Burnt butter and sage, flavouring profile

Burnt butter and sage, flavouring profile

Butter cooked until it browns and smells of hazelnuts, with sage crisped in it, is rich, nutty and resinous, and it wants a white with some texture and a nutty edge of its own.

The compounds that matter. Browned milk solids, whose toasted, hazelnut notes come from the same browning that gives oak aged and lees aged whites their nutty character. Butterfat, which coats the palate and needs acidity to lift it. Sage, whose camphor and pine notes are faintly bitter, which suits a white with a herbal edge and turns tannin harsh.

What it demands of a wine. Medium to full body, good acidity and a nutty, lees aged or lightly oaked register. No tannin. Heavy new oak buries the sage, and a lean, neutral white tastes thin beside the butter.

Seek. Encruzado from the Dão, textured and lemony with a light touch of oak. Timorasso from Piedmont, waxy and nutty with high acidity. Soave Classico, from the Garganega grape, with almond and a saline finish, for gnocchi and ravioli. Savagnin from the Jura in its topped up style, walnut scented, for skate or veal. Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast, lightly oaked and fresh, for squash or pumpkin with brown butter.

Avoid

Tannic reds, which the sage makes bitter. Heavily oaked, buttery Chardonnay, which doubles the richness and hides the sage. Very lean, neutral whites, which the butter makes thin.

Three to reach for. Encruzado, Dão, Portugal. Timorasso, Piedmont, Italy. Soave Classico, Veneto, Italy.