Cassoulet

Cassoulet

Assuming the slow baked dish of white beans with duck confit, Toulouse sausage and pork, under a golden crust.

Cassoulet is rich, fatty and deeply savoury, with duck fat, pork and garlic soaked into soft beans. It wants a firm, rustic red whose tannin binds to the fat and whose acidity keeps the dish from feeling heavy. Light reds and whites are lost beneath it.

Pairs Perfectly. Madiran, southwest France. Made from Tannat, dark and firm with blackberry, plum and a savoury edge, from the same corner of France as the dish. Its strong tannin is exactly what duck confit and pork fat need.

Pairs Well. Corbières, Languedoc, France. A blend led by Carignan, with dark fruit, dried herbs and high acidity, and good value.

Pairs Well. Negroamaro, Puglia, Italy. Dark cherry, spice and a slightly bitter, earthy finish, a rustic red that suits beans and sausage.

Worth Seeking Out

Saperavi from Kakheti, Georgia. Inky, high in acidity and firmly tannic, with the power for a dish this rich.

Avoid

Light, delicate reds and whites. Duck fat and pork flatten anything without grip and body.

Failing That

A Primitivo, Puglia, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Malbec, Mendoza.

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