What food to pair with mature Margaux

The other night I was lucky enough to go out with a wineloving friend of mine and his wife who brought along a bottle of Château Palmer 1990 with them. It was a lovely wine but, as any 20 year old vintage would be, quite delicate so immediately created the dilemma of what to eat.

The dishes we chose - braised partridge, seared breast of duck and cassoulet were all fine with it - but none of them was perfect. Wines like this are better with unsauced dishes - simply roast partridge would have been better. The seared duck was accompanied by caramelised chicory which really needed a younger, more vibrantly fruity wine and the cassoulet would have been better with a more rustic red like a Marcillac. The Palmer also struggled with the cheese, as is inevitable if you offer a selection.

It underlines a point I’ve made before that treasured bottles like this are really better served at home. No chef can really afford to serve the sort of plain, unadorned food that suits fine wine, especially Bordeaux, best. Customers would regard it as dull and take the view (quite rightly, really) that they could do the same at home.

The ideal dish would have been a simply roast leg of lamb with possibly a gratin dauphinoise (cream and potatoes flatter most old reds). Resist the temptation to serve lots of vegetables or condiments alongside because the more flavours you add the greater the risk of taking the edge off your treasured bottle. (This doesn’t apply so much, of course, to younger wines.)

So far as cheese is concerned it also pays not to offer too much choice. If you’re going to serve cheese at all a hard sheep’s cheese like a Manchego or Berkswell is going to be the best kind of foil for an old wine and again leave aside compotes and particularly chutneys. Mature parmesan can also be delicious though I’d suggest no more than two years old.

The great advantage to this strategy is that this is not difficult food to cook, you’ll enjoy your wine more and you’ll pay a fraction of what you would pay in a restaurant for it. Which is quite a result.

For more inspiration for mature Margaux, see this Match of the Week from 2017: Margaux and Turkish Chicken with Walnut Sauce

Image result: jacqueline macou from Pixabay

What to drink with a TV dinner?

This month’s issue of Observer Food Monthly hasa special on TV dinners featuring celebrities talking about their favourite snacks. Very few beverages are mentioned so I thought I’d suggest a few pairings ;-)

Indian takeaway
Amanda Holden is pictured eating pasta with pesto but actually says her regular TV supper is an Indian takeaway. Lager would be the obvious bevvy of choice for most but personally I’d go for an IPA (India Pale Ale) or a strong fruity rosé

Spag bol
A bit of a messy TV snack from Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner but who wouldn’t be tempted by Angela Hartnett’s 3-4 hour ragu which deserves a good bottle. Like a Chianti Classico riserva. See my 6 best pairings for spaghetti bolognese.

Fish fingers
(Or equally, fish and chips.) Mentioned by novelist Julie Myerson who also admits to enjoying a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. They’d rub along fine together but I must confess to a secret vice which is that I love fish fingers and champagne. Cava at a pinch.

Tapas
Newsreader Mark Austin says he likes tapas and a glass of wine (unspecified though I suspect it might be a Rioja). He should try a well-chilled glass of fino or manzanilla sherry. See also my 6 best Spanish wines to try with tapas.

Cheese on toast
We also don’t know what wine his colleague Julie Etchingham drinks with her cheese on toast made with “strong cheddar, always with Worcestershire sauce” Could quaff a Cabernet but I’d personally be reaching for a bottle of Timothy Taylor Landlord.

Home-made burgers
The fondly remembered childhood treat of X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary. Adults should try them with a good bottle of Bordeaux: as fine a match with a burger as a steak - provided you don’t overdo the relish.

Chips
Perfect TV food, according to the BBC’s Alan Yentob - and he should know. Personally I think this is beer food again. Or a mug of builder’s tea, which would certainly be a good match for his other favoured snack, fried-egg sandwiches . . .

Fish pie
Mentioned by Property Ladder’s Sarah Beeny. Her version, which includes smoked haddock and a cheesy sauce, is quite rich which would make me reach for a fairly full-bodied (but not ridiculously oaky) Chardonnay. See also my 4 top drink pairings for fish pie.

