Dinner was Organic Roast Chicken with Oranges and Winter Herbs lifted from the November issue of Delicious served with Baked Onions with Parmesan and Cream (Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries) and Petite Pois. The bird is marinaded for 5 or 6 hours with the juice and skins of four oranges plus rosemary and bay leaves, then roasted in the same juices.
The wine, plucked from the shelf for the sole reason that I hadn’t seen it before, was an absolute superb accompaniment. You couldn’t ask for a better match or a better wine for the price. Superb. And bugger to those who profess to a dislike of Chardonnay! It might not be trendy but it is not classed as a ‘noble grape’ for nothing!
Wine Tasting Note: Danie de Wet Earth and Sky Chardonnay, 2006, Robertson, South Africa.
Waitrose £8.99.
Rich, yet elegant says the rear label. Who am I to argue! Weighty, with superb concentration and balance, coupled with a citric acidity that just set the taste buds a-tingling. While the flavours matched the orange element in the dish, the acidity cut through the richness of the cream/Parmesan – joyous. Alcohol 14.5%. Unwooded.
The website, www.dewetshof.com, lists many Chardonnay’s – just not this one. So new that it is not listed on the Waitrose website either. The acidity is going to keep this wine going for a few years – I recommend buying a few bottles; it’s what I have done!
Scribblings Rating – 94/100