Curious, what is your favorite wine to drink with prime rib?

WINE TALK
1

Thanks!

2

I won’t pretend there’s any wine-food “pairing” voodoo that makes this work better than any other red wine, but it’s such a classic, sort of British banquet-y dish that Bordeaux (not just any Bordeaux, but the kind that wants to be called claret, from a classic British-palate sort of vintage like '88) seems more appropriate than anything else.

3

Hi Kim,

I like Cabernet-based wines with prime rib. Mature, left bank Bordeaux, Graves, older California Cabernets or Loire Valley wines- particularly Chinon or Bourgueil with a bit of bottle age (not that I would ever say no to a little Clos Rougeard in their stead). It is not that other wines such as Pinot, Nebbiolo or Gamay will not work well with prime rib also, but I find that the genre of Cabernets a bit less flexible at the table than some of these other grapes, and for that reason I do not like to miss an opportunity to use them with a dish like prime rib, where they are going to show at their best.

All the Best,

John

4

Older cali cab or bdx

5

We have Prime Rib every Christmas and after much experimentation have settled on Bordeaux a few years back. I really only drink a few bottles of BDX a year and this is the one I look forward to the most.

6

Excellent point there.

7

Who cares? Its prime rib! [cheers.gif] newhere

8

+1

9

Unfortunately, I don’t have any mature Bordeaux left in my cellar. Oldest vintage I have is 2000.

Here are the choices:

Calon Segur
Leoville Poyferre
Lynch Bages
Montrose
Palmer
or Pontet Canet

Any thoughts on which might show best?

I feel kinda sentimental about these bottles - they’re among the first wines I bought to cellar when I first started really getting into wine.

Thanks to all for the wonderful input.

10

Let 'em sit and pick up a nice little cru bourgeois at the store to open, then.

11

That’s not exciting!!! [basic-smile.gif]

12

We tend to drink 1er or Grand Cru red Burgundy with some age, the few times we have Prime Rib. We’ve also enjoyed aged Barolo with it.

13

Have any Californians? An old Heitz or Mayacamas would fit the bill for sure.

14



Both John and Keith give great advice. This is a great opportunity to drink some cabernet.

In particular, Chambers St. has 79s from Lynch Bages and Talbot for $99. They’d be perfect and add a nice counterpoint to whichever modern Bordeaux you open.

The 1985 or 1997 Breton Perrieres would be nice as well. I’m partial to the 1997, myself.

I love prime rib. So old school and really, so many wines would do the trick and it is a great dish for wines with age.

15

Long Island is a wine wasteland and there is no way I’ll be able to get into Manhattan today. [roll-eyes.gif]

Curious, I picked up some aged Cornas (20 year old) from Chambers Street recently. How good/bad might this pairing be?

The specific wine is the 1990 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale.

Thanks again for any and all input.

16

It should be ok. I like aged syrahs with Prime Rib.

17

[quote=“Kim Caldwell”]Long Island is a wine wasteland and there is no way I’ll be able to get into Manhattan today. [roll-eyes.gif]

True dat, but how about Pop’s? They have some older bottles if you’re willing to pay the premium. I saw some '83 Gruaud Larose & '82 Haut-Bailly!

18

With out a doubt - Red

and lots of it. [drinkers.gif]

19

I agree with this. The higher tannins are necessary to help cut through the fattiness/richness of the prime rib.

20

At a fairly recent vertical dinner with Thomas Duroux, the 2000 Palmer showed really well. It really is elegant, almost weightless (For a Bordeaux anyway) and very pure and deep as I recall. Definitely wasn’t shutdown, so I would open this if you want a special bottle and have a few more put away for later days.

I would bet the Pontet Canet wouldn’t be half bad either and it’s a little easier to open than the Palmer. Just speculation as it’s been a while since I have had this.