Opinion

Wines at Xmas #10 – Kerri Judge [Guest Post]

For winelovers, Christmas is a time when we look forward to drinking – and even sharing – a special bottle or two.  This might be a classic wine with traditional fare or just something different we’ve wanted to try for a while.  I asked some wine loving friends what they were looking forward to and they have kindly agreed to write a blog post for me.

Kerri Judge is the Marketing Manager of Febvre, an importer who has been a stalwart of the Irish wine trade for over 50 years and who represent a few of my favourite producers. 


valdemar_gran_reservaOne of my favourites at Christmas is from the family owned estate of Bodegas Valdemar in Rioja.  Their Conde Valdemar Gran Reserva 2008 is rich and so very smooth.  Lovely dark brambly fruits with a touch of vanilla and spice with soft tannins.

A perfect glass on its own, with a piece of hard cheese like Hegarty’s Cheddar or with a melt in your mouth piece of fillet beef sliced thinly with a drizzle of olive oil and salt.  Also, great I found with leftover Turkey and Ham fried up the day after Christmas with a bit of stuffing.

Conde Valdemar Gran Reserva 2008 (13.5%):  on promotion this Christmas at €20 (usually €32) in O’Briens and Independent Off-Licences.

 


Warre's Optima 10I always have a bottle of the Warre’s Otima 10 year old Tawny Port in the fridge at Christmas.  A glass of Otima watching It’s a Wonderful Life with a bowl of walnuts and the fire lit on Christmas Eve is my idea of Christmas!

Think a rich fruit cake – dried fruits, orange peel, caramel and honey flavours with a toasty finish and great length. Chilling the Otima cuts the taste of Alcohol and enhances the fruit flavours.

Warre’s Otima 10 year old Tawny Port (20.0%):  available at around €28 (50cl bottle) at Independent Off-Licences and selected SuperValu Stores.

 


The full series of Wines at Xmas:

 

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