kit
T H E
Instant Expert Cheese and Wine
The Sommelier
The Grape and the Good
The man who looks after the wine at one of England’s finest
hotels, Chewton Glen’s Frankie Gabriele, tells us everything
you need for Christmas cheer
What cheese would you have on the perfect
post-Christmas cheeseboard? So, what wine would you match with Lyburn
Old Winchester cheese and why?
If, as I assume, a rich and opulent meal has been served, I
would calm things down a little with a small yet enjoyable
cheeseboard made of four or five styles of cheese. Goat’s
milk to start – refreshing, with a clean taste and floral
notes; a mild soft cow milk cheese would be next to add
texture and a pleasant mouth-coating feeling which will
gently disappear, leaving the palate pleasantly velvety. An extraordinary cheese comprising nutty flavours,
sapidity, fruitiness, sweetness, acidity – it sounds like
a wine! The wine needs to be rich and possibly with a
good tannic structure to attack the fattiness of the cheese,
while some barrel ageing will give more nutty notes to
recall the same notes from the cheese. White would be a
rich and oily Chenin Blanc from South Africa or France.
Red options – a Claret from Bordeaux, St. Émilion, or a
Valpolicella from Italy. New World? Cabernet from South
America or Australia.
Something that’s smooth and delicate in flavour but with
a crumbly and richer texture would be my third cheese –
a cow’s milk cheese is still the best option. Next, get into
more powerful aromas and flavours with a tasty, spicy
and gently pungent blue cheese. The finale will be driven
by a Parmigiano’s gem – a concentration of flavours that
you can just explain with a word: umami.
What wine would you match with Stinking
Bishop cheese and why?
The name doesn’t make it sound attractive, but this
cheese is exceptional. There’s a huge contrast for nose
vs palate; intense, pungent and, yes, stinky for sure but
in the mouth, there’s an explosion of flavours – fleshy
and sweet, herbal notes and a delicate texture. A strong
personality wine is required with some jammy, intense
notes, balanced structure and soft-aged tannins; the
The most requested cheeses from the trolley at
Chewton Glen are Lyburn Old Winchester, Stinking
Bishop, Alex James Goddess, Isle of Wight Blue and
Rosary Ash Goat’s cheese.
53
www.hartsofstur.com