Pairing wine with Magret de Canard and Peach Sauce

[DebiHill]

I will be making a special long, French lunch for a chef friend and the main course will be Magret de Canard with a Fresh Peach Sauce. I have quite a few red Bordeaux in my wine collection and would appreciate some direction about what blends (percentages of specific grapes) would be best to serve with that dish. Also, what would be a good "starter" course (I was thinking a light - perhaps cold - soup then a simple, typically French green salad). I live in Texas and it's very hot, so keeping the meal cool and light seems best, under the circumstances.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Might also consider Muscat Beaumes de Venise, A bit higher alcohol, 17 degrees, as is fortified but shows off the orange tang in muscat beautifully and with that dish should not come off as too sweet or dish too 'peachy' .

[ChefJune]

I agree with Brad. A fresh peach sauce will inevitably have a fairly large degree of sweetness. If the wine you serve is less sweet than your dish, it will end up tasting very sour, vinegary, unpleasant.

If not Sauternes, think of a Hungarian Tokaji, a Monbazillac, or other sweet wine that has a fair amount of body to go with the duck's intensity.

[DebiHill]

Thank you, Chef June. I list the ingredients of the sauce in my reply to Brad. If that changes your suggestions any, please let me know.

[ChefJune]

My recs remain the same. Sounds tasty.

[Brad Ballinger]

Are you open to wine suggestions beyond the Bordeaux options you have? The decision of wine pairing depends a fair amount on how sweet your fresh peach sauce is. Shooting from the hip, I think a Sauternes would go well. It's not only for desserts and cheeses.

[DebiHill]

Thank you, Brad. I would not have thought of a Sauternes, or of the suggestions in the second reply. The sauce calls for a sprig of thyme, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tsp honey, 2 T ruby port, 2 T each balsamic AND white wine vinegar, and 1 1/2 T butter. So, I think it will have both sweet and savory aspects to it, if that changes your suggestion at all.

I do have quite a few wines in my "celler" so am open to just about anything.

[Brad Ballinger]

1/4 cup total of vinegar? Does that get reduced at all?

The peaches will still be quite sweet depending on their level of ripeness, and they will exude some nectar when cooked in the sauce. I'm still going to stand by the Sauternes rec.

[DebiHill]

Yes, the sauce does get reduced...so I'll look into a sauterne. Thank you so much.