Another week, another curry-and-wine matching exercise.
This time it was Bordeaux wines.
Plus there were suggested food matches from Bordeaux Wines UK.
Fresh, full-bodied whites are perhaps the easiest match to curry; any traditional-method fizz will also have the neutral acidity and mid-palate weight not to be overwhelmed by curry.
Pink wines and seafood is a natural match, just add a moderate amount of spice here.
Reds are perhaps the trickiest match with curry, but red-meat-based stews with not too much heat work best.
Finally, a new idea to me; dessert wines with a paneer-based dish.
Bordeaux wines has this to say about matching wine to curry:
With National Curry Week kicking off October, it is the perfect time to cook up
some hearty, warming dishes as the weather gets cooler.
With bold flavours, spice and chilli heat notoriously difficult to pair, curry lovers
can find it hard to match with wine.
However, the right bottle of wine can really
upgrade your curry night. From dry fruit-forward rosés ideal for traditional Thai
curries, to characterful Crémants perfectly placed to lift Keralan fish dishes,
Bordeaux wines have the diversity, affordability and quality to get the most out
of your favourite curry dishes, whatever the style.
Here are five Bordeaux
wine and curry matches for autumn.
Calvet, Crémant de Bordeaux Brut Rosé
with Keralan Monkfish and Prawn Curry (£12.99, Ocado)
Rich seafood in a creamy, coconuty sauce, this South-Indian style
curry is ideally matched with a fresh, zippy Crémant de Bordeaux rosé
Calvet Crémant de Bordeaux Rosé has a bright and racy palate
presenting notes of raspberry, cherry blossom and toasted baking
spices that harmonise well with the fragrance of the dish.
With a
creamy mousse, and attractive palate, this traditional method
sparkling rosé can happily be served before, during and after the meal.
fresh, elegant redcurrant fruits, a leesy-creamy texture, fresh red summer berries, florality and some pastry notes. The bubbles are fine and the finish is long and complex.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
Fresh enough for an aperitif, when not matching with curry, it also has the savoury versatility to work with a range of lighter foods, such as chicken or ham salads and mixed antipasti.
Château de Rochemorin 2017, Pessac-Leognan
With Butter Chicken (£27, Waitrose)
A favourite for those who like a rich Indian dish
without a significant kick of heat, butter chicken is
nutty, aromatic and creamy which is a wonderful
match for a Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux with
plenty of structure.
Château de Rochermorin is
complex and textured with notes of grapefruit, lime
and a toasty savoury undertone, which cuts through
the richness of this hearty meal.
aromatic and herbaceous with lime and grapefruit; fresh, precise and mineral with white stone fruit, honeysuckle, gooseberry and nettles; savoury, concentrated and sappy with good underpinnings.
Good.
Alternatives to curry include roast white meat, lighter game and white cheeses.
Clarendelle Bordeaux Rosé 2020
With Prawn Red Thai Curry (£15.20 from Hedonism)
Clarendelle Bordeaux Rosé is biodynamically produced with elegant
notes of crunchy cranberry, pink grapefruit and cherry blossom.
There’s nothing better on a cold evening than a delicious, and nourishing Thai red curry, and Bordeaux rosé makes for a wonderful match.
Far from being just for summer, Bordeaux Rosés have the acidity and lively fruit flavours to cut through the richness of the coconut milk in this dish, yet are not tannic, making them the classic choice to stand up to spice.
ripe, red berries, stone fruit and leesy mineral; long, substantial and clean. A very classy and adept wine.
Good.
An alternative match for the Clarendelle is cold cuts.
Esprit de Puisseguin 2019, Puisseguin Saint-Émilion
With Laal Maans - Rajasthani lamb curry (£13.49 from Waitrose)
Red wine is usually overlooked as a curry pairing as high tannins can
clash with chilli heat. However, with many modern, fruit forward reds
ready to drink young emerging from Bordeaux, there’s a great breadth
of reds that harmonize well with richer, meatier curries.
Esprit de
Puisseguin is a smooth, rounded Merlot blend which has wonderful fruit
definition showing flavours of red plum, cherry and cinnamon that has
the strength and complexity to stand up to this flavourful lamb curry.
cherry and red plum fruit with spice and some coffee grounds; fresh and juicy with bramble fruit and herbaceous raspberry leaf; savoury, with fine-grained, slightly drying tannins.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
Match with any red meats, curried or otherwise.
Château Gravas 2016, Sauternes
with Shahi Paneer (£12.99 from Virgin Wines)
Sweet Bordeaux wines are far from only being suited
to serve with desserts, in fact the sweetness and
succulent fruit flavours make for an ideal match for
spicy, creamy curries.
Château Gravas has a beautiful
palate of sweet apricot, honey, cinnamon and hints of
ginger, which harmonises well with the spices of this
dish while the racy acidity perfectly cuts through the
creaminess of the paneer.
floral with candied fruit and sweet spices; fresh, sweet and viscous with overripe yellow stone fruits, pineapple, sweet vanilla and butterscotch and a whiff of beeswax.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
Other than curries, match with blue cheese.
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