Jean recently availed herself of a d"Artagnan sale and, among other things, purchased a boned leg of Australian lamb. On Saturday, we made use of this bounty by butterflying and grilling it in our unusually clement Fall weather. We made use of a "recipe" given to me years ago by none other than noted grillmeister SFJoe, who suggested to me a preparation in which garlic and various herbs are macerated in olive oil, and then applied liberally to the lamb as a rub. This was done a few hours before grilling.
With this feast, I opened a bottle that had been in queue for a while, the 2001 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee. I know that a Grenache-based wine would not have been Joe's choice for a pairing, but I was willing to part with tradition to this extent. In the event, I think that perhaps he would not have been unhappy with my choice. The wine was in a lovely place, lithe and medium bodied at 13.5% ABV, pleasantly (to me) Bretty to add complexity to the kirsch-like fruit and earth notes in the wine and with a firm spine of acidity to keep it fresh. It could even be termed -- dare I say it? -- "Burgundian" if one were prone to such comparisons, and Jean and I both found it a marvelous foil to the Provencal-inspired lamb preparation.
A few photos:
Before maceration
Macerated rub
The rubbed lamb prior to grilling
The finished product
Mark Lipton
With this feast, I opened a bottle that had been in queue for a while, the 2001 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee. I know that a Grenache-based wine would not have been Joe's choice for a pairing, but I was willing to part with tradition to this extent. In the event, I think that perhaps he would not have been unhappy with my choice. The wine was in a lovely place, lithe and medium bodied at 13.5% ABV, pleasantly (to me) Bretty to add complexity to the kirsch-like fruit and earth notes in the wine and with a firm spine of acidity to keep it fresh. It could even be termed -- dare I say it? -- "Burgundian" if one were prone to such comparisons, and Jean and I both found it a marvelous foil to the Provencal-inspired lamb preparation.
A few photos:
Mark Lipton