Everyone presents their terrine dish, together with two wines that they feel may complement them. We often take advantage of the occasion to test a couple of somewhat different wines to see which works to best advantage with the food.
The first course was a White Fish Mousseline with cucumber vichyssoise sauce, the terrine punctuated by pieces of decorative and tasty fish.
2006 Daniel Dampt Chablis 1 cru Cote de Lechet – light in colour, and a lot of mineral and nicely calculated oak hints, clean and crisp on palate. Very nice wine.
2010 Ch. D'Esclans Whispering Angel Rosé – from the Lichine property in Provence, this wine had a faint pink tint with pretty effect, a marked fruit aroma that I thought was more cherry at first but quickly settled in to being strawberry, and a clean finish. Good, but not as good with the food as the Dampt.
The next course was a take on a classic from the Tour d’Argent, a terrine of sweetbreads, lobster and truffles in gelée. While tasting very good, the structural integrity left something to be desired, an issue unrevealed in an initial test run. Served with a fennel and apple salad.
2005 Champelou Vouvray La Cuvée de Fondraux – I knew that this wine was tasty but might lack sufficient acidity to shine, and that turned out to be the case. Slightly sweet apple nose, soft with some sweetness on palate and while fairly full bodied and smooth across the tongue, I felt that the terminal acidity was a bit lacking, leaving a too soft impression.
2007 Ca Rugate Soave Classico Monte Fiorentino – no acidity issues at all with this wine. Full bodied fruit and lemon nose, good fruit on palate and crisp acidity worked much better with the food. Some opined that it would have been interesting to taste this dish with a cool Pinot Noir as well.
The next dish was made from mushrooms obtained by the participant while visiting the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Haida Gwaii Wild Mushroom Terrine, made with a combination of dried and fresh mushrooms, mostly chanterelles with some morels and button mushrooms, garnished with cooked cherries and a bit of goat cheese.
2009 Georges Descombes Beaujolais Morgon – this wine was showing nice depth of colour and some nice cherry fruit, with soft tannins and good length. Nice choice!
We adjourned at half time for a few rounds of bocce competition, and then returned for the second half of the wines and food.
The next terrine was a classic French style rabbit and hazelnut preparation, with accompaniments of cherry with cherry with radiccio and balsamic vinegar and a mango salsa.
1999 Jacques Prieur Volnay Champans –This wine was showing as well as I can ever remember. Good colour, with a little funkiness in the otherwise plumy nose, lots of mid-palate fruit, and a long smooth finish. Mellow and perfectly ready.
1996 CUNE Imperial Gran Reserva – another interesting wine choice. Fair bit of bricking at the edges, and a reasonable amount of vanilla in the nose, the wine showed some very nice developed fruit and some hints of dill developed after awhile. Good length.
The next dish had been tested and retested, no doubt changing considerably in the process. Polpettone Rigoletto, pasta nest w/white truffle marinara and black truffle caviar, and Chianti-braised baby turnips is harder to describe than to just look at in a picture – very nicely laid out and very decorative.
2000 Prunotto Barbaresco – good Piemontese slightly tarry nose, this wine had good fruit levels and abundant soft tannins were present.
1999 Poggio di Sotto Brunello – unlike some Brunellos I tasted a week ago, that fooled several of us into thinking they were from Piemonte, this was pure varietal sangiovese in the nose, with red fruit across the tongue and a mellow lengthy finish. Very nice drinking right now.
Last but certainly not least was an oxtail terrine, served with a bit of greens, gherkins and savoury mayonnaise.
2001 Arcadian Pisoni Vineyards Pinot Noir - a big wine, intentionally left to the last, this was quite dark, showed a big fruity pinot nose, unmistakeably Californian, and it still had lots of soft tannins and great body. Worked well with the wine.
We then kicked back and some indulged in an apricot roll dessert while others sat and contemplated what they would make for next year, the 9th terrine event!
Hard to be objective about one's own baby, but I liked my dish and thought the wines went quite well. I had deliberated right up to the last minute about leaving the barbaresco behind in favor of a younger barolo (I have an 04 that's drinking splendidly) or even another brunello, but at the last I convinced myself that playing up to the two truffle elements in the dish was going to make the most impact, and for that I needed age. I think I chose right. My favorite: the brunello.
Figured you might have doen a couple of trial terrines for that already.