I love a big bowl of spicy chilli at this time of the year, especially if you have a full of character, full-bodied and full-on spicy red to go alongside.
I’d go for an Australian Shiraz dominant blend as the best ones will have an approachability coupled with a nice peppery edge that will match the dish perfectly.
Ideally, you want the wine to jump out the glass and lick you around the chops with all the exuberance of a golden retriever puppy. The key here is the fruit, as hot and spicy dishes tend to accentuate the tannins in a wine, so with a decent and spicy chilli you really want more fruit than tannin in your glass.
The Barossa and (nearby) Clare Valleys are producing a wealth of wonderful wines at the moment. Producers such as Henschke, d’Arenberg, Woodstock and Jim Barry are all worth seeking out.
Henschke is my current favourite producer from the area and their Henry’s Seven Shiraz, Grenache, Viognier, Mourvedre Blend 2007 (Inverarity One to One, £44.99 limited availability) is a doozy. Note the vintage, this is a mature wine with a ton of flavour, power and oomph. Oomph is a technical wine term. Despite all the clout, this wine is incredibly well balanced in the glass.
A great bottle at a fraction of the price is the Woodstock Shiraz Cabernet 2011 (Inverarity One to One, £11.49). This will knock all the supermarket equivalents out the park as well as ticking all of your chilli boxes due to the balance of dark fruit and peppery spice in your glass.
If you’d rather have a straight Shiraz, get over to Majestic and grab a bottle of their Jim Barry Lodge Hill Clare Valley Shiraz 2017 (Majestic, £15.99). This is a wonderful wine at a wonderful price.
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