Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category
Barn owl and salmon
Looking for a wine to pour with Indian-style salmon brochettes (recipe follows), I popped the cork on this. It worked.
Coteaux du Loir 2010, L’Effraie, Domaine Bellivière ($27.45, 11495467)
Effraie is French for barn owl. 100% biodynamically farmed Chenin Blanc from vines under 50 years old. Fermented with native yeasts and aged 12 months in second-, third- and fourth-use barrels. Depending on the year, the wine can range from dry to demi-sec. 12.5% ABV according to the label (13.5% according to SAQ.com, though that may refer to an earlier vintage).
Complex, if subtle, and constantly evolving nose: yellow apple, melon rind, summer savoury, chalk, preserved lemon and honeycomb. Off-dry (sec-tendre according to the winemaker), the sugar softening the acidity and augmenting the somewhat viscous texture. Mild white and yellow fruit dissolves dryly into minerals, ash and a light citric tang. A faint aftertaste – more a fresh, mint-like sensation – haunts the mouth for minutes after a sip. A natural with white fish or scallops in lemon cream (the estate suggests tartare preparations), this also goes well with not-too-spicy Asian fare like the dish you’ll find after the jump.
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Gauby’s 2010 Les Calcinaires blanc
VDP des Côtes Catalanes 2010, Les Calcinaires, Domaine Gauby ($25.15, 11463060)
The estate is certified organic. 50% Muscat from 15 to 50-year-old vines, 30% Chardonnay from 20-year-old vines and 20% Macabeu from 30 to 50-year-old vines. Fermented with native yeasts. Aged eight months on the lees. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 13% ABV.
Sour apple, limestone, pine resin. Rainwater entry quickly expands to apple, pithy lemon and a soft grapiness (the Muscat speaking?) given focus by the acidity. As the fruit fades, the minerals surge and are joined by a sour-bitter note that lingers through the finish and sets you up for another sip. Less complex and profound than the Vieilles Vignes but a delight to drink. Made an excellent pairing for the Catalonian recipe you’ll find after the jump.
Let my Bobal go!
Delighted with Calabuig’s authentic and refreshing Bobal (the closest I’ve come to a house red in a long time), I’ve had my eye on other wines made entirely or partly from this obscure grape variety. Mustiguillo’s blend is the most expensive Bobal-based wine I’ve seen. Does that mean it’s the best?
Vino de la tierra El Terrerazo 2009, Mestis, Bodega Mustiguillo ($19.05, 11412596)
50% Bobal, 30% Tempranillo and 20% Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Aged several months in French oak barrels. 14.5% ABV.
Cassis, plum and black cherry; hints of leather, slate, something green (leaves? bell pepper?) and, like a warning flag, chocolate. Oddly bipolar in the mouth. On one hand, there’s the sprightly native, the Bobal, with its juicy fruit and tart acidity yearning to be free. On the other, there’s the international straightjacket, a layer of cloying oak and a tannic structure that seems imposed, not integrated. Improves some as it breathes (so carafe it already), is better with food than on its own and shows a certain affinity for lamb (recipe after the jump). But this shotgun marriage is still a case of irreconcilable differences, as the milk chocolate and black pepper finish makes only too clear. Unfortunately, the label is the best thing about the wine.
MWG May 24th tasting: report (1/4)
The first of four sets of notes from a tasting based on the May 24th Cellier release.
Vinho Verde 2010, Muros Antigos, Anselmo Mendes ($20.25, 11612555)
100% Alvarinho grapes treaded with the stems, then vertical-pressed and macerated for 48 hours. Fermented and matured for four months in stainless steel. Unlike Mendes’s Muros de Melgaço cuvée, this sees no oak.
Light lemon morphing into honeydew melon with a hint of sawdust and a vaguely floral note. Broader than your usual Vinho Verde, the winey texture softening the high acidity. Favours tend to lemon and quartz. Very dry with a pithy, puckery finish. Really delicious. An excellent pairing for grilled seafood (think squid), this also worked well with the Spanish-inspired salmon recipe you’ll find after the jump. (Buy again? Yep.)
Alsace Riesling 2010, Réserve Personnelle, Domaine Weinbach ($29.05, 11639053)
100% biodynamically farmed Riesling from young vines in the Clos des Capucins vineyard.
Effusive nose of potpourri, chalk, faint lemon/lime. Medium weight yet fluid. Intense flavours (lemon, minerals) and tingly acidity. Fruity and a little sweet on the attack, dry and a little sour on the finish. Fine enough though, like so many Weinbach wines, sweeter than I like and pricey compared with, say, Schueller or Frick. (Buy again? Maybe.)
What to eat with vin jaune?
At the Mo’ Wine Group’s recent Jura tastings, the vin jaunes were served with old Comté and walnut bread, a classic pairing that brings out the best in the wines. A few attendees asked about other vin jaune-friendly dishes and I promised to post a couple of recipes, one for lobster and another for chicken. You’ll find them after the jump.
There are, of course, other options. White meats, poultry (especially from Bresse), escargots, sweetbreads, crayfish, lobster and langoustine, often in preparations involving cream, curry and/or saffron, are frequently recommended. More specifically, a French food and wine-pairing book suggests veal Orloff, duck à l’orange, chicken waterzoï and pork curry (by which is meant pork cubes in a cream sauce mildly flavoured with curry powder) and even tarte Tatin. While I’ve never tried serving vin jaune with dessert (the wine’s dryness would seem to rule out such pairings), I admit to having enjoyed it with the Masse amande aux noix et au curry, a cube of barely sweetened walnut- and curry-flavoured almond paste in a bitter chocolate shell, created by the exceptional Arbois-based chocolate maker Hirsinger specifically to go with the wine.
Note that for cooking purposes, Marcel Cabelier’s 2003 Château-Chalon ($44.25, 10884778), the least expensive vin jaune available at the monopoly, is perfectly adequate.
Jura detour
The report on the 28 remaining bottles from the MWG’s recent Jurathon is coming. In the meantime, here’s a note on a wine I bought for one of the tastings but didn’t manage to squeeze in.
Arbois-Pupillin 2010, Pinot Noir, Benoit Badoz ($20.60, 11195721)
Vinified in stainless steel, aged in old foudres. Cherry nose with more than a hint of cough drop; some slate and candied violet in the background, too. Light-bodied. Sweet and tart fruit. Tannins, such as they are, appear only on the credible finish. Simple but clean, refreshing and enjoyable. A wine you could open when you’re in the mood for a Beaujolais cru but your companion is a Gamay hater.
This went well with the moistest rabbit in mustard sauce I know:
Lapin à la cauchoise
- In a Dutch oven or sauté pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Brown a rabbit cut into 6 to 8 pieces. (Hot temperatures make for dry, stringy rabbit. Adjust the heat accordingly.) After browning, remove the meat and discard all the cooking fat.
- Return the pan to the burner, turn the heat to low and add 3 tablespoons crème fraîche, scraping the bottom of the pan to free the tasty brown bits. Return the meat to the pan, turning the pieces 2 or 3 times to coat them with cream. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover the pan and simmer very gently for 10 minutes.
- When the 10 minutes are up, add 1 tablespoon crème fraîche to the pan and turn the meat. Cover and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Add 1 more tablespoon of crème, turn the meat and simmer for 10 minutes more. Add 1 last tablespoon of crème and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Whisk together 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 3/4 cup dry white wine and 2 large, finely chopped shallots. Pour the mixture into the pan. Turn the meat again, then cover and simmer gently for 15 or 20 minutes. Adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately with sautéed or French fried potatoes.
H/t to wapiti for “Jurathon.”
Brett happens 