📍 Where this dish comes from: Paris · The Seine
Discover the history of this region →
Discover the history of this region →
Bordeaux’s great red wine sauce — a deeply flavored reduction of red wine with shallots, bone marrow, thyme, and bay, finished with cold butter into a glossy, deep burgundy sauce that is the ideal companion for grilled red meats. The traditional flour thickening is dispensed with entirely in favor of pure reduction.
What You’ll Need
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 180kcal
Ingredients
- 500 ml red Bordeaux wine
- 4 shallots finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 300 ml good beef stock
- Bouquet garni
- 3 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 60 g bone marrow (optional but authentic)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine wine, shallots, garlic, and bouquet garni in a saucepan. Reduce over medium heat until only 100ml remains.
- Add beef stock. Reduce further until the sauce has a light coating consistency.
- Strain through a fine sieve. Season.
- If using bone marrow: poach sliced marrow in salted water 3 minutes. Add to strained sauce.
- Remove from heat. Whisk cold butter in piece by piece until sauce is glossy.
- Serve immediately over grilled côte de boeuf or entrecôte.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 180kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g
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Health Benefits
- Bone marrow provides oleic acid and other fats in a rich, traditional form.
- The wine reduction contributes polyphenols including resveratrol and quercetin, though the amounts remaining after cooking are modest.
- Shallots provide fructooligosaccharides and quercetin in a concentrated form after long reduction.