Match of the week
Smoked eel and potato soup with dry Moscatel
I could have picked any number of pairings from the really inspiring wine dinner hosted by Bodegas Bentomiz at Gambas tapas bar in Bristol last week but this marginally inched it.
It was a dish called Gazpachuelo which comes from Malaga - the same region as the wine - and is a traditional fisherman’s soup made with mayonnaise. (You can see it being made here)
This version was served at room temperature with smoked eel potato and scallop roe and was unctuously creamy, and slightly smokey from the eel.
With it the restaurant paired a dry, almost sherry like 2019 moscatel called Ariyanas or Ariyanas Seco Sobre Lias Finos to give it its full name that handled all the flavours perfectly. The glass was topped by a tortita di camarones, a crisp wafer with tiny shrimps which again is one of the specialities of the region - and of the restaurant.
Another terrific pairing was a final course of avocado sorbet, yoghurt and olive oil with the bodega’s best known wine, Ariyanas Naturalmente Dulce, a sweet moscatel that tasted of gloriously ripe apricots with the almost savoury dessert.
You don’t often come across such carefully thought out and imaginative pairings which included dishes that are not normally on offer at the restaurant but it really pays dividends, presenting a satisfying challenge for the kitchen and a new experience for restaurant regulars as well as showing off the wines to best effect.
Gambas is at Unit 12 in Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf, Bristol. You can buy the wines from them direct if you live in Bristol or via Indigo Wines if you're in the UK wine trade. The Ariyanas Seco is £31.90 and the Naturalmente Dulce £5.90 a glass.
I attended the dinner as a guest of Gambas and Bodegas Bentomiz
Chateau d’Yquem with Gorgonzola and a pressed apple terrine
OK, I don’t expect you to have a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem to hand, let alone a 1999 or 1989 vintage but this would work with any mature or not-so-mature Sauternes or similar sweet Bordeaux
It was served at a lunch at Portland restaurant in London to launch the 2019 vintage of Yquem, which is absolutely delicious by the way. (No I don’t do this every day!)
The restaurant chose to pair it with a Gorgonzola naturale, pressed apple terrine, thyme honey and hazelnuts. They could have served it with the Gorgonzola on its own of course but the terrine just added an element that linked to the wine. (By this stage the 89 tasted more like vintage Oxford marmalade than the luscious lemon and honey flavours of the 2019.)
It’s a lovely way of serving Gorgonzola anyway. I’m a great fan of showcasing a single cheese rather than serving a huge selection, one of which is bound to clash with the wine.
The 2019 doesn’t seem to be available in store yet but you can buy a half bottle of the 2018 for £146 from Berry Bros and Rudd should you feel like splashing out.
See also The Best Food Pairings for Sauternes
I ate at Portland as a guest of Chateau d’Yquem.
Anchovy crisps and a pink Gibson
After hibernating virtually the whole of January I had a run of eating out last week which threw up a number of good matches but this slot is all about discovering more unusual wine and other drink pairings.
This week’s match of the week definitely falls into that category.
It was one of the bar snacks at The Lowback at Hawksmoor Wood Wharf which I *know* is co-owned by my son Will but that’s not the reason why it’s here. OK, only part of the reason 😉
The drink was a pokey but beautifully balanced Pink Gibson which is made from Absolute Elyx, Audemus Umami Gin, Aperitivo Co. Dry Vermouth and a Pink Pickled Onion (the pink comes from the hibiscus in the pickle) So basically a dry(ish) martini
And the snacks were some anchovy, whipped goat butter and pickled onion t=-opped crispbreads and a bowl of home-made (well, restaurant-made) pickles which chimed in perfectly with the cocktail
So it was really all about the pickles. I normally think of drinking lager with pickles but turns out dry martinis, especially a Gibson, work really well too.
I ate at Hawksmoor Wood Wharf as a guest of the restaurant
Roast carrots with rocket pesto and a Catalan red
Choosing a wine to go with a number of widely differing dishes is always a challenge so I usually try to find a lightish wine that will rub along with both meat and vegetable dishes.
I also like to try go for something I haven’t tasted before in this case, at The Old Pharmacy, Bruton a 2020 Catalan red from Celler Frisach in Terra Alta called Abrunet Negre, which turned out to be a light juicy cherryish blend of garnacha (grenache) and carinena (carignan)
It actually went with pretty well everything but especially with this dish of roast carrots with rocket pesto and a confit egg yolk. I thought the egg might throw it but the sweetness of the carrot and the slight bitterness of the pesto were the more important elements of the dish. It was also great with a celestial dish of burrata, with truffle potato and crisps which I wish I hadn’t agreed to share.
You can buy the wine, which I’d classify as natural, for £14 from little wine who, it turns out, agree that it’s ‘oh-so-versatile: pair this easily with most dishes.” Or £14.40 from Uncharted Wines who also have a good range You can read about Celler Frisach who farm organically here.
And if you’re in Bruton, The Old Pharmacy, a wine bar and bistro which is run by chef Merlin Labron, who also owns the Michelin-starred Osip next door, is a joy. You can't book though so I'd try and arrive early or late
Coq au vin and Moulin-a-Vent
I’ve always loved those huge jars of cooked meals you can buy in France so was pretty excited when I was sent a jar of coq au vin, or rather Coq au Moulin-à-Vent by Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent the other day.
The dish was cooked by chef Frédéric Menager* who runs a restaurant in Burgundy called La Ferme de la Ruchotte and raises his own chickens.
Coq au vin is basically a Burgundian dish, made traditionally with Chambertin but Beaujolais, especially a serious Beaujolais like Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent’s, works equally well. Interestingly the Chateau had given him the 2000 vintage to cook it with, his preference being for older wines to give the dish added complexity. In fact the dish was not obviously ‘winey’ just deeply flavoured.
They also sent two different cuvées to pair with it, both 2018s, the Champ de Cour and the Les Vérillats. The Champ de Cour, the more savoury of the two, worked best I thought though the Vérillats was delicious too and both were great with the Vacherin cheese we had afterwards.
Unfortunately they’re not inexpensive. The Champ de Cour costs £204 for a case of six bottles from the Fine Wine Company and Stannary Wine apparently stocks the Vérillats but I can’t find it on their website.
*hilariously translated in the English version of the website as Fred Household
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