I thought I would take a break this issue from solely the wines of Mallorca & The Balearics to report on a tutored Wine & Food Pairing ‘A Taste of France’ hosted last night in Palma.
The event was open to all and was arranged by No.12 Fine Wines & Provisions in conjunction with Katy Rosales at the Galley Club.
The tasting opened with a classic Rosé de Provence, Domaine Ott, Chateau Romassan Bandol 2013, which of course was pale salmon in colour and delicate. Being so light in style, this was presented first, not the norm but the two whites were going to have a lot more weight and body. The wine showed good acidity and freshness. The blend here is Grenache 50% + Cinsault 30% + Syrah 15% + Cabernet Sauvignon 5%.
Katy prepared to accompany this Cod Carpaccio with Olive Oil infusion & surprise salts – the ‘surprise’ here being the wonderful black Himalaya salt. The wine was a good match, not overpowering the fish but cutting through the olive oil and balancing the salt.
Next the whites; beginning with another classic – on this night of great wines – a Pouilly-Fumé from Masson-Blondelet, Les Pierres de Pierres 2012. Being 100% Sauvignon Blanc, by the appellation’s law, there was good, steely acidity accompanying a citrusy fruit taste. The dish? A Prawn in Filo pastry with yoghurt spiced salsa and the sharpness of the Sauvignon cut through both the meaty prawn and the creamy yoghurt.
Our second white – a Chablis Premier Cru Les Vaillons from William Fèvre. Chablis has selected vineyards that are demarcated as either Premier Cru or Grand Cru where the combination of the soils, location & micro-climate will produce the very best Chardonnay vines & grapes for the wines.
Katy’s Pork Fillet with reduction of Pedro Ximenez had both lightness in the moist meat and power in the jus – PX being the sweetest style of Sherry produced and is wonderful poured over vanilla ice-cream!
Into the reds where I had the first, a Remoissenet Père & Fils Pinot Noir 2010 served chilled – because like the majority of Pinot Noir wines, that show very little or no tannins, this will lift the acidity and make it an ideal match with spicy foods or fish dishes…… The very same concept applies to the young, light Gamay wines of Beaujolais; also a part of Burgundy.
So this wine worked very well with Spiced Lamb Tagine & couscous.
Our second red was the ultra-famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the southern Rhône Valley, close to Avignon and the Papal palais; being the reason many wines from here have Les Reflets embossed on the bottle. This example, a relatively young 2011, came from the well-known and respected Famille Perrin, the owners of the great Château Beaucastel in this region. The appellation here allows for any or all of 13 different grape varieties to be used from the mighty Syrah to the little known (white) Bourboulenc!
The dish for this wine was Solomillo de Ternera in a red wine jus – the red wine in question being from here in Mallorca! Because here we have considerable, young yet ripening, tannins, this was perhaps the best pairing of the night as those tannins harmonised well with the red meat proteins.
So to close the evening a plate of cheeses, the selection including a Menorcan, a Manchego and a Gorgonzola – allowing several parings in one plate! The wine was a Sainte-Croix-du-Mont , Château de Mont 2011. This is an appellation of Bordeaux, in the same style as Sauternes & Barsac; being predominantly Semillon with the addition of Sauvignon Blanc. Clean, refreshing sweet wines like this are the perfect match for many cheeses, and also for foie!
If you would like to have just such an evening with us, please contact us.
Martin Ward
WINE EDUCATORS INTERNATIONAL / DINING WITH STYLE
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