I recently discovered a Bordeaux-sized hole on my white wine cellar, so I’ve been slowly collecting some. No heavy hitters, just the usual stuff. And I mean left bank dry, not Sauternes.
I enjoy drinking them, they all seem to share a common “profile”, but here’s a question I haven’t really found an answer for. What food would you pair Bdx blanc with?
They seem a little in-between wines. There’s acid, but they are not acid-driven. There’s fruit, but they’re not that fruity. I’m enjoying a 2019 DDC right now (and its very good!), but I started thinking “what food would this go with” and I’m drawing a Blanc.
Pea risotto. Roasted chicken. Even veal sautéed with sage (although I normally pair that with dreadnought class CA Chardonnays). Personally I find DDC blanc — and Y de Yquem — very versatile.
They are really versatile with all kinds of seafood from mild and simple to richly sauced. I also think sauv blanc and fresh goat cheese to be a match made in heaven.
I’d just have the same things you might have with comparable Loire blanc. We had chicken Caesar salad with a Touraine tonight. (We were outside in the heat, until a wasp started buzzing around, and we retreated to the air conditioned space)
White Pessac leave me kind of unthrilled, especially considering their cost, but I do like some of lower level white Graves - Clos Floridene and Ducasse. As noted in the links, they might pair with some kinds of risotto as well.
Depends on the weather and the style; especially whether or not there is a Semillon component. If there is Semillon and if the heat is below killer level, I love white Bordeaux with meaty ocean fin fish.
This is something I have not witnessed myself. Some can be light-bodied, zippy and aggressively green, almost like New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. Others can be rich, heavy, oaky, tropical in fruit profile and relatively low in acidity. If you don’t know what kind of wine you are buying, you can get anything between those two profiles - and I really fail to see any common profile with those two extremes.
I myself prefer prefer the somewhat weightier, more Sémillon-heavy style as long as the wine isn’t mangled with new oak and there is enough acidity to keep the wine from coming across as heavy. However, I feel this style is getting quite rare as all too often a random Bordeaux Blanc I sample is a Sauvignon Blanc-heavy wine vinified in stainless steel - not really a style I enjoy.
Ok that’s good to know, the ones I have all seem to be more on the tropical side of things. Here’s my note from last night of the DDC.
2019 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
Pale yellow/straw. Fruity yet vinous nose with yellow stone fruit, peach, mango, cantaloupe, creamy lactic notes, touch of citrus.
Palate is fresh, dry, has decent acidity that builds on the palate. Lots of ripe tropical fruits, mango, peach, some grassy notes, salinity, white pepper, minerals.
Very long lingering finish with more of the mango/peach and citrus notes.
There are less expensive options like Clos des Lunes, Marjosse, Carbonnieux that are much more citric, and not surprisingly the more you pay up the ladder sees more oak and can be a bit more melon and pear driven with coconut or vanilla notes.
Much like Chablis vintage matters too if looking for leaner.
It’s a warmer vintage so maybe you would prefer a 2017 as a contrast to the ripe end of the spectrum as a means of diversity and comparison? Pay Margaux doesn’t suck
