Easter is coming! It is often synonymous with a family get-together around the table, under the first spring rays of sunshine. Although the Easter menu remains traditional, your pairing can bring an original twist, so continue reading to find a few inspirations…
How about bubbles? They are always a symbol of festivities and will open your appetite, being the ideal drink for the aperitif.
The Champagne appellation is a great classic and would be perfect. Pick a Blanc de Blancs that will allow Chardonnay to get along with the soft and buttery notes of puff-pastry appetizers. However, lovely alternatives exist like Crémant with a low dosage, such as Stéphane Tissot’s.
With a Pâté de Pâques (Easter egg roll)
Even if the recipes of this succulent pie vary from one family tradition to another, its composition always relies on three ingredients: hard-boiled eggs and a spicy meat filling, all wrapped up in a puff pastry. To accompany it, we suggest you a light red wine, from the Loire Valley or Beaujolais for example. Nonetheless, if you want to surprise your guests, make a blind tasting of the cuvée Haute Côt(e) de Fruit from Fabien Jouves, which will reconcile them with the Malbec varietal. The delicate tannins, crisp mouth, and red fruit notes will be the perfect allies for this dish.
It is the choice of excellence for your Easter menu, very perfumed, tender, and easy to cook. You have several possibilities, between the shoulder, shank, rack, or filet, and game partners are numerous, but the essential is the pairing is based on the cooking of the meat and not the part is chosen.
For the dish, you have two options:
- If you go for a long-simmering, let yourself be tempted by a Médoc or Cahors mature wine. The supple and melted tannins will be marvelous with the unctuosity and mellowness of the meat ;
- On the opposite, if you prefer medium-rare, favor a younger wine with melted but still present tannins. The vintage Les Laquets 2019 of Cosse Maisonneuve will be perfect for this role! Coming from more than 60-year-old Malbec vines planted on limestone soils, it expresses notes of ripe fruit and a juicy and well-balanced mouth.
How to talk about Easter without thinking about chocolate? Port wine is the most traditional pairing, the bitterness of cocoa and roasted aromas of chocolate wonderfully complementing its sweet confit fruit notes. However, you can also opt for a nice French dessert wine, like a Maury, Banyuls, or Rasteau, that offers gourmet notes of confit orange and prunes and will magnify your dessert.
We hope these advices will help you have a great time for easter. If you have further questions about pairing, do not hesitate to contact Benoît Cornillault (benoit_cornillault@tourdargent.com) our Personal Wine Shopper.
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