A Choice of Two Reds  Add/Read Comments

What I should have been concerned with was folding the pastry up and over to retain the heavily (overly!) mounded filling. Instead my concerns rested with wondering if the meat would cook fully in he suggested time and which of the Aussie or the Argentine red I should open to accompany. The dilemma was resolved by cranking open both.

Of course the meat cooked fully; seldom does a recipe in Delicious magazine let me down. The filling, a mound of beef topping a teaspoon of superb (English Provender Co) Spicy Onion Marmalade, had spilled and slid around the baking tray. The sticky residue from the marmalade just beginning to catch at the edge and the mozzarella doing its stuff by crisping against the hot pan edge. Gonna be a devil to clean. The smell though was gorgeous. The dish, simplified from the Delicious recipe, is Beef, Onion, Rosemary and Pine Nut Parcels, the full recipe being on SpittoonExtra.

In selecting the wine there were several considerations - the fresh rosemary should match the herby top-notes found in the Argentine Malbec while the sweet edge of the marmalade should be balanced by the inherent sweetness in the Aussie blend (of Cabernet and Shiraz). Red wine of course being a natural partner with beef. Finally the mozzarella - being relatively mild in taste practically any wine should accompany.

On balance the Australian, (Alpine Valleys Cab Mac Cabernet Sauvignon 2006), with its sweeter fruit and softer structure, was the more successful match. The Argentinean red, (Bodegas Esmeralda Tilia Malbec, 2007), with a more full-bodied palate, heartier tannins and drier structure struggled and clashed with the buttery pastry and the Marmalade.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Alphine Valleys CabMac Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, 2006, King Valley, Australia
Stockist: Threshers Price: £9.99 [More on Adegga/Snooth]
Interestingly the name, CabMac, is Aussie-speak for Carbonic Maceration, a wine making process. Alcohol 12.5%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 86/100 [3.25 out of 5]



Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Bodegas Esmeralda Tilia Malbec, 2007, Mendoza, Argentina
Stockist: Threshers Price: £7.99 [More on Adegga/Snooth]
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 84/100 [3 out of 5]