Big Red Wine Season

by Westgarth Wines September 22, 2021

OK, as much as I didn't want summer to be over, big red wine season has officially begun and I'm here for it. Those Bordeaux, Burgundy and Tuscan reds were all delicious to drink during the hot weather, no doubt. But doesn't that spicy, rich wine become just a little more delicious when the air's slightly cooler outside?

I've carefully selected several wines worthy of your drinking attention. The focus here is on autumn reds that can be enjoyed slowly over the course of an evening – preferably with something rich and hearty bubbling away on the stove. Below I've listed our wine picks, along with a favorite recipe to pair and enjoy.

Jackson's Somm Picks

thibault belair chambolle musigny bottle

2017 Thibault Liger-Belair, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes

Thibault Liger-Belair's star has risen high over the last several years. So have the quality of the wines and their pedigree. Branching out from their classic family vineyards in Nuits-St-Georges, they're now producing some wonderful wines from up and down the Côte d'Or. This is a blend of five old-vine parcels in the village of Chambolle-Musigny, fermented with 40% whole clusters, giving aromatic depth and complexity to an elegant wine. This wine sees 30% new oak for 18 months before bottling. This is classic red Burgundy and in my estimation there's nothing greater with this than roast chicken. I am a huge fan of chef Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables.-----

2018 Isole e Olena, Cepparello

This iconic Tuscan big red wine has been made by Paolo di Marchi since 1980. Isole e Olena was only the second winery to make a 100% Sangiovese Super Tuscan, after Montevertine. The de Marchis were also early adopters of high-quality, new oak barrels in the winery. Before this, Tuscany was all old chestnut wood, and the wines could be rustic and backwards. Cepparello takes the bright, tart nature of Sangiovese and harnesses it into a polished, weighty wine worthy of aging and contemplation. I love this wine with a simple tomato-sauce pasta, try this classic recipe from Marcella Hazan. You can add sausage or meat to it, but it's just fine on its own too.

2011 Tommaso Bussola, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico TB

Another Italian big red wine for fall! Amarone is one of my most noteworthy autumn reds. Every time I smell a wine from Valpolicella, I think of baking spices, leaf piles smoking in the distance, and boots covered with fresh dirt. Bussola is an interesting double-edged style: these wines are aged in new oak and carry plenty of spice, but they're determinedly un-polished. As in, they still drink with that pleasant rustic quality, and they don't feel like they're made to impress so much as exist as an imprint of a classic region and grape. Corvina's flavor profile is so cool: it's the baked red fruit and fig of Grenache, but with a leafy green and licorice component to the aromas. I love this Bussola on a cold day: it's the epitome of a vino da meditazione, (a wine to reflect on). Pair this with pork chop and figs, and a big side of mashed potatoes too.

2003 Huet, Vouvray Moelleux Première Trie Haut Lieu

Is there anything more fall than the smell of apples? Golden, red, and green. Fresh, bruised and brown. There's one wine that delivers all the apple smells across the board: Vouvray. Chenin Blanc's most bodacious, off-dry interpretation represents one of the world's greatest white wines. This is a winery that survived its owner being sent to a German POW camp in WWII, and has continued to produce incredible, ageworthy whites even through an ownership change. This ripe, Fuji-apple scented 2003 Moelleux is ready to go now, and presents lush, gingery, honeyed qualities which are at home with a variety of spicy and rich foods. Try this Yellow Thai Curry with some Vouvray.

1995 Château Lynch Bages

An overperforming, luscious Pauillac with 25 years of age? Sign me up. This is a classic and powerful big red wine from one of the best Pauillac vintages of the 1990s and from one of the most admired properties. The core of fresh red fruit is still alive in this wine and is supported by ample notes of pipe tobacco, turned earth, licorice, allspice and vanilla. Pair this with Beef Wellington à la Gordon Ramsay.

2014 Colgin Cellars, Cariad

Ann Colgin's wines drink really beautifully with five - seven years of age on them. They certainly need a little bit of age, but when you want softly-unfolding fruit over a base of chocolate, leather and fresh mint, this is an ideal time to open them. The 2014 Cariad is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Don't overthink this pairing: pan-sear a steak with salt, pepper, and shallots (I prefer ribeye).

My goal is just as much to get people cooking as it is to get them drinking wine. I hope you can all find something here with these big red wines that inspires you to get your hands busy in the kitchen. Wine is not only accompanied nicely by food, it's downright enhanced and so is the food itself. If there's one guaranteed way to stave off the cold, it's to enjoy a tasty home-cooked meal with an extraordinary glass of wine.

- Jackson

View more of our Master Sommelier’s carefully curated wine selections here:

Big Red Wine Season