Notes from a country French dinner.
Decided that the onset of autumn/wintery weather warranted doing some of the cuisine I like best, straight ahead French country cooking. There were 6 of us.
Ch. de Mosny – a sparkler from the Loire – Chenin blanc from Montlouis as an change from the usual bubble – closed for a few minuets than opened to show nice sweet fruit and crisp finish.
1993 Ch. De Beaucastel VV Roussanne – this wine often perplexes people. Amber in colour and showing hints of oxidation at this age, it also has honeyed apricot and orange notes and a nice mouth feel with continuing good balance. Should be drunk up. Oddly enough, the wine seems less oxidative this morning after a night in the fridge and the apricots are more prominent!
I wanted that wine to be an introduction to food, so served it not with a course but a couple of amuses bouches that I thought might set off the wine well. The first was cubes of seedless watermelon that I made a hollow on top with a small spoon and then drizzled a few drops of crema balsamico (a mix of balsamic vinegar and grape juice). A nice sweet start followed by s light hit of the acidic vinegar. The other was cubes of sheep’s milk feta with a few drops of truffle oil on top. That one got raves from the women for some reason. While not usually a fan of truffle oil (which has no truffle in it) I have to admit that this made an interesting mouth full.
2008 Blue Mountain Pinot Noir – this BC pinot is so reliable that I automatically order a case ever year. At the age of 5 years I knew it was showing well. I told the attendees only that it was a pinot (I MAY have done nothing to disabuse them of their apparent thought that this was a young Burgundy) and indeed they were talking about it being a fruity young Givry or some such. As always, very decent drinking wine.
I served it with the quintessential French dish I find people rarely make – onion soup. Caramelization is key to the flavour and my version adds some chopped bacon. I thought long and hard about what wine to add to it and finally settled on a little Madeira as I find it gives the best character without being obtrusive. Many would opt for a few ounces of Port or Sherry. Lavish amounts of good Gruyere over toasted baguette slices topped it off in the typical manner.
Next up was a country terrine with a bit of frisee, served with the ‘real’ Burg:
1993 Remoissenet Volnay – I’ve had excellent luck with 1993 Burgs, although some now come across with slightly assertive acidity (not this one though). Pale edges, nose of earth, and mature pinot fruit, a nice sweetness and devoid of the tartness of some 93s, this was a really good showing for a village wine of this age. Of course at this age, YMMV and some bottles will show better than others.
The next wine was really an ‘inter course’ wine –
2000 Ch. Larose Trintaudon – the person that brought this was originally going to bring a 1989 Beau Site, a modest St. Estephe that I figured would be hors de combat. So much so that I looked at my cellar list, found that I had 3 bottles I’d forgotten about and opened one a night earlier. Faded but drinkable, I quickly moved the remaining bottles into the ‘wife opens for the girls’ box and warned my friend to change up his choice. The Larose was a nice fully mature Medoc, light to medium body and pleasant.
The next course was a daube de bouef from a recipe originating in Gascony, simmered for several hours to blend the flavours of some fairly savage locally grown garlic, parsnips and carrots, as well as a herbal bouquet garni. Interestingly, it was finished with 60 g. of dark chocolate, which added some very nice rich notes to the stew and blunted any remaining sharpness from the garlic. Very filling!
2002 Dom. de Sergent Madiran Cuvee Vielles Vignes – this wood aged 100% Tannat wine was a little scary – they can be pretty stand-offish (read, brutally tannic) if made traditionally, and the fact that this producer hadn’t wussed out and blended in other grapes (cab and cab franc are allowed) to soften the wines was a warning sign. It turned out well though as the wine, while pretty firmly structured, was showing an excellent nose of cocoa and roasted meat (no, I don’t think it was the daube). No rush, but drinks pretty well now, particularly with this sort of food.
I had made an apple tart (I don’t usually do desserts) with Armagnac, in a phyllo shell, and it got accolades from the ladies. We had this with it:
2003 Ch. Lafaurie Peyraguay – ripe spicy nose with apricot fruit and hints of pineapple, sweet and it followed all the way through to the end. Impressive and balanced sweet wine.
1985 Royal Oporto Port – I threw this in so we’d have something to sip with cheese. It is a fairly pale minor wine but was actually much better than a previous bottle. No complexity. drink up or cook with it!
