Southern Hemisphere Crisp White and Big Red

Crisp White and Big Red from the southern hemisphere - South Africa's Rustenberg and Chile's Montes

Crisp White and Big Red is a classic dinner combination; starting with France, you might look to the Loire and Bordeaux or Chablis and the Rhône.

Further afield, but staying in the Old World, a Riesling and a Barolo or Rioja would work equally well.

Here is a southern hemisphere / New World take on the same concept using classic (i.e. French) grape varieties; South African unoaked Chardonnay and Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Chardonnay has a classic unoaked flavour profile, just with more warmth and ripeness, so think Macon rather than Chablis, even if some of the fruit has a ripe-yet-green tinge.

The Cab is similarly more fruited and riper than Bordeaux, with New World's signature cassis and green pepper.

Rustenberg Wild Ferment Unwooded Chardonnay, (£12, Tesco)

This is Rustenberg's first ever unoaked Chardonnay; the aim was to create a wine that, without the influence of oak, expresses the varietal character and generosity of Chardonnay when the finest fruit is vinified for this purpose. Lees ageing adds palate weight and complements the wine's citrus fruit profile to create a wine that can be enjoyed on its own or with food. 

Arguably the most famous wine-producing region in South Africa, the vineyards of Stellenbosch take advantage of the area's topography and vineyards sit on the lower slopes of the Helderberg and Simonsberg ranges.

From the Stellenbosch region of South Africa, this Chardonnay is hand-picked and wild-fermented, with native yeasts found on the fruit and in the vineyard, in stainless steel tanks; it is then aged on lees for 3 months for more complexity.

This wine is a blend of different component vineyards, picked at different times of ripeness, some early for freshness and some late for fruit expression. Part of the batches are crushed and destemmed and part are whole bunch pressed, each technique giving a different mouth feel to the resultant wines.

floral and heady with exotic fruits and perfumed honeysuckle; orchard fruits, yellow stone fruits, greengage, sweet spices and salinity with some rich, leesy underpinnings and mid-palate complexity.

Drinks nicely on first pouring.

Good.

A versatile food wine, match with seafood, white meat and creamy cheese dishes such as tarte flambée.

Montes Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, (£9, The Co-op)

I've reviewed Montes' oaky Chardonnay from Chile previously and been impressed - see here and here.

Would their Cab be as good, I wondered?

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most-widely planted grapes in the world, but is rarely made into a varietal wine as it often needs some rounding out from another variety, In this case, there is 15% Merlot added for plush, juicy freshness, making this a classic Bordeaux blend.

45% of the wine is aged for 8 months with 2nd and 3rd use French oak barrels.

lifted, fruit-forward blackberries and blackcurrants with nutmeg, peppery vanilla spice, pencil shavings and some woodsy undergrowth; juicy, plush and fresh with red and black fruits, coffee grounds and cocoa; supple, well-integrated tannins, mintiness and a supple texture.

Good.

Drinks nicely on first pouring but opens up with aeration; will repay some cellaring.

Match with char-grilled meats, lamb, darker game or tuna steak.