Some help with advice on an elegant meal I can cook at home to pair with this wine? I have accessiblity to pretty much the entire range of gourmet ingredients. Would it be enhanced with food, or should I drink it on its own? Unfortunately, I do not have the opportunity to drink wines of this caliber very often, so I guess the first question is, should I hold this wine (Domaine Leflaive) a little longer? I do like my chards with a little age, but not senile. I'm hoping someone will say grilled sweetbreads, b/c I just got a pound of those today. Thanks in advance...

Can't imagine Grilled anything would be great and I personally won't touch sweetbreads even with your mouth...but fry them instead if you had to..

I'd go with Stone Crabs (wait till season starts in fall) or baked or fried fish. Once you grill fish, I'd choose Pinot Noir.

I wouldn't have thought to do grilled sweetbreads, I'd do something like lobster or seared diver scallops. Traditional, classic pairing, but truly divine.

The other thought would be to do a scallop appetizer and drink the wine with that, then have the sweetbreads as a main course with a nice Burgundy (Pinot).

I haven't had a Domaine Leflaive, so I can't comment on drinking window.

Good luck! Let us know what you end up doing and how it works out

The wine can be drunk now or cellared a little longer but no need to wait.

Crab cakes, lobster with butter, sole meunier, almost any mild white meat fish in a butter sauce, scallops, something involving wild mushrooms -- particularly porcini/cepes -- garlic and butter, would all work smashingly.

Thanks for the early replies. I figured the wine would be too delicate for grilled foods. However, I just drank a '98 Chassagne (Marc Colin), and it was so rich and complex that it had some of the same nuances (apricot, honey, ginger) as a fine Sauternes, hence the sweetbreads question. There is a farmers market in my town tomorrow where I'll be able to grab some fresh cod (ling or black), halibut, salmon, dungeness. Maybe I'll do a nice halibut with buerre blanc?

quote:

Originally posted by chum lee:
Thanks for the early replies. I figured the wine would be too delicate for grilled foods. However, I just drank a '98 Chassagne (Marc Colin), and it was so rich and complex that it had some of the same nuances (apricot, honey, ginger) as a fine Sauternes, hence the sweetbreads question. There is a farmers market in my town tomorrow where I'll be able to grab some fresh cod (ling or black), halibut, salmon, dungeness. Maybe I'll do a nice halibut with buerre blanc?

Sounds good. If you can somehow incorporate sauteed shallots into the mix you may be even happier.

I agree with the lobster/crab/scallops. Chard and shellfish are great together. Do something with Dijon mustard, like a cream sauce. They play together nicely as well.

And don't forget a back up in case your wine is premox.

Black cod would be great, depending on what "version" it truly is. There are a handful of fish that are called "black cod", the best of which is actually sablefish. Sablefish has a delicate buttery texture and taste, hence the reason sablefish is also called butterfish.

Inky - I was under the impression that Sablefish, Butterfish, and Black Cod all refer to the same fish. I didn't realize that there was a difference with the three varieties. My fishmonger labels it Sablefish, and it is always incredible.

Aries - I am aware that this wine falls into the WB age group that was susceptible to premox. I will definitely have a backup ready (2001 Leeuwin Estate Art Series), but quite frankly I think a little premox (as long as it's not out of hand and the wine is completely brown) has added some nice complexity to some WB's from the aforementioned age group that I've been lucky to try.