Rack to fortify
Before you buy wine for Easter Sunday dinner, think about how you will be cooking the lamb, writes Christine Austin.
After the difficult times of the last two years, I had forgotten just how much I enjoy Easter. There is blossom on the trees, the garden is bursting into life again and there is the prospect of good weather ahead. Like most people, we are planning to have family sitting around our table, and as tradition demands there is a joint of lamb in my fridge.
I just love the aromas that waft around my kitchen when there is lamb in the oven, but my choice of wine very much depends on the way I cook the meat. Lighter flavours deserve lighter wine, while bigger flavours with the roast demand more positive tastes in the glass.
One of the easiest cuts is a rack of lamb, often stripped of most of its fat and needing just 20 minutes in a hot oven to be served pink in the middle and with the lightest, most delicate of lamb flavours.
For this I would head towards a Pinot Noir, and I was delighted to find an English Pinot Noir 2018 on the shelves at Aldi (£10.99). Part of its Bowler & Brolly range, with red-suited guardsmen on the label, this is described as Pinot Noir Early, which means it is the particular type of Pinot Noir that is suited to our English climate. As you might expect, English Pinot is not going to create too many anxious growers in the Cote d’Or of Burgundy, especially since there is only a tiny amount of this wine available. But despite the pale colour of the wine, I was surprised at the amount and quality of strawberry and red cherry fruit, accompanied by a rounded palate and silky tannins. English lamb with an English red wine has a certain symmetry to it.
New Zealand is another top choice when it comes to Pinot Noir, and Tesco has one of the best buys at present, but you need to be quick and have a Clubcard to qualify. It has Tesco Finest Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020, normally £9 but down by 25 per cent to £6.75 when you buy any mixed six bottles from the chain’s special offer. There are hundreds of other wines in this 25 per cent off deal, so it shouldn’t be difficult to make up a mixed half dozen. The offer lasts only until Monday. Even at full price, this wine is great value, with ripe, dark cherry fruit, supple, full flavours and just a hint of spice on the finish.
One of my favourite New Zealand producers is Larry McKenna, who makes terrific wines in the Martinborough region of North Island, but who is also making a great value Pinot in South Island’s
Marlborough area. Just called Noir 2020, (Waitrose, down from £17.99 to £14.99 until Tuesday), this is a juicy, cherry and raspberry filled wine, lightweight upfront, but serious mid-palate with savoury notes and a long finish. Step up to Larry’s Martinborough wines with the 2018 vintage of Escarpment (Martinez Wines, £27.99) for its silky, dark cherry fruit, backed by layers of spice and herby forest floor notes.
For large family gatherings, I favour a leg of lamb, rosemary and garlic-spiked and served still pink at the knuckle end, but crisp and full of dark caramelised flavours at the other. It needs longer in the oven than a rack of lamb and so there is time to put together all the family favourite roasties, Yorkshire pud, veg and gravy. With more flavour on the plate, you need more flavour in your glass and this is where Rioja shines.
Head first to Marks & Spencer and try Mazuelo (£8) from its Found range. Identified by its grape variety rather than by region, Mazuelo is one of the regular components of Rioja but usually added
in condiment quantities. This is a fresh style of Rioja, with ripe back cherry fruit leaping out of the glass to greet you, with herbs, a seam of freshness and a long, long finish.
More traditional in style, Sainsbury’s has Beronia Rioja Reserva 2017 on offer until April 26, down from £15 to £12, delivering juicy, black cherry fruit, edged with cinnamon spice and gentle oak.
For a flashback to how Rioja tasted decades ago, head to Viña Ardanza 2012, (Majestic, down from £27.99 to £19.99 on a mix-six deal). This wine echoes the style of Rioja long before fruit came to the fore and so it revels in its delicate, sweet raspberry and red cherry notes, wrapped in gentle, old oak, and spicey, earthy notes.
Shoulder of lamb presents another challenge because I like to de-bone it myself and stuff it with anchovies, capers and olives. I make no attempt to present this feast in its pink state, heading straight to fully cooked and so my wine choice needs to be sufficiently robust to cope with the savoury meatiness.
Cabernet Sauvignon or a Cabernet blend is my choice here and for sheer value try Wirra Wirra Church Block
2019 from McLaren Vale, Australia. This is included in the Tesco 25 per cent off mixed six deal until Monday, so long as you have a Clubcard. It brings the price down from £13 to £9.75, so I would scoop up several bottles because this will drink fabulously well all summer. This Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot blend has dense black fruits and a rich, earthy character that goes perfectly with meat.
Should tomorrow dawn with a sunny day in prospect, I might just put the lamb in a big casserole dish, cover it in red wine and chopped veg, and leave it in a slow oven while we all head out for a long walk. This gives a completely different aroma in the kitchen as the wine evaporates and the meat gently cooks for several hours. This needs a big, mellow wine to settle alongside all those deep casserole flavours and Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 (£12.99, Waitrose) is an ideal choice. It has hearty, big blackcurrant fruit, smooth, silky tannins and a warm, spice and chocolate finish.
Whichever way you cook your lamb, go easy on the redcurrant jelly and certainly don’t let mint sauce go within a mile of your plate. The harsh flavours of vinegar and mint will drown all the gorgeous flavours of your meat and wine.