Venison and Cot (Malbec)

The most successful wine pairing from a tasting I hosted on behalf of Touraine wines the other day was not the expected sauvignon and goats cheese or even fish and chips but a rich gamey dish of venison with a robust Cot, the name by which Malbec is known in the Loire.

You might think that Loire reds tend to be on the light side and that’s generally true but this wine, Henry Marionnet Vinifera 2010 (13.5% and £10.95 from the Wine Society), was really robust and smoky itself with quite a touch of funk. It was made from ungrafted vines which gave it a particularly intense character.

It would also match, I reckon, with gamey pheasant or pigeon dishes, mixed game casseroles and pies and with offal, especially kidneys. Probably stinky cheeses too - a pairing the Wine Society also seems to favour.

It goes to prove my theory that there’s always an unexpected and exciting find in any food and wine tasting you do.

Photo © Jeanne Horak-Druiff of CookSister

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