I will be serving a 1991 Chapoutier “L’Orée” at an upcoming Northern Rhône dinner. We will have the reds together with the main course, and I’d like to serve this one by itself with a lighter course before we get to the main event. Any advice for decanting/air time or for what to serve with it? A cheese plate? Or a more traditional appetizer (relatively easy and non-exotic recipes preferred)? What say ye?
Salt code brandade often goes very well with older white Rhones. Could be served as croquettes too. Good for dinner parties in either preparation because it can be made ahead and just warmed.
I think salt cod would work. Probably stay away from cheese, as I feel the texture of an older RHone white would be interfered with the richness of cheese. I always like a roast chicken with an older one.
I think some well-chosen cheeses could work, for example Rocamadour or Pérail de Brebis.
just a quick thought: kind od scrambled eggs with bacon, onions, mushrooms and some cheese or truffles …
maybe some sort of exotic pate?
1991 Chave Hermitage sounds like a nice pairing.
We had the 06 l’Oree last summer and the donor had us enjoy it before the reds, I think with just bread and butter. I’ve only had these a few times in my life and they are so fabulous and it makes sense to avoid distractions with them.
butter poached lobster should work well
Pork rilettes, richness accentuating richness
Buttered fresh pasta with white beans and herbs
Edit–I also love older white Rhone with sweetbreads
(and the buttered pasta…)
French Quiche (Lorraine)
sweetbreads sounds awesome. i’ve always been too scared to try making them at home though.
Chicken vin Jaune would be great.
Fabulous list of suggestions… makes me want to try several myself!
What’s the Chapoutier oak treatment like [then and now]?
Hopefully they knew what they were doing back in the early 1990s, but here in the USA, many of our Chardonnays [from that general era] aged disastrously, because the winemakers didn’t know what the heck they were doing with the oak treatment - so that after a few years in bottle, the USA chardonnays were prone to developing what was effectively a sheen of suntan oil all over them, and became strongly DNPIM [and you could fuhgeddabout swallowing them].
That music dude nailed it with the breakfast foods [I didn’t even know they scrambled eggs in Austria - I always assumed that was just a redneck thang here in the USA].
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I’ve tried and will never do them at home again.It came out offal. Let the professionals do it, I say!
It´s called “Eierspeis” (egg dish) over here - and there are many different ones - see 69 Rezepte zu Eierspeise - Österreich | GuteKueche.at
I bought 16 bottles of L’Oree 1991 - which was the maiden vintage release by Chapoutier - from SAQ in Quebec, Canada in 1994/5. I bought the wine because Hugh Johnson said ( in his book ) that every body should try a Chante-Alouette - after age 10.
I did not have good experience with the wine and I still have 2 bottles left.
Dave, love to hear your experience and please post after the event.