Chimichurri, flavouring profile

Chimichurri, flavouring profile

Chimichurri is a sharp, green sauce of parsley, oregano, garlic, vinegar and chilli, and it wants a red with fresh acidity and a herbal edge rather than one smothered in oak.

The compounds that matter. The green, grassy oils of parsley and the resinous notes of dried oregano, which a red with its own green pepper or herbal note mirrors. Red wine vinegar, which sets a floor of acidity and flattens a soft wine. Raw garlic and dried chilli, whose pungency and gentle heat are made harsher by high alcohol and heavy tannin.

What it demands of a wine. Fresh acidity, ripe but not sweet fruit, and moderate tannin, since the sauce usually sits on grilled beef whose fat softens it. A herbal register. Modest alcohol where the chilli is generous.

Seek. Malbec from Mendoza, the grilled beef partner of its home country, in its fresher, less oaked style. Carmenère from Colchagua, whose green pepper and herbal note meet the parsley head on. Darker Malbec rosé from Mendoza, for chimichurri on chicken, prawns or grilled vegetables. Cabernet Franc from California, leafy and supple, for lamb.

Avoid

Heavily oaked, high alcohol reds, which make the garlic and chilli burn and clash with the vinegar. Delicate whites, which the sauce overwhelms.

Three to reach for. Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina. Carmenère, Colchagua, Chile. Darker Malbec rosé, Mendoza, Argentina.