I was invited to try various 4 different cassoulet/fabada recipes at Lemuria to see how the restaurant's version would compare to a Spanish style fabada and two bottled cassoulets from France - one from top 3 Michelin-starred chef Georges Blanc.
Aside from tasting the cassoulets, we were also supposed to have an opportunity to meet Mr. Anthony Hwang of Huet and Kiralyudvar. Unfortunately, he cancelled dinner at the last minute but was kind enough to send a bottle each of Huet and Kiralyudvar for us to try. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to meet him later in the week.
Huet Le Mont Sec Vouvray 2004 - We had this with our soupe de poissons. Rich candied ginger. Nicely balanced. Some honey-like highlights. Not a very dry style. Perhaps not ideal with the soup which would have been better with something slightly heavier but at the very least a decent match. On its own, very good wine.
Guigal Gigondas 2001 - This was called into service for the various bean dishes. Already soft and crammed with fruit. A little smoky. Perfect for drinking now. Absolutely spot on for the cassoulet and fabada.
All the bean dishes were distinctly different with the two bottled French versions being a little bland and the rather soupy one from Georges Blanc having an odd orange-like flavor which didn't really belong in my opinion. The Spanish fabada was smoky because of the chorizo. This was my favorite. The restaurant's version was everyone olse's number one and my number two.
For dessert we had various truffles - white chocolate with hazelnut, one covered in pistachio and another dusted with cocoa. Those of us with room to spare also had a superb raspberry ice cream. As far as wines go, the highlight of the evening was the Tokaji.
Kiralyudvar Tokaji 6 Puttonyos 2000 - Honeyed, tropical fruit. Pineapple, peach. A marmalade and tea-like note on the extremely long finish give the wine great complexity. Impeccably balanced and very fresh in a modern non-oxidative style. Not a very thick, syrupy wine, it is quite easy to drink. There did not seem to be a great deal of botrytis character in this or perhaps it's just masked by the other components of the wine. Outstanding wine!