This year has certainly been a strange one. So many ups and downs, I’m surprised more of us didn’t develop some kind of motion sickness. Christmas this year was a quiet affair; Tony & I had planned to share Christmas Day with my parents and his mum, but being forced into Tier 4 meant that we all had to change our plans and we plan to re-imagine Christmas all together when it is safe and permissible to do so. One thing that didn’t change for us, however, was imbibing! Whilst I had planned a more varied affair, Tony & I picked a couple of wines for the day that we felt would work with our Christmas feast and as a standalone glass of cheer. We began the day with our favourite Henners Vineyard Sparkling Rose (I wrote about that here), then opened a bottle of red which we decanted and let breathe until we were ready to eat. The first wine we cracked open was the Marof Breg Cuvée Red from Slovenia which we purchased from the fabulous Theatre of Wine. A perfect blend of Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch this wine was light and bright. Notes of red & black berries, some peppery spice and a lovely touch of florality. Some subtly grippy tannins and more acidity than I was expecting, it was the perfect companion to our savoury rich roasted rib of beef.
After quaffing that, and breaking out the cheese and charcuterie, we chose the Queiron Mi Lugar Rioja which was gifted to us by our dear friend Jack. A really fantastic example of a Rioja and a really wonderful blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha. Really dark on the pour with dark fruits, spice and chocolate aromas on the nose. On the palate; smooth, plummy, with a hint of liquorice. A luxuriously long finish kissed with an almost creamy woodiness. Whilst our Christmas Day wasn’t the one we had hoped for, our wine, at least, gave us some Christmas cheer.
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