Recipe Recommendation to pair with Vosne Romanee

[wshnyc]

I stashed away a few bottles of 2002 Vosne Romanee (Dom. M. Gros Clos de Reas for the sake of precision) that I am told should drink well now. Now that the weather is cooling, I am inspired to cook up some nice Burgundian fare to enjoy with the wine. Being a little tired of Boeuf Bourgogne and Coq au Vin, I am looking for other suggestions/recipes. Thanks for the help.

[warrenr]

i wouldn't be surprised if that wine was completely shut down at this point. did the person who told you it was ready have it recently? the 02's were very good on release and show lots of promise, but the ones i've had recently (mostly beaunes) have not been drinking well right now. try ouefs en meurette when it's mature if you want something different. although game bird sounds really good.

[tacostacoseverywhere]

Oh yeah-- i realized that I didn't answer the question at all either... when it IS ready to drink, would say roasted game of some sort, although if you can get your hands on some really high quality chicken, a perfect roast chicken with duck fat potatoes and some sort of bitter greens would really help it sing. I'd count this as Burgundian; they practically invented roast chicken for crying out loud... but I can't underscore enough the importance of HIGH quality bird-- if you were in Burgundy I'd tell you to find a Bresse, so whatever the equivalent would be where you live.

[carswell]

Agree about the roast chicken. And if you slipped some truffle shavings under the skin before roasting...

[ChefJune]

<but the ones i've had recently (mostly beaunes) have not been drinking well right now> sometimes the wines from Cotes de Nuit can be vastly different from Beaunes......

[tacostacoseverywhere]

With no intent to offend, I have to echo carswell's initial sentiment-- 02, while it may be drinking nicely now, has a very long way to go. It's got pretty high acid levels and tannin structure as a vintage--it's probably going to be one of the slower vintages to develop in recent memory. That's not to say that this won't be enjoyable, but it may not be quite the revelatory experience that V-R is capable of.

[wshnyc]

No offense taken at all. For the record, I have stashed away some other 02 burgundy (echezeaux and gevrey chambertin) that I intend to age for significantly longer. It's the particular VR M. Gros Clos de Reas that I think I can open this fall/winter. In large part, I base this on Allen Meadows, whose tastes I tend to agree with. In his comments, he writes that the wine will drink well on the young side as it's accessible early and he recommends drinking beginning in 07.

[mengathon]

I'm thinking a leaner than normal rack of lamb, medium rare with nothing but generous amounts of salt and pepper, with sauteed green beans tossed with almonds on the side.

[wshnyc]

Thanks for the suggestions. I should have been a bit clearer...the flavor pairings are very helpful, but I was hoping in particular to find some traditional Burgundian dishes to serve with the bottle other than Boeuf Bourgogne and Coq au Vin. For all the Provence cookbooks out there, I've found it tough to find much on Burgundy.

[carswell]

True there's not a lot on Burgundian cookery in English, especially since Mireille Johnston's *Cuisine of the Rose* went out of print. (You might try picking up a used copy.)

Looking through a couple of French-language cookbooks with Burgundy chapters and wine suggestions, I find:
- Sauté of live escargots with purslane
- Rabbit with mustard
- Roasted rabbit stuffed with "confit" carrots
- Roasted rabbit stuffed with cabbage and bacon, served with red wine sauce
- Beef cheeks braised in pinot noir
- Beef fillet steaks with a red wine and veal reduction sauce
- Beef fillet steaks with shallots and a red wine reduction sauce
- Veal kidneys in various forms
- Roasted pigeons with cepes and pigeon essences (sauce made from the juices from the partially cooked carcasses)
- Pigeons roasted like woodcocks
- Roasted pigeons with quince
- Pan-fried rib eye steaks with oxtail sauce and roasted potatoes
- Veal sweetbreads with mushrooms in a red wine reduction
- Braised duck with turnips
- Pan-fried capon breast and chanterelles in a creamy truffle sauce

Both my earlier suggestions are traditional pairings, btw. The beef dish is called *chateaubriand vert-pré*.

[wshnyc]

Great suggestions. Much appreciated. I have been eyeing the Cuisine of the Rose from online used book retailers, but didn't know whether it was any good (I think I found a brief luke warm review from an old NY Times column). Based on your reference, I think I'll pull the trigger and order a copy.

[ChefJune]

Anne Willan's book "From My Chateau Kitchen" is more current that M. Johnston's and contains lots of FAB Burgundian recipes. I highly recommend it!

To go with your Vosne Romanee, may I suggest Rabbit with Mustard Sauce? A classic pairing that is divine, imho.

[oolah]

Lucky you! I'd go with roast duck, or duck confit, or roasted pork chops with mushrooms and bacon. I had a bottle of burgundy this weekend with some roasted pheasant and that too was a good match.

[Chicago Mike]

This is a fantastic match with red burgundy. To maximize it, make it GRILLED duck or pork chops and add a hint of truffle to the recipe.

Also, grilled fish is a tremendous match. As for an appropriate matching cheese course, burgundy matches a nice range of cheeses fairly well but I particularly like it with plain chevre, aged cheddar, and epoisses.

Lastly, IMO there's probably no other red/white wine pairing that is as comfortable todgether as chardonnay and pinot.... design your meal so that at least one course matches nicely with chardonnay, and serve a glass of both red and white!

In the examples above, for instance, chardonnay is a great match with both the duck and grilled fish! enjoy.

[carswell]

Haven't tried this particular cuvée but I'd be surprised if there were any rush to drink them.

Roasted game birds -- grouse, partridge -- would be fabulous. More mundane but maybe more appropriate in view of the wine's relative youth would be a roasted beef tenderloin, thickly sliced and served with a pat of simple compound butter (lemon juice, chopped parsley and crushed black pepper, say), which would have the advantage fo keeping the spotlight focused on the wine.

[Vinny Barbaresco]

I agree with Carswell, I'd wait another 5-8 yeras to drink this wine (unless of course you have several bottles)