We have picked the Grilled lamb Hache “Steaks” with Ratatouille we believe that this dish would go perfect with a full body red wine.As lamb is more of a heavier meat than it would go perfectly with a mild to full bodied red wine. That has dark rich flavors of dark berries and aromas of spices and possibly earthy tones.
Name: Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Origin:Rhone Red Blends from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone, France
Varietal:Blend: 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Counoise, 10% Syrah, 5% Cinsault, with others.
Tasting Notes: This wine has a dark intense color and has a strong but pleasing smell to it. It has tasting notes of figs cherries black currents and other dark fruits. As well as smell of thyme and even a hint of lavender this wine also has a good amount of acidity however the tannins are very delicate.
Name:Quintessa 2013
Origin: Rutherford, Napa Valley California
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
this wine has a dark and rich color and has the aroma of cherry, Black berry and blueberry. It has flavors of black fruits and subtle tannins as well as good amounts of acidities.
Name: Hahn Winery Santa Lucia Highlands 2014
Origin:Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey, Central Coast, California
Varietal:Blend: Pinot Noir
Tasting Notes: This wine has aromas of Dark cherry and strawberries.You can taste rich red fruits and balanced tannins although this wine is a great balanced wine as whole it has a long finish to it.
Viticulture and and vinification effects on wines:
Climate-The more sun exposure that the grapes have the better for the grape because it allows the vine to struggle to survive having fewer water content and creating more sugar content.
soils- Gravel schist and slate are ideal soils for red rapes as they can help retain heat and help with drainage so that the grapes can survive and still have great tastes.
Fermentation process- This process is crucial because in red wines this can determine how much contact the skins of the grapes have with the actual juice.This also determines how much tannin is in the wine. different varieties have different concentrations of tannins on their skins.
Aging- Can contribute to a lot of factors such as how subtle your tannins can be and how dark or light you want your wine. Also what type of barrel (or if you put it in a stainless steel tank for neutrality) you use.As you can use new barrels of oak to have intense flavors added to the wine or older oak to add just hints of the oak reactions. Also how long the oak has been dried seasoned and the size of the barrels all contribute to the final product.
References
Exploring wine third edition
www.wine.com
Chateau de Beaucastel is among my favorite and I think would pair beautifully.