By: AJ McClellan
It all started when Simon was just a lad and one day whilst headed home he happened to view a shop owner by the name of Charley making fresh chips. Charley worked the press with lightning speed and Simon was mesmerized with the chip press, swearing that one day he would own his own and make chips with the same accuracy and speed in which Charley the chipper did. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that day has come at last! Simon has found his chipper and we here at Graileys have found the perfect wine pairing for freshly fried chips, Krug of course…
What started out as a joke quickly turned into what might be one of the most brilliant food and wine pairings of our time, Chips and Krug. The salt and crisp texture of chips with the effervescence and acidity of the wine is a perfect combination! After having Simon whip us up several rounds of chips and opening several more bottles of Krug it was unanimously decided that the food pairing was a great success.
The Chipper in action
I know it’s a tiny fryer, but you work with what you got…
After we congratulated ourselves on a job well done it was time to open some wine in celebration….
2008 Sea Smoke Ten Pinot Noir – I have heard a lot of negative comments about Sea Smoke so I approached this bottle with caution. However, after trying the wine I was pleasantly surprised to find a very refined nose of bright elegant fruits and a soft well developed palate with a complex finish.
2007 Perrot Minot Vosne Romanee 1er Les Beaux Monts - Bright violets with a subtle cooking spice on the nose. Beautiful bright blueberries and black cherries on the palate with light tar notes, crisp acidity, and a long complex finish. This wine was drinking exceptional right now but I can only imagine how much better it will be with ten years of age on it…
1997 Louis Jadot Chevalier Montrachet Les Demoiselles GC- An ever so lightly oxidized nose showing caramel pear, yellow roses, and a dollop of honey drizzled over freshly sliced peaches. The palate is thick in the mouth with notes of mixed nuts, vanilla bean, and stone fruits. It had a long finish but not as complex as I would like it to be on the backend.
1995 Guigal La Turque - Big pepper with pepper and more pepper, smelling this wine almost makes me sneeze… The palate showed smoked game meats seasoned with pepper, of course, with cloves and a blackberry jam spread. Once you get past the huge spice there is a subtle rocky minerality and notes of leather and tobacco. An excellent bottle of wine but it needs more time. I felt that the huge pepper overwhelmed the wine and knocked it out of balance, with a few more years that should mellow out and help the wine to balance.
2001 Cos d’Estournel – I was very impressed with this bottle of wine. The best of both worlds, big ripe fruit with a nice earthy background. The nose showed sweet black fruits with a hint of earthy truffles and liquorish. The palate was complex but still young showing overripe black currants with spice box and a long earthy finish.