Posts Tagged ‘food pairings’
This summer’s La Niña
Minervois 2010, La Nine, Domaine Jean Baptiste Sénat ($20.90, 11659960)
Organically farmed Grenache (40%), Carignan (30%), Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Syrah (10%each) from vines 60, 100, 25, 50 and 10 years old respectively. Partially detstemmed, then vatted and fermented for 12 days using native yeasts. Aged ten months in old oak barrels and stainless steel vats. Unfiltered, unfined and minimally sulphured. 14% ABV.
Heady nose of roasted plums, sun-baked stones, garrigue and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied and quite dry. Velvet-textured yet fluid with supple tannins and astoundingly pure, ripe fruit. Turns savoury on the finish, leaving a peristant tingle (whether from tannins, acidity or alcohol I can’t tell) and faint aftertaste of raspberry liqueur. Some of Sénat’s other wines, notably Le Bois des Merveilles, are overambitious – too big, heavy and unrefreshing – but this vibrant quaffer is a charmer and a close to perfect pairing for herb-rubbed and grilled beef, lamb or pork.
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.
Rosso di terrazza
IGT Toscana 2010, Casamatta, Bibi Graetz ($15.45, 11372441)
The name means “crazy house.” 100% young-vine Sangiovese. Fermented in stainless steel, aged in barrels after malolactic fermentation. Screwcapped. 12.5% ABV.
Sour cherry, raspberry, leaf mould, a floral note and a hint of kirschy marzipan. Underpinned by light tannins and buoyed by acidity, the sweet and tart fruit leads to a softly astringent, bitter-edged finish. This welterweight may be simple and commercial but, lightly chilled on a hot summer evening, it’s also quite enjoyable in its juicy kind of way. Serve with grilled Italian sausages, braised beef or just about anything in tomato sauce.
Santorini in a glass
Blasted by the sun and wind, the spectacularly beautiful island of Santorini is a remnant of the caldera of a volcano whose catastrophic collapse 35 centuries ago may have brought down the Minoan civilization in distant Crete. The island may also be the Atlantis of legend. The volcanic soil is young and nearly devoid of organic matter. Water in the form of rain is virtually non-existent during the growing season. The wind strips leaves and desiccates everything in its path. As Hugh Johnson has said, this is Europe’s most punishing vineyard. How surprising then that it is also the source of one of Europe’s great white wines.
The traditional vine-growing method, still much in use today, is to train the vines into nests kept low to the ground, which affords a degree of protection from the wind and sun.
Santorini 2010, Assyrtiko, Estate Argyros ($21.15, 11639344)
100% Assyrtiko from 50- to 60-year-old vines. Fermented and aged on the lees in stainless steel.
Quartz dust and lemon with notes of dried herbs and green grape. Medium-bodied and very dry. A tight coil of minerals and tingling acidity rounded by a density of, well, fruit except the wine’s not fruity (matière, the French would say; perhaps “extract” is the best translation). Virtually endless preserved-lemon finish, the alcohol (13.2% ABV) providing lift, not heat. Clean, pure and penetrating. In short, a lip-smacking wine not to be missed, especially at the price. Food pairing? Grilled fish served with lemon wedges and a pitcher of olive oil. Or, one of the best matches ever (better even than Muscadet or Chablis), oysters on the half shell.
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 (interlude)
MWG member wapiti generously shared with the group a Pork Futures smoked pork tongue. After considering various pairing options, we settled on the following bottle.
Grignolino d’Asti 2010, Cascina ’Tavijn ($20.05, oenopole but NLA)
100% Grignolino. Hazy pale red. Sour cherry nose with horsehair and mineral notes. A bit spritzy on opening. More minerally than fruity. More astringent than obviously tannic. Keen acidity. Lingering bitter cherry, cherry stems and grape pips. Hard to imagine a better match for the thinly sliced, lightly smoked tongue. (Buy again? Definitely.)
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.)
MWG April Jura tastings: report (6/6)
The Jura counterpart to Pineau des Charentes and Floc de Gascogne, Macvin du Jura is a vin de liqueur, a sweet and powerful blend of two-thirds grape juice and one-third Marc du Jura (pomace brandy) that is aged up to 30 months in casks. Macvin comes in white, pink and red varieties (usually the first) and, despite having been around since at least the 14th century, was granted its own AOC only in 1991. Locals serve it chilled as an aperitif, with desserts or after dinner mixed with marc (usually one part Macvin to two parts marc).
Macvin du Jura, Jean Bourdy ($47.00, 3 btls/case, La QV)
A rare rosé Macvin. Strawberry, fruit cake and dried spice (caraway, clove, cinnamon). Sweetness balanced by acidity and spice. Lingers long. Excellent. (Buy again? Yes.)
Macvin Rouge, Pinot Noir, André et Mireille Tissot ($39.25, 6 btls/case, Les Vins Alain Bélanger)
Deep red. Candied cherry on steroids, spice and an undernote of dried blood. Dense, fruity sweetness lifted by acid and alcohol. Marathon finish. Fascinating. (Buy again? Yes.)
Stéphane Tissot suggests chocolate as a pairing for his red Macvin. At the tastings, it was successfully served with squares of Valrhona Guanaja bittersweet chocolate. Further research conducted a few days later found it an unbeatable match with a selection of exquisite chocolate, hazlenut, pistachio and raspberry pastries from Olivier Potier.
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 