WTN: Cassoulet, Cowan, Champagne, Champigny, CdP &

things that don't start with C

Betsy was swamped with work and practicing, and fighting a cold, so a week of me cooking:

With assorted leftovers, the 2009 Keller Trocken Riesling QbA. Clean, citrus, nice balance, B/B+

With sardines in a sweet/sour sauce with potatoes, as well as slivered snow peas, the 2004 Henri Bonnaire Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Light, crisp, decent length, a little sweet on finish. B

Sunday I made cassoulet from the D'Artagnan kit, we invited several couples to join us. Betsy was under the weather, but rallied enough to be a charming hostess. We started with a scallop/shrimp/avocado ceviche Nancy brought, with:

NV Pinon Vouvray Brut Non-Dose
Brisk, yeasty, nice fruit, long finish. B+

2007 Domaine and Selection "Blanchots" Chablis Grand Cru
Negociant wine, wine maker listed as Clotilde Davenne. Pears, chalk, clean and easy. Good example of Chardonnay, not a bad example of Chablis, but as an example of GC Chablis, shaky shaky ground. B

2007 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese (#12)- what a waste, totally shut down, just sweetness and little else. For drinking today C+/B-, but I look forward to some in 6 years.

Then to table for cassoulet and a fennel/lettuce salad with a citrus dressing. The wines:

1995 Edmunds St John "Durrell" Syrah
Double-decanted an hour or two in advance (lots of sediment). Still a bit of tannin, good acids, but strong fruit too. Dark berries, leather, a little animal funk. Long and balanced, best as end of night. A-

2003 Bois du Boursan Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Red fruit, earth, herb. Not as fat or hot (listed as 14.5%) as some 03 CdPs. Others liked it more than I, but I did enjoy. B

2007 Chateau de Colombiere Fronton Reserve
80% Negrette, 10 % Syrah, 10% "Cabernets"
Needs a little more spine. Red fruits, spice, a bit short with a bitter edge to finish, I prefer their base "vinum". B-/C+

2009 Filliatreau "La Grand Vignolle" Saumur-Champigny
Ripe, floral, ok but not my fave vintage of this. B-/B

I also cooked Monday, meatless isn't my speciality, but I was pretty content with results- I grilled (pressed) tofu, Japanese eggplant, and shiitakes, parsteamed some broccoli, put that all in a soy/chili oil marinade, made vegetable broth, cooked udon, then assembled all of that into one hot pot. Wine was the 2007 Domaine Carneros (by Taittinger), brought by guests previous night. Lemon and apple, just a touch of yeast, light, maybe a bit simple but clean. B-

On a beautifully last night of "June-uary" (60 degrees) , I grilled salmon with a soy/miso glaze, roasted some cauliflower, and served with the 2010 Cowan Cellars "Bennett Valley" Pinot Noir. I tried this both in a Burg glass and in a smaller glass (Zalto white wine, probably 12-13 oz) and much preferred in smaller. In big globe it seemed excessively primary, but much more refined in midsized glass. Black cherries, a touch of damp earth, fruit dominated but with a nice sense of balance. B+/B for now

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Chenin, Chateau and Colombiere start with a C, Dale. Can't help you with Keller, Willi and ESJ though.

So how was the cassoulet from kit?

And how did the wines go with the cassoulet?

Chenin, Chateau and Colombiere start with a C, Dale. Can't help you with Keller, Willi and ESJ though.

I should have thought of Chenin- I did use Colombiere (and Carneros) in another forum where I could have longer titles.

So how was the cassoulet from kit?

Really quite good, though I screwed it up slightly. Frank D had posted a link with a $30 off coupon, so $73.xx delivered for 6 confit legs, 2 packages of duck/armagnac sausage, a huge garlic sausage, 3 lbs of haricots Tarbais, a container of demiglace, container of duck fat. A bit much for my 7 qt Le Creuset , so I set aside half the duck sausage, a 1/3 of the garlic sausage, and a pound of the beans (with 8 people still had tons of leftovers). I know traditional to make one's own confit, but this was a huge time saver. So I dutifully broke crust several times, the pot held liquid well, but after uncovered I added some goose broth. But the screwup came because one couple had an issue (and were bringing the appetizer), and everything got pushed back 30+ minutes. I had plenty of liquid in, and thought if I turned off oven and covered, it would be fine. I was shocked at how much liquid the beans absorbed in that state. So a bit drier than I had hoped.

And how did the wines go with the cassoulet?

All went at least ok, with the CdP maybe faring best on that criterion alone. While I generally love idea of regional pairing, Negrette seems light for cassoulet to me. Usually I serve Madiran or Cahors, but sometimes it's just "I am in cellar and I see this, and feel like trying it."

I should add that I thought the Cowan Bennett (refrigerated, but no gas or other preserve technique) did well overnight, and I liked leftovers a lot last night.