Good Red Wine

Good Red Wine

  SOFT & SMOOTH RED WINE 

Good Red Wine

These are the most versatile reds of all: soft and smooth enough to be thoroughly enjoyable on their own, yet with sufficient depth and concentration to stand up to a wide range of savory

Good Red Wine

dishes. They clash with very little, can be cracked open on lots of occasions, and rarely offend anyone. The medium-bodied reds are much-loved and appreciated for their easygoing character and their consummate food-friendly quality. 

 

Good Red Wine

Have I made them sound a tad simple? If so, then let me set the record straight. They can be wonderful, beautifully made, perfectly balanced and highly sophisticated. It's just that the smooth reds are not difficult in any way; they are not richly tannic, not tartly crisp, and not packed with heavy wood and spice. They are easy to drink, and hurrah for that.

So it's hardly surprising that wines such as French Merlot, Chianti (made from Sangiovese) and Rioja (Tempranillo) have proved so enduringly popular. In fact, it's difficult to think of many who dislike such wines, so I'm probably preaching to the converted here.

But even if you already know and appreciate the medium-bodied reds, there are plenty of tips that can help you both to enjoy them more and to spend your money wisely.

Good Red Wine

They may be easygoing, but there are nonetheless better moments than others for choosing them, perfect dishes for matching with them, and a few wines that are well worth avoiding. Read on..

.APPEARANCE .

Bright and lively, often a vivid ruby-red. Not particularly dense or deep, nor pale and weedy- looking. Some wines are a bit richer and more concentrated in colour, edging towards a plummy, youthful, purple-blue hue.

TEXTURE

Juicy and rounded,with a smooth, succulent finish. These wines should not be too powerful; any heavy oak or spiky tannins will seem out of balance. Then again, they should have some structure and body filling them out. Look for perfect poise, a happy balance between ripe fruit and fresh acidity, with some tannin to firm things up.

AROMA .

Ripe red fruits galore - plums, strawberries, raspberries, cherries - like a rich summer pudding. Don't expect the dewily fresh, newly squeezed fruit juice of the light reds, however. The perfume of these wines should spell late summer berries, generously fleshy and fulsome. There may be some seductive hints of chocolate, truffles, fresh tobacco, herbs and tea-leaves, with cream and vanilla in oaky examples, more 'green' stalky notes in unripe ones.

  FLAVOR.

Good Red Wine

Strawberries and plums crop up a lot here, as do creamy, soft depths with hints of vanilla (Rioja) and chocolate (some Merlot). Don't expect the spiciness of the full-bodied reds, but there are some savoury hints - soy, earth, pepper - and perhaps a luxurious finish of creamy coffee which leaves you wanting more. Some of these reds, especially the Italian ones, also have quite pronounced, tangy acidity, too: a twist of sour cherry drops on the finish.

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