Match of the week

10 year old tawny with bitter chocolate and malt tart with salted caramel ice cream

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on January 2 2012 at 16:33

I was hoping for an interesting pairing from the last meal of the year and wasn't disappointed. Like last year we went to a New Year's Eve dinner at Montpelier Basement supper club where we were treated to an amazing 8 course feast which lasted into the early hours of the morning.

There were some other good matches (I could have recommended a creamy cauliflower and Stichelton soup with a 2009 Felton Road Chardonnay) but this one struck me as the outstanding pairing of the night.

Truth to tell I'd hoped a beer would do the job (I had a bottle of the Bristol Beer Factory Glenlivet aged Imperial Stout that went so well with my Stichelton the other week) but it proved too bitter with the salted caramel ice cream. The bottle of rich, nutty Tesco Finest 10 year old tawny we'd taken as a back-up worked much better - as I should have known. Tawny port is very good with both chocolate and caramel.

I also tried a sip of my neighbour's PX sherry which also paired really well with the ice cream - as it does with vanilla.

A good way to start the New Year. Happy 2012!

Image © Mariusz Blach - Fotolia.com

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