Food and wine pairing
Slow-cooked Causses lamb shoulder and Château Gilbert & Gaillard Rouge
On the plateaux of the Causses, in the north of the Hérault, lamb is king. Cooked at a low temperature for many hours with garlic and garrigue herbs, the shoulder becomes so tender that it comes away with a spoon. Château Gilbert & Gaillard Rouge, a Saint-Chinian made from Syrah and Grenache, shares its garrigue aromas.
The recipe
Lamb shoulder slow-cooked with garlic and garrigue herbs
Serves 6Preparation 20 minCooking 4 hr 20 min
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in lamb shoulder, about 1.6 kg
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 cl olive oil
- 25 cl dry white wine
- 15 cl water
- 1 kg baby potatoes
- Fleur de sel, freshly ground pepper
Method
- 1
Take the shoulder out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 150 °C.
- 2
Separate the garlic cloves without peeling them and crush them lightly with the flat of a knife.
- 3
In an ovenproof cast-iron casserole, brown the shoulder on all sides in 4 cl of olive oil, for about 10 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- 4
Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Pour in the white wine and water.
- 5
Cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours 30, basting the shoulder with its juices every hour.
- 6
Wash the potatoes, halve the larger ones and coat them in the rest of the olive oil.
- 7
One hour before the end of cooking, arrange the potatoes around the shoulder and replace the lid.
- 8
Remove the lid, raise the oven to 200 °C and continue for 20 minutes to brown the meat and potatoes.
- 9
Leave to rest for 10 minutes, then serve the shoulder whole at the table, pulled apart with a spoon, with the potatoes and the reduced juices.
Why this pairing works
Château Gilbert & Gaillard Rouge
Slow-cooked shoulder offers meltingly tender meat, concentrated juices and a powerful scent of thyme, rosemary and garlic. Château Gilbert & Gaillard Rouge is a natural match: its elegant nose reveals ripe red and black fruit, spices, liquorice and garrigue, which answer the cooking herbs directly. On the palate, its fullness embraces the richness of the lamb, and its mellow tannins accompany long, slow-cooked meat without toughening it. Its freshness and length extend the cooking juices and lighten the sensation of fat, for a generous, coherent pairing born of the same landscapes.
A slow-cooked shoulder is forgiving if the meal runs late: kept covered in the switched-off oven, it stays tender for a good half hour.
Page updated on 19 October 2026