From: Bordeaux, France
Varietals: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
Taste: A bright, medium-bodied, fruit-forward Bordeaux. 75% Merlot brings soft, ripe red fruits with the remaining Cabernet delivering a touch of structure and depth. Nice quality, easy drinking red with black currant and cherry fruit flavors with soft, balanced tannins.
Pairing: Because this Bordeaux is charming, medium-bodied, and doesn’t have aggressive tannins, you can serve this alongside a great many meals. Of course, steak with duck fat frites are a wonderful match, but so is the humble and versatile hamburger. Whether you’re serving Mushroom-Beef, Lamb, Pork-Fennel, Black Bean, Veggie, or Portobello Burgers, you’re guaranteed to enjoy the combination. Some other ideas for pairing include pot pies, shepherd pies, beef stew (keep going for Mark Bittman’s Beef Stew with Prunes recipe!), Japanese curry, beef and barley soup, lentils with smoked sausage and apples, and wild mushroom stew.
Beef Stew with Prunes
by Mark Bittman
About. The Tarride family crafts this red stunner in their third-generation winery in Bordeaux, a region that has records of winemaking going back to 379 CE. Since then, Bordeaux wines have captured the hearts of the powerful (think: Roman poets, Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson) and everyone else around the world. It’s been ruled by the French (of course) and the British, drained by the Dutch, devastated by some very pesky phylloxera louse, and almost depleted by the Nazis. But Bordeaux still thrives, and it’s incredibly special that we get to drink this bottle and celebrate our collective resilience — especially after the last couple of years.
