Skip to main content

Irish (made) wines for a St Patrick's Day Indian feast

St Patrick's Day. We have been invited to an Indo-Pakistani supper with some friends, cooked by one of them. The choice of wine with Asian food is always difficult for me (I generally have a good lager with curry rather than trying to come up with a less than ideal wine to pair with it) so I took some Domaine des Anges to go with the Irish aspect of the evening (quickly forgotten but the wines went down well). The 2005 Blanc is fruity but dry, probably what a decent Chablis should be, quite juicy and crisp like a good apple. The 2004 Rouge is very well defined, a good food wine as any well-made Rhône red should be (but not all are). The Asian food turned out to be delicious, from the superb samosas and pakoras to the assorted meat and vegetable dishes that were presented to us at the table. None were very hot, so wine turned out to match them well, but all were expertly spiced and cooked to perfection. I had intended to pinch a copy of the menu so I could write about each dish with seeming knowledge but one thing I can say is that a good, medium red with not too much in the way of tannin, good acidity (but, again, not too much) and mature fruit character does go well with this sort of food. The DDA red is such a wine.

Anyone in south Norfolk or Suffolk interested in having an Indo-Pakistani meal cooked for them in their own home (and you could pick up a few tricks along the way if you want to pitch in as sous-chef) should definitely call Ayesha Manto of Mazedaar (07984 544005 or e-mail manto@doctors.org.uk - website coming soon). She has an à la carte menu and some set menus as starting points but if you have any particular dishes you want, my guess is Ayesha will be able to produce something rather special.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A pair of Santenays

 Justin Girardin's Premier Cru Beauregard: 2017 v 2018 It's been a while... I realise I haven't posted in over two years so, to make amends, here's a note about two wines for the summer season (actually, why not all year round?). A (very) mini-vertical from rising star, Justin Girardin. First, a word about the price: £30 for the 2018 and only sixty pence short of that for the 2017. Thirty pounds? That's a lot of money for a bottle, isn't it? No, this is Burgundy where, ordinarily, that sort of cash barely gets a bottle of Bourgogne Rouge, the lowliest appellation other than the somewhat confused and confusing Passetoutgrains and Coteaux Bourguignon (traditionally, anyway). So, a couple of bargains then? All depends on the wine. First, as custom dictates, the 2018: slightly fuller in colour than its older sibling. More extracted or slightly oxidised? It smells like it should so I'm going with the former. Beauregard is usually one of the softer Santenays and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ten wines at the RBS

A lively crowd of mainly Claret lovers invited me to show a range of wines from the Southern Rhone! I told them: next time, South-West France. At least it's closer to the style of wines they enjoy. I find it rare that I "get" Bordeaux at all; maybe it's just that I can afford decent wines from the Rhone and SWF but the really good Bordeaux tends to be out of my league. That said, a recent bottle of Teyssier 's 2005 was rather enjoyable - maybe it's not that typical! As this was the first wine of the evening, everyone had a full glass; no-one complained. First up was Domaine des Anges ' 2007 "L'Archange" Blanc, a monovarietal - and, therefore, technically illegal - wine from the renamed Ventoux. Still very youthful and fresh with citrus on the nose and palate. Some liquorice and almond and the merest whiff of oak. It really needs another couple of years or more to flesh out; it noticeably improved as the glass drained. Perhaps it should be les...
5 comments
Read more

Juvenal strikes a home run again

Super critic Jeb Dunnuck (the new Parker?) has tasted the current range from Chateau Juvenal - he likes them! For now, we only have the 'everyday' range of Ventoux wines called 'Ribes de Vallat'. Here's what he has to say about them: Ribes de vallat 2021 Blanc 'I loved the two whites from Juvenal. Based largely on Clairette, the 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat Blanc has pretty pear, crushed citrus, and honeyed flower notes in a medium-bodied, fresh, mineral-laced package perfect for near- term drinking.' 2023-2026 (91/100) Ribes de Vallat 2019 Rouge 'Moving to the reds, the entry level 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat is well worth seeking out. Juicy darker berries, raspberries, peppery garrigue, and floral notes define the aromatics, and this medium-bodied, round, supple, delicious Grenache is best drunk over the coming 3-5 years. ' 2023-2028 (89/100) He's right! These are  consistently enjoyable and immensely good value too. Enjoy!
Post a Comment
Read more