Red wine jus, flavouring profile

Red wine jus, flavouring profile

A red wine jus is wine and stock boiled down until the savoury depth, the acidity and the grip of the wine are all concentrated, so the glass has to stand up to a stronger version of itself.

The compounds that matter. Glutamate from the reduced stock, whose savoury depth makes young tannin taste harder and more bitter. The acids and tannins of the wine in the pan, concentrated by reduction, which set a floor of sharpness and grip. Roasted, browned notes from the bones and the pan, which a wine with its own savoury or smoky register picks up.

What it demands of a wine. A red with real acidity, at least as much as the sauce, and tannin that is ripe or already softened rather than raw. Savoury character over sweet fruit: olive, earth, leather or dried herb. Enough body for the gelatin richness of the sauce.

Seek. Northern Rhône Syrah, Saint-Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage, for black pepper and olive over fresh acidity. Mourvèdre from Bandol, dark and gamey, for lamb. Merlot from Bordeaux for beef, supple and savoury. Langhe Nebbiolo, lighter than Barolo, for its acidity and dried rose. Agiorgitiko from Nemea, soft in tannin and savoury in the Greek way.

Avoid

Jammy, heavily oaked reds high in alcohol, whose sweet fruit and vanilla sit awkwardly on a savoury reduction. Young reds with raw, hard tannin, which the sauce makes bitter. White wine, which the jus simply overpowers.

Three to reach for. Saint-Joseph, northern Rhône, France. Merlot, Bordeaux, France. Agiorgitiko, Nemea, Greece.