Monbazillac

[badthings]

We had a '98 Monbazillac with chocolate souffle the other night. Don't remember the producer, but I got it from a good merchant. It tasted quite strongly of saffron, with some (old) wood thrown in. These flavors obscured the other qualities of the wine.

I rarely drink Sauternes or Monbazillac, but I can't imagine that they normally taste like a nice paella. I've never heard of such a thing. Is it just a weird wine, or some kind of winemaking/bottling flaw?

[KatieLoeb]

We had a '98 Monbazillac with chocolate souffle the other night. Don't remember the producer, but I got it from a good merchant. It tasted quite strongly of saffron, with some (old) wood thrown in. These flavors obscured the other qualities of the wine.

I rarely drink Sauternes or Monbazillac, but I can't imagine that they normally taste like a nice paella. I've never heard of such a thing. Is it just a weird wine, or some kind of winemaking/bottling flaw?

That sounds a little "off" to me. I've never experienced anything that would be as "earthy" as saffron in a Monbazillac. Usually just smells/tastes of fruit blossom florals and honey.

[Mark Sommelier]

Monbazillac, like Sauternes, is a HORRIBLE companion to anything chocolate. My guess is that the interaction with the chocolate corrupted the aromatics and flavors of the wine.

[badthings]

Monbazillac, like Sauternes, is a HORRIBLE companion to anything chocolate. My guess is that the interaction with the chocolate corrupted the aromatics and flavors of the wine.

Wow, thank you, pros.

I did taste it before the souffle was out of the oven, and also with cheeses, including a forme sauternes, so I don't see how the interaction could have generated the taste, but maybe I'm misremembering something. There's a little bit left: I'll taste it again tonight.

I'm sure you're right about the combo -- I've read that many times, most memorably in the dessert chapter of Olney's Simple French Food, which is more about Sauternes than dessert. I wanted to see for myself what was so horrible about it, because it doesn't make sense to me intuitively.

[badthings]

sans soufflé, it was not as overwhelming, but still distractingly saffron-y, a little woody (not oaky) too. There's some amazing stuff going on underneath, but you can't really focus on it. I think I may taste the remainder with the merchant, see what she says.

Or I'll do a before and after with a chunk of chocolate, just to see what that does. Then I'll go to get a shiraz from target.