Image credit: Andres Ayrton

Matching cold cuts, cheese and chutney

A couple of years ago I went to a chutney-making demonstration and tasting. No, not at the WI - it was held by the family owned company Tracklements at leading London cheesemonger La Fromagerie which has recently expanded its empire into the neighbouring shop and now has a fancy new tasting room.

Guy Tullberg of Tracklements gave a fascinating account of how pickles differed from chutneys and relishes (in essence you cook the former and simply boil boiling liquid over the latter. Pickles are veg-based, chutneys can include fruit) but the highlight of the event was a tasting of different styles of relish with cold meats and cheeses.

It was an interesting reminder of the important role these traditional preserves play in livening up a simple meal but also forcibly reminded me of the problem that pickles and chutneys pose for wine - I could only think of a couple of pairings where I’d wouldn’t have preferred a beer or a cider.

Here were the combinations and my suggested pairings:

Classic English Pork Pie and Piccalilli
English pork pies, for those of you who are not familiar with them are classic pub fare with a hot water crust and faintly peppery filling. The sharp mustardy piccalilli which contains tumeric and other spices cut perfectly through the heavy pastry and fattiness of the meat.
Suggested match: a strong English ale such as Timothy Taylor Landlord

Cold ham and Farmhouse pickle
A sweet, fruity Branston-style pickle made with carrot, courgette, turnip and onion with dark muscovado sugar, tamarind and dates which added a nice edge to some smoky, thick-cut ham.
Suggested match: Maybe because of the smoky note in the ham but I liked the idea of a porter with this.

Curried fruit chutney and chicken
A spicy but not overly hot chutney based on tomatoes, apples and dates spiced with fenugreek, coriander, cumin and cardamom. Sweet and rich. Slightly overwhelmed the accompanying chicken but apparently makes a great Coronation Chicken.
Suggested drink match: With these spices I’d enjoy an Indian Pale Ale. Also quite good with the Breton farmhouse cider that was laid on.

Apricot and ginger chutney with farmhouse Cheshire
A mild crumbly cheese with a mellow, sweet chutney. The chutney enlivens what would otherwise be a slightly bland taste experience
Suggested drink match: one of the only chutneys that wouldn’t have overwhelmed an accompanying wine. A Spanish tempranillo or garnacha, I thought

Apple and Cider Brandy chutney with Camembert
I didn’t think this combination worked. The chutney with its spicy mince-pie like flavours was too powerful for the cheese. It would have been better with a strong cheddar and I’d have preferred the Camembert with some kind of berry compote.
Suggested drink match: The accompanying cider was stripped of flavour by the chutney. You really needed something like an apple aperitif or digestif such as Somerset Pomona or Pommeau

Fig Relish and Goats Cheese
Guy Tullberg said that this combination was well received by people who didn’t like goats cheese. I can see why - with its powerful cinnamon, clove and allspice notes it cancels out the taste. I think it might work in a hot tartlet though using fig relish as a base and a slice of goats cheese on top. Apparently this is their most successful product.
Suggested drink match: Guy suggested Pedro Ximenez but for me that’s too powerful for goats’ cheese. A sweet oloroso maybe.

Montgomery’s cheddar with organic plum chutney
This combination of award-winning artisanal cheese and a sharp, zesty plum chutney with a touch of orange was perfect - but lethal to wine!
Suggested drink match: A strong British ale such as Adnams Broadside

Sausage roll and onion marmalade
Sausages and caramelised onions are a match made in heaven. This was an unusually sweet, concentrated version that would go as well with hot sausages as cold.
Suggested drink match: an English bitter or could possibly take a gutsy southern French red such as a Cotes du Rhone Villages

Wholemeal bread and butter with cucumber pickle
A very mild sweet cucumber pickle - like an old-fashioned sandwich spread. Nice but not spectacular with the bread and butter. Would be better with a burger - it makes a fantastic barbecue relish
Suggested drink match: Again not too powerful to accompany wine - I’d suggested a ripe soft red like a Merlot or, possibly even better, a fruity New World rosé. Cider would be good too.

The important point to bear in mind is that sharp pickles will make an accompanying drink taste sweeter and less bitter and a sweet one will make it sharper. It’s the combination of sweet and sour that’s the problem

Photo by Nicolas Postiglioni