Gravy, flavouring profile

Gravy, flavouring profile

Gravy is the savoury heart of a roast, meat juices and stock thickened into something salty and deeply browned, and it pushes the wine towards a savoury red with fresh acidity.

The compounds that matter. Glutamate from the meat juices and stock, whose savoury depth makes young, firm tannin taste harder. Browned, roasted notes from the pan, which a wine with its own savoury, leathery or toasted register picks up. Salt, and in onion gravy the sweetness of slowly cooked onions, which suit a red with ripe fruit.

What it demands of a wine. Medium body, fresh acidity and ripe but savoury fruit. Tannin that is soft or already mellowed by age. Enough weight not to be swamped, but not so much that it overwhelms a plate of roast meat and vegetables.

Seek. Rioja Reserva, mellowed by years in barrel and bottle, with leather and dried fruit that sit right on a beef gravy. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, soft, dark and inexpensive, for sausages and onion gravy. Cru Beaujolais from the firmer crus, such as Morgon, for roast chicken and pork. A Douro red blend, dark and savoury, for lamb.

Avoid

Young reds with hard tannin, which the savoury depth of the gravy makes bitter. Delicate whites, which gravy simply buries. Very jammy, sweet fruited reds, which sit oddly on a salty, savoury sauce.

Three to reach for. Rioja Reserva, Spain. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy. Morgon, Beaujolais, France.