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Baked snails in an austere environment.
The aluminum foil “shells”
each have the requisite escargot
topped with melted butter, dried parsley, and garlic salt, baked at the highest setting in a decrepit toaster oven.
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Given that today’s main course is far from a traditional
deployment food, I will counter by offering somewhat traditional wine pairings
for it, both from Burgundy. To
start, let us find a pinot noir from the heart of the region, where the Côte
d’Or offers protean expressions of this varietal. The snails themselves are rich without being heavy, so
finding the appropriate match will be partly dependent upon the garlic-to-butter
ratio. The more garlic present,
the greater the need for tannic structure, whereas a high butter content
demands equally high acidity for balance.
In this desert setting, the ratio was even and the absolute amounts were
small, so a more finessed expression of Burgundy would be fitting. Described by some as a feminine style,
the villages of Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte de Nuits and Volnay in the Côte
de Beaune may offer the best options for this style across the board.
Turning to the north of Burgundy takes us to the cooler
climate home of chardonnay in Chablis, set off the beaten path mid-way between
Champagne and the Côte d’Or.
Limestone soils in this terroir
lead these wines to express such diverse flavors as gun flint and steel, as
well as nuts and toast. With
yields kept in check, they can offer precision and depth suitable for a pairing
with a variety of foods. For the escargots, the natural acidity of these
wines is a fine foil to the butter.
Without taking a stand here on the merits of using new versus older oak
for the élevage, suffice it to say,
as above, that an increasing proportion of garlic will require a matching wine
of increasing body, however that end might be achieved.
Complementary Pairing:
Try: Domaine Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny
Premier Cru Les Amoureuses
From a lieu-dit at
the southern end of the village and adjacent to the eastern edge of the grand cru Les Musigny, there are those who
argue this premier cru should also be
elevated to grand cru status. Yields are kept low by a combination of
older vines and ongoing work in the vineyards, with the majority of clusters de-stemmed
after a severe triage. Punching
down the cap during fermentation and pumping the wine over afterwards precedes a
slow malolactic and aging in barrels, of which a minority are new. The domaine produces a uniquely
perfumed wine from this cru that is
both elegant and powerful, but above all else it is expressive of its terroir.
Contrasting Pairing:
Chablis, Bourgogne, France
Try: Domaine Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
This comes from the largest of the seven grands crus, which all face southwest
looking back over the town of Chablis.
The domaine’s vines in this cru
are on average a half-century old, and are harvested entirely by hand. The wines age in barrels and
half-barrels, none of them new, for 18 months. The Raveneau family consistently offers one of the top
expressions of Chablis from each of its vineyard holdings, and Les Clos is no
exception.
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| The author removing the masterpiece from the oven. |
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| This embroidered logo is our local tribute to Julia Child’s famous Ecole des 3 Gourmandes. Frequently featured Chef/Dr. Tim Weiner is the leader of the local gourmand wolf pack, with the author as his humble assistant and personal would-be sommelier. The third gourmand is whoever was kind enough to send us the key ingredients for each of our deployment culinary adventures. In the case of l’escargots, that was the author’s wonderful wife, Shannan. |
