Page 8 - Tesco Wine Club Magazine - March

Look through the wine lists of many top restaurants and inevitably there will be a large selection of wines from Bordeaux. But is this simply because of the strong French influence on restaurant cuisine, or are the flavours and aromas of Bordeaux wines just made to go with food? We invited 12 lucky Wine Club members to join us for dinner at a smart London gastro- pub to find out for ourselves.
We all met at The White Horse Pub in west London where Jilly Goolden had personally selected
a special taster menu of 6 small courses, including two starters, two mains, a cheese course and a dessert. To accompany the meal, Jilly had chosen eight different wines from the Tesco Bordeaux range, ranging in price from £5.60 to over £20.00.
The evening started with Jilly explaining why it’s important to smell a wine before tasting it. “Our sense of smell is so much more powerful than our sense of taste. It’s how you pick up all the nuances, all the differences, all the light and shade in your wine.” With that Jilly went on to advise us to “swirl the wine around, get your nose in have a really good sniff!”
The first wine to receive this treatment was the Calvet Limited Release 2007, a white Bordeaux made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, chosen to accompany a small portion of watercress soup served in an espresso cup. This was a great start to the dinner as most people agreed that the two went extremely well together. Richard Webster was particularly impressed, saying that, “The richness of the watercress soup was beautifully offset by the crispness of the wine.”
The next course was more of a surprise. To accompany quail egg Florentine, Jilly had chosen Château Tronquoy Lalande 2003, a red Bordeaux. As Despina Smith said, “I wouldn’t have thought a red wine would go with eggs but it did.
The wine tasted even nicer and more mellow.”
As the two main courses of beef and lamb were served, there was plenty of scope for discussion as Jilly had chosen two different red wines to accompany each course. It soon became apparent that there was no right or wrong answer as everyone had their own personal favourite.
One great eye-opener of the evening was Jilly’s questioning of whether red wines are always the best match for cheese. With a choice of a red, white and sweet Sauternes to accompany the cheese
‘Our sense of smell is more powerful than our sense of taste’
course, she was proved right when most people voted for the combination of Sauternes and Roquefort as the best match of the evening.
The overall verdict? Bordeaux wines really do shine when enjoyed with food, either complementing the flavours or providing a delicious contrast. As Robert Smith said, “It’s been a fabulous evening.
It’s really given me the confidence to match different wines with different foods.”
Bordeaux Banquet
We invited 12 Tesco Wine Club members to a special dinner hosted by Jilly Goolden to find out just how well Bordeaux wines go with food. By Graham Nash
Calvet Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc, 2007, France, 11.5%
“I’m surprised how well the Sauvignon Blanc went with the watercress soup. It’s crisp and refreshing but it didn’t overpower the flavour of the soup.”
Chateau Tronquoy Lalande, 2003, France, 13.5%
“I was really amazed how well this wine went with the quails eggs.
I would normally have expected
a white to go well, but this was
a really, really good match.” Charmian Baynham
£14.99 75cl bottle price Case of 6: £85.44
Quote ref: 060998288
Chateau Taillefer, Pomerol, 2004, France, 13%
“This is the perfect wine to drink with roast beef. It’s nice by itself but with the beef it’s really good.” Richard Webster
£20.99 75cl bottle price Case of 6: £119.64
Quote ref: 057865298
Anthony M
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£5.48 75cl bottle price Case of 6: £31.23
Quote ref: 060488598
BUY 6 IN-STORE, GET 5% OFF
BUY 6 IN-STORE, GET 5% OFF
BUY 6 IN-STORE, GET 5% OFF
8 March 2010 Tesco Wine Club Magazine