Wines with Lamb

We started out with the 2016 Two Shepherds Rose of Carrignan, sourced from Mendocino County. As with all of William's wines, this is a very austere drink-if you are looking for big fruit, Two Shepherds is not your source! Nonetheless, it was delicious with the salad, with minerals, wet stone, and aw lovely hint of orange unfolding.

With the lamb, 2014 Rocca di Montegrossi Chianti. As with almost all North Berkeley Imports wines, this was a rich, well-fruited red...the opposite in some ways, of the Two Shepherds. Lush black cherry fruit, but there is a very delicious underpinning of tobacco. The wine also remains medium + in body, and there are no obnoxious oak notes to overwhelm the lovely fruit. The litheness went well with the rare lamb chops, and I would buy this lovely Chianti again!

Importer notes here: http://www.northberkeleyimports.com/pro ... ntegrossi/

[David M. Bueker]

What's the price point on the Chianti?

What's the price point on the Chianti?

Mid $20s at the NBI bricks and mortar storefront in Berkeley.

I still like going into shops and looking around. Except for music, I am a bricks and mortar kind of guy.

Lamb in most guises is an excellent pairing for red wine, provided that it is not an oaky fruit bomb. One of my favourites is mature Bandol where, with good ones, its combination of discreet fruit with herb and tar notes encased in firm structure makes an irresistible pairing. Traditional Rioja, Barolo/Barbaresco, Côte Rôtie and mature Médoc are other preferred choices. One of the best types of lamb in France is Agneau de Pauillac, which like the famous wines from the same commune, enjoys AOP protection; it would seem churlish not to serve one of those wines with it. Here in Normandy, Agneau des Prés Salés de Mont Saint-Michel also enjoys AOP protection.

One guise IMO in which lamb becomes inimical to fine red wine is when it is served with a vinegar based mint sauce as is the custom in my mother country, England.

[David M. Bueker]

Lamb roasted over wood fire served with Rioja...slobber!

Has anyone here had "pré-salé" lamb (l'agneau de pré-salé)? It's on my bucket list of things to try someday, as lamb is perhaps my single favorite food in the world. I understand it's not so much salty, but rather richer than normal lamb - sort of like mutton, but without the gamey notes. (I understand Ireland, Wales, England, and even some parts of Canada, have gotten into that market by letting sheep graze in salty marshlands. Haven't seen any in my markets, though.)

Anyway, I'm all about the stereotype pairing of lamb with a well balanced Bordeaux (or B. blend). After trying numerous others, that's what I always return to.

FWIW, I only recently discovered this (from cooksinfo.com): "The French term "pré-salé" is often misinterpreted. Those with a smattering of French, knowing that "salé" means "salted", are tricked into thinking this means "pre-salted" (as in, salted in advance). Instead, the word "pré" with an accent means "meadow", thus rendering the phrase "salt meadow"." I feel abashed, but for years I had no idea!

Has anyone here had "pré-salé" lamb (l'agneau de pré-salé)?

Indeed, I have had L'Agneau des Prés Salés de Mont Saint-Michel, which I refer to in my post above. Mont Saint-Michel is famous for its fast moving tides and the same regularly inundate the meadows in the surrounding area giving an intense but subtle flavour to the lamb http://www.aop-pressales-montsaintmiche ... cteurs.php. It commands quite a price premium over standard lamb and few local butchers stock it as their Norman customers are famous for being tight fisted with their money. The nearest butcher which regularly stocks it in season is at Falaise about 40km away, where there is also an excellent caviste who stocks wine from some of my favourite growers .

There is also L'Agneau de Pré Salé de la Baie de Somme which enjoys AOP status too but which AFAIK I have never had. Obviously there is no reason why conditions like these for raising lamb cannot be replicated in other countries.

Indeed, I have had L'Agneau des Prés Salés de Mont Saint-Michel, which I refer to in my post above.

Whoops, I read your reply where you mentioned it, but for some reason missed that line. Sorry. Thanks for the additional info!