Cahors and duck 'parmentier'

I spent three days last week travelling through France (about which more over the next few days) so it’s a tough call to decide which food and wine combination came out tops but I think it would have to be the Matthieu Cosse Cahors and the duck ‘parmentier’ I ate at a delightful modern bistro in Cahors called L’O à la Bouche.

Hachis parmentier is the french equivalent of shepherds’ pie - a dish made with mince (usually lamb) and mashed potato, the difference being that the French put a layer of mash at the bottom of the dish as well as the top. This version had shredded duck confit as a filling instead of lamb which made it particularly tasty. (Unfortunately the table I was sitting at was in a dimly lit corner of the restaurant courtyard so the photo I took of it is too blurred to publish)

The wine came from two of the new rising stars of the region Matthieu Cosse and Catherine Maisonneuve and was the 2004 vintage their top cuveé Les Laquets produced from biodynamically grown Malbec. What was so impressive about it was its cool elegance - many of the new wines from the region are over-extracted in my opinion, the better to compete with Argentinian Malbecs - but this was restrained, sophisticated, complex and delicious - shown off to perfection by such a simple, rustic dish.

You can buy it in London from Gasconline (the wine arm of Comptoir Gascon) at £13.95 a bottle - oddly a much better price than the 25€ at which we found it in the market in Cahors or in the US where it is stocked by Specs and Port Chester of NY for about $48 (£29)

Image © karandaev - Fotolia

Carrot and basil-infused slugs and Saumur Blanc

For the first time my match of the week is not one I’ve experienced myself but was reported by Ron Zimmerman of The Herbfarm in Woodinville, Washington on Twitter (where he tweets as Herbguy - and I tweet as winematcher)

Apparently a customer asked him if he could serve up slugs and he obliged, first purging them on a diet of carrots and basil.

His asked on Twitter what the ideal wine pairing should be, saying he was thinking along the lines of Sauvignon Blanc. I frivolously suggested a strong rosé like Tavel or the Provençal anise-flavoured aperitif pastis (the better to mask the slug flavour, to be honest) but he ended up serving the Thierry Germain L’Insolite Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Blanc 2005.

In fact as you can see from Zimmerman’s Picasa album here the preparation and presentation was quite elaborate so I imagine he was looking more for a wine to pick up on his basil-grappa butter and tomato confit than his Spotted Leopard and European Red Slugs which apparently tasted somewhat like calamari. According to Zimmerman “the basil, with the touch of sweetness from the shallots and carrots, pushed the flavours into a nice range for the Saumur Blanc”.

If you’re of a squeamish disposition don’t let that put you off The Herbfarm - a restaurant about which I’ve heard good things. They apparently serve slug-free 9 course themed dinners paired with matching wines on a regular basis.

And if slugs are infesting your garden you now know what to do with them . . .

Perry and a Ploughman's

I’ve been researching a big feature on perry over the last few days sothat's what this week's pairing had to be. And by that I don’t meanwhat is popularly called pear cider but a cider-like drink that is madewith real perry pears.

Like cider it comes in a range of different styles from dry to sweet but in general tends to be slightly more refined - more like a medium bodied white wine like a Chenin Blanc. You can also buy sparkling versions that have traditionally been served instead of Champagne in the UK (though, given the option, I must confess I prefer the real thing).

Last Saturday I went down to one of the local cider pubs in Bristol called The Apple which is housed on a boat and tried one of the perries they had on draught called Hecks. It was very appealing with a delicate pear flavour that went really well with the cheese-based Ploughman’s I ordered. Particularly with the blue cheese which I suppose makes sense if you think how good pears are with a blue.

I’ve also had a chance to taste a number of other perries thanks to a new Bristol-based business which trades as Cider Punk (for direct sales) and Cider Providers (for trade customers) and who brought me over some nice perries from Ross on Wye Cider and Perry at Broome Farm Ross-on-Wye to try. I particularly liked their new season Medium Still Perry and Blakeney Blend.

I love the idea that perry goes back centuries and that perry trees can last for over 200 years. It would be good to see such as historic drink more widely available.

Steak tartare and Beaujolais

This was a wine pairing I hadn’t thought of putting together before but once experienced last week at Racine it seemed supremely logical.

Steak tartare can easily be overwhelmed by the sort of full-bodied red you’d choose for a chargrilled steak and in my view needs a lighter wine to fully appreciate its smooth texture and complex seasoning. Previously I’ve had a sneaky fondness for a glass of Champagne which also works brilliantly well with the usual accompaniment of chips but following my successful experience with a vibrantly fruity Coteaux du Languedoc earlier this year we’d ordered an inexpensive bottle of chilled young Morgon (2008) from Jean Descombes* in the hope that it would hit the spot. Which it did, the cool fruit picking up beautifully on the touch of spice in the mix.

Harris’s steak tartare, for the information of fellow fans, is generally regarded as one of the best in London. Interestingly he starts off with a seasoning purée then adds his chopped ingredients. I’m hoping to prise the recipe out of him so watch this space!

* apparently part of the Georges Duboeuf stable. You can find it in the UK from The Colchester Wine Company, the latest incarnation of Lay & Wheeler, here.