Bring on the vino

Chilean cabernet sauvignon is perhaps not the most fashionable or exciting wine to pour into a glass, but it’s reliably reliable.

I can’t guarantee that, at its price, Cousino- Macul Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 will be the best wine you have ever tasted, but it won’t be far off. My advice is to snap some up now while it is on offer at Waitrose.

Made with fruit from the Maipo Valley, this is a textbook cabernet. Fullbodied and structured, it shows blackcurrant fruit, with mint, vanilla oak and dark chocolate. It works a treat with lamb dishes.

I had almost forgotten about the wines of Brown Brothers, but then some tasting samples arrived on my desk. Rightly or wrongly, I most associate this Aussie producer with affordable sticky wines.

I love sweet wines, sadly they tend to be overlooked at dinner parties.

It’s straight from the main course red wine to the coffee in most cases.

However serving a pudding wine can add an extra dimension.

With fruit based desserts try Brown Brothers Late Harvested Muscat 2011, from the state of Victoria.

Fun and full of flavours like grape, peach and pear it has a zinging acidity to counterbalance its inherent sweetness, with floral notes and a lick of honey too. It would also work alongside a spicy curry, or as an aperitif.

A bottle of Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut non-vintage also arrived this week along with a press release, which states that it has changed.

It has a new improved recipe if you like. This is a good job as I used to think it tasted of little more than an infusion of two pence pieces.

I like the new style. It is eminently drinkable with a light toastiness, a fine stream of bubbles and hints of orchard fruit, white peach and brioche.

Cousino-Macul Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, £7.99 down from £9.99 at Waitrose 18/20

Brown Brothers Late Harvested Muscat 2011, £7.99 from Majestic 18/20

Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut nv, £31.99 from Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose 17/20