Langoustine

Langoustine

Assuming whole langoustines, grilled or roasted and served with melted butter or garlic butter.

Langoustine flesh is sweet and delicate and the butter adds richness, so the wine needs acid to cut the fat and enough weight to match it without hiding the sweetness. Oak and tannin turn metallic against shellfish.

Pairs Perfectly

Chablis, Burgundy, France. Unoaked Chardonnay grown on limestone gives lemon, green apple and a flinty edge that echoes the shellfish, with the acid to cut the butter, and village Chablis is easy to find. A Premier Cru adds weight for richer butter sauces.

Pairs Well

Riesling, dry, Rheingau, Germany. Lime, white peach and a slate edge frame the sweet flesh, and its acid clears the butter.

Greco di Tufo, Campania, Italy. Mineral, with lemon, almond and real weight, it stands up to butter while keeping the flavour clean.

Worth Seeking Out

Robola from Cephalonia, Greece. Lemon, wet stone and a saline edge suit the sweet shellfish and the grill.

Avoid

Oaked Chardonnay and any red with tannin. Strongly aromatic whites such as Gewürztraminer or Viognier, which drown the delicate sweetness.

Failing That

A Muscadet sur lie, Loire.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Grigio, northern Italy.

Want to be able to craft answers like this? The Vinealto Wine Coach takes you from the basics to advanced.