Wine with Andy Cronshaw
MORE wines for Easter Sunday this week and that classic match with spring lamb. Vegan and vegetarian alternatives with mushroom or miso flavourings would also pair well with these wines.
I’ve also sampled a great wine to match desserts and chocolate from Tesco.
There is a range of reds here because the taste of lamb is variable depending on its age. I recently had some New Zealand lamb that was extremely gamey and warranted more powerful red such as a Côtes du Rhône Villages or even a wine such as a Gigondas.
For younger lamb, lighter wines such as a Saumur from the Loire or even a Beaujolais would be a better fit.
TOURAINE GAMAY, DOMAINE ROC DE CHâTEAUVIEUX, 2019 (£8.99, Majestic) Beaujolais doesn’t have a monopoly on Gamay and this wine, from the Loire Valley, shows off the grape with great style for the price. Lightly chilled it’s fragrant with red berries on the nose while the palate is juicy and lithe with a lick of licorice adding flavour to its lightish dimensions.
INCANTA PINOT NOIR, CRAMELE RECAS, ROMANIA 2020 (£5.99, Majestic)
A Pinot Noir for £6 doesn’t inspire confidence but this Romanian example offers incredible value with juicy raspberry fruit and a whiff of cinnamon about the nose. Apart from a nice match for spring lamb this is a brilliant red to chill lightly in the fridge and sip in the garden. Made by Englishman Philip Cox, and his Romanian wife, Elvira who have revived vineyards in postSoviet Romania.
SAUMUR ROUGE, CAVE DES VIGNERONS DE SAUMUR ROBERT & MARCEL, 2018 (Top, £11.25, Yapp Brothers)
This is my kind of red right down to the classic label which has a graphic of Charles de Gaulle on the label giving a French bistro feel. Made from only
Cabernet Franc it’s the perfect spring wine combining a light delicacy with punchy red currant concentration. Supple with grip on the tannins, it’s a beautiful match for lamb or mushroom dishes. Again it prefers a light chill for best effects.
TESCO FINEST CôTES DU RHôNE VILLAGES SIGNARGUES 2020 (Bottom, £8, Tesco)
I was very impressed with this very fresh, budget-busting, vegan-friendly Rhône red made through a partnership with winemaker Julie Rouffignac. It carries its hefty 14.5 per cent alcohol very lightly indeed and there’s no sense of over-extraction whatsoever. In fact, it’s very much the opposite, with the brambly Grenache fruit carrying earthy spice and Syrah adding perfume and acidity. A really wellbalanced and elegant wine at a bargain price. Just don’t expect a big fireside style red.
MOUNT ROZIER MERLOT 2019 (£8, Co-op)
Straight up luscious Merlot with plenty of deep, rich fruit and a little leaf that never extends into something unpleasant. Warm and spicy, the oak is also fairly discreet at a style and price range that often presents far too much woodiness.
TESCO FINEST CREAM SHERRY (£6, Tesco)
To say I’m a big sherry fan would be an understatement. However Pedro Ximenez is not a style I’m fond of with its syrupy texture and lack of acidity in many cases. This Cream from Tesco’s partnership with Gonzalez Byass is the perfect solution; blending aromatic Oloroso with a less dominant splash of PX. The result is a wine that draws out the best from PX in my opinion. This is a terrific sherry with plenty of complexity on the nose where there’s all kinds of dried fruits and nuts notes drawn from storage in dusty, cool bodegas. It makes for one of the best matches for chocolate you’ll find and at £6 the bottle size and price is just right.