A great match for Christmas turkey
I recently asked a sommelier friend in the UK what wine he will be drinking with his Christmas turkey this year and without hesitation he replied “a nice new world Pinot Noir”.
Loving Pinot Noir as I do and especially Burgundy, my immediate thought was why new world? There is the issue of price and, of course, nothing compares to good Burgundy. But as any Pinot lover knows, you get a lot more for your money in terms of quality from new world producers than from France. And then there is the matter of the difference in style, with most new world Pinot tending to be more fruity than Burgundy, often with a hint of sweetness that rises so perfectly to the occasion of roast turkey with all the trimmings.
Looking around wine shops and supermarket shelves here in the Algarve, there is not a great deal of choice when it comes to Pinot Noir, although, that said, some of the Portuguese Pinots such as Casa Cadaval and Campolargo, which I have both featured in these pages, do the job quite well in a similar style to the new world.
But if your budget for a Christmas dinner red can stretch to around €16 (€15.99 at Apolónia), this one really is hard to beat. Valdivieso is one of Chile’s top producers and is well represented here in the Algarve by local distributor Prime Wines.
The wine is quite exuberant and unmistakably Pinot Noir on the nose with the typical cherry and strawberry notes marrying with leathery aromas from well integrated oak. In the mouth, it is mellow and fruity with a nice lingering finish.
By PATRICK STUART [email protected]
