This is my brother-in-law Karel's pairing with his own entirely grown-up dessert, based on quality cheeses, liked by big boys. I need neither remind you of his skill in the kitchen nor his consummate expertise as a passionate wine and spirit lover. If you want to feel the taste in a very real way, read on...
Karel says...
Reading the recipe, some of you may straight away have thought, Sauternes! And that is indeed a very good choice, provided any fruity companion agrees with it; quince, strawberries etc. It will fit nicely. Cassis, on the other hand, won’t. Choose a fairly young Sauternes or Barsac still displaying youthful crispness with this dish, say, 2015 or 2016, both of which are excellent years.
The beauty is, if you don’t go for one of a few iconic names, you will find excellent value often in half bottles, always a nice treat with a dessert. There are many good wines to choose from, but I would like to single out one superior, yet remarkably affordable one: Château Doisy-Daëne (Barsac), a choice also denoting reverence to the late Denis Dubourdieu.
Besides being a gifted winemaker, Denis Dubourdiieu was the Oenology professor at Bordeaux, called “Dieu” by his students. Should you ever be lucky enough to savour the heavenly—and not so affordable—super-cru L’Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne, you’ll understand why that's not merely meant as an abbreviation of his name.
There are comparatively numerous retailers for authentic Bordeaux. But, when consulting a site such as Wine Searcher, be sure to select your particular country of residence. Remember, though the texture of this dish is quite dense and there is the goats' cheese taste to take into account, instead of the sheer voluptuousness of Sauternes or Barsac, you may prefer —as I do with such a dish—a wine that's toned down in evident sweetness and one that distinguishes itself with more acidity and some of that refreshing mountain stream purity.
Thus, we enter the realm of great Riesling Auslese and, if you lust after a special treat, the rare and laborious Eiswein. In terms of sugar content, Eiswein is much richer than the usual Auslese but the “zing”, stemming from its spicy acidity also makes it an excellent companion for our pudding. (To avoid confusion, note there is also dry Auslese. This will be stated on the label as "trocken".)
One that blew me away with this dish: Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein, Auslese Winninger Uhlen “R” (Mosel), I had the 2000, which is supposed to be “not a good year” in the region. Wow! Anyway, this wine is labelled Auslese Uhlen Roth Lay (NB: Wine Searcher makes a complete mess of it).
Let me try to put it in a few words: what unfolds is distinct sweetness, but without the slightest sugary sensation. Instead this is all about freshness and harmony, an ever changing panoply of taste; apple (you know, ancient breeds that taste divine), grapefruit, gooseberry, orange zest, Charente melon, some ripe mango... Always light-footed, crystal clear and focussed with that mineral, slightly salty backbone... You bet this is a grandiose interplay of taste and texture!
A word of caution before you rush off to the supermarket inspired by the ecstatic description of this particular wine. As is the case with any wine, not every bottle labelled Auslese or Eiswein will set the fireworks alight. I sadly recall an occasion on which an acquaintance proudly presented “a great Eiswein" that was an insult to the sink down which it should have been poured.
Yes, dear friends, let's hope you do not fall victim to such bogus claims. Fortunately, there are a lot of excellent producers. This is merely a short list of my personal favourites for this style of wine and, dare I say, it's impossible to go wrong with any of these. By the way, though not our concern here per se, this also applies to any of these winemakers’ other wines too.
Heymann-Löwenstein (Mosel), … oh, you already guessed that?
Dönnhoff (Nahe), in my universe, THE Eiswein guru, but that's no secret. I’m afraid we’re talking Château d’Yquem price-level for these wines. Luckily here come the brilliant Auslese wines from Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle and Oberhäuser Brücke to choose from as well...
Fritz Haag (Mosel), perhaps the pinnacle of elegance with gorgeous Ausleses from Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr; the choice for those who have opted for less authoritative cheeses...
Maximin Grünhaus (Ruwer). My summation of a bolder style with extremely age-worthy Auslese wines from the Abtsberg and Herrenberg vineyards; search out the wines carrying the cask number on the label that represent each year’s selection of their very best.
Weingut Georg Breuer (Rheingau), noble classics from the the Rhine region, specifically
Rüdesheim’s fillet pieces Berg Schlossberg, Berg Rottland and Berg Roseneck...
