1) Consummate Light-Bodied Fish/Seafood Aussie White Wine from ‘The Hunter’
Brokenwood Thompson’s Road Hunter Valley Semillon 2018, New South Wales (NSW), Australia (Waitrose, £9.99)
Tangy, crisp, unoaked, bottled within three months of vintage, low in alcohol (the grapes were picked at low sugar levels) and redolent of lime zest, grass and lemongrass, this youthful dry semillon from the subtropical Hunter Valley, just to the north of Sydney, is a real joy. Sipped in its youth, like Muscadet, it’s practically invincible with seafood, especially shucked oysters, crab cakes, smoked salmon and sushi. A classic offering from NSW, Australian wine’s homeland. Alc 11%
2) A Chip off the Old Scotch for a Dram-Loving Dad
Highland Black 8-Years-Old Scotch Whisky, Scotland (Aldi, £12.99, in store only)
Looking for a Father’s Day whisky gift with a confusingly inexpensive price tag to help your Dad revel in style? Look no further than Aldi’s own-label in-store drams. This lightly spiced, well-rounded and delicate blended Scotch whisky just garnered a coveted Gold medal at the world-renowned Spirits Business Scotch Whisky Masters 2020. Value? Silly question. Buy it on your next Aldi shop and Dad will be delighted. Bargain ++. Alc 40%
3) Poppa Pinot
Berry Bros. & Rudd Bourgogne Côte d’Or Pinot Noir 2018 by Benjamin Leroux, France (Berry Bros & Rudd, £18.95)
Poised, silky and gently spicy, this ethereal pinot from the El Dorado for this variety is the best value red burgundy I’ve so far tasted in 2020 and has sufficient class to charm a fastidious connoisseur. It’s an outstanding red fruit-laced treat made from old-vine parcels sourced by négociant Benjamin Leroux and a total steal for a Burgundian pinot of this level of character. Captivating and very long with ample earthy-forest floor complexity. Roast beef/duck, boeuf bourguignon or tender pink chargrilled salmon fillets would be spot on. Alc 13%
4) Full-Bodied, Sybaritic ‘Champagne Charlie’: the ultimate aperitif!
Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV, France (Hedonism Wines/Laithwaites/The Wine Society, £39.80-£45)
Who doesn’t beam when they hear that champagne cork pop? This opulent, full-bodied and masterful bottle from a small, iconic champagne house is the perfect pick-me-up — and a very special drink to toast our dads. Charles Heidsieck age their NV champers for at least five years before disgorging (far longer than the legal requirement of 15 months) and use 40% of old reserve wines, thereby bestowing an ample core of buttered water biscuit, bread dough, nuts and acacia; all qualitative clues to a full-flavoured and attractively textured palate. Marvellous. Alc 12%
Twitter:@QuixoticWine
