Tesco's Wine Club

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 gastropub
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
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.”
Anthony Moss
£5.48 75cl bottle price
BUY 6 IN-STORE,
GET 5% OFF
Case of 6: £31.23
Quote ref: 060488598
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
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
BUY 6 IN-STORE,
GET 5% OFF
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
BUY 6 IN-STORE,
GET 5% OFF
Case of 6: £119.64
Quote ref: 057865298
Chateau de Lussac
Saint-Emilion, 2002,
France, 13%
“This was my favourite red.
I thought it went beautifully with
the lamb because it’s soft and
easy drinking.”
Lisa Barnett
£13.98 75cl bottle price
BUY 6 IN-STORE,
GET 5% OFF
Case of 6: £79.68
Quote ref: 057865488
Tesco Sauternes, 2005,
France, 13.5%
“This sweet wine went really well
with the Roquefort and it was also
delicious with the pancakes.”
Robert Smith
£12.25 37.5cl bottle price
BUY 6 IN-STORE,
GET 5% OFF
Case of 6: £69.82
Quote ref: 056525970
Great Bordeaux food and wine matches
from Jilly Goolden
Dry White Bordeaux – Goats cheese either fresh or grilled, grilled
new season asparagus, classic prawn cocktail, smoked salmon,
devilled whitebait, grilled Dover sole or fish and chips.
Red Bordeaux (e.g. Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur Appellation
Contôlée) – Welsh rarebit, Cumberland sausage with mash and onion
gravy, toad in the hole with onion gravy, shepherds pie.
Premium Red Bordeaux with Merlot dominant (e.g. St-Émilion,
Pomerol) – Roast leg or rack of lamb with redcurrant and red
wine gravy, braised lamb shank with root vegetables, wild
mushroom risotto.
Premium Red Bordeaux with Cabernet Sauvignon dominant
(e.g. Médoc, Pauillac) – Roast rib of British beef, chargrilled rib-eye
steak, steak and kidney pie or pudding, mature cheddar cheese.
Sweet White Bordeaux (e.g. Sauternes) – Roquefort cheese, rich
chicken liver pate, crème brulee, fresh strawberries and cream.
Thanks to everyone who took part
and to the Bordeaux Wine Council
who sponsored the evening and
represents over 10,000 wine
producers in Bordeaux.
www.bordeaux.com
8 March 2010 Tesco Wine Club Magazine Tesco Wine Club Magazine March 2010 9