The Week Wine Club: This month's exclusive selection from Lea & Sandeman

(Image credit: Bigstock)

last updated 5 September 2017

Our wine editor Bruce Palling on breaking the rules of food and wine pairing, along with his latest wine selection from Lea & Sandeman.

Is there any point to rules about what to drink with different foods? After half a century of dedicated exploration, I have to admit that there is not much point to most of them. Yes, many whites wines are easier to drink with fish than red, and no, I wouldn’t drink white Burgundy with a rib of beef, but aside from this, most of the time it is a question of personal taste. Cheese is a case in point. The usual preference was red wine with cheese but more recently, adventurous souls have recommended Sancerre with Brie or goat’s cheese and Sauternes with Stilton.

My friend, Jeremiah Tower, who practically invented California cuisine, once served Château d’Yquem with roast beef and it was deemed a huge success. There are some wines, such as those made with the Sangiovese grape in Italy, that beg for a robust food to show off their complexity. Sometimes, it is the balance between the two that is memorable. I still recall a meal at a grand Parisian restaurant 40 years ago, where the calf’s liver and the red Burgundy (a Gevrey-Chambertin from 1971) perfectly complemented each other. The wine was enhanced by the taste of the liver, which it then eradicated, so that it was like a culinary tennis match with each bite or taste being completely new and perfect.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Strong fish such as red mullet can easily go with either red Burgundy or a good Beaujolais, while chicken is more than happy to team up with a delicate red or white. Other food though, especially game, should always be eaten with red wines. Hugh Johnson, when asked what goes best with grouse, replied “the most expensive and old Bordeaux or Burgundy that you could afford”. These excellent wines from Lea & Sandeman could easily stretch across different food categories, especially the rosé and the Grüner Veltliner, so don’t be afraid to break some rules.

As usual the selection below is available either as mixed case or whole cases. The mixed case includes two bottles of each of the selected wines, at The Week Wines price of £134.40, usually £159.60. Click here to order. Also available are a mixed red case, a mixed white & rosé case or 12 bottle cases of each of the wines. All are at an exclusive price for readers of The Week and with free UK mainland delivery. Terms & conditions apply. Offers end midnight 14th September 2017.

If you thought rosé was an amusing but trivial wine to quaff on summer days, think again. MiP* (made in Provence) abuts Mont Sainte-Victoire in the southern Rhône and benefi ts from a limestone wall that radiates heat back onto the vines. Composed of three of the main Rhône grape varieties (Cinsault, Syrah and Grenache), it is wonderfully aromatic and, despite its delicacy, complex, making it ideal as an apéritif. It has enough structure to make it a perfect accompaniment with Provençal food. This is one of Lea & Sandeman’s bestselling wines. The Week Wines price: £143.40, usually £167.40. Click here to order

Grüner Veltliner has only become fashionable in the past 20 years, though it has long been Austria’s favourite and most prolific grape variety. With time, these wines can be confused with serious white Burgundy, but at this age, they have a light minerality and a peppery flavour with a hint of green fruit. Sommeliers offer Grüner Veltliner as an alternative to Pinot Grigio as it has more class and freshness. The Week Wines price: £129.00, usually £155.40. Click here to order

A surprisingly restrained South African Chardonnay that is not overblown, highly alcoholic or over-oaked. Made by Rianie Strydom, who worked in France and Italy before taking control of Haskell Wines in 2002, it is more like a south of France, or even Australian, Chardonnay, with a freshness and steely core. There is a touch of oak, but the flavour is clean and the alcohol moderate. The Week Wines price: £151.80, usually £179.40. Click here to order

The largest wine-producing region of France (between Montpellier and Carcassonne on the slopes of the Cévennes) is not known for producing elegant wines – too often they are heavy and galumphing. This is made from a trio of Rhône grapes (Grenache, Syrah and Carignan) based on biodynamic principles. It has a delightful freshness and balance that is seriously addictive and would work well with either white or red meat. The Week Wines price: £115.20, usually £138.00. Click here to order

This interesting bottle is from the coastal region of Tuscany, home to Sassicaia and Ornellaia, two of the greatest non-traditional Italian reds, and is the creation of Paolo Baratta, a former Italian politician. This region is not particularly friendly to Sangiovese, hence most of the grape varieties here are classic Bordeaux, but there is also 15% Alicante, which gives it a powerful lift. Great with any robust food, this has good balance and harmony, and is extremely good value. The Week Wines price: £151.80, usually £179.40. Click here to order

The more approachable baby brother of their flagship wine, this is 95% Malbec and 5% Merlot rather than the 100% Malbec of its big brother. No shrinking violet, it doesn’t have that overripe burnt flavour thatmany from Cahors exhibit. It is the most popular wine from the southwest of France on the Lea & Sandeman list and gastropubs love it for its straightforward fruit driven flavours. A perfect barbeque wine. The Week Wines price: £115.20, usually £138.00. Click here to order

Explore More

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox