Monkfish with chorizo and godello

I finally got to The Sportsman at Seasalter in Kent this week - a restaurant I’ve been wanting to go to for years. It more than lived up to expectations - which isn’t always the case with a famous restaurant is it? - in terms of service as well as food but there was a standout wine pairing from the meal I was particularly impressed by.

The dish was an unusual one of monkfish with a surprisingly creamy chorizo sauce and green olive tapenade. It was the spicy pimento flavour of the chorizo that made it such a great match with the wine I’d chosen - a 2022 Louro de Bolo Godello from Rafael Palacios from Valdeorras in northern Spain.

Godello can actually taste quite ordinary - like a cheap and cheerful chardonnay - but this was full and complex with great acidity that made the pairing with the monkfish more than the sum of its parts. And also suggests godello might be able to handle other spicy dishes.

You can find it in a number of indies including Vino Gusto who are selling it for £22 or £20.90 if you buy any six bottles (+ you get 10% off for a first order). Which makes the Sportsman’s list price of £49.95 pretty reasonable. (Their mark-ups are modest)

Lobster roll and Franciacorta

When it comes to pairing wine with a lobster roll I reckon it’s as important to think about the roll as the lobster. I.e. that despite including a luxury ingredient it’s basically a sandwich, a snack, a fun meal.

One you might even have a beer with if you were somewhere where lobsters are cheap which is certainly not the case in London or at Jeremy King’s new restaurant The Park on Queensway but as you can see it is a perfect specimen.

As I was having my leaving party* the same day I decided to stick to just the one glass of wine but rather than the white burgundy you might have expected I chose a glass of light, elegant Franciacorta Corteaura. Sparkling wine often hits the same spot as a beer - or at least lager - with food, oddly. 

You can buy it from a merchant called Outpour for £20.95 or £22.50 or £20.50 for 6 from Lea & Sandeman which indicates The Park, which is charging £15.95 a glass, is making a more than generous margin. Still someone has to pay for all that expensive blonde wood and the flatteringly lit loos. (Spend time down there. It's better than therapy.)

Don't get me wrong. I adored the restaurant which is wonderfully luxurious in a low key way. No-one does understated glamour quite like Jeremy King. It has one of those menus where there’s something for everyone. And the ice creams are divine. Just choose what you order carefully if you don't want to break the bank. Lobster roll compulsory.

For other lobster pairings see here

*In case you missed it I’ve left the Guardian after 14 years to leave more time for travelling and other projects including my website and Substack!

I paid for my meal in case you were wondering ...

Lamb, artichoke and Gevrey-Chambertin

Since lamb goes with practically every type of red wine you can think of you might wonder why I’m singling it out as this week’s match of the week.

Two reasons - one being the time of the year. Lighter dishes like this one at the 3 Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze at the Connaught call for a lighter wine than you might drink in the autumn or winter or with more robust accompaniments. The flavour of the lamb was really delicate and sweet, perfect with the wine head sommelier Lucas Reynaud Paligot had chosen, a youthful 2021 from David Duband, one of the Connaught’s own selections.

The other is the artichokes which you might think would make it a no-no with a fine red wine but the flavour wasn’t intrusive. I suspect they were cooked right down, almost confited. It’s really only an old-school artichoke vinaigrette that is problematic for wine. And how often do we eat that these days?

For other pairings see top wine pairings for lamb. And for another great Gevrey-Chambertin match see here. (No, I don't spend all my time drinking Gevrey-Chambertin. Unfortunately!)

I ate at Hélène Darroze at the Connaught as a guest of the restaurant

White peach and blanc de noirs mousse with rosé champagne

There were a lot of great pairings at the G.H. Mumm dinner I went to in Paris the other night but the most intriguing was the dessert which was served with their RSRV Rosé Foujita

The meal which was devised by 3-starred Michelin chef Sato Hideaki of Ta Vie in Hong Kong was primarily focussed around how the texture of a dish can play with champagne but this last pairing was more about sweetness - or rather the lack of it.

The Rosé Foujita has only 6g of residual sugar but because it's fruitier than most rosé champagnes it was not made uncomfortably tart by being paired with a dessert. Not that the dessert was overly sweet, reflecting more the delicate flavour of white peach. But the accompanying champagne mousse and spun sugar casing were ethereally light which made it the perfect partner for a sparkling wine.

If you haven't the skills to make a similar dessert - and let’s face it which of us has - I think the Foujita could also work with pannacotta and a perfectly ripe white peach or nectarine. It’s also recommended as an accompaniment to beef (rare or raw I’d say) or salmon which really makes it very versatile.

You can buy it from The Whisky Exchange for £69.75 - not cheap but good value. Laurent Perrier rosé is £81.25 and Ruinart’s £89.95

I attended the dinner as a guest of G.H. Mumm.