Complementing Canty lamb

Press, 16 December 1988, Page 27

Complementing Canty lamb

Wine

with

Phillip Pye

The world is full of great ideas on what we should really eat and drink. What is right and what is wrong is questionable, but it can be safely assumed that in our unique neck of the woods much of what is available is of a very high quality. There is an array of nouvelle cuisine dishes available which I reckon are a little bit of food for a whole lot of money. Ethnic and Asian foods are available for those who enjoy such foods, but let’s take a look at what many people like to consume for Sunday dinner, and that, my friends, is often the unsurpassable leg of Canterbury lamb. It really is such an easy dish to prepare, and an absolute delight with fresh parsnip, potato, pumpkin and green vegetables. The wines that enhance such a delight are many. If you prefer your Canterbury lamb a little on the pink side it simply hollers for pinot noir. One of the best I have tried lately is the 1988

Larcomb, which is truly an excellent wine and excellent value at its tag of around $l5. There is also a new pinot noir from Netherwood, of Omihi, which is quite a pleasant wine with its rich maple syrup characters, if at $2O, a little on the expensive side. I would be far happier to pay around $l6 for the wine.

Glenmark Wines is about ready to release its hot-fermented pinot noir. Its ripe, fruit characters make it quite a palatable

accompaniment to the leg of good old Canterbury lamb, but the wine from Glenmark that has really come up trumps is the 1988 Waipara Red, with its wonderful cherry characters and bright cabernet spice. Hunters Wines, of Marlborough has recently released a very nice pinot noir from the 1987 vintage which is my pick of the pinots for Canterbury lamb, with full, date-like flavours and wonderful tannin. Priced mid-range at be-

tween $lO and $2O, the wine is good buying and should not be overlooked.

If one prefers the leg of lamb a little more cooked, one may prefer a nice, spicy cabernet sauvignon, and what better wine at under $2O than the Delegats 1986 Proprietor’s Reserve, with its deep, blackcurrant flavours and rich chocolate overtones. This really is a joy of a wine, which I scored as a gold medal winner well before the national wine show.