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Best Wine to Pair with Lamb Chops

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What's the best wine pairing for lamb chops?  IntoWine asked our experts for their favorite bottles to pour alongside this tender cut of meat:

Lamb chops are one of the most indulgent and rustic foods around. For centuries, lamb has been celebrated for its tenderness and savory flavors. Lamb has an affinity for preparations that harness the deep and intense character of the meat. Such intensity of inherent flavor demands a wine that can stand up to any potential flavor combination.

My suggestion is the Pirathon Shiraz from Barossa, Australia. This wine is heady enough to handle any serious restaurateur’s palatial demands and it’s an easy drinker. A screw-top closure makes this a perfect picnic or beach wine where lamb chops might be served. At about $20, this consistently high-rated wine is a real contender for my own in-house red wine.  – Ben Spencer is a diploma student with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and an IntoWine Featured Writer

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I think the Nebbiolo grape is the best wine to pair with Lamb Chops.  If you want to spend a lot of money, there are many good Barbarescos and especially Barolos.  For a less expensive alternative, I would look to the Langhe Nebbiolo wines.  All of these wines are from the Piemonte in Italy.  Specifically, look for the Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco.  The 2006’s are on the shelves now, but any recent vintage is very good.  For around $20 a bottle, this wine has great acidity to complement the meat and wonderful upfront cherry fruit.  - Loren Sonkin, IntoWine.com Featured Contributor and the Founder/Winemaker at Sonkin Cellars

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Lamb chops. Northern Rhone. I know it’s a predictable and obvious match but sometimes things should not be f***ed with if they are perfect in their original form. A simple dish of lamb chops, rosemary, garlic, and roasted potatoes accompanied by a bottle of St Joseph, Cornas or Hermitage should awaken even the most impotent of you. The pungent aromas of lamb and the savage, blood and iron like flavors of Syrah from Northern Rhone is a match made in hell. My favorite Cornas producers is Jacque Luc Colombo and Clape. Hermitage is usually expensive but its less sophisticated sibling Crozes-Hermitage is a great alternative. If you can find Graillot, buy it! - Cezar Kusik, IntoWine Featured Contributor

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Comments

Two red grapes that must have been invented for lamb: Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo.
Lamb chops are a mainstay of the South African braai (barbecue). At their simplest, the chops are seasoned with nothing more than salt and pepper, which is when Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo really come into their own. From there, the seasoning steps up and one could fill a shopping basket with the many spices, rubs, marinades and basting sauces on the market.
The pronounced ‘browning’ flavours that develop with grilling and barbecuing and, to a lesser extent, with pan-frying, find a match in a young Cab Sav or Tempranillo with flavours of ripe berry fruit and the smokiness of oaking. When a sweet marinade or basting sauce is used, you need the even bigger profile of a deeply fruity, supple wine with low tannins, such as Zinfandel, Pinotage or top-notch Merlot. This is one of the occasions when one is again reminded of Merlot’s flexibility; it is astounding how it copes across the spectrum, from the gentle flavours of oven roasting to the robust flavours of char-grilling. Or choose the ever-accommodating Shiraz, either the still version or the sparkler, which may be difficult to find, but worth it.
If your barbecue is accompanied by a cooked tomato and onion relish, a red wine with a touch of astringency, such as Pinotage or Barbera, would be kind. However, if you don’t have a heavy hand with the relishes, stick with lamb’s heavenly twins, Cab Sav and Tempranillo. – Brian Burke, co-author of The Food and Wine Pairing Guide (Cape Town: Random House Struik, 2009)

Bella Rex from Austria,not Australia is the finest for lamb.

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