Recipe suggestions for this red Burgundy

[James Kessler]

I wasn't sure if I should post this under cooking or under wine. What I am looking for are specific recipe suggestions that I can make at home. This is a "special" bottle my wife bought me as a gift. I know she spent more than she wanted to in order to try to get a "good" red Burgundy. Hopefully she has chosen well. Now it's up to me to cook a fantastic meal for two so we can enjoy this bottle together. I definately want to pair it with a simple dinner, no more than two courses. (We'll also have dessert, but that's another story.) Please, no salmon. My wife hates salmon. Cuisine does not HAVE to be Burgundian fare, but it might be nice.

Once more, here are the wine details:

2004 Anne Gros Clos-Vougeot Grand Cru

Thanks for all your help, everyone! I'll post the results.

[wkl]

i think you're opening this wine way too soon. if you have good storage i'd let this go for another 4 years minimum.

[Jean Blanchard]

i think you're opening this wine way too soon. if you have good storage i'd let this go for another 4 years minimum.

←

Couldn't agree more. Don't open it yet!

[jackal10]

Their web site http://www.anne-gros.com/cgi/epresent.htm says

Possibilities for food pairing tend to lean toward richer dishes: roasted red meat with berries or fruit, red meat in sauce, game with sorrel...red currant jam, mild cheeses or nothing at all.

This wine has excellent ageing potential. Nevertheless, according to our believes about great wines, it is often possible to drink the wine while still young when the tannin and structure are at the forefront, essential qualities for balancing a great wine.

Other sites say tasty now but will improve (less tannin) 2009-2016

Lots of possible menus. I would have cheese as a second course

For a first course roast rack of lamb with redcurrant jelly, or venison with fruit or even beef bourgigone...

Edited November 8, 2007 by jackal10 (log)

[Daniel Rogov]

My options would include: Roast rack of lamb, boeuf bourguignon, coq au vin or a fine porterhouse steak.

As to drinking, my tasting note follows.

A. Gros, Clos Vougeot, 2004: Medium- to full-bodied, dark ruby towards garnet with orange and purple reflections, and with generous soft tannins that coat the mouth gently. Opens with earthy minerals that yield nicely to blackberry and purple plums, those on a background of spicy wood. On the long finish tannins and fruit rise in harmony. Approachable and enjoyable now but best 2009-2015. Score 91. (Tasted 27 Sep 2007)

[MaxH]

Don't recall offhand if I've tried this one or not, but I concur with others here: although you will probably get some pleasure from it, you should do so with clear awareness that you're opening now a wine that is made to be opened a few years from now, and some of what you taste may reflect that.

(Notes not at hand, but I did taste a few dozen related 2004 red Burgs and don't recall it being an early-maturing vintage. 2000 for example was such a vintage and for that reason, among recent years, it is the one that people in Burgundy itself have been drinking.)

Anne Gros is a superb artisanal producer with some first-rank vineyard property. (I was at her firm, tasting in barrel, when the 2004 grapes were being picked.)

[James Kessler]

Well, I don't mind waiting... four years, heck twenty for all I care. However I'm not sure my storage is adequate. I keep my wine bottles (on their sides) either in a wine rack atop a chest of drawers or in the drawers. The chest is in my dining room. No direct sunlight enters the room. The only light source is the ceiling lamp. No environmental controls are in place. Temperature ranges from 60 - 75 year-round. I would think that's too hot for proper wine storage. If you all think I should keep it anyway, I'll do it. If you think there's a good chance I'll ruin the bottle, I'd much rather just drink it now and dream about how much better it would have tasted in a few years.

I appreciate all the advice so far! Absolutely interested in all of your opinions... please keep it coming!

[Daniel Rogov]

James, Hi....

The ideal long term storage temperature for most wines is between 46 - 59 degrees Fahrenheit and the ideal humidity about 70%. Considering that your temperature range is higher than that and humidity lower your wines will age about twice as rapidly as is ideal.

The first year or so under those conditions will show little additional aging but after that the aging process will be exponential.....

Much here depends on how well aged you like your wines. And that keeping in mind that wines that age more rapidly than they should often lose their charms after a certain point.....

Up to you now.

