The idea was pure inspiration; pair a selection of wines from one of our very favorite importers with the cuisine of one of our favorite local restaurants. What do you have? A recipe for a great evening of food and drink.
We’ve been enjoying J et R Selections for some years now, as they continue to bring in many of our perennial go-to Rhone and Burgundy wines at affordable prices. The folks at Fiddleheads Restaurant and Bar in Royal Oak have been serving up deliciously satisfying meals for the five or so years that we’ve been frequenting the premises. So, when we heard that there would be a “Southern Rhone Wine Dinner” a few weeks back, we made our reservations immediately. Dan Farley, who now runs J et R's day-to-day operations for semi-retired owner J. C. Mathes, was on hand to talk about each selection, and the turnout was an impressive 85 or so food and wine lovers. Here's what we ate and drank on this delightful evening.
Pale to medium straw color, with a white stone fruit nose shaded with subtle mineral and floral notes; the rich flavors pick those elements up and run with them big time. Excellent concentration, density and cut. Gives a slight impression of heat with the scallops and sauce, but less so by itself. A blend of Clairette, Marsanne, Roussanne & Viognier. 14% alcohol, $13.08.
and Red Wine Vinegar Syrup
2006 Oratoire St. Martin Cotes du Rhone Village Haut Coustias Blanc
Medium straw color, with a tinge of peach; on the nose, it offers big stony white tree fruit and lanolin, all of which echoes forcefully in the mouth. One taster at another table mentioned “over-ripe pineapple, but I got none of that. Full bodied, dense, with lots of acidity, this works well with the peach, ham and goat cheese, but I’d really like to try this again in a few years, and maybe I will! Dan describes this as “big, rich and meant to age 3, 4 and 5 years,” adding that it’s “not dramatic, but very good, very traditional.” He says it’s the first vintage produced with no Grenache Blanc in the blend, adding that there’s still some ’05 left, so a side-by-side might be most interesting. Marsanne, Roussanne & Viognier. 14.5% alcohol, $30.13.
These two whites are both quite nice, with distinctively different personalities. The first is lighter, and more floral, while the second is bigger, more mineral dominated and age-worthy.
2006 Oratoire St. Martin Cotes du Rhone Village Cairanne Reserve des Seigneurs Rouge
Good dark color, with a surprising amount of chocolate on the nose, and more of the same on the palate, with a big core of earthy black plum, currant and berry. Full bodied, with very good structure, this is a fine match for the sausage and compote, and should age effortlessly for 5 years and beyond. 14.5% alcohol, $24.00.
Ruby garnet color, with flavors and aromas of earthy black plum and currant that work well with the pork belly. Full bodied, with good structure, depth and balance, this is good now, and should at least hold, if not improve over the next few years. 14.5% alcohol, $24.89.
2003 Domaine du Banneret Chateauneuf du Pape
This dark colored Chateauneuf du Pape is the hit of the night, at least at our table. It exudes classic aromas of smoke, iron, earth, a little bit of the barnyard and a rich core of black plum and berry, all of which follows through beautifully in the rich, lovely flavors. Full bodied, muscular and delicious, this is a 10-15 year wine, and a new star in our CdP horizon (it’s a relatively recent addition to the J et R lineup, only having been picked up in the last year or two). This is our first taste of this, and hopefully, many more will follow; happily, it proves not to be a casualty of the excessive heat of the vintage and pairs beautifully with the quail. 60% Grenache Noir, 40% Mourvedre, 14% alcohol, $44.14.
2006 Tourade Muscat de Beaumes de Venise VDN Cuvee Mathys
Pale gold color, with a pretty, floral, honeyed nose. Rich, but not overly sweet, it offers peach and apricot with hints of cucumber, honey, mineral and a subtle herbaceousness, all with good acids and just a smidgen of heat. (It weighs in at 16-18%, but not because it is fermented that way; they add alcohol to stop the fermentation.) Farley says that this one is made not to please Parker, but to please the winemaker’s mother-in-law. We like it quite well, so chances are, she does too! $32.
A great time was had by all, and everyone went home satisfied and happy. Many thanks to Dan Farley, Fiddleheads executive chef Tim Voss and staff, and Jack Bourget and Michael Korn from Wines of Distinction, J et R’s local distributors. The only thing I have left to ask is, when can we do this again?
Cheers,
The Winebuys Guy
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