Wine with Leslie: Savouring the taste of southern France
Sunset over the vineyards of Southern France
The brighter evenings and (slightly) warmer weather has had me thinking about southern France this past week.
I drank a bottle of Domaine Tempier Bandol with some slow-braised lamb and lots of Provençal herbs last weekend and I couldn’t help but conjure up images of the azure blue sea in that part of the world.
By coincidence, I was also at a tasting of tangy floral Minuty rosé from Provence this week (of which more in a couple of weeks) and then Donnybrook Fair sent me a trio of French wines with mature cheese to promote their French festival.
In general, I try to match French food with its region but the noticeably mature (and stinky) Pont l’Évêque cheese they sent worked particularly well with the Rhône I mention below.Â
It might have worked better with some Normandy Cidre Fermier but sadly I had none to hand.Â
The Breton butter biscuits they sent worked well with Barry’s Classic Blend Tea, I might add, so cross-cultural matching is perfectly legitimate.
Matching a cheese board with wine is not as easy as you might think but looking to the wines of the cheese’s region is a good bet.Â
Comté cheese is from the Jura so a bottle of Vin Jaune or Château Chalon does work very well, but so does white Burgundy, which isn’t too far away.
Having a different wine for each cheese is not practical, of course, so I tend to look to dark Rhône reds, demi-sec whites such as Vouvray, or to rosé as all-rounders.Â
My suggestions this week will all match richer cheeses and the cool but bright evenings. I also have my first rosé of the year — the colour and pretty bottle will make you forget that we have only just escaped February.
This is reduced from €22 for the Donnybrook Fair French cheese and wine promotion that runs until March 13.
The Perrin family owns Ch. Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and several other properties.Â
This is packed with ripe red and dark fruits with a weighty, dark chocolate tinged palate that had just enough power for some very ripe Pont l’Évêque.
From the team behind Château de Bastet (whose Teram has appeared here before) this too is organic.
The elephant is a reference to Hannibal and this has lots of ripe primary fruit flavours, supple and juicy with a dark fruit finish with a touch of spice.
We associate rosé with warm weather but crisp French rosé is perfect with strong cheese and spicy food - and the colour and pretty frosted bottle cheered me up this week.Â
From old vine Grenache this has raspberry and floral scents, tangy strawberry fruits on the palate and pleasing zing and texture.
It’s about time I featured Black Donkey Brewing again, their last mention was in 2016 for their excellent Amber Ale.Â
Created by Richard Siberry and Michaela Dillon in 2014 they are based in Ballinlough Co. Roscommon and deserve to be better known.
This ‘Saison’ Farmhouse Ale pours a medium gold with aromas of yellow peaches and citrus, a fruity creamy palate balanced by hops and a layered dry finish with a touch of black pepper. Delicious.