[thirtyoneknots]

Not sure what kind of space limitations you are working with, but wine coolers are a pretty inexpensive investment in your own wine enjoyment, especially if you get them on sale. I recently bought a cooler at Home Depot on clearance for under $200 that is rated for 50 bottles (though it has rack space for 52 and currently holds over 60). Definitely recommended if you are planning on even some medium-term cellaring. The device is pre-set for the exact conditions laid out above, but it can be adjusted.

-Andy

Edited November 9, 2007 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[James Kessler]

Well as a matter of fact I would like to get a wine storage fridge. Probably the one you mentioned is great, but there is a space issue. Eventually I will be able to clear some space for such a unit, but right now I'm gonna make do without.

Anyway... I didn't mean for this thread to get off track. I probably should have put this in the cooking forum and not the wine forum.

While I do appreciate the wine storage advice and tasting notes as well...

I'm mainly looking for specific recipes to cook for it. I'm not usually one to follow a recipe word-for-word, but sometimes on special occasions I do. I would consider this an occasion to follow a recipe. Anybody got one?

[James Kessler]

well, hey there folks... I'm proud to say I've still not opened that 2004 Anne Gros Clos-Vougeot Grand Cru. Yes, it's the very same bottle. It has been stored at "room temperature" and not properly in a wine cellar. At least it has rested on its side this whole time! A lot has changed in my life since this bottle was given to me as a gift but it will likely be the most expensive wine I will have ever had the pleasure to drink. I've had some very good wine before at up to about $80 retail but this bottle was worth more than that when it was bought for me in 2007. By now its value has gone up even more than when it was first purchased. I see that its retail price spiked in early 2011 at nearly $140 and now has settled down at around $120.

I'm not a wealthy man and I certainly want to pair this wine with the perfect dish. I recently made Julia's boeuf bourg recipe and it came out well. I followed the one from M.T.A.O.F.C. but I also watched the television version. She says on the tv version that the rustic dish would overpower a delicate burgundy and suggests a wine from St. Emillion in the cookbook version. So... would my 2004 Anne Gros Clos-Vougeot Grand Cru be a good pairing with the dish or not? I wouldn't want to waste a beautiful wine like that on a rustic powerfully rich dish that will take over my palate and not let me enjoy the wine.

Thoughts?

[Zachary]

James,

I love Anne Gros and just about everything they do. I would want to have either game birds (brined with juniper berries, herb butter under the skin, roasted at high heat to crisp the skin) and mushroom bread pudding and some sort of green veggie - probably brussel sprouts now. If I were feeling fancy, I'd take the drippings, defat them, add a little good chicken stock to deglaze, and add redcurrant jelly, lemon and butter to make a sauce.

Other than that, lamb is a good, safe choice. Simply done, some red fruit somewhere in it, not crazy with spices or seasoning. Let the wine do the work.

As for the wine, stand it upright the day of service. About 6 hours before dinner, pull the cork and smell it. If you smell "Burgundy" - decant it for half an hour just to wake it up, then put it back in the bottle. If it smells weird, decant it and leave it there - come back every half hour to check it until it smells good, then put it back in the bottle. Serve around 68 degrees (cool room temp) in the fanciest balloon shape glasses you have.

Thanks,

Zachary

P.S. One of the great steals of the Burgundy world is their "Cuvee Marine" - a Haut Cotes de Nuits Blanc that is just delicious and around $30.

[Alex]

No, don't drink it with Julia's (or anyone else's ) boeuf bourg. She knew what she was talking about, of course. And even if it were a Junior League cookbook recipe, I'd still go with the St. E. I agree with Zachary: for this bottle, keep the food simple. Lamb would be OK, as would venison with red fruit. Me, I'd probably opt for veal, preferably with wild mushrooms in some form or other.

[patrickamory]

Try Richard Olney's lamb ragout from the French Menu Cookbook.

Something simple - roasted or grilled meat.

Enjoy! It should be incredible.

[ianinfrance]

I'm unconvinced by the lamb pairing with red burgundy, I've had it, of course, but I don't think it's that wonderful. I find lamb goes much better with Bordeaux style wines.

