Elixir Rosé Wine by Bruno Andreu paired with Creamy Chicken & Vegetables*

We are all stuck in at the moment due to the Coronavirus lockdown! But this doesn’t mean we can’t have nice meals, that feel as though we are fine dining in our favourite gastropub. So if you fancy a treat on a cool but sunny evening, whether it is sat with by your window, enjoying the view of the outdoors, or if you are lucky enough to have some outdoor space, sitting comfortably in your garden, whilst enjoying this delightful wine accompanied by some great food that uses up leftovers but still looks and tastes fabulous.

We received a box of three wines from Wine Trust that we were asked to pair with a recipe of our choice. We have decided to do three separate reviews for these wines as they feel so special and certainly merit this individual attention. We start with the Rosé which is presented in the most beautiful glass and usually has a glass stopper in the top. It’s a delicately light coloured rose, with a slightly earthier tone than a sweeter Zinfandel style rosé. I always see myself more drawn towards Rosé wines, as they are the perfect in-between flavour for my palette, hence why I think I chose to review this one first.

About the Wine        

The Elixir Rosé comes from the Languedoc region of France, its made with 100% Syrah grapes, and is made with the Agriculture raisonnée certification, which means that the grapes are sustainably farmed. I feel that this is an important feature, as these kind of ethics should be the norm for all vineyards, however, its not always the case. It means that you know the wine you are drinking has taken care of the ground it has come from.

Our recipe and wine pairing

We paired this wine with a great alternative to chicken pie, which can be made with leftover chicken from a roast or chicken thighs/drumsticks, with a selection of vegetables – again there are no rules for which veg you use, it can be whatever you have in the fridge or freezer. See below for the full recipe. The Elixir Rosé wine is light crisp and extremely smooth, and was a great accompaniment to the salty cheese topping and creamy chicken in the pie. Its also not a sweet rosé but isn’t so dry that you feel it doesn’t quench your thirst.

Another way in which you could enjoy this wine would be as a pre-meal drink in a tall glass topped with ice and soda water, which would make it a really refreshing alternative, and really lovely when the whether gets a little warmer.

Recipe for Chicken & Vegetable Crunchy Cheese Crumb Top Pie

For the pie filling:
– 5-6 left over chicken thighs or drumsticks (or the equivalent of a leftover chicken roast)
– 2 carrots julienned
– 1 medium sized courgettes sliced
– 1 cube of frozen spinach
– 1 small onion finely chopped
– 150ml of double cream or milk (if using milk add half a teaspoon of cornflour to the cold milk before adding it to the pan)
– 1 tsp of mustard
– 1 tsp of dried garlic powder (if you don’t have this use a clove of garlic or leave it out)
– 1 tsp of mixed herbs (or whatever herbs you have)
–  Salt and pepper to taste

For the Crunchy Cheese Crumb Top:
– 200g of self-raising flour
– 50g of cold butter cubed
– 100g (or 1 mug) of grated cheddar cheese
– 1 egg whisked
– 80ml-100ml of milk (it will all depend on how big your egg is)
– 1/4 tsp of salt and a pinch of pepper

Preheat your fan oven to 200 degrees celsius

Remove all the chicken meat from the bone and set aside on a plate. Using a shallow frying pan add in the onion, carrot, courgette and cook until softened, add the frozen spinach, and allow to thaw. Once all this looks cooked slightly (not fully cooked as it will cook more in the oven), turn to a low heat and add in the cream, mustard, garlic and mixed herbs, once the mixture starts to warm add in in the chicken and turn up the heat slightly until all the mixture has warmed through.

Transfer the chicken mix to a baking dish and set aside

In a bowl add the flour, salt and pepper and butter and rub together to make bread crumbs, then add cheese, and mix lightly together. Then add in the egg, and half the milk and mix with your hands to form a rough and crumbly dough, add more milk if needed and see the image below to see how it should look. Once you have a dough that has come together into clumps, lay a layer on top of the chicken mix and then place in the oven for 20 minutes until its golden brown and crunchy looking.

The crumb top is a little bit like a scone and is really light alternative to pie crust. It contains a lot less butter and this dish could also be served alongside a summer salad or on its own as we did as a lighter evening meal.

Where to buy?

We were sent the wines by Wine Trust. They have a really good selection of wines from all over the world, although currently the wines we reviewed are not featured on their site, we expect that the wines will be available very soon and will update our post accordingly. In the meantime we really think you should check out all the other wines they have on offer, as if they taste as good as these, you won’t be disappointed.

About Wine Trust

Wine Trust believe that drinking wine is a great way to spend time with friends, where you can relax together and either enjoy drinking alongside your meal or when chatting on a evening out. John Valentine the owner of Wine Trust, believes that many retailers don’t provide the service he provides in terms of the quality of wines he has available, at cost that is also affordable. Equally his focus is on providing people a good selection of wines at a reasonable price, means that there isn’t an endless selection available on their site – there is simply more focus on quality rather than quantity.

About Bruno Andreu

Bruno Andreu vineyard is in Montblanc a small town sandwiched between Toulouse and Marseille in the Languedoc region of the South of France. They have been in the wine making business for generations, and produce wine in a way that protects the land they have used for its production for decades, ensuring the land be maintained for many more years to come. Bruno Andreu has launched several new wines in the latter part of 2019 two more of which we will be reviewing in more blog posts this week. So if you think you like the look of this one be sure to check out our white and red wine reviews.

Review by: Lex Ward

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*We were sent the wine in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.