It’s been a few weeks - but with a fine steak I opened
Cote-Rotie Cote brune Jamet 2004
a pairing made in heaven.
Equally good
Chateauneuf Pegau C.Laurence 2001
It’s been a few weeks - but with a fine steak I opened
Cote-Rotie Cote brune Jamet 2004
a pairing made in heaven.
Equally good
Chateauneuf Pegau C.Laurence 2001
I’m pretty sure that filet is one of the reasons we slave over a hot stove for 3 days making Demi-glace ![]()
Not to me. One of my greatest food revelations was an older Champagne with a steak cooked on a grill. Magical.
Much like Luis, I tend to open whatever it is I wish to drink, and like Mike, I am in the “pretty much any decent red” crowd.
No one has mentioned bison, but this 2013 PGC PN worked quite well with my grilled bison sirloin. ![]()
Pauillac with grilled steak, St Estephe is my second choice. Various Bordeaux with steak done other ways, but always Bordeaux.
Nice! What happened when you cooked it
? Jk, I’ve not had bison and that’s probably the best way to do it.
Yes, bison tends to be much leaner than beef, so definitely do not want to over cook it. While typically not as lean as wild game, same sort of idea. ![]()
Always. Especially with well marbled steak.
I do think a filet is a bit lighter in style and does well with an aged Bord with a mushroom sauce.
Looking at that steak I thought “ You… you sir, you come from cattle country!” Yeah, some PGC PN would absolutely work with steak. My problem is that I tend to have Napa cabs with steaks because I find it hard to pair Napa cabs with anything else. PGC PN I can match with tuna or veal or some ridiculous chicken dish I make. Bordeaux can go with a lot of different things. Rioja is all lamb all the time. (“You can’t understand chuletillas without Rioja and you can’t understand Rioja without chuletillas.” ). But slapping ginormous Jorge steaks from Flannery on the grill just to me begs for the most OTT CA cab I can find, because I can’t find another occasion so perfect for the wine.
Depends on thickness, marbling, seasonings.
Thicker => heavier bodied (Cab/Ribera for 2” ribeyes, CA Pinot for Denver)
More seasoning => more meaty, savory reds (Syrah)
More fat => more acid (Barolo)
Love the Rioja-lamb quote. At home, when serving grilled lamb chops, it’s either tinto Riojano or a red Burg.
Just had to make this choice. We like to make steak with bordelaise with homemade espagnole sauce, so the wine needs to be one of our tastier ones. Usually a California cab. However, due to what’s on hand, I was forced to look around my list for alternatives, and my next tastiest were California Zinfandel or Petit Syrah.
Several folks have suggested aged Napa cabs or aged Bordeaux.
Acknowledging all of the “it depends on” caveats, and that YMMV, what do folks generally consider the minimum age from vintage, and the sweet spot from vintage, for aged Napa cabs and aged Bordeaux (left bank/right bank)?
Roughly - Napa needs 10 years; Bordeaux 20 years - Right bank drinks better earlier than left. Real Broad Strokes here…
Filet mignon is not my favorite cut either, but I have to say that we tried Filet Tails for the first time earlier this year and they were fantastic.
Regarding the wine, aged Bordeaux and California Cabs work for us, and occasionally a Syrah. No one has mentioned Zinfandel yet? Give me an aged Carlisle, Ridge, Bedrock, etc., and I will be happy enjoying that with a steak.
Like chicken breast or tofu, filet mignon is a good canvas for flavors. It can be very good in steak Diane or in an Italian red sauce with anchovies and olives. It is also surprisingly wonderful with a well aged vintage port— though I would never drink that with steaks with more assertive flavor.
Here’s a recent 1999 Bordeaux sweet spot with fatty steak for me.
Wines from satellite Bordeaux properties from vintage 2000 have also been hitting the steak sweet spot for me lately. Here’s one that I drank lately, with steak at home.
i don’t believe there is any general rule that can answer this question. Every Vintage, from every region, from every vineyard, from every winery is different and ages differently. Try creating a general rule for aging that works for both 2021 and 2022 vintages in Napa, basically impossible. Will for example, Cathy Corison’s wines and (insert any 16% abv napa cab) age the same?
Really like your approach of starting with fat content and aging before picking the wine. Went with a well-marbled ribeye this weekend, pan-seared, and paired it with a Cabernet Sauvignon, it worked out great with the char on the crust.