Here are some wine suggestions for your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. They span the globe—just like Santa Claus—and, among them, can accompany most any menu. Chateau Carbonnieux,
Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, 2002 ($22):
Chateau Carbonnieux, one of the more renowned properties of Pessac-Leognan, makes both a red and a white wine—although it is the blanc that garners all the attention. Two-thirds Sauvignon Blanc, 1/3 Semillon, the wine shows dry white Bordeaux at its best—colored a pale gold, with glints of silver, it is rich in aromas and tastes of white butter, citrus fruits (and skins) and green apple, with hints of toast and biscuit. It's extraordinarily fresh due to its vibrant acidity. And, it can be aged.
Gianolio Dolcetto d'Alba, Piemonte, Italy, 2000 ($8):
Dolcetto joins Nebbiolo and Barbera to comprise the three big grapes of Piedmont. Its name is from the Italian for 'sweet' (dolce), as in the English 'dulcet.' Thus, while it is forcible in color, fragrance and jam-like flavor—plums, dark cherries, chocolate—its puffy tannins make it soft and mellow on the tongue. It's terrific with sausages.
Champagne Brice Cramant, Grand Cru, Champagne ($40):
Cramant is Champagne's Chardonnay country. Its chalky hillsides face southeast and east, making for Chardonnay that is especially fresh and elegant. This is a particularly pretty wine, colored the yellow of summer sunlight and blessed with both a fine bead and sheer elegance on the tongue. Made 100% from Chardonnay, this very fruity, open, medium-bodied wine finishes as dry as a lick on a stone. Would be terrific with osso buco or other rich veal dishes. Or have it with Langres (LAHWN-gr), an intense, spicy, washed-rind, cow's milk cheese from Champagne.
Kopparossa Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot,
Coonawarra, Australia, 1999 ($17):
Coonawarra wines tend to be highly aromatic and as soft as baby's bottoms. This wine combines both Cabernet and Merlot's typical dark berry aromas and flavours with marks of liquorice, dark dried mushroom, tar, some spiciness, and wood and cedar. The tannins are typically Coonawarra: plush and round-the-mouth. A marvellous match for lamb kebabs or lamb stew.
Crane Family Vineyards Merlot, Don Raffaele Vineyard, Napa Valley, 2000 ($27):
Crane Family Vineyards enjoys prime real estate in Napa Valley (neighboring vineyards sell Merlot to Duckhorn and Cabernet Sauvignon to Caymus). The winery allows the land to yield but two and a half tons per acre; it sorts severely at harvest; uses only natural yeasts; and babies the wine until it is bottled. The vineyard is planted largely in Merlot vines, giving a wine of good concentration and assured ripeness, with tastes of both red and black berries, and hints of smoke, spice and oak. It also feels great, so silken and long.
San Francisco Carmenére,
Cachapoal Valley, Chile, 2001 ($8):
In the 1800s, when glass bottles became popular, the monks of the Vino de Eyzaguirre winery found breakage to be a problem in the voyage from the monastery to nearby towns. They took to wrapping each bottle in burlap, a practice the winery continues to this day. This wine, produced in Chile's Rapel Valley region, is from the Carmenére variety, unique to Chile. Its fruit flavors echo cranberry and blackberry, with whispers of jalapeno pepper and mushroom. The tannins are soft and puffy and there's a note of spice in the finish.
Chateau Paul Mas, Clos des Mures, Coteaux du Languedoc, France, 2000 ($16):
This delicious blend of 40+ year-old Syrah %) and Grenache ƕ%) comes from the Clos des Mures (wild mulberries) vineyard of the Domaine Paul Mas. Grapes ripen here to excellent sugar levels because the vineyard sits up on a plateau and is full face to the sun. This is a terrific wine, if only because the flavors come along in waves, enticing and revealing. Tastes of black currants, dark chocolate, purple plums alternate with flavors of nuts, earth, leather and spice. Tannins are abundant, but are also puffy and non-aggressive. A full 30 seconds after a swallow, out bounds more flavor. Because the wine is so complex, pair it with very simple and straightforward preparations of meats.
Chateau Gibalaux-Bonnet, Minervois Rouge, 2000 ($8):
The Minervois is a sub-area of the Languedoc, with which it shares a salient characteristic: wines are best from proven producers (such as this one). The blend on this deep, ruby-purple red is half Syrah, 20% Grenache, 15% old-vine Carignan and 15% Mourvedre, all grapes destemmed and all wine unfiltered. Aromas of ripe, red and black fruits, scented with Provencal garrigue (thyme and laurel), follow through to a medium-weight body with bright fruit and soft tannins. This is the wine for fowl: chicken, duck, turkey
Chateau Tourmentine, Saussignac, 1995 ($22):
Saussignac (SOE-see-nyak) lies to the west of Montbazillac and is, like it, a sweet wine area. Any of Muscadelle, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and a grape called Ondec can be used, singularly or in blends, and can have the distinction of being called liquoreux (complex, rich sweet wines) if the grapes have been susceptible to the 'noble rot' of botrytis cinerea. This would be delicious with desserts made with eggs, sugar and crushed almonds
Montevertine Ambradolce, Toscano, Italy 500ml ($18):
Montevertine prides itself on making wine from native Italian grapes only. This sherry-like white wine is a blend of super-ripe, partially raisined Trebbiano, Malvasia and Sangioveto grapes. It is very lively, has the merest hint of sweetness, and tastes of nuts, golden raisins and orange peel. Enjoy it with roast nuts, sweet cakes and cured meats.
