-old quinta with its cracked deep terracotta stucco walls. The calm is deep and intense and earthy and its 15% ABV is smoothly wrapped in blackberry and red fruits.
Pairs well with roast beef with potatoes and carrots; venison with a red wine sauce; a cheese plate leaning towards Stilton and Aged Manchego.
Read more about it in The Cellar.