Match of the week

Macaroni cheese and Montagne-St-Emilion

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on September 30 2008 at 08:09

This week is British Cheese Week - and, by the looks of it, the start of autumn proper - so what better time to rustle up a macaroni cheese (or mac and cheese as they call it in the US)?

I made one for the first time for a while the other day for a new book on cheese I’m writing and reminded myself just what perfect comfort food it was.

I matched it - with some trepidation - with a red Bordeaux, a 2005 Château Gachon Cuvée St Georges Montagne-St-Emilion (£11.99 from Laithwaites) I’d been tasting but it hit the spot perfectly.

That doesn’t follow that any Bordeaux would work - some would be too tannic, others too lightweight but this was an exceptionally supple, typically ‘Right Bank’ blend of Merlot (70%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon, (10%) with very well integrated tannins. It picked up beautifully on the creamy sauce and crispy topping - but then it would have worked with a lot of things, including turkey if you’re starting to think about Thanksgiving or Christmas.

A real crowd pleaser - and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way!

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