Lingonberry-Glazed Lamb Lollipops + A Malbec Taste Off #DiscoveringWine

I have been participating in the Discovering Wine series with Crushed Grape Chronicles. In February, we looked at Syrah; in April it was Malbec. And, coming up next month, we will be discovering both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir If you are interested in joining us, please contact Robin at robin@42aspens.com.

With my Malbec exploration, I roasted up some racks of lamb and sliced them into lollipops. 'Rack of Lamb' might sound fancy, but it's just like any other roast. This is definitely worth the effort. This one is seasoned simply for roasting. Then, it's sliced and served as tasty meat lollipops. I spooned some lingonberry jam on top in the last five minutes of roasting to match the aromas in my Malbec. Easy!

When I heard the theme of last month's discovery, I got my hands on two different bottles of Malbec - one on California's Lake County and one from Argentina.

A Malbec Taste Off

I opened up the 2020 Chacewater Winery Malbec and the 2020 Tikal Amorio Malbec. Set in the Eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, Mendoza is practically synonymous with the Malbec grape which was originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-19th century. The California winery is family owned with a nod to the owners' roots in England. I had a hard time finding out anything else about the vinification and even the winery itself.

Regardless, the California Malbec left us underwhelmed. Now the Argentinian Malbec knocked our socks off and was a beautiful match to my lamb.

Tikal is owned by Ernesto Catena who spent his childhood in the vineyards of Mendoza among wine-growers and local pundits. Since then, he has lived all around the world - from New York to London and Berkeley t0 Milan, ut his heart remains in his homeland of Argentina.

He has named his wines with passion in mind: Patriota (Patriot), Corazon (Heart), Amorio (Love Affair), Jubilo (Rejoice). I had the Amorio which is a single varietal - 100% Malbec - from the vineyards in Paraje Altamira before being aged in 50 percent new French and American oak. On the nose the wine had subtle florals with a tinge of wet granite. But as it breathed, the florals grew more prominent with layers of red and black fruit. On the palate, the wine was bold and muscular with accents of molasses and cocoa. It had a lengthy finish that was beautifully food-friendly.

Lingonberry-Glazed Lamb Lollipops

Ingredients

• rack of lamb (with 6 to 8 ribs)

• 1 to 2 teaspoons za'atar (my blend is in this recipe post)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 /2 teaspoon black pepper

• olive oil

• lingonberry jam (or use whatever jam or jelly you have), approximately 4 Tablespoons

• Also needed a roasting pan fitted with rack

Procedure

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub lamb with spices, salt, and pepper. Place the lamb in a roasting pan, fat-side up, and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Place pan in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Turn the lamb, fat-side down this time, and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Flip the lamb fat-side up and spread jam over the meat. Return it to the oven for another 5 minutes for medium-rare meat. Cook longer, if you prefer your meat more done than that.

Transfer lamb to a carving board, stand rack upright and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve in between the rib bones and transfer to plates.

That's a wrap for my Malbec pairing. I am looking forward to the discussion on Chardonnay on May 16th. Stay tuned!