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Dourthe Wines from Bordeaux and a Thai Red Fish Curry:
Skip straight to the recipe for Thai Red Fish CurryIt’s always fun to try new wines and play with food pairings. So I was thrilled to be sent a selection of Dourthe wines from Bordeaux to do just that. I’m particularly pleased with my pairing of a white Bordeaux with a Thai Red Fish Curry
About Dourthe
Founded in 1840, Dourthe now sets the standard in winemaking in Bordeaux. Vignobles Dourthe is comprised of nine estates – all elevated to the very heights of their respective appellations – while the continued success of the Dourthe wines reflects its daring approach and uncompromising quality policy. The nine Chateau cover more than 500 hectares in Bordeaux in total, they are:
- Château Belgrave
- Château La Garde
- Château Le Boscq
- Château Grand Barrail Lamarzelle Figeac
- Château Rahoul
- Château Reysson
- Château Haut Gros Caillou
- Château de Ricaud
- Château Pey La Tour
So what do Dourthe mean when they say that they are setting new standards? Whilst being innovative and using new technology to the full, Dourthe has also gone back to some fundamentals.
Back to the Terroir: Each vineyard has been mapped precisely, this ensures that decisions in the vineyards are tailored specifically to each parcel or micro-parcel of vines. Rootstocks, grape varieties and viticultural practices are chosen to produce the best possible grapes for that terroir.
Back to the Grapes: Planting density is matched to the terroir, and the plants are protected throughout the growing cycle, only being harvested at the peak of ripeness.
Back to Nature: Chemical fertilisers are avoided, pesticides are used sparingly, and water and energy consumption is reduced.
Back to Mankind’s Role: Each employee is valued, and a network of suppliers who share the same values and ethos is carefully nurtured.
The first wine we tried was the Dourthe Roqueblanche 2018. Made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes we found this to be a lovely young dry and crisp wine, with grapefruit aromas and a bit of grass on the palate. It was much subtler than many of the New World SBs. I thought that pairing this with seafood would be a good match, and took a little bit of a gamble on Thai inspired seafood curry with Jasmine rice. The crispness of the wine worked really nicely with the coconut milk and the spices and wasn’t overpowered by the dish. This was a wine that I will be seeking out in Waitrose; I have a feeling that quite a few glasses of this will be consumed in the garden!
This Thai Red Fish Curry is packed full of flavour, giving each diner a bowl full of fishy goodness with a hit from the red curry cooled by the coconut milk.
- 50 ml Vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 2 tins Coconut milk I used the light version
- 10 Kaffir Lime leaves Fresh if you can get them. I used dried.
- 10 Curry Leaves Fresh if you can get them. I used dried.
- 200 g Clams Cleaned
- 200 g Mussels Cleaned
- 1 Kg Fish of your choice. I used salmon fillets
- 12 Large prawns
- 1 tsp Salt
- 12 Cherry tomatoes Quartered
- 3 tbsp Freshly squeezed lime juice
- 150 g Beansprouts
- 1 handful Mint leaves
- Jasmine Rice
I bought my clams and mussels frozen, cleaned and pre-cooked from my local Chinese superstore. If you buy fresh ones you'll need to clean them, and cook them before adding them to the curry.
Heat the oil in a deep wok, add the red curry paste and paprika, stir and cooked over a high heat for a few minutes. Add 100g of the coconut milk, stir and reduce heat to low for 5 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk, the lime leaves and the curry leaves and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the fish
Add the fish and prawns to the curry mix along with the salt and tomatoes. Let the fish cook for about 5 minutes, then add the cockles and mussels. Once it's simmering again, take it off the heat, stir well and add the lime juice.
Put the beansprouts and mint leaves into the base of individual bowls and pour over the curry. The beansprouts will cook in the heat of the curry and all the flavour of the mint will be released.
The next bottle that we tried was the Chateau Pey La Tour 2016 vintage. It hails from a vineyard which has a great Terroir, and as a result produces a vibrant fruity wine, made with 94% Merlot, at an incredibly reasonable price. We played with two food pairings with this. Firstly a vegetarian recipe of courgette and chickpea balls in a spicy tomato sauce. The roundness of the fruity wine went well with the sweetness of the cooked tomatoes and complemented the smoky chipotle chilli I’d used in the sauce.
As it was a Sunday, we had to have meat! Sous vide cooked brisket, roasted potatoes and remoulade made up our next course. Beef and red wines are classic pairings, and this didn’t disappoint. I was worried that the mustard in the remoulade would over-power the wine, but the combination of the food made it work.
Chateau La Garde was acquired by Dourthe in 1990. The terroir in this part of Bordeaux is gravelly, which suits the delicate and elegant Pessac-Leognan wines. The example we sampled is the second wine of Chateau La Garde, full of vibrant red fruit. Paired with a steak cooked on the rare side accompanied by a creamy potato gratin this was date-night dinner success.
Dourthe started managing Chateau Grand Barrail Lamarzelle Figeac in 2005; situated on stony clay-flint terraces, this Chateau produces a high quality delicate and elegant St. Emilion. We shared this bottle with good friends for Sunday lunch. It was paired with a traditional rib of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings. We were all impressed by this wine which worked perfectly with the food.
If you’d like to try these delightful wine for yourself, they are available as follows:
Dourthe Roqueblanche 2018
100% Sauvignon Blanc
RRP: £9.49 from Waitrose (NB – it will be on promotion with 25% off for 4 weeks at a time from 12 June, 11 September and 4 December 2019)
La Terrasse de La Garde 2014
70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc
RRP: £15 from Sainsbury’s
Château Pey La Tour Reserve 2016
88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot
RRP: £11.50 from The Wine Society
Grand Barrail Lamarzelle Figeac 2012
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc
RRP: £22 from Sainsbury’s
For an alternative fish curry, do check out our easy microwave coconut fish curry
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