Roast venison with Chateau Talbot 1982

I was lucky enough to dine in a Cambridge college, Peterhouse, last week and even more fortunate to drink a 1982 Chateau Talbot.

Oxbridge colleges have famously well-stocked cellars so this is the kind of wine they have ready access to - something that can’t be said of most wine writers - or certainly not this one. (This is one of the relatively few opportunities I’ve had to drink a Bordeaux of this age*)

Although their catering arrangements don’t tend to be quite so impressive the very traditional fare they serve actually suits older wines perfectly and the main course of rare - and impressively tender - venison, a small amount of not overly rich red wine sauce, gratin dauphinoise (no or very little cheese) and broccoli and cauliflower (neutral) couldn’t have been a better foil for the wine which was still miraculously fresh but with a beautifully soft, velvety texture.

We also had a chance to taste the 2004 Cain Five which was also quite mesmeric but not until after the meal. That would have been equally delicious (and is still available from Justerini & Brooks)

It underlines that it’s well worth keeping things classic when you have the chance to drink a great bottle.

*I do rather like the idea however of buying it by the half bottle which you can do from Lea & Sandeman at the moment for £25.75 a single bottle or £23.75 per bottle if you buy a case. (For the 2012)

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Excuse dark, fuzzy photos. The dining room was atmospherically candlelit. No concessions to instagrammers ;-)

Roast venison and madeira

It was a tough call coming up with a single wine pairing last week - there were so many good ones but I’m going for this combination because it’s such a cool serving suggestion.

It was at a very glitzy event hosted by Marks & Spencer and themed around clementines (featured in this course as clementine steamed dumplings though I don’t think this had a huge effect on the match)

The venison was served with a glass of madeira which I’m guessing was probably this 5 year old medium rich then a beefy stock was poured into the empty glass. (Nice idea though I don’t think it picked up quite enough madeira flavour. I think you’d want to leave half a shot in the glass to get the full effect - or make the ‘tea’ with a good slug of madeira in it.)

I also reckon it would lend itself well to roast beef. A bit like drinking a savoury hot toddy. (As an alternative to gravy rather than with it)

* Sorry about the pic. The very jazzy lighting effects meant that the original was bright pink!

Poached langoustines and Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc

Last week I caught up with Hein Koegelenberg of La Motte which I visited a couple of years ago when the winery was nominated Wine Tourism Champion by the Great Wine Capitals of the World (you can find my Decanter article on the experience here).

He was in London to show off his latest releases (and take in Rugby World Cup semi-final which didn't go quite as well) at Mosimann’s in Knightsbridge where we tried the wines with a menu devised by Anton Mosimann.

There were a couple of striking matches but I’m going for the first pairing of a dish of lightly cooked Scottish langoustines with lemon and fresh herbs which included (I think) pea shoots and leeks - elements that chimed in perfectly with his 2014 Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc. Those of you who follow me in the Guardian will know I’m not a massive SB fan but this wine, which as 10% semillon and is sourced from cooler vineyards in Elgin, Bot River, Elim and Napier, was wonderfully fresh and citrussy (grapefruit, mainly) rather than being pungently aromatic.

The downside is that I can’t currently find it in the UK but will add stockists as and when I find them. It’s worth trying SA Wines Online.

The other pairing that was particularly good was the Rhone-like 2013 Pierneef Syrah Viognier with some very rare highland venison and a selection of vegetables that included the normally wine-killing red cabbage. It breezed through the lot.

Hepple gin and venison tartare

We think of gin even less than whisky as a pairing for food but with the incredible popularity of gin these days - and the need for the many new entrants to the field to create a distinctive image for their brand that could be about to change.

Last Friday I was tasting a new super-premium gin called Hepple from Northumberland with one of its creators, TV chef Valentine Warner. It’s based on juniper of course but handled slightly differently with three different distillation methods, green berries as well as riper ones along with bog myrtle, lovage, Douglas fir and citrus so it’s incredibly aromatic and herbal.

After we’d tasted its component parts we drank it as a gin and tonic (with Fevertree Naturally Light) and I had a hunch - based on gin’s compatibility with patés - it would go with the venison tartare on the menu at Wallfish Bistro where we were doing the tasting - and so it proved. I'm guessing you could also drink it neat though at 45% that might be a bit challenging. Maybe a martini.

You can currently buy it at Fortnum & Mason and drink it (cough) in my son Will’s Hawksmoor restaurants though it will be in wider distribution from early November.