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It is a tradition in many countries to eat lamb at Easter, possibly as it might be considered to be a symbol of re-birth – the first lamb of the new season appearing on the market in Spring. Alternatively, it could also be because it has always been considered to be a significant religious symbol – lamb and Christianity have close ties extending back to the book of Genesis.

In Spain lamb is more often eaten as ‘lechal’, which means suckling lamb, consumed when it is very, very young. There is no doubt that this young meat is quite tender, but to be honest, it is simply not to my personal taste – I prefer my lamb to be a little more mature (which actually makes it quite difficult to source in this country). Despite this fact, I did manage to find a nice leg of New Zealand lamb for Easter, albeit that I had to buy it frozen.

Cooked in a very traditional manner – perforated with garlic and fresh rosemary, oven roasted and served with a concentrated lamb ‘jus’, the correct choice of wine, as always, would add the finishing touch. A journey to the dark recesses of my cellar was required….

Brushing the dust off an old cardboard carton, I discovered a treasure, a remnant from my wine buying days – a Ruchottes Chambertin Grand Cru 1998, Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, made by Madame Jacqueline Mugneret and her very talented daughters.

Now, it’s fair to say that 1998 was not the greatest ever Burgundy vintage but it still produced some very good red wines. After nearly 20 years in bottle this example simply confirmed to me how remarkable accomplished winemaking can be. The wine still had good colour and not the pale brick red that I had expected. On the nose it was soft, fragrant and showed its true class, whilst on the palate it was still quite succulent, gently oaky but with really good depth and style. Just a very fine wine. Delicious (as was the lamb)![:es]It is a tradition in many countries to eat lamb at Easter, possibly as it might be considered to be a symbol of re-birth – the first lamb of the new season appearing on the market in Spring. Alternatively, it could also be because it has always been considered to be a significant religious symbol – lamb and Christianity have close ties extending back to the book of Genesis.

In Spain lamb is more often eaten as ‘lechal’, which means suckling lamb, consumed when it is very, very young. There is no doubt that this young meat is quite tender, but to be honest, it is simply not to my personal taste – I prefer my lamb to be a little more mature (which actually makes it quite difficult to source in this country). Despite this fact, I did manage to find a nice leg of New Zealand lamb for Easter, albeit that I had to buy it frozen.

Cooked in a very traditional manner – perforated with garlic and fresh rosemary, oven roasted and served with a concentrated lamb ‘jus’, the correct choice of wine, as always, would add the finishing touch. A journey to the dark recesses of my cellar was required….

Brushing the dust off an old cardboard carton, I discovered a treasure, a remnant from my wine buying days – a Ruchottes Chambertin Grand Cru 1998, Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, made by Madame Jacqueline Mugneret and her very talented daughters.

Now, it’s fair to say that 1998 was not the greatest ever Burgundy vintage but it still produced some very good red wines. After nearly 20 years in bottle this example simply confirmed to me how remarkable accomplished winemaking can be. The wine still had good colour and not the pale brick red that I had expected. On the nose it was soft, fragrant and showed its true class, whilst on the palate it was still quite succulent, gently oaky but with really good depth and style. Just a very fine wine. Delicious (as was the lamb)![:]