Anyway. A decent Clos Vougeot is not normally a shy retiring flower. At only 7 years old, it's still relatively young, so will have plenty of "oomph". However, as you have kept your wine in far too warm an environment for several years, it may well have aged prematurely so in fact it might be better to treat it as if it were an older wine. Normally I'd serve it perfectly happily with a decent Beef Bourguignon. By the way, one of the things that makes me grind my teeth is the attribution of a dish written by THREE people working in collaboration to Julia Child. It's totally unfair on the others whose contributions were even more important than hers. It's NOT "Julia's" Boeuf Bourg it's Boeuf Bourg from MTAOFC or Beck, Bertholle and Child's.

However I can see that you won't know me from Adam, so you have no particular reason to trust my word for this, over that of other regular contributors. But, let me go left field. IMO The very best dish in the world for showing off a top class older red burgundy is top class chicken (free range and organic) roasted perfectly. Nowadays, however, with my increasing interest in sous vide low temperature cookery, I think I might go for a dish based on really fine chicken breasts cooked sous vide, rather in the way Keller does his Poularde at the French Laundry.

The Roast chicken old red Burgundy is a combination I've done on several occasions, though usually with wines quite a lot older. Clos de Tart '69, for example and Clos de la Roche 70, as well as a decent '64 Corton (all Grand Crus as well).

[James Kessler]

Thanks for the input everyone... I really value it. I am in agreement that lamb is generally a better match with Bordeaux styles. Pinot Noir is not the varietal that immediately jumps to mind when I think of "big" red meat. Veal I could imagine might be a good choice, but I don't usually eat veal... not because I don't like it or don't want to eat it, it just doesn't often seem to find its way onto my plate.

A chicken or another bird seems like a very good way to go. I have been doing rotisserie-roasted chicken a few times and it comes out well. Perhaps that is the way to go if I cook something at home. I have also lately been considering bringing the wine to a good restaurant and paying corkage on it if I know that I will be getting something that I wouldn't have the skill to make at home. There are a couple of good candidate restaurants I could think of that would do a good job. Even still though, I would lean towards ordering some kind of a game bird (squab, etc...) or a sublime chicken dish.

Whatever I end up doing I'm going to do it soon. I am keenly aware of the hot conditions this wine has rested in for four years. (It's a 2004 wine but I received it as a gift in 2007.) Someone wisely pointed out that the first year or two in these hot conditions would probably not contribute too dramatic of an effect but then the next few years after that most likely have resulted in the equivalent of about 5 years of age. So I'm thinking this wine has aged the equivalent of about 10 years even though it's only 7 years old. Am I about right in this estimation? I would rather not put the wine through another winter season being held at this temperature. It's about time to pull that cork and see what I've got.

When I do it, I'll try to get some pics and description to post here. Thanks so much everyone for your help so far.

[Zachary]

James,

Of course, it's only now that I realize that you're in NY - if I were you, I'd call d'Artagnan and order their Wild Scottish Red Legged Pheasant, one per diner. Add bacon, juniper and mushrooms to dinner and you'll be fine.

Thanks,

Zachary

[ianinfrance]

Hi James,

Whatever I end up doing I'm going to do it soon. I am keenly aware of the hot conditions this wine has rested in for four years. (It's a 2004 wine but I received it as a gift in 2007.) Someone wisely pointed out that the first year or two in these hot conditions would probably not contribute too dramatic of an effect but then the next few years after that most likely have resulted in the equivalent of about 5 years of age. So I'm thinking this wine has aged the equivalent of about 10 years even though it's only 7 years old. Am I about right in this estimation? I would rather not put the wine through another winter season being held at this temperature. It's about time to pull that cork and see what I've got.

Difficult for me to give an estimation based on experience, because ever since I've been interested in wine I've been lucky enough to have (real) wine cellars under my houses. However, a lot depends upon the steadiness or otherwise of the temperature. For example, a wine held at a rock steady 65F is likely to have aged less than one held at 55±10F even though the mean temperature of the latter is lower. That's especially true of diurnal temperature changes. They (dam)age wine more than the normal biennial winter/summer temperature variations that are responsible for wine's normal aging.

But from what I've read, I'd guess you're not far wrong in your 10 year ball park figure.

Just wanted to add that as long as the bird isn't TOO heavily hung, Zachary's suggestion is excellent. At least I think it is, because I am a bit confused about red-legged pheasant. Surely it's partridge that's red or grey legged - or is this an American variant?

Either way, I would happily eat either of these with a top red burgundy.