Wine hits and misses at Corrigan's

As was the case with his previous restaurants, Corrigan’s, which I reviewed yesterday, has a fascinating and idiosyncratic list put together with the help of the ingenious Douglas Wregg of Caves de Pyrne, the company which is also behind the excellent new Terroirs ‘natural’ wine bar* just off Trafalgar Square.

Wines are divided up by style but the categories are not described conventionally. Reds, for example, include The Blood of the Soil - reds that are “rustic, sanguine, almost medicinal”, mostly from south-west France. 'Sensual Pinot Noir' is divided into two styles - ‘delicious, fruity, primary’ and ‘rich, complex, full-flavoured, hedonistic’, a useful distinction.

There are a couple of categories led by food - ‘wines for oysters’ and ‘wines for cheese’ which - halellujah! - divides cheeses up into different styles - hard, soft, blue and goats’ and even distinguishes between stronger blues and milder blues.

So how well does this work in practice. Well, it was a bit hard to put them to the test a mere five days after opening but on the whole pretty well. You can’t go wrong, of course, with an aperitif of champagne - the house Devaux cuve D - and indeed it would have been wise if we’d carried on drinking it with our first course of crubeens (crisp-fried pigs trotter) with which it would have gone far better than the rather odd choice of a full-bodied Minervois La Nine 2005 from Domaine Jean-Baptiste Senat. A steely young Terras Gauda O Rosal Rias Baixas 2007 was a safer bet with a dish of suckling pig sausage and oysters, following the guidance on the list.

With our poached haddock and lobster we were recommended a 2006 Saint-Aubin Les Murgers de Dents de Chiens from Domaine Girardin (only Wregg could have discovered such an obscure ‘cru’), a classic like-meets-like match of cream with cream - quite lovely. It was equally sublime with some John Dory and Jerusalem artichokes with which we were offered a glass of 2007 Rotgipfler Johanneshof from the Thermen region of Austria, which faded slightly into the background with the richly savoury flavours of the dish

I wasn’t convinced that a Sauternes - a 2003 Chateau Filhot - wouldn’t be wiped out by the Sauternes ice cream that accompanied a quince tart with golden raisins but the just-warm tart took the icy edge off it, making it taste more like cream and accentuating the Sauternes own luscious flavours. Even better was the combination of a 1998 Riesling Eiswein from Weingut Winter in the Rheinhessen with a dessert of spiced ice cream, macerated figs and a spiced madeleine. This is one of those pairings that’s hard to call. Eiswein can be so intensely sweet that it’s better drunk on its own but the combination of the spice in the dessert and the age of the wine made it a sublime combination.

Despite the hiccup over the Minervois I would say Corrigan's is an excellent place to enjoy food and wine pairing. There are plenty of interesting wines available by the glass (not necessarily a cheap option but a good one if you’re dining there on your own. As well you might - there’s a very congenial bar for solo eaters)

* So far I’ve only been to Terroirs for a drink but hope to go back shortly for a meal there. The menu looked tempting and the smells emanating from the kitchen were most tantalising.

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