tikichris

Last week, I settled in for a quiet Friday night at home with a bowl of pasta with sugo al finocchio selvatico (fennel sauce … from Carluccio’s), a DVD and a couple of glasses of 2007 Alencades and found the combo to add up to a most appealing way to spend an evening. Alencades certainly held its own with the meal and was just as enjoyable on its own.

With a pleasant aroma suggesting clove, vanilla, berries and cinnamon, this month’s selection is a good one to keep in mind for quiet nights in. It’s agreeable enough in flavour that bringing a bottle of it over to a friend’s for dinner should have a positive effect as well. And at £7.50 a bottle, this full bodied blend of Carignan, Merlot and Marselan is a bargain too.

For product details and more, visit Berry Bros & Rudd online at www.bbr.com or stop by their shop at 3 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EG.