I like this topic, as it delves on one of my favorite dish.
I’ve pretty much scrounged all the local eateries in my town that serves, or served, cassoulet and have participated in a few off-lines that centered on the dish. For me, the one cassoulet-paired wine that stood out, among a few others, was a mature Mourvèdre, specifically a Bandol (1993 Temper La Tourtine) that hit it off with me and my cassoulet in a local restaurant during an off line.
I just made cassoulet for our local wine tasting group and it paired wonderfully with Syrah, which was the theme of the evening.
OK, the verdict is I failed, or the wine failed me. The young gun N Rhone Syrah had the acid but didn’t have the power required to keep up with the smoky dish. I supposed part of it is the recipe I made up myself and my first attempt at this dish, but I don’t think so. As was suggested, I think a nice aged or approachable S Rhone/Ranger GSM or Bandol would have been much better. Tempier Bandol would be ideal.
Next time I make this, which will be next winter assuming global warming doesn’t accelerate too much, I’ll make sure to select a wine with cut and power.
For those of us in the East, it seems there will be many more opportunities to make cassoulet this winter. Sigh.
I’ve got some Cahors lined up just in case.
For the record, as romantic as it is to say “pair a dish with wine from the same reason,” I find that limiting and often disappointing.
For cassoulet, a lot has already been said, but reasonable suggestions have included Gewurtztraminer Musar and Etna rosso. I think that’s great. Depending on your tastes, CS or Bordelaise wines can be just as good pairings as GSM.
Honestly, make a bigger cassoulet next time, open six different, wildly different wines, and see? 
Honestly, make a bigger cassoulet next time, open six different, wildly different wines, and see?
That is a good idea, but it was Sunday night. Next time I do any kind of gourmet dish that I’m not sure about pairing with, I will try that.
A good mature Bandol would be my choice - something like 1992 Tempier Cabassaou or Tourtine …
or Fonsalette Syrah …
or Hermitage …
I’m very surprised there aren’t more white wine suggestions. I don’t think anything else would be as good as Riesling from Austria or Alsace. Something dry(ish) with lots of concentration.
This is the best advice. Even if a Sunday night, you could try two different wines, e.g., red and white, to gauge what tastes best to you.
For what it is worth, here are the recommended pairings for a cassoulet dinner at a local restuarant:
Cassoulet De Castelnaudary
House-made sausage, duck confit, pork belly, Tarbais beans
Dom d’Eole Coteaux D’Aix En Provence 2001
Celler Escoda-Sanahuja Coll del Sabater 2006
I like mine with big reds too but for something different and wonderful, try Beaujolais
I would go syrah/mouvedre blend - syrah for the big dark meaty fruit and the mouvedre to provide a bit more stiffness and acidity. Might have to go Cali to get big enough fruit (if you lean that way).
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Bandol
Lots of good ideas here and honestly you should drink what you want to drink, red or white. Cassoulet will not kill many wines as long as they’re not too delicate. For myself I would stick to something from the South but I’d include Bordeaux and the S. Rhone. A few others I haven’t seen mentioned would be Trévallon and Mas de Daumas Gassac.
All good suggestions above, but another to consider is Loire Cab Franc. Maybe some Chinon. With the meaty, heady aromas of this dish it that can work well with brett. I’d also recommend a kimoto style sake, but that’s another discussion.
Agree with this. I have a tendency to open a 1998 CdP with cassoulet. Our cassoulet is often a rich venison(CT), boar(TX), & pheasant(CT) mix.
Tis the time and the season to resurrect this thread:
Cassoulet Time - Cassoulet time - Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes - WineBerserkers
I searched WB before starting this thread and found that older thread Robert. Read it fairly quickly and didn’t get much out of it. Not much discussion on recipes or wine pairings. Good info on beans, and after my first time cooking and eating Cassoulet, I can see how beans are an important component of the dish. I used very ordinary white beans and would like to trying something better next time. Would also like to experiment with different meats. And plan to cook it a few days before the meal. And as suggested in this thread, try a variety of wines with it. Next time a CdP, a Tempier red and some sort of white.
First attempt for me was a bit of a bust. Soaked beans overnight in a brine. Use too much salty cured meat. Result: it had just a touch too much salt overall. Also added the duck confit too early and it disintegrated. And the simple N Rhone Syrah was over matched. Next time I’m expecting a far better results.
Even though it was not a total success this first time, I do get what this dish is about. I think this is an excellent dish that will be a regular for me now. The high protein and slow braising makes this a pleasurable match with good wine.
Bryan,
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned nebbiolo. I had a '99 Monprivato with cassoulet (made with lamb sausage) last year that went very nicely. I also think montepulciano d’abruzzo from Emidio Pepe or Eduardo Valentini would also be very good match.
Here’s the Anthony Bourdain/Les Halles recipe mentioned a couple of times in that thread - lots of work, but the result is outstanding: http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/anthony-bourdain/articles/cassoulet
If that’s too much work, the kit from D’Artagnan makes a very good cassoulet: Cassoulet Recipe Kit | Shop D'Artagnan
Julia Child’s recipe, also mentioned in that thread: Julia Child’s Cassoulet – Sporting Road
Paula Wolfert’s recipe from her excellent book, The Cooking of Southwest France: Cassoulet Toulousian Recipe
Thomas Keller’s slow-cooker cassoulet: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/thomas-kellers-slow-cooker-cassoulet.html