Match of the week

Country-style paté with Gamay

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on August 9 2021 at 17:24

This week’s pairing isn’t rocket science, more a reminder of just how good charcuterie and a juicy red like gamay can be.

The paté was a very well seasoned rough country paté from Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall where we spent the weekend.

As we were in their cottage rather than the main buildings we took our own wine including a bottle of the La Madone Côtes du Forez gamay I’d just bought from the Wine Society (for £12.95). It had that particular live quality you often find in biodynamic wines (it’s also organic), particularly young ones. It's from the 2020 vintage and although it will age I love the way it tastes right now. Its fresh acidity which comes from the volcanic soils in which the vines are grown perfectly offset the fatty paté and rough sourdough bread we had with it. It was great with their air-dried sausage too.

It’s also available at Haynes Hanson & Clark (for £16 or £14.25 if you buy an unsplit case) who add a bit of background about the wine.

The Côtes du Fôrez lies on an ancient geological fault line near the source of the Loire Valley, in France`s Massif Central. The Gamay grape thrives in the volcanic soils here, and it is this potential that Gilles Bonnefoy saw in the mid 1990s, when he set up his estate ` Les Vins de la Madone.` He now cultivates 8 hectares, which he converted to organic farming in 2001, and biodynamics in 2009.

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