Smoke and char, flavouring profile

Smoke and char, flavouring profile

Smoke and char call for a different wine depending on what sits under the crust, so a charred scallop and a charred steak should never share a bottle.

The compounds that matter. Guaiacol and the related phenols that wood smoke leaves on food give the smoky, faintly medicinal note, and a wine with its own smoke, flint or toasted oak can meet it. Browning the crust builds roasted, savoury and slightly sweet flavours, and these want a wine with some body and ripe fruit, or the wine tastes thin beside them. The blackened edge adds bitterness, and bitterness stacks with hard tannin into harshness.

What it demands of a wine. Enough body and ripe fruit to stand beside the crust, without adding bitterness. Under a light plate the wine needs weight without tannin, and no oak on fish, since oak and fish oils together taste metallic. Under red meat the fat and protein soften tannin and the salt on the crust softens it further, so a structured red with ripe tannin and toasty oak is welcome, though a very firm young tannin still turns bitter against a blackened edge.

Seek

On delicate charred shellfish and white fish, such as scallops or prawns, a mineral white with a smoky, struck match edge such as Santorini Assyrtiko meets the char without hiding the sweet flesh. On charred oily fish, octopus and vegetables, a darker rosé such as Rosado de Navarra has the red fruit and body to meet the roast with no tannin to fight it. On chicken and pork, the same darker rosé works, and so does a white with weight and a smoky note of its own, such as Alsace Pinot Gris in its drier style, or a light red with low tannin and a trace of smoke, such as Listán Negro from the Canary Islands. On red meat, look for a structured red that carries smoke, pepper or toasty oak, such as Syrah from the Northern Rhône or Malbec from Mendoza.

Avoid

Oaked whites and oaked reds with charred fish, where oak and fish oils give a metallic taste. Delicate, neutral whites such as Pinot Grigio with any char, since the smoke leaves them thin and sour. Young, firm tannin such as young Barolo or Tannat against a blackened crust, where bitterness meets bitterness. High alcohol reds where the char comes with a chilli rub, since alcohol turns up the burn.

Three to reach for. For charred scallops, prawns and white fish, Assyrtiko, Santorini, Greece. For charred oily fish, octopus, vegetables, chicken and pork, a darker Rosado de Navarra, Spain. For red meat, Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina.