Beef Wellington requires a dry and medium-bodied red wine such as a Bordeaux, Chianti Classico, Malbec, or Syrah to stand up to the beef flavours while complementing the puff pastry, onion and mushroom flavours in this decadent dish.
Beef Wellington is a filet of beef that covered in a mixture of chopped mushrooms, shallots, herbs and onions that have been browned after being sautéed in butter. The beef filet is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden brown and flaky.
Barbaresco’s deep cherry, rose, and subtle spice notes pair beautifully with beef Wellington, highlighting the savoury flavours of the tender beef and rich mushroom duxelles. The wine’s acidity and structured tannins enhance the pastry’s buttery layers and balance the earthy mushrooms, while hints of truffle and dark berry provide a satisfying depth to each bite.
Red Wine
Saint-Émilion, Premier Grand Cru Classé
Beef Wellington
Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé's elegant structure and complex flavours create a perfect harmony with Beef Wellington. The wine's refined tannins and full body complement the dish's richness beautifully. Its red fruit and earthy notes pair exquisitely with both the beef and the mushroom duxelles. The wine's subtle oak aging adds depth that enhances the Wellington's complexity. Its balanced acidity cuts through the buttery puff pastry, resulting in a truly luxurious pairing.
Bordeaux's robust tannins and full body complement the rich flavours of Beef Wellington beautifully. Its black fruit notes pair well with the beef, while the wine's earthy undertones enhance the mushroom duxelles. The wine's structure stands up to the dish's complexity, and its acidity helps cut through the buttery puff pastry. This classic French pairing offers a sophisticated dining experience.
Rioja Gran Reserva's refined tannins and complex flavour profile complement the layers of Beef Wellington superbly. Its red fruit and leather notes pair well with the beef and mushroom duxelles. The wine's oak-aging adds vanilla and spice notes that enhance the dish's richness. Its balanced acidity helps cut through the buttery puff pastry, creating a harmonious Spanish-British fusion.
Brunello di Montalcino's bold structure and firm tannins can stand up to the richness of Beef Wellington. Its red fruit and earthy notes complement the beef and mushroom components. The wine's high acidity helps cut through the dish's richness. However, its powerful nature may sometimes overshadow the more delicate flavours in the Wellington, making it a less ideal match.
Red Wine
Syrah
Beef Wellington
Syrah's full body and rich fruit flavours complement the hearty nature of Beef Wellington. Its peppery notes can enhance the seasoning in the dish, while its moderate tannins help cut through the richness of the puff pastry and pâté. The wine's dark fruit flavours pair well with the beef, creating a bold and satisfying combination.
Chianti Classico's bright acidity and moderate tannins can groove quietly with Beef Wellington. Its red fruit flavours pair well with the beef, while its herbal notes may enhance the mushroom duxelles. The wine's structure helps cut through the dish's richness.
This is one rare instance where I might want a Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, so the Chianti has a bit more tannin to bite into the Beef.
Merlot's soft tannins and plum flavours can complement the rich layers of Beef Wellington. Its medium body may stand up to the dish's heartiness without overpowering it. The wine's subtle oak and chocolate notes can enhance the complexity of the Wellington's flavours.
Malbec's full body and rich fruit flavours stand up well to the hearty nature of Beef Wellington. Its plum and blackberry notes hold up to the beef beautifully, while its moderate tannins help cut through the richness of the puff pastry and pâté. The wine's spicy undertones can enhance the dish's seasoning.
Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva's powerful structure and complex flavours complement the layers of Beef Wellington excellently. Its dark fruit notes pair well with the beef, while its oak-aging adds vanilla and spice that enhance the dish's richness.
Not my top choice with Beef Wellington, but a worthy pairing.
Côtes du Rhône Red's blend of grapes creates a versatile wine that pairs well with Beef Wellington. Its medium to full body complements the dish's richness without overpowering it. The wine's red fruit flavours pair nicely with the beef, while its herbal notes can enhance the mushroom duxelles. Its moderate tannins and acidity help cut through the puff pastry's butteriness, creating a balanced pairing.
I could drink Cotes Du Rhone with everything and never get bored of it - it's such a versatile and fun red wine!
Pinotage's bold flavours can stand up to the rich nature of Beef Wellington. Its dark fruit notes match the weight of the beef, while its earthy undertones enhance the mushroom duxelles. The wine's unique smoky character might add an interesting dimension to the pairing. However, its strong personality may sometimes overpower the more delicate flavours in the Wellington, making it a less conventional match.
Red Wine
Burgundy, Red
Beef Wellington
You'd think Burgundy would be a perfect pairing with Beef Wellington due to the dish's mushroom component, and outer crust. However, Burgundy's elegant structure and silky light tannins do not stand up to the richness of Beef Wellington. While the wine's red fruit flavours and earthy notes complement both the beef and the mushroom duxelles exquisitely, its higher acidity is unbalanced with the amount of heft that the beef throws at you.
Cabernet Sauvignon's full body and firm tannins can stand up to the richness of Beef Wellington. Its black fruit flavours hold up to the rich beef, while its herbal notes can enhance the mushroom duxelles. The wine's structure helps cut through the dish's richness. However, its bold nature may sometimes overpower the more delicate flavours in the Wellington, making it a less ideal pairing.
Shiraz's full body and rich fruit flavours can complement the hearty nature of Beef Wellington. Its peppery notes may enhance the dish's seasoning, while its moderate tannins help cut through the richness of the puff pastry and pâté. However, its bold character and high alcohol content might overpower some of the Wellington's more subtle flavours, resulting in a less balanced pairing.
Zinfandel's bold fruit flavours and high alcohol content can stand up to the rich flavours of Beef Wellington. Its jammy fruit notes may provide an interesting contrast to the savoury beef and mushrooms. The wine's spicy undertones can complement the dish's seasoning. However, when I think of Zinfandel, I think of bold, powerful and fruity, where as Beef Wellington requires something earthy, a touch grippy and sublime.
While an unconventional choice, a full-bodied Chardonnay can offer an interesting contrast to Beef Wellington. Its buttery notes complements the puff pastry, while its acidity can cut through the dish's richness. The wine's subtle oak flavours enhance the mushroom duxelles. However, it may lack the tannins and body to fully stand up to the beef, resulting in a less traditional and unbalanced pairing.
Hey, I get it, some folks only like to drink white wine, and Chardonnay is going to make the buttery crust of your Beef Wellington POP! Chardonnay's smoky component is going to taste fine with those mushrooms as well. Unfortunately, it won't do much for the beef.
Type
Varietal
Food
Bordeaux & Beef Wellington Pairing
Bordeaux is the classic wine pairing often paired with Beef Wellington as it’s a food-friendly and blended red wine consisting of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. As it is blended, Bordeaux is made in a balanced style where you’ll find enough tannin to hold up to the beefy flavours of your Beef Wellington. However, you’ll also get medium acidity to help cut through the puff pastry and keep your mouth refreshed.
I’m often hesitant to recommend Bordeaux to new wine drinkers as it’s a complex wine as there are so many tiers and levels involved. Bordeaux can command some of the most expensive wine prices in the world, yet for every $1,000 bottle out there, you’ll find a hundred or more $30-$40 bottles that will go beautifully with Beef Wellington.
For pairing on a budget, seek out a medium-bodied Bordeaux that is young. Aged Bordeaux commands a heftier price as bottle ageing takes time, and time is money. Young Bordeaux is often high in tannin, however, the massive amount of fat and proteins found in your Beef Wellington will soften the tannin quickly. When you soften the tannin, you open up a new world of flavours such as Black Currant, cedar, chocolate, minerals, smoke, vanilla, licorice, truffles and pencil shavings that mesh perfectly with the savoury Beef Wellington flavours.
When buying from a store, I highly recommend sticking to Bordeaux that is $30+ dollars. Bordeaux under $30 rarely sees oak, and is often made in a Bordeaux style where the flavours are fresh and fruity and the wine lacks complexity. There is nothing wrong with this style, however, it won’t hold up to a delicious slab of Beef Wellington.
Chianti Classico & Beef Wellington Pairing
While Beef Wellington is extremely popular in France, your waiter will certainly not yell out “Sacre Bleu!” should you pair an non-French wine with it. Chianti Classico is an Italian red wine balanced with high tannin and acidity. The tannin is softened by the beefy flavours of your Beef Wellington, and the heavy amounts of protein in the beef filet are broken down by the tannin in the wine. This allows the Beef to taste more savoury and tender, while the wine becomes more velvety and silky on the tongue.
The high acidity of Chianti Classico allows it to cut through the buttery puff pastry and fats, which helps the Beef, onion, shallot and mushroom flavours stand out even more.
Chianti is known for its juicy black and red cherry flavours, however, it’s also earthy, smoky and herbal, which complements the Beef and gravy inside your baked Beef Wellington.
Chianti Classico means the red wine was made in the original area where Chianti was first produced. As Chianti grew in popularity, so did the wine borders, thus anything outside those original borders is called Chianti. Chianti Classico must be at least 80% Sangiovese, while Chianti must be 70% Sangiovese. Many winemakers are adding Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot to their Chianti, which depletes it of its true Chianti taste, thus I often recommend Chianti Classico over Chianti for a better chance of having that pure Sangiovese taste.
Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva & Beef Wellington Pairing
Ribera Del Duero is a full-bodied Spanish red wine made primarily from the Tempranillo grape (at least 75%). And when aged, you’ll find complex and loud flavours of black cherries, blackberries, strawberries, brown sugar, smoke, wild game, dark chocolate, earth, mocha, vanilla and licorice.
The high tannin of an aged Ribera del Duero softens up beside the beefy slab of filet in your beef wellington, while the complex layers of pepper, wild game, herbs and mocha play off the earthy onion and mushroom flavours baked into your Beef Wellington.
Syrah & Beef Wellington Pairing
Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape but refer to different styles. Shiraz is the more popular style as it is fruit-forward, jammy and peppery. Syrah is less fruit-forward and more savoury and peppery. Both wines do feature blackberry, raspberry and blueberry flavours; it’s just that Shiraz is louder with those notes. And if oaked, Shiraz will be more pronounced with coca and vanilla flavours, making it taste sweet, vs savoury.
Syrah, on the other hand, is much more subtle. You’ll get wisps of olive, pepper, mint, licorice, rosemary, bacon, smoke and tobacco which perfectly intertwine with mushrooms, onions, herbs and shallots in your Beef Wellington. Meanwhile, you still get enough refreshing fruit flavours to contrast the beefy goodness of your Beef Wellington.
If you are holding a dinner party, and your guests aren’t very open-minded to wine, an Australian Shiraz may be the better way to go as it is the bigger crowd-pleaser. Australian Shiraz will still pair up nice with Beef Wellington, but it will lack the complementary savoury notes that a French Syrah delivers.
