When I signed off last week, our dinner group had just finished
two courses of our meal and had begun to enjoy a few bottles of
wine from the Burgundy region in France.
When I signed off last week, our dinner group had just finished two courses of our meal and had begun to enjoy a few bottles of wine from the Burgundy region in France.
Before we had started, our host reminded us that we would be drinking wines from recent vintages. “Burgundy wines, both red and white, usually need to age a significant amount of time, up to 10 years or more, to fully showcase the wine’s best qualities. More than any other fine wine regions, Burgundy wine can have more pronounced differences from vintage to vintage,” he said. Since he did not have any Burgundy wines that were 10 years or older, he picked vintages that would be enjoyed as they were “at that point in time” – wines with softer acidities, riper fruit and milder tannins.
The next food course was whole roasted chicken. Roasted poultry, particularly chicken, is having its resurgence. Roasted chicken is quick, healthy, flavorful and relatively inexpensive. Local markets carry prepared roasted chickens, but if you are hoping to buy one for dinner, do not snooze or you will lose. Most get sold out by 6pm.
The chicken for our dinner had been brined (a salt-water bath) for a few hours, drained, dried and rubbed generously with butter. Cooked to perfection, the meat was succulent and juicy. Steamed red potatoes with parsley and carrots were served on the side. The carrots were sauteed with butter and fresh parsley was added at the end for color.
Two wines were featured with this course. The first was a 2001 Saint-Aubin en Charmois Domaine Colin-Deleger, a subtle white wine that enhanced the subtlety of the chicken. This wine, priced at $30, was full of minerals, pear and a hint of apricot. The other wine was a 2001 Marsannay Rouge Domaine Meo Camuzet. This red wine, as with most red Burgundies, showed strong earthy flavors and aromas. It had nice depth and a soft, lingering finish.
The main course featured filet mignon medallions that were pan-seared in butter, just two minutes on each side. This cooked the meat to a perfect medium-rare. Crimini mushrooms and onions were then sauteed in the same pan to pick up some of the deglazed flavors of the meat. Steamed green beans were the last side dish.
To go with the beef, two red wines were selected. We tasted a 2000 Nuits-Saints-Georges “Les Roncières” Domaine Chevillon and a 2000 Chambolle-Musigny premier cru Domaine Bertheau.
The Chevillon was bright, laced with notes of sour cherry and firm tannins. On the more earthy side, but still with lively acidity and smokiness, was the Bertheau.
We took a short break and continued our conversations. We knew dessert was on the way.
Dessert consisted of assorted dry cheeses and Granny Smith apples that were sauteed with butter and a bit of sugar. The sugar caramelized with the butter, bringing out a sweet nutty flavor in the fruit. As with all dishes served during the evening, simplicity was the key.
The first wine with dessert was a 1998 Volnay premier cru “Pitures” Domaine Potel. This red burgundy was medium-bodied, dry and laced with red berry fruit. Our host was cajoled into opening a 1998 Meursault Genevrieres Domaine Francois Jobard. We wanted to give the white and red burgundies equal opportunity! This white wine had good, natural acidity and was well balanced with fruit and floral aromas. The cost of this special wine was $80.
The wonderful combination of food and wine had someone in our group proclaim that they were moving to Burgundy next week!
After all this gluttony, we sat back with some nice cigars and relived the meal once again in our minds and in our conversation. I am sure we will be visiting the Burgundy region in the future.
My thoughts also raced to how fortunate I am to have such good friends. Without them, these meals, and the memories, would not be the same.
Cheers!
David Cox is a wine enthusiast and executive director of St. Joseph’s Family Center in Gilroy. He can be reached at wi**********@ya***.com.
