Langoustine with calamansi and a Greek white

This week’s match of the week is the perfect illustration of the fact that the flavours of a dish that should suggest a wine pairing as much as the main ingredient.

The dish in question was a variant of one of the regular items on the menu at the uber-fashionable, Michelin-starred Dorian in Notting Hill: a tempura langoustine tail, with pale ale and ginger mayo, calamansi (a Filipino citrus fruit that’s like a cross between a lime and a mandarin) and chilli sugar. 

I wouldn’t have been sure which way to go with it but the sommelier came up with an excellent pairing of a Cretan white wine, Dafni, from Lyrarakis’ Pasarades vineyard which had citrussy notes of its own that echoed those of the sauce.

White Bordeaux and albarino would have worked too, I reckon.

You can buy the 2023 vintage from Hedley Wright in the UK for a very reasonable £13.99 and for £15.99 from Cambridge Wine Merchants which is still good value for a wine of this quality.

For lobster pairings (which are similar to langoustine) see Wine with Lobster: 6 of the best pairings