Shepherd's Pie!

[quijote]

I plan on having Shepherd's Pie tonight and (leftovers) tomorrow. It's too late for me to get a rec for tonight--I'm going to open a Gigondas and see what happens--but what would be some good bets for the future?

The Shepherd's Pie has ground beef, ground lamb, onions, mushrooms, rosemary, tarragon, celery salt, cumin seed, powdered cumin, salt, pepper, and mashed taters (of course).

I'd like to hear about general (varietal) and specific (brand) recs. Also, it may help you to know that I have various Cotes du Rhones (Guigal CdR, Gigondas, etc.), Aussie Shiraz and Spanish Rioja on hand.

Thank you!

[tandkvd]

I would go with the Rioja. Especialy if it is Montecillo Crianza Rioja 1998.

[Innkeeper]

The Gigondas will probably be OK. I think that sometime New World would go better such as Big House Red, or Marietta Old Vine.

[quijote]

On my way to the Gigondas, I decided to opt for a Casa Lapostolle Cab instead. It went very nicely with the dish--a hearty wine for hearty food. And I figured I'd save the $18 bottle of Gigondas for a dish that's more of a sure bet.

Thanks for the replies; I'll probably try a Rioja with it tomorrow.

[Drew]

A nice Cotes du Rhone or light Aussie Shiraz should be nice.

DRew