Wine club - Roger Scruton eases the pain of family gatherings
Published 21 November 2005
A well-judged selection eases the pain of festive family gatherings
Christmas lunch is some way ahead; but the ceremony on which it is based, the American Thanksgiving, is now upon us, and wines for the one occasion are equally suitable for the other, given that the main ingredients of both are dry, stringy turkey, mushy vegetables, loathsome puddings and speechless families you have avoided for a year. How to get through either day while remaining sane is a problem that neither the Americans nor the Brits have solved. Drunkenness is no solution, as it soon gives way to a tetchy, dry-mouthed heaviness and an evening of regrets. The best approach, I find, is to drink very little before lunch - a glass of champagne, say - and a digestible sequence of white Burgundy and claret as the food appears, meanwhile tempting the others to drink sherry, New World blockbusters and port to finish. With any luck the end of lunch is also the end of the ordeal, with everyone asleep except yourself and the head clear enough for an afternoon of reeling, writhing and fainting in coils.
As it happens, Corney & Barrow has provided just the package required. Its fino sherry is dry enough for Uncle Jack but not so dry that Auntie Mabel won't get tipsy on a glass or two. Its Ruby Wood Port is a cut above most wines so described, with a sipparific addictiveness that will soothe them to sleep by teatime and give them a nice, punishing headache to take home afterwards. The New World wines will add to the effect. The Australian Chardonnay is one of those carefully crafted, eminently drinkable and highly flavoured concoctions aimed straight at the English heart - made, as it happens, by an English couple, and combining fruity foreground with nutty background and residual sweetness in a wide, bright mouthscape of flavours. The Argentinian red is equally stylish, grown organically and aged in oak, with a full, rich, spicy finish that shows just what the Argentinians can do when the French aren't around to keep an eye on them.
As the family pickles in those juices, you can enjoy the Guy de Chassey champagne - a wine made from 65 per cent Pinot Noir and 35 per cent Chardonnay in the village of Louvois, and showing all the bounce of the red grape when its skin is excluded from the business. The Rully Rabource is my favourite vineyard in a favourite village, which Olivier Leflaive has brought up to Chassagne-Montrachet level without (as he might have done) doubling the price. After that, the straightforward claret from Montagne St Emilion will round the business off in style. Although this wine has a few years to go, it has a clean, chalky flavour that goes nicely with emotional withdrawal, and can be sipped at the edge of the gathering without curtailing those polite, meaningless smiles.
Post this article to
We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary.
