LCBO Food & Drink Winter 2017

AUSTRALIAN LAMB PIE WITH ROOTS recipe on page 97

RED: full‑bodied & smooth

Primitivo IGP ( LCBO 442491, $12.95). Imagine a dry ruby port and you’ll come close to the smoothness, intensity and richness of this ma- cho vino, fairly glowing with the flavours of ripe black cherries, mulberries and licorice.    Lastly, back to Oz for an interesting anom- aly, Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Shiraz ( LCBO 419986, $19.95). It’s made like any classic, muscu- lar, richly extracted Barossa Shiraz (with a hefty 14.9% alcohol) but then spends three months or so in used Scotch whisky barrels. Yes, there is a beguiling hint of whisky among the black fruit, toasty oak and eucalyptus.

the fore while Syrah’s famous pepperiness, in both these wines, works deliciously well with the sweet root vegetables in the pie.    A small eight percent of Syrah also finds its way into Kacaba Cabernet Merlot Syrah VQA ( LCBO 101477, $15.95), though the Cab accounts for 82 percent of the blend. There’s plenty of juicy fruit here—like spiced black cherries—and a body that sacrifices extra weight for elegance. It’s great to see big reds like this coming from Niagara’s benchlands! But let’s return to the dark side with a Primitivo from Italy’s sun-baked Puglia region, Fantini Farnese Numero Uno

Let’s start with some real Australian power. Mitolo Jester Shiraz ( VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 659607, $22.95), is a deep, dark McLaren Vale Shiraz full of pruney plum, smoke and spiced coffee aromas. It could handle this Aussie-style hand pie in its sleep. Shiraz, in its European guise as Syrah, is just one voice in the choir in M. Chapoutier’s delicious Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Grands Merisiers ( LCBO 421073, $35.45). Unexpectedly elegant in texture, it exudes blackberry and black current fruit with a layer of herbes de Provence and earthy, woodsy notes. The lamb seems to bring these herbal notes to

54  FOOD & DRI NK WINTER 2017