I’m always up for a tough food and wine pairing challenge – it makes you reeeeallllly think about the components of each, it is a great learning experience, and while the opportunity for great reward is high, the stakes usually are not. However, my most recent challenge brought with it unusual difficulty and abnormally high stakes. The occasion is my wedding dinner and in choosing some tasty, memorable wines for the head table (my apologies to the other tables) realized that we fell in love with a horribly difficult entrée with which to pair red wine. As a wine “professional,” I pretty much have to deliver on this or our guests will be disappointed on several levels.
First course is a walk in the park – fresh heirloom tomatoes with sheep’s milk ricotta, capers and fruity olive oil, paired with a 2000 Boillot Puligny Pucelles ($89). Bingo. Main course is grilled lamb (not difficult), but sided with Mediterranean-spiced couscous, drizzled with a complex chermoula sauce (fresh cilantro, parsley, ginger and pungent chilies, among other things), is a different story. I’d normally say a rich, complex Riesling Spatlese or Auslese would do the trick with its acidity and
residual sugar, but the geek factor is high and inappropriate for a celebration.
Long story, but we happened across a 1997 Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano ($119), although we would not have normally turned to a Piedmontese wine. The overtly ripe quality of the vintage, held in check and in balance by a true winemaking master, has the sweetness of fruit and requisite acidity to match the complex flavors and spices. The wine has cinnamon, anise, cherry and earthy notes which all meld well with the overall profile of the dish. And since the entrée isn’t at all heavy, the Burgundian weight of old-style Barbaresco is perfect.
This is a great red wine at its peak, but my guess is that it won’t continue to offer this level of pleasure for more than 3-4 years. Look into the 1999 Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano ($109) if you want to ensure this experience for years to come. It’s a wine that should come into its own any day now and will likely surpass the quality of the 1997.
