Navarin of lamb and 2002 Chateau des Estanilles Faugères

Last week we were down at our house in Languedoc mainly cooking from home* and raiding the cellar for wines we thought needed drinking up - at least that was our excuse!

One foray unearthed this 2002 vintage of Chateau des Estanilles Faugères a wine we used to buy regularly from its previous proprietor Michel Louison who is now making wine at Domaine Lamartine near Limoux. It’s a full-bodied syrah but age has mellowed it and made it silky and delicate - the ideal match for a simple spring navarin of lamb, carrots and turnips made with white wine rather than red.

I wouldn’t have drunk the same wine with it while young - it would have been too tannic and powerful for the dish but this grand old wine matched it perfectly. You could also drink a typical Languedoc white - we tried a glass of a Chateau Paul Mas 2014 Belluguette Coteau du Languedoc** we’d been tasting with the leftovers and that worked very well too.

* Though we did have a very good meal at the Auberge de Combes. See my review here.

** a blend of Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Roussanne and Viognier