Cornas has become one of the great wine appellations of the world. An unsung star of Northern Rhone, outshined for so long by Hermitage and Cote Rotie. In years past, considered savage and rustic. The current breed of winemakers have cleaned and dressed it up. Perhaps Cornas' time atop the vinous Olympus has come! And so have the prices (sigh!) In this rough terrain of Northern Rhone, Syrah reigns supreme among the reds. But the whites too achieve sublime. Here the deep, dark, black expressions of blueberry-and-olive drenched exotic-pepper-spices-n-herbs and primal, raw meat echo unmistakably from the depths of the thick elixirs, impossible anywhere else in the (new) world.
With our busy-bee 15-month-old, Rona and I don't get out much for gourmet dinners these days. So our friends master chefs Scott and Dan came to the rescue by agreeing to cook their Michelin-star dishes in Domaine du Chevsky kitchen. For Scott it was also a good excuse to check out his trio of 2009 Cornas that had just arrived and needed an immediate "expert" evaluation. Dan volunteered a couple of white-Burgundy-rivaling white Hermitage's, while Richard J. supplied a cool bottle of Cote-Rotie.
We kicked off the meal with a requisite magnum of the 1989 vintage Champagne from Heidsieck & Co. "Diamant Bleu" - a 23 year old sparkler in great shape that combined mature complexity with youthful vibrancy, and went oh-so-nice with a salad of heirloom tomatoes from Dan's garden.
Chef Dan followed that with two Hermitage blanc's - 2001 and 2004 Chante-Allouette from M. Chapoutier, paired with baked halibut and roasted corn. The corn added smoky sweetness to the delicate fish that paired gorgeously with the luscious, honeyed apricot-peach-pear-almond-and-nuts kaleidoscope of flavors of the 100% Marsanne-based white Hermitage from Northern Rhone. The older 2001 showed more complexity, and not a sign of fading. The 2004 was still quite a teenager.
Then followed the three Cornas - 2009 Allemand "Chaillot", 2009 Allemand "Reynard", and 2009 Clape, accompanied by a salad of figs and summer greens and a spider-like herbed rack of lamb - a perfect match to the sweet and exotic-pepper-spicy, meaty, iron-rich nuances of the ravishing Cornas, still babies.

Anyway...
Thanks a lot guys! You rock!
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