What food goes with a Médoc wine?

First let’s not forget that each of us has a different sensitivity to flavors and aromatic components. The same level of bitterness, for example, can be perceived much more strongly by one person than by another. This is not just a personal preference, because some like strong reactions and others don’t. These sensitivity thresholds are all different, as are individual preferences.

The “perfect” agreement for one person will therefore be banal, even unpleasant for another. Food and wine pairings must therefore take into account both personal preferences and sensitivities.

So let me tell you my preferences and what food goes with a Médoc wine for ME!

Which Médoc are we talking about?

Médoc is a wine region and an appellation but it doesn’t cover the same areas!

Who said French wine regions and appellations were simple?

Indeed, the Médoc area (or wine region, so I mean geographically) is divided into three areas : Les Landes, Bas Médoc and Haut-Médoc (now this one you may recognize as it is home to the most prestigious Châteaux).

The Landes is at the top of the peninsula and there are no vines actually there. It’s mostly covered by pines, which protects the vines from the Bas and Haut Médoc from the cold winds from the Atlantic ocean.

Bas Médoc lies at the south of Les Landes and used to be known as “La Petite Hollande” (Little Holland) due to the Dutch influence. We now call it Médoc when we’re talking about the AOC, hence the confusion.

Haut-Médoc lies at the south of Bas Médoc and is home to the most prestigious appellations such as Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Margaux. There is more fine wine per acre produced in Haut-Médoc than anywhere in the world.

So all in all, Médoc is a large geographical area, which contains Les Landes, Bas Médoc and Haut-Médoc AND an AOC, much smaller geographical area but is still one of the largest AOC.

Haut-Médoc is an AOC which belongs to the Médoc area. It’s the most prestigious AOC in the Médoc

What does a Médoc wine taste like?

As we said, Médoc wines are a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a grape with thick skin which bring color and tannins to the wines. It has high acidity and herbaceous and black fruit aromas.

Merlot has a medium acidity with medium tannins and offers different fruit characteristics according to its level of ripeness. It can deliver red fruit and herbaceous aromas and flavors to cooked black fruit.

These two grapes are often blended because Merlot will help lower the tannins and acidity levels and make the wines more ready to drink at an early age. It will also add red fruit flavors to the blends.

Cabernet Sauvignon will balance a wine’s acidity and add tannins.

Thus, young wines from Médoc will present aromas of cassis, blackberry, black cherry, liquorice, vanilla, coffee bean, spices… When aging, these aromas will become tobacco leaf, truffle, cigar, leather, spices, wet soil…

What food goes with a Médoc wine?

Let’s take a look at the AOCs now that we’ve got a general idea. Indeed, the diversity of terroir in the sub appellations of Haut-Médoc is quite impressive.

• The Médoc AOC has mixed clay-limestone and gravel soil. It tastes better in the warmer vintages because it gives the opportunity to the grapes to fully ripen and wines are then more concentrated. Merlot is usually more present in the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blends of Médoc. So it’s a great opportunity to mix things up a bit and pair it with chicken. If you like the sweet sour taste, I would recommend chicken tajine where there’s a lot of vegetables to pair with the fruity aromas of the Merlot. Médoc wines are also ideal for appetizers or “apéro”. So you can pair it with Charcuterie or some terrines.

• Saint-Estèphe, being the northernmost appellation with clay-dominant and gravelly soils, most wineries will tend to put more Merlot in the blend. The wine will taste fruitier with red blackcurrant flavours with notes of violet, vanilla and spices. The Cabernet Sauvignon will bring structure to the wine, making it elegant. I would usually stick to beef with a St Estèphe, roasted or grilled. A casserole works well as well.

• Pauillac is rich in gravel soils. Cabernet Sauvignon will highly dominate and thus bring its flavours of black fruit, such as dark cherry or blackcurrant, cedar and smoke from the oak. It will have high tannins making the wine dense and powerful. The Pauillac roasted lamb is a typical dish from the region. And a great pairing is always about pairing the wine and food from the region. So for Pauillac, I would recommend pairing it with the Pauillac roasted lamb. Mushrooms with older Pauillac who have lost their high tannins and developed earthy and cedar notes would pair beautifully.

• St Julien is also rich in gravel soils. Wines will be complex and powerful with velvety tannins (St – Julien is south to Pauillac so with a warmer climate and the Cabernet Sauvignon will be riper, hence the softened tannins). Meat such as roasted lamb, seeing as it’s usually rich and juicy would be a perfect dish. You can even cook it with Saint-Julien wine. Saint-Julien wines tend to age well, so in its old days, when the earthy tertiary aromas start to develop, pair it with mushrooms, such as porcini mushrooms or even truffle!

• Haut-Médoc has terraces of alluvial gravel deposits, slight favorable to Cabernet Sauvignon and deep and clay soils, favorable to Merlot. This is actually the AOC where Merlot has the highest percentage in the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blends. This is a complex and powerful wine with red and black fruit flavours. I often get eucalyptus notes and leather, with age. It’s a bit like the Médoc AOC, I would leave the red meat for the other AOC and pair it with duck for instance, such as french “confit de canard”, which has more fat in it and will pair wonderfully with the high level of tannins. It will also bring out the complexity of the wine.

• Listrac Médoc has three Pyrenean gravel terraces. So it’s back to full Cabernet Sauvignon’s flavours with its black fruits and spices. These are well-balanced and structured wines. With a full Cabernet Sauvignon wine, grilled or roasted beef would be my go-to meal. Beef barbecued is great for example.

• Moulis en Médoc has gravelly soils with clay limestone layers. This makes a more complex wine with a larger aromatic palette. Being more in the south, the tannins are softer and velvety in the mouth. With its large aromatic palette, rabbit in mushroom and wine sauce is the perfect pairing. If you prefer beef, a beef fondue is great too.

• Margaux is the southernmost AOC, covered by the Garonne river gravel. With its warmer climate, the Cabernet Sauvignon ripens fully so the wines will feel silky, velvety in the mouth. Merlot is usually very present in the blends too so you’ll often find fresh red fruit aromas along with the usual Cabernet Sauvignon aromas. These are very powerful wines. To pair with this complexity and flavours, lamb is always a great choice. However, if you want to shake things up a bit, you can pair it with a typical Provencal dish :the daube. It’s beef (usually) simmered in wine with a lot of vegetables. It’s a very aromatic dish and would pair wonderfully. I usually recommend putting the same wine in the dish that the one you’re planning on drinking but, in this case… Well depends on your budget (but I would rather drink the wine and just cook with a simple Bordeaux wine)

Conclusion : what food goes with a Médoc wine?

Red Left Bank Bordeaux wines are usually Cabernet Sauvignon – dominated wines. This means these wines are full-bodied with black fruits, spices and earthy flavors. It has high tannins.

These tannins will work with the proteins in the red meat to enhance its flavors. Its texture and earthy flavors will work wonders with heavy, fat spicy steaks or lambs, which is a richer meat, accompanied by mushrooms, truffle… Concerning the vegetables, fennel will enhance the earthy side of the Cabernet.

Its full-body makes it a very robust wine that can easily pair with a burger or a pizza.

Although Malbec is usually associated with dark chocolate, you can also try with Cabernet. The spices in the Cabernet Sauvignon will enhance the bitterness of dark chocolate.

These spices also work with Asian food for example, so try pairing it next time you eat Asian.

What do you think about these pairings? What would you pair your Médoc wine with?