Port and dry red wines can match perfectly with chocolate, we discovered, and we’d like to share these terrific wines with you. To test Senior Contributor Mark Raymond’s recommendations, we bit into beautiful pieces of chocolate, then sipped. Superb! Also great wines for drinking sitting by the fire with friends. Tell your wine store the distributor for each of these wines is Frederick Wildman & Sons
1. Churchill’s Duoro Estates, 2012, at $18. Aged for nine months in new and old French oak. In the glass a deep garnet color with a violet hue, demonstrating complexity. The cherry aromas and touch of spice make it dance with chocolate. From Portugal.
2. Castillo Monaci Primitivo Salento, 2014, at $16. Aged in oak and stainless steel. In the glass, ripe plums and spice. From Puglia, Italy.
3. Churchill’s Port, Late Bottled Vintage, 2005, at $30. Aged in wood for four years, then bottle-aged. In the glass, deep violet and a graceful blend of fruit and structure. No syrupy sugar tones here- the vineyard wants to show off its quality grapes and elegant profile. We’re the beneficiaries at this affordable price point. From Portugal.
Photos: Alex Province
