Pigeon 'tagine' with Jaboulet Ainé Hermitage La Chapelle 1994

I came across this pairing at Chris and Jeff Galvin’s newly opened Galvin La Chapelle in Spitalfields in the City where they have a vertical of vintages, some of which are available by the glass. As I observed in my review on decanter.com it’s not a cheap option but if you’ve never tasted an old vintage of Hermitage la Chapelle here’s a chance to do so.

I was slightly worried whether my glass of ‘94 would hold up against what was described as a ‘tagine’ but needn’t have worried. It was a most refined, subtly spiced version (see right) with a little ‘cigar’ of pigeon meat, a disc of couscous and a not too hot, slightly smoky harissa sauce.

It actually showed off the Hermitage better than our other dish of braised veal cheek whose sticky, unctuous sauce took the edge off the wine’s ‘sousbois’ character and subtle, almost figgy fruit.

I wouldn’t extrapolate from this to say that a less ‘cheffy’ home-made tagine was the ideal match for so grand a wine but it suggests a similar spectrum of Moroccan flavours would work with a lesser Rhône red such as a St Joseph or a Crozes-Hermitage, a Syrah blend from the Languedoc and also, I fancy, a Château Musar.

* I ate at Galvin La Chapelle as a guest of the restaurant.

Braised Manx Loaghtan mutton and Crozes-Hermitage

Last Friday I attended the Soil Association annual Organic Awards lunch at Bordeaux Quay in Bristol. The menu was based on the winning ingredients which in the case of the main course was Langley Chase organic mutton served with chard and spelt risotto.

The Langley Chase sheep are a rare multi-horned primitve breed, Manx Loaghtan (right) which have a delicate gamey flavour and proved a brilliant match with the award-winning wine, which I helped to judge: a deliciously spicy Crozes-Hermitage 'Contreforts Du Delta' 2007. It's listed by Vinceremos at £12.99 but is currently out of stock which I suppose is gratifying but frustrating if you're inspired by the award and want to try it. Another Crozes - or a St-Joseph - should work as well.

Picture by Luke Potter