A toast to all-season wines

LOOKING for a couple of reds for the family's traditional New Year's Day lunch, with a menu of raw fish salad and noodles, I looked for soft, fruity reds which would take almost any Asian cuisine in their strides. For comparison and contrast, I picked out from Bordeaux, Le Plus de la Fleur de Bouard and from Spain, Gran Clos from J Fuentes in Priorato, Spain.

Gran Clos, 1996, Bodega Jose Fuentes, Priorato Cepage: Garnacha (Grenache) 50 per cent; Carinena (Carignan) 40 per cent' Cabernet Sauvignon 10 per cent

An opaque deep purple-red, with just the slightest tinge of brown; sweet juicy entry, very big, concentrated wine with very dark flavours, very ri…