Match of the week | Roast venison with tapenade and a modern Spanish red

Match of the week

Roast venison with tapenade and a modern Spanish red

Frankly almost any full-bodied red will work with a roast meat like venison but I’m particularly excited about the new breed of modern Spanish reds that are appearing on the shelves.

This was a dish I had last week at one of our neighbourhood restaurants in Bristol, Greens Dining Room which has a typically modern British/Mediterranean influenced, seasonal menu. (The head chef has worked for such mod Brit restaurants such as Chez Bruce and The Brackenbury in London)

The venison, which was quite gamey, was served Italian-style with grilled polenta and cavolo nero but the most important ingredient from the point of view of the wine match was a roughly chopped tapenade topping.

Black olives, as I’ve mentioned before, have an almost magic effect on red wines making even the fiercest tannins tame and velvety. They also seem to boost a medium-weight red like the incredibly good value 2006 Viña Urbezo from Bodegas Solar de Urbezo in Carinefia we drank - a blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo and Syrah.

It’s one of a number of vibrant young reds of real quality that Spain is currently producing at a knock down price from wine regions such as Cariñena, Bierzo, Campo de Borja and Toro. Look out for them!

Image © stockcreations - Fotolia.com

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Comments: 2 (Add)

Fiona Beckett on October 16 2015 at 07:55

Well, Madiran does need time so hope you've hit it at just the right moment. And thanks for your kind comments about the site

Bruce Hammersley on October 15 2015 at 21:20

As it happens we are having venison with friends tomorrow and before some tapenade, not tougher but still part of the deal, I was going to serve some Madiran wine, never drunk and held over fro some time since buying, I would guess at the date you wrote the post. Hopefully the tannins will have calmed. I will report. tThanks for the great blog and articles, always a good read and good advice.

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