1 Dish, 5 Wines: Julia Child's Roast Leg of Lamb with Herbal Mustard Coating
Wine is the ultimate condiment that enhances and balances a dish. “1 Dish, 5 Wines” provides food and wine pairings for all wine styles (including dessert). Let’s start with an Easter classic.
Many families have different food traditions for holidays, and Easter is no different. One I see consistently during this time among home-cooked meals and restaurants is a roast lamb. I feel like no one’s roast lamb recipe is more well-known than Julia Child’s roast leg of lamb.
One of the fun things about Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking is her suggested wine pairings. She naturally suggested red wine (specifically Left Bank Bordeaux, Côtes du Rhône, and Red Burgundy) for lamb. Might as well roll with it, but with a few twists.
Sparkling: Pinot Noir-driven Sparkling Wines
I’m playing off Child’s wine recommendation of Red Burgundy with Pinot Noir dominant sparkling wines since the grape used to make Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir-driven sparkling wines or Blanc de Noirs sparkling wines have a slightly elevated acid and tannin structure among the ethereal aromas and flavors of red apple, thyme, and strawberry shortcake.
Schramsberg’s Blanc de Noirs has aromas of soft red fruit, biscuit dough, ginger, and cardamom that will enhance the ginger, herbs, and mustard in the herbal mustard coating of the lamb. More importantly, the wine’s rich texture (from the barrel aging and touch of Chardonnay in the blend) complements the lamb itself–making this a good sparkling wine for game meats.
White: White Burgundy—Specifically From Macônnais
I’m still playing off Child’s Red Burgundy recommendation but flipping the script with White Burgundy where Chardonnay reigns supreme. Blasphemous, I know. But if you plan to serve your roast lamb with garlic mashed parsnips, roasted Brussell sprouts, and hot-crossed buns, then White Burgundy makes sense.
Macônnais, which is the southern part of the Burgundy escarpment, is a sub-region where the Chardonnay grapes get riper due to more sun exposure. The riper grapes (along with the lees stirring, conversion of harsh malic acid to softer lactic acid, and aging in newer oak barrels) provide a slightly richer style of White Burgundy wine from this area. Since meat generally needs medium-to-fuller-bodied wines, this style of white wine works.
Domaine Cheveau’s Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Vignes du Hameau” exudes Macônnais’s ripe citrus fruit and richer texture but has a balanced acidity to cut through the fatty parts of the lamb and complement the side dishes.
Rosé: Bandol Rosé
Bandol rosé is a classic pairing with meat. The complex blend of Mourvedre, Grenache, Cinsault, and/or Syrah brings on aromas of juicy raspberries and strawberries, thyme, and rosemary. Yet, this style of wine has a bright acidity that quenches your thirst and cleanses your palate after eating a variety of foods.
Domaine Tempier Rosé 2022 is the textbook Bandol rosé that pairs well with roast lamb. While most people generally drink rosé young, you can drink this one in particular when it’s been aged a bit. When you wait a few years to drink Tempier Rosé, you’ll be more of those thyme and rosemary aromas along with hints of smoke and spice making it a perfect Easter pairing for roast lamb. The age-worthiness of this wine shows how much attention Lucien Peyraud, Lulu Tempier, and their family put into making it.
Red: Donnafugata, “Mille e Una Notte”, Contessa Entellina DOC, Sicily 2018
While Child’s recommendation of Côte du Rhône is a natural pairing, the tannin and acid structure of Nero d’Avola from Sicily brings out a more nuanced gaminess of lamb and enhances the spices in the herb-mustard rub.
Donnafugata’s “Mille e Una Notte” (translated 1,001 Nights after the collection of Arabian folk tales) has some Petit Verdot and Syrah in the blend to balance out the structure of Nero d’Avola. This wine, in particular, needs meat. Meat needs this wine. It’s a culinary pairing made in heaven. Fun fact–the artwork is the actual palace where Queen Maria Carolina (aka Donnafugata translated to a woman in flight) took refuge when she fled from Naples when Napoleon invaded1. It’s a cool bottle to have on the Easter table and a fun story to tell.
Sweet: Sauternes
Child recommends different regions of Bordeaux depending on the age of the lamb–a Médoc for “young spring lamb” and a St. Émillion with “more mature lamb”2. I figured I’d go for something in the same region but more off-the-beaten-path with Sauternes.
When using slightly more pungent and exotic ingredients, Sauternes with a touch more acidity (such as the ones made in 2010) will balance out the herbal mustard coating without completely overpowering it. Sauternes with elevated acidity such as the Chateau Suduiraut highlight the wine’s floral and cardamon aromas to complement sides such as deviled eggs and garlicky haricot verts providing a more cohesive culinary experience with an unusual wine pairing.
Remember to drink what you want with whatever you’re eating and have fun breaking the rules by recreating some of these pairings. Happy Easter feast planning and enjoy this time with loved ones and good food and drinks!
Encylopedia.com: Maria Carolina
Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1