venison matching question

I love venison, though I don't care for the sweet berry sauces it's almost invariably paired with. Tonight it's my turn to cook, and I thawed some D'Artagnan loin chops and am preparing a recipe from package, for grilling chops, topping with red wine jelly, and serving with relish.
Chops- marinaded in oil, s & p, thyme, and garlic.
Jelly- 1 cup wine, 1/2 cup red currant jelly, shallots, reduce by half, chill
Relish - tomato, mint, watercress, oil.
I used Brun Beaujolais for jelly, substituted baby arugula for watercress as I had everything else.
My first thought with venison is usually Syrah, with Bordeaux in second. What say you, with the jelly and the relish?
I have more Bordeaux than anything else, but the tomato relish makes me think I need more acidity.

Wine: Zinfandel
Jelly: None
Relish: None

If you're going to have the jelly, then drink syrah. Otherwise, both wines would be fine.

Thanks.

I probably will just have a taste of the jelly, but Betsy will definitely use. Actually, unlike the blueberry/lingonberry sauces I was referencing as being ubiquitous with venison in restaurants, I DON'T think the jelly I made is especially sweet (I tasted it). As to the relish, the mint is definitely an accent not dominant (I was using all herbs from garden, and some of the mint had seen better days, only got maybe a tablespoon, I'd say at least 10:1 arugula/mint. I also think the fact it just has olive oil, no other acid than tomatoes, softens a bit. It may come down to what is in front of me when I open cellar (it often does).

It may not be your style, but we would go with a jammy Zinfandel, even with the jelly sauce.

Of course one of the things about asking for advice is that we all suggest our favorites (I'll recommend Burgundy a lot more than others, etc). Plus we're all constrained by our cellars. I thought the Zin advice was interesting, but I own a total of 6 bottles (Ridge, Biale, and Dashe); all would have required effort to get to except a non-jammy Dashe. So I went with Jeff and did Syrah. '95 Graillot "Guiraude" Crozes did fairly well. I did use a bit of the jelly, it was just mildly sweet, did well with the sweet fruit of the Syrah. Thanks everyone!

I'll go along with the Zinfandel/Primitivo but my own favorite with venison has been either the dark reds of Madiran or a fine Brunello di Montalcino.

Just to play the contrarian for once in my life, I've had a few venison dishes with Gewurztraminer and liked the results, but it must have been the spices and the "sausaging."

Amarone. Not that other wines might not do as well but Amarone is a tough food match and it always seems to sing with venison.

Dale,

Dang, I wish I'd seen your note before now. Northern Rhones are terrific favorites of mine and I usually don't use them next to tomato dishes. There's often something about the tomato that hurts the wine aroma for me, but I am intrigued that you found a combo that worked so well. Gotta try one myself.

For next time, I agree that something like a Ridge - Pagani Ranch zin would work really well. The downside is that if you didn't care for such a fruity style sauce (as you mention is traditional with venison), you may not like zinfandels built in a similar flavor profile. I wouldn't hesitate to try it though.

Finally, we usually use an aged Badia a Coltibuono - Sangioveto on our table with meals having both game meat (not birds) and tomato dishes. It's a perfect match to us, but it may be a bit of a niche wine.

Jeff, thanks for ideas. The tomato was more a chutney/accent, so not really dominant.

Amarone. Not that other wines might not do as well but Amarone is a tough food match and it always seems to sing with venison.

Clint - intresting suggestion that wouldn't have been my first thought. I like the idea, though!

I also like big Zins with venison. I have a recipe somewhere that works well - marinate in pomegranite and rosemary and serve with a pomegranite reduction (not too sweet).