By: AJ McClellan
Last Thursday was a real treat here at Graileys. It was one of our favorite members’ birthday, and in true Graileys style the boat was pushed out with not only some spectacular wine, but with Chef Kerry Moffett also preparing one of the best dinners I have ever had in Graileys.
There are few better ways to start a dinner than with Champagne. The first wine opened was a 1988 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill which was simply stunning. The wine had the perfect balance of oxidative honey notes and crisp lemon/lime acidity. To pair with the Pol Roger Chef Kerry put together a collection of oysters from the north east.
Once we had polished off the Champagne and oysters we were ready to sit down and get to the rest of dinner. The first course was a Foie Gras Torchon served with sea salt and Tokaji gelee paired with a bottle of 2007 Royal Tokaji Szt Tamas. A perfect combination! We all know sweet wines pair well with foie gras, but while most people love Sauternes for this I feel that the honeyed nature of the Tokaji pairs better with the richness of the foie gras.
Next course was a 1997 Leroy Corton Charlemagne paired with handmade fettuccini, lobster, English peas, and a cognac chantilly. This was one of my favorite food courses of the night. The flavors were in perfect harmony and the lobster was delicious. Unfortunately the dish was a little too rich for the Leroy and some of the more subtle nuances of the wine were lost in the richness of the dish…
Not to be discouraged, we moved on to our third course. The five spice pork served in a mini steamed bun with pickled vegetables, scallion, and hoisin sauce. This dish was served with a 1969 Remoissenet Vosne Romanee 1er Les Malconsorts. The dish might have been the best pork belly dish I have ever had, and the wine paired perfectly with it! The Remoissenet was soft on the palate with huge notes of sour cherry, dried prunes, cigar paper, and barnyard. A great wine that could have just as easily paired with the lobster dish as the pork bun.
Moving into the homestretch, we opened a 2000 Guigal d’Ampuis served with rack of pork, red cabbage, Carolina bbq glaze, and charred green onion aioli. This was a remarkable match as well! The Guigal had the perfect amount of power to pair with the Pork while the onion aioli and bbq glaze brought out the more earthy notes of the Guigal.
Last but not least was the chocolate torte cake with the 1970 Dow’s Port. What is better with chocolate than Port? The 70 Dow’s was drinking perfectly with a warm cinnamon note on the palate and powerful black cherry and dark chocolate.