Don't confuse Easter wine with Mass wine!
Easter lamb is a tradition that still seems to run in families. This meat, often delicate but with a pronounced taste, does not go well with all wines. Gault&Millau gives you a few tips on how to seduce both the recalcitrant old aunt and the grumpy uncle.
Lamb meat comes in different cuts that don't taste exactly the same. The leg, shoulder or rack have neither the same texture nor the same flavor. The first, less fatty, can be served rare. The shoulder, less tender, is a little more rustic. Finally, the rack offers a good compromise between tenderness, flavor and fat. With a long cooking time, you'll obtain an almost candied flesh, very tender and tasty, just like the famous 7 o'clock lamb. Oven-roasted, it will feel firmer under the tooth, but the taste will be just as pronounced. Daube or tajine cooking also brings out the tenderness. All that remains is to choose the right wine...
Always red, rarely white
Few whites go well with this meat, which is certainly melt-in-the-mouth, but has a pronounced taste. There are a few exceptions, however, if you go for the more exotic forms of dishes like tagine, which have a high sugar content. In this case, you can seek out a clearer acidity by opening a white wine such as Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, which combines power, roundness, generosity and freshness. Benjamin Roffet, France's Best Sommelier 2012, recommends a Loire chenin liquoreux or a Sauternes with a little evolution, as these wines combine fullness and a fresh finish with a lamb, pine nut and apricot tajine.
And classically?
Traditionally, lamb is paired with great Bordeaux wines with tannins that have mellowed with age. The first of these is of course Pauillac. Why is this so? Probably because it's associated with Pauillac lamb, and the regional match is always natural. More broadly, Médoc wines that have digested their tannins are well suited. It should be kept for at least ten years. We still have fond memories of a Pichon Baron 1991 (the year of the frost and a vintage with little reputation) tasted with a leg of salt meadow... the match was divine. On the right bank, the Saint-Emilion and other Pomerols may be a little more delicate, but the pairing is worth a try.
And if not?
The classic alternative to Bordeaux is the prestigious Northern Rhône wines of Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage. These great Syrahs are perfect, provided you don't open them when they're young, as the black fruit, violets and pepper may reduce the complexity of the meat. Allow 6 years minimum. You could also try a Cornas or a Saint Joseph to complement your shoulder...
Still in the Rhône region, but further south, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines that have evolved a little are a good match. The principle of pairing is always the same with lamb: you don't want the tannins to interfere with the meat, but the wine needs a minimum of structure to hold the dish together. A Châteauneuf-du-Pape with a few years of cellaring offers both silky tannins and ideal structure.
Less classic is Provence, with Baux-de-Provence and Bandol. Great ageing wines based on Mourvèdre grapes, Bandol reds, although more suited to beef, are ideal for lamb. Choose a wine that is at least ten years old, and remember to add a sprig of fresh rosemary to the lamb when cooking. For red Baux-de-Provence, 5 to 6 years is enough to allow the Grenache grapes to soften.
Finally, for the more daring
For a less conventional pairing, Jean-Michel Deluc, sommelier at Le Petit Ballon, recommends not forgetting great rosé champagnes, if possible quite vinous. These rosés, with their assertive color and finely spiced, fruity notes, are particularly well-suited to suckling lamb served rosé.
