With the game season now fully under way, we are being asked for suitable wines to go with this excellent source of low-fat, organic free-range food. Grouse is, as usual, expensive this year but the ever-popular pheasant and partridge are great value birds to try alongside mallard, venison and even wild boar for the adventurous among you.
The rich wines for game case costs £111 and Includes three bottles each of the following four wines.
Domaine Beaumalric 2005, Rhone Valley, France: A rich, ripe red from the area of Beaumes de Venise in the Rhone, who began producing excellent red wines a few years ago, in addition to their more famous sweet wines. This wine has roasted red berry fruit flavours along with delightful touches of herbs and spice.
In Situ Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Aconcagua Valley, Chile: From Vina San Esteban, this Chilean Gran Reserva is silky smooth with juicy blackcurrant and very clean vanilla fruit. This is the kind of wine that Chile does so well and this is a particularly good example of cabernet sauvignon.
Syrah Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de la Bastide 2006, Vin de Pays d’Hauterive, France: Made by ace winemaker Guilhem Durand from old vines aged 70 years or more, this is textbook syrah that is so much better than classic Rhones worth three times the price. Notes of leather, spice and wild herbs blend to make a complex and very tasty wine of great character.
Peter Lehmann Futures Shiraz 2005, Barossa Valley, Australia: Classic shiraz from Peter Lehmann, the king of the Barossa. This is big, deep, rich and wonderfully fruity wine which is a perfect match for full-flavoured game like venison or grouse. Fantastic wine.
The Oxford Times Wine Club is run in association with The Oxford Wine Company. Free delivery of your wine is available within 30 miles of Oxford. Please allow up to ten working days for delivery of your wine. If you have any questions about your order, contact The Oxford Wine Company on 01865 301144 quoting The Oxford Times Wine Club or email: info@oxfordwine.co.uk
If you would like to buy unmixed or mixed cases of wines that you have particularly liked from The Oxford Times Wine Club at the same special discounted prices, please contact Theo Sloot at The Oxford Wine Company on 01865 301144 or email theo@oxfordwine.co.uk
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