How (Not) To Throw a Chateauneuf Party

I buy my fair share of wine.

Most of it, however, rarely exceeds $25 a bottle.  I've been starting to pick up a few $45 bottles, but those are few and far between.  I exceed the $45 range for special occasions, mostly around the holidays.  (This does not count the ridiculous amount of money I spend on wine in restaurants, which fluctuates daily).  I hope to reverse that trend moving forward. But for now, I can only store twenty four bottles due to NYC apartment life realities, so I tend to drink what I own. 

I decided that a Chateauneuf dinner with friends could be rationalized as a wine holiday, so we went for it.  But the pressure was on...such an investment in your wines means that the stakes have been raised.  This isn't a Rachel Ray $10 a Day wine holiday.  We must do it well.

I had an idea in mind about the proper way to conduct such a tasting.  I thought about how Robert Parker, Jr. might organize such a night with friends at home. 

We then did the exact opposite.

Choosing The Wines

Robert Parker would want to personally select a few bottles carefully tucked away in his cellar from years past.  The kind he shrewdly purchased upon release and appreciates in value and flavor over the years.  Parker selects all of his favorites - he remembers the aroma of the barrel tasting of his best Chat Du Pap and remembers the '95 could be starting to show.  He makes wise choices, and chuckles modestly as his guests laud him for his remarkable cellar.

We received an email blast from Acker Merrall with some aged Chat Du Pape for sale.  We scoured the list for the best vintages, producers and values. We called and had them delivered to us when we needed them, not a day before.  A 2000 Charvin, a '98 Pegau and a '95 Beaucastel were our choices. We sat back and tasted, hoping they'd be ready to drink and lived up to expectations.  That they did - particularly the '98 Pegau which was excellent. 

Advanced Planning

A week or maybe even a few days before the tasting, Robert Parker, Jr. would have a general plan for a menu and details such as when guests would arrive.   He would sit on his cracked leather sofa about a week before the tasting and, while sipping an aperitif, would plan his traditional French menu well in advance.  He'd call his truffle jockey days ahead to procure a fresh basket of the truffles just  picked by his friend Jean Luc in France.   He'd ensure his standing caviar order was en route. 

I would leave the menu up in the air until two days before the tasting, until I tried a chocolate pasta with braised lamb at Falai.  I would definitely make a version of that, as chocolate + beef + Du Pape = a great match.  I would then go to Kitchen Arts & Letters the day before the dinner to find some inspiration.  I picked up Michel Richard's new book, but that deserves its own post.  The night before the dinner, I finally sketch out a menu that had nothing to do with France but all about matching the flavors of the Chateauneuf. 

Keep It Simple, Keep It French

When the truffle jockey arrives with the truffles, he has the nerve to ask Mr. Parker if he would be making a pasta or risotto with the truffles for his Chat Du Pap dinner.  Parker signs in disbelief, adjusts his beret, then begins to ramble about his trip to his friend Jean Luc's estate in the Rhone, where he wistfully remembers bathing in '64 Beaucastel while enjoying a traditional cassoulet that was the only pairing with wine from the Rhone.

I would think briefly about making a French focused menu, but I'd quickly change directions.   

I'd caramelize cauliflower and serve it on a cauliflower puree, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and  currents. I had to do a version of Falai's pasta.  I made thick strands of cocoa infused pasta with braised short ribs and a reduction of the short rib braising juices.  The most well-received dish I am making these days is my mushroom curry crusted pork, which was a nice pairing for the wines.  I made a  creamy chocolate, curry, mint ice cream that I imagined enjoying with our final glasses of the Pap.

Table Conversation, Etc

Overheard at Robert Parker's table:

RP Friend:  "This wine is a blockbuster.  A hedonistic, full bodied bombshell with aromas of tobacco, smoked hickory and a finish of leather, cow hide and freshly picked baby chanterelles in the mourning dew. This wine is just opening now, but could easily be better in 20 years."

RP: "98."

Overheard at our Table:

Erin: "This wine smells like poopy."

Whitney: "Doody!"

Erin and Whitney:  [insert girlish giggling around the words poopy and doody here].

Overheard at Parker's Table:

RP Friend: "The cassoulet is phenomenal, Rob.  Really, just fantastic.  And the truffles! It's as if Baby Jesus just blessed me with a gift from the Rhone!"

Overheard at Our Table:

"No more pork? What do you mean, just enough?"

Background Music and Atmosphere:

Robert Parker selects a soft falsetto phenom from his collection.  He once met the vocalist at a fancy dinner in France.  An inspired, quivering voice, she balances finesse and harmony like the '60 Beaucastel Parker remembers savoring when he first graced her presence. [insert puking noise followed by a toilet flush here].

We go for cooking mixes and football.

Conclusions

You deserve a wine holiday as well, do you? Well, dream on. Save up.  Go to Acker Merrall or another reputable wine shop and buy a few excellent bottles that you would not typically purchase for yourself.  Make it known to your wine professional that this is the case and be very excited.  They will like this.   Make the best possible dinner you can.  When planning the menu, add one more course to what you would normally serve.  Considering adding another.    Invite friends over who would appreciate your wine holiday as much as you will (and possibly bring more great wine). 

And think about what Robert Parker would do. 

Then do the opposite.

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