So You Think You Hate Lamb?

I confess, I've never "gotten" why some people claim they don't like lamb. "It's 'gamey'", people say. "I've always heard it's strong and smelly," say others. Well, it's not and I have, once again, Tracey to act as my witness.

Having subjected her to roasted brussels sprouts and having her ask for them again, I figured it was time to force her to choke down some lamb. I had a small piece of a butterflied leg, so I treated it like a thick steak as I usually do, but indoors rather than on the grill, which would have been better. Alas, she managed to leave her grill behind in Reno when she moved, so the grill wasn't an option.

I seasoned it with salt and pepper and a bit of garlic, seared it in a cast-iron skillet and finished it in a 375 degree oven, removing it at 125 degrees. It was about 140 by the time the carryover cooking stopped, which was a bit more done than I'd like, but it was still tasty.  Here it is with Mom's green beans simmered forever in onions, garlic, tomatoes and oregano and some orzo "alfredo" - orzo with a sauce of butter, garlic and parmesan cheese. The picture isn't the best because the light was a bit off, but it was a yummy dish. And Tracey went back for seconds. I'm two for two with new foods!

Wine match: Lamb goes with almost any red wine and I'm often moved to choose a syrah or something from the rhone. This I matched with a 2008 single-vineyard pinot noir from the Willamette Valley that I can't name. It's not that I don't know, it's that I promised I wouldn't make public reference to it.

I had stopped by the winery for a bottle of the 2007 from the same vineyard and, despite the fact that they were in the middle of bottling their 2008s, they obliged me. It wasn't until after I'd gotten home that I realized they'd given me a just-bottled 2008 and, after telling them, they just asked me to keep quiet about it because it won't be released until next spring.

So, I won't tell you the wine, but I WILL tell you that it's up to the same standard shared by every 2008 Oregon pinot noir I've tasted from barrel and bottle. The aromatics are incredible and this, being from the Dundee Hills, was all red fruit - strawberries, raspberries, cherries and a little pomegranate with a bit of dustiness thrown in for good measure. It was perhaps a little overpowered by the tomatoes in the beans, but with the lamb it was perfect.

I'll do a more in-depth review of 2008 pinots later, but this one's worth saving up for when it's released, just like all of its cousins are.