As winter recedes, the days draw longer and the trees burst into blossom, Easter offers a feast to lift the spirits, signalling a changing of the guard for seasonal produce; the arrival of wild garlic, asparagus, spring lamb and Jersey Royal potatoes. But what are the best wines for Easter this year?
Falling on the Sunday after the first full moon that follows the spring equinox, whether Easter comes early, late or somewhere in between, there’s always something magical about a glass of Blanc de Blancs Champagne at this time of the year, its pillowy, faintly floral finesse perfectly fitting the mood of gentle optimism inspired by nature’s display.
More often than not, the bank holiday weekend heralds the arrival of early season asparagus. Depending on the weather, the English harvest gets properly underway in mid-April but the first tender spears present a piquant prelude. Asparagus is considered capricious when it comes to wine pairing but I say you cannot go wrong with Sauvignon Blanc. Sancerre is the obvious choice but its less famous neighbours, Menetou-Salon, Quincy or Reuilly, are tempting alternatives, usually offering better value.
Easter is inextricably linked with lamb and few meats are more evocative. Raised on a farm, I can still recall the smell of it roasting in the Aga, its pungent aromas permeating the house and sending our spaniel into a spin. While it obviously depends on the choice of cut, lamb is full of flavour, so it needs a wine offering juicy fruit, ideally punctuated by herbal notes, some earthiness and the suggestion of spice. Lamb’s oleaginous texture and high fat content calls for succulent acidity, like taking a knife to butter, and don’t forget to factor in the accompaniment (usually mint sauce, but seasonal wild garlic salsa verde also works well).
Lamb’s oleaginous texture and high fat content calls for succulent acidity, like taking a knife to butter
Matteo Montone MS, group wine director at Maison Estelle, tells me it requires careful thought: ‘Lamb is quite rich, with an earthy, gamey character and delicate sweetness. Meat from a young lamb is savoury, herbaceous and even more tender, so it is important to pair it with a wine that won’t overpower the dish. The goal should be to mirror and complement those savoury qualities.’
With its strident character, lamb is not for everyone, so roast ham can be a wonderful alternative, bathed in honey and wholegrain mustard. Barrel-matured Chardonnay is an obvious match, combining zingy citrus with plump stone fruits, the oak complementing the smokiness of the meat and the punch from the mustard, while, for those who eschew Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc is a great alternative, courtesy of its textural complexity.
Finally there’s the Easter egg of course, with chocolate being notoriously challenging for wine. As a rule, dark and bitter is better, with the highest cocoa content, so choose a plush, powerful red, perhaps an opulent Napa Cabernet or something fortified, such as a Tawny Port.
Here some of the best wines for Easter this year.
Seven of the best wines for Easter
Champagne Bruno Paillard, Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru MV
Sourced exclusively from Grand Cru Côte des Blancs Chardonnay, this multi-vintage cuvée is composed of reserve wines from 25 different years, extending back to 1985, while the 4.5 atmospheres of pressure, a little lower than is usual for Champagne, adds to the finesse. Gentle aromas of white flowers and lime leaf lead into white grapefruit and apricot, supported by raw almond and puff pastry, the bubbles pillowy soft, while the finish is distinctly chalky, making it perfect for freshly baked Gruyère and wild garlic gougères.
£72, Wanderlust
Domaine Jean Teiller, Menetou-Salon Blanc 2023
Menetou-Salon sits next door to Sancerre but lacks the name recognition of its neighbour, meaning its wines usually cost a little less. This organic, biodynamic Sauvignon Blanc is generous and expressive, with a nod to the ‘New World’ in its styling, perhaps influenced by the time that winemakers Patricia Teiller and Olivier Luneau spent in New Zealand. There’s flinty freshness to balance a ‘Lilt’ combination of citrus and tropical fruit, perfect for green asparagus slathered in salted butter and cracked black pepper.
£21.50, Yapp Brothers
Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2023
Margaret River, in Western Australia, is the New World’s answer to Burgundy and this Chardonnay, from the region’s founding producer, is in a league of its own. A plot-specific wine, from the ‘Gingin’ clone of the variety, crafted by Australia’s Winemaker of the Year Virginia Willcock, it offers plump stone fruit, clotted cream and macadamia, balanced by pithy acidity and a maritime mineral freshness, making it perfect for roast ham.
£60, Laithwaites
Bigottière, Terra Vita Vinum, Savennières 2020
Savennières is a small Anjou appellation with a growing reputation, its hilly volcanic and schist soils delivering Chenin Blanc with a nervous energy and intensity. The name was once synonymous with sweet wines but the style these days is almost always dry. The nose offers fresh herbs, white grapefruit and quince jelly, while the palate is pithy, with purity of fruit, concentration and textural complexity – ideal for ham or nutty Jersey Royals.
£65, Berry Bros & Rudd
Beronia Rioja Gran Reserva 2018
Rioja presents a classic pairing option for lamb, courtesy of its built-in ageing, most especially at Gran Reserva level, with this example enjoying 28 months in French oak and 36 months resting in bottle. There’s cedar, tobacco leaf and simnel cake spice on the nose, lashings of blackberry and black cherry, balanced by a juicy redcurrant acid line, ideal for slicing through the fat of slow-roasted roast lamb shoulder, the herbal notes complementing mint sauce.
£27 (£20 when you mix six), Majestic
Château du Hureau, Lisagathe, Saumur-Champigny 2019
Cabernet Franc could be considered a wild card for lamb but the delicate silky texture of this wine from an accomplished organic producer, on the banks of the Loire near Saumur, makes it a very good fit. The nose offers a seasonal cheeriness with cherries and berries, while the palate has depth, wet-stone minerality and impressive concentration to complement tender spring lamb with wild garlic salsa verde.
£35, Tanners
Robert Mondavi To Kalon Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
From To Kalon, an historic and no less iconic vineyard in Oakville at Napa’s beating heart, Robert Mondavi’s flagship wine is rich, ripe and sumptuous, with sage, foraged blackberry, graphite, red liquorice and cocoa among the dense layers of complexity, balanced by a sleek cranberry acidity. While a joint of roast lamb or a fillet steak are the most obvious pairings, those brooding flavours and velvety tannins make this the best option for a classy high-cocoa-content Easter egg.
£180, Great Wine Co.