Long resident in Germany, I realise that my selection is completely biased towards this country. That's no bad thing in this particular case. But, you may also find the style of wine we’re thinking about originating in Austria or France, for example.
In fact, a degree less sweet, I thoroughly recommend the best demi-sec wines from the Loire region. And, the must-have name in this trope is Domaine Huet (Vouvray), 100% Chenin Blanc from the magnificent vineyards of Le Mont, Le Clos du Bourg or Le Haut-Lieu. I really can’t express a clear preference for one of these three nectars. I don’t recall having seen half bottles, but these wines can be paired with many inventive starters and principal plates too. So, carefully chosen, you can actually build an entire menu around them.
Let's be clear: I mention these wines not as a stopgap solution for those who don’t like brazenly sweet wine, rather they match —or question—what you crave for at any particular moment.
As you may have noticed, there is perhaps an unexpectedly fine gradation of sweet tastes waiting to be discovered. Important therefore, if you’re unsure what to expect in terms of sweetness, acidity, freshness, spiciness or mineral notes that are considered in any other dessert wine on your radar. So, do talk to your trusted wine salesperson.
And now for something completely different...
Nothing forces you to uncork a bottle of wine with this dish. Instead, you can perfectly accompany it with a nice drachm of some delectable spirit.
Ken will hopefully forgive that I’m not primarily thinking of single malts. Well, not any one single malt anyway. But, we’ll come to that. Without the slightest hesitation, however, my own favourite for sipping with the dish is a particular cognac. And, surprisingly perhaps, it's not one from the venerable heartland terroirs but a mere Bois Ordinaires from a great wizard of the trade.
Jean Grosperrin, Cognac Bois Ordinaires No 90, Île d’Oléron. The name "Oléron" indicates why this one is special. It's distilled and aged near the ocean. Oh, I must do the rave thing once again: you smell the spicy vegetation of the summer, at 46,2° vol. (for the batch I had) a perfect heart-warming pleasure featuring ripe pears, almonds, the pine forest, Physalis, vanilla, cinnamon and black pepper, milk chocolate, salt, some “fiery” as well as “breezy” wildness about it...
Apart from this particular one, any Grosperrin “Cognac de Collection” I’ve come across so far is bound to please. Other Cognac names that I absolutely recommend are Jean-Luc Pasquet and Vallein-Tercinier and the one that triggered it all for me long time ago, Léopold Gourmel.
Further south, in Gascony, Armagnac is another source of wonderful spirits that can be enjoyed with the dessert. My all-time champion here is the Darroze house with their extraordinary gems of the “Unique Collection”, a mind-boggling series of different estates and vintages. Alongside Darroze, the house of Jean Cavé is sure to please.
How about single malt, then? The immense variety makes it a minefield. But, provided you choose carefully, good matches are possible. The earthiness of the cheese’s mould in particular lays the basis for a “conversation” with many a fine malt, but not all. Whereas some smokiness is okay, avoid markedly peated malts. Seriously!
A Speyside or Highland single malt matured in Oloroso or Pedro Ximenez cask is a good match. I have tried a drachm of GlenDronach 1994/2013 Pedro Ximenez cask myself (51,6% vol., old bottle that had much exposure to air); a great single malt that indeed worked wonderfully. This particular one was a limited release, the description of presently available malts will guide you to an equally fine pairing.
Testing the limit in an entirely other challenge of taste, Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2010/2019, Islay, bourbon cask with Orkney provenance barley (50% vol., young bottle, much less aired than the previous whisky). A much wilder dance here and certainly not everyone’s fancy. Yes it matches. But, this is one for the fearless.
Finally, from an earlier tasting, I simply know a truly superb match; the limited release (for the German market) of Brühler Whiskyhaus, 375 btls. Only, heck, I really couldn’t force myself to open this very last bottle right now: “A Dream of Scotland”, Islay 2004/2018 dist. Bruichladdich, Château d’Yquem cask!
Noticed something? The circle closes. We’ve returned to Sauternes and even if it’s not going to do a Yquem or other single malts matured (partly) in Sauternes casks, where available, surely it's worth looking at them then.
So, sláinte and santé … and schol for Kamiel, of course
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