Wines with roast beef

[Alex Lake]

So our village wine group (Hinxton Imbibers Club) are doing a "harmony offline" style dinner in May. The main course will be roast beef. I was thinking Hermitage immediately, and I do have something suitable (1998 from Colombier) but then I was thinking that with 10 people, one bottle maybe isn't enough, and not sure I want to do 2 bottles. I do have magnums of Cornas (Matthieu Barret Domaine du Coulet Cornas Gore 2011) which is probably too young, but I also see a magnum of modest but mature claret (1982 Lamothe Cissac) which keeps nagging at me to be drunk. Now that I'm in a quandary, I was thinking let's see how many other things we could consider. One option is Penfolds St Henri 1998, which I think also needs drinking up, but I know others in the group consider themselves the Aussie specialists, so perhaps I'll leave that to them!

 

[Tom Cannavan]

It's sympathetic dish to lots of reds I think, but if the roast beef is nicely rare to medium, a Bordeaux is such a banker. Don't know the 82 Lamothe but I'd fancy trying it!

 

[Thom Blach]

Burgundy, if the beef is relatively unadorned.

 

[Sean Hardon]

Burgundy has always been my go to for roast beef. The acidity of the wine cutting through the fatty marbling of the beef.

 

[Ed Veasey]

Red wine and beef..one of life's rare gastronomic moments where it's hard to go wrong.

For me it's pairing the wine with beef is all in the gravy...if I'm garlic I prefer the spice of the German pinot...if I'm red wine and fruit based gravy I would pick something Bordeaux or Northern Rhone.

Though saying that... some of the best roast beef dinners have been with a decent claret.

 

[Simon Grant]

Yes, saucing key for me too. Anything rich with red wine and bone marrow or truffle, probably Pomerol or equivalent, possibly Hermitage. As the sauce lightens, younger left bank claret, northern Rhone or Burgundy etc. Basically, whatever you fancy drinking!

 

[Stephen Pickles]

Wait till later in the meal, serve up some cold , rare, cuts and try with Rosé Champagne, that is a great match. With straight up roast beef, then I am a fan of Cab Sauv dominant Bdx blends. SA examples can really fit the bill here.

 

[Howard Ripley]

If the sauce is rich I have Barolo or Barbaresco. A perfect match. Otherwise, any decent claret, burgundy or rhone will be fine. Can't say that I would choose a German pinot though! I would rather have a Morgan or Moulin à Vent !

 

[Colin Bradley]

Northern Rhône Syrah is usually my favourite with roast beef.

 

[kevin heatherington]

Bordeaux

 

[Dan Vyvyan]

It’s such a friend to red wine that the choice more depends on the saucing and garnishes, time of year, nature of the occasion, rest of the menu, temperament and mood of your guests…

In the autumn or winter, with the roast beef of old England, I would nearly always go for claret, Rioja or N Rhone. Whereas Tuscan style rosbiffe at the New Year demands plenty of party Chianti. In the spring, I would be thinking minimal saucing, seasonal vegetables simply cooked and burgundy or Loire. Or dispense with all that, serve it cool, and go straight to Steve’s suggestion of rosé champagne which is one of the great pairings, especially sirloin and a rosé de saignée such as Larmandier-Bernier, and is guaranteed to get people talking…

 

[Keith Prothero]

Bordeaux blends such as Meerlust Rubicon , Kanonkop Paul Sauer or a cheaper option Rustenberg John Merriman. No point spending a load of money as suspect your tasting group will enjoy any of the wines I have listed especially if fairly young.

 

[Alex Lake]

Bordeaux blends such as Meerlust Rubicon , Kanonkop Paul Sauer or a cheaper option Rustenberg John Merriman. No point spending a load of money as suspect your tasting group will enjoy any of the wines I have listed especially if fairly young.

Nobody's spending any money as such. Will all be from cellars. I rarely find that expensive wines do well in such circumstances (where expensive > £100)