Touraine and Rose d’Anjou – easy drinkers for the summer
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the Loire Valley a few times and the wines never fail to surprise me. I often forget what wonderful easy drinking wines they are and how they pair so well with food due to their diverse flavour profiles, including red and white wines from Touraine and Rosé d’Anjou.
Recently, I attended a dinner with Square Meal at Portland Restaurant in Marylebone. The Portland serve seasonal produce and the dinner was full of fresh spring greens and veggies as well as a succulent pork belly but more on that in a minute.
First the wines. We were served a selection of 3 rosés and 2 Touraine wines and one red Touraine wine. Touraine is made with sauvignon blanc and the rosés were mostly Grolleau, which is common in the Loire Valley.
Touraine wines are a great choice for spring and summer as they are light and refreshing. We started with the Dom. Bellevue 2014 as an aperitif, very refreshing and crisp way to start the evening. The plan was to mix up the evening a bit and so we then moved onto a Rosé d’Anjou. These wines are off dry but when served with a fatty dish such as the pork rillettes that we scarfed down, they are perfect.
Rosés are also great with dessert and the almond pithivier with raspberry jam was a great match, the red fruits in the wine pairing nicely with the strawberry jam. I also like the fact that the rosés are so light, unlike proper dessert wines, which although I love, can be a bit much after a heavy meal. We had the La Jaglerie Rosé d’Anjou with dessert.
As the Portland emphasises fresh and local produce, the main of old spot pig belly was excellent with the Red Touraine Les Marcottes Dom de Pierre 2012. Although the Loire is not known for it’s red wines, they do make vibrant red wines with loads of acidity and very fresh red and black fruit flavours. An excellent wine to cut through the fatty goodness of the pork belly.
As it’s summer, what’s better then to have a fresh green salad dotted with foraged flowers and herbs. I love eating flowers (though I don’t make a habit of picking them in the Common and gobbling them down) and always find them a pure delight when they appear on a dish. For the salad we had another Touraine, the Dom. de l’Aumonier 2014 – fresh and elegant, a very smooth wine which complemented the citrus flavours of the salad dressing.
Both the food and the wine were fabulous. I really liked the fresh and local produce of the Portland and the imaginative dishes they presented. And, of course, the wines of the Loire showed just how good they are with various types of food, from savoury to sweet, there’s something for every palate.