Cassoulet And Grenache, Potato Pie And Pinot Meunier

Hey, Bordeaux, you aren't all that.

For what seems like the hundredth time, another Bordeaux came off too uppity and obstinate to play nice with food like a simple savory pie consisting of really wine-fussy ingredients like potato, chicken stock, black pepper and leeks. How dare we try to force such things?

I can't remember the last time I saw a wine turtle like a bottle of 2003 Fombrauge did last night. Fine by itself. Whiny little baby with food.

Two pairings.

#1 Cassoulet with 2012 A Tribute To Grace Santa Barbara County ($35 - Vin Chicago)

Seems like every time some national (insert food) day happens, Mrs. Ney has, by coincidence, already planned it. Today is National Cassoulet Day. We had it Wednesday, at the outbreak of the nose hair-singeing cold here in Chicago. So, right and proper food.

No weisswurst, which is our favorite (previous cassoulets here). Shop was out. Duck sausages, pork shoulder and duck stock this time. Cook's Illustrated recipe. White beans, porky essence, crusty, juicy, lovely. Bone-warming stuff.

And quite nice with Angela Osborne's cheaper grenache, the gray label, a culled Santa Barbara County offering. The white label was so pure and clean. We liked it, but its delicate nature left us wondering if we could really love it enough to buy more. This one, the gray label, has more rawness and verve, less of a spit-shined veneer. Similar rose-y floral notes, but with grit and dirt. Harder-edged minerals, pretty bright red fruits with a darker berry undertone. More punch.

And that helped with the cassoulet. I wanted grenache, thought about a Les Pallìeres, and eventually settled on this. Solid play. Very friendly with the quality version of cassoulet. Similar weights in the food and wine made for satisfied bites and sips.

Thanksgiving Week

Happy food week.

And a lot of sitting.

Monday dinner of beef bourguignon, Tuscan kale salad with Grana Padano (New York Times recipe) and Pugliese bread, served with 2005 Chateau Fombrauge St.-Emilion ($40 - Binny's). We left most of the meat alone, preferring to dip and dunk with the bread, while loving this kale salad with its dark green depth and parmesan roundness. I don't know what I'm going to do with all the Bordeaux we own, because it's just not doing anything for me right now. Let's hope that changes. Here, this Fombrauge, a solid, value-driven Right Banker that's always satisfied, satisfied with this food as well, linking up, allowing to be itself, which is Good. Just felt perfunctory as an overall meal.


Tuesday lunch of grilled bocadillos (Pintxos cookbook) with La Quercia, manchego and kumatoes on Pugliese. Arugula salad on the side. Served with 2012 Charles & Charles Rosé Columbia Valley ($14 - Whole Foods), a syrah-forward blend. Best pairing of the week, as the sandwiches took the syrah to an earthy, balanced, Old World-ish place, but with the typical Washington freshy freshness. This was fantastic. Something about these grilled sandwiches... Trick seemed to be getting them more burned in parts than just grilled.