What to Serve with 1990 Dom Perignon?

[LDLee]

To celebrate our new house , my wife and I plan to open a bottle of 1990 Dom Perignon that we were given many years ago. Any ideas for meals to serve with the Champagne? We have a broad range of tastes and Deb is a great cook. Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[jackal10]

Err..each other?

Make a range of finger food, and retire...

[Jason Perlow]

Definitely not caviar.

I think most people on this site who are familiar with my quirky wine tastes will know that I absolutely hate most big name Negociant Manipulant champagnes. For the most part I think Moet/Dom and other big name NM champagnes (with the rare exception of a few producers like Bollinger and Pol Roger) are a crappy match for most food because they have a filthy, unclean oaky aftertaste.

My recommendation is that you drink the DP 1990 on its own to toast the new house and find something else to drink with dinner that matches better with food. Like a 10 dollar prosecco or a domestic sparkler like Argyle

You may also want to read our own Craig Camp's excellent article about DP and other champagnes and sparklers:

http://www.egullet.com/?pg=ARTICLE-campdollars

also, we have a very long standing thread on favorite champagnes for under $50:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=10340

[Brad Ballinger]

Yes, serve a meal. Many people open Champagne or other sparkling wines for aperitifs or appetizers only. It's a great, and underrated, food wine. And if you actually have dinner at any restaurant in Champagne, you will find nearly everyone drinking it with their dinner.

Poached turbot (or other good poaching fish) in a spiced court bouillon is a great match.

[chromedome]

I dunno...

Bring over a couple of bottles, and I'll work on it, okay?

[Mark Sommelier]

Dom '90 is drinking really well right now. I would have it with parmesan chips, gougeres, and blinis with small amount of caviar and lots of creme fraiche.

[mdibiaso]

If I remember correctly Lucas Carton used to serve the 1990 DP with a fish dish that had a green coffee bean accent in the sauce. Idea was that the DP had a green coffee bean aroma that matched well with the sauce. So if you want to try it with some fish and your wife can whip up something with the coffee beans you may be in for a revelation.

[LDLee]

Thanks for the suggestions. They are all excellent. Keep them coming.

Mark, one of my wife's favorite appetizers to make is the parmesan chips, creme fraiche and caviar. Great idea.

Chromedome, only one bottle. Should be enough for me and my wife. Sorry.

As for dinner, the consensus seems to be fish with a light sauce. Is that correct?

Regards.

[Jason Perlow]

Dom '90 is  drinking really well right now. I would have it with Parmesan chips, gougeres, and blinis with small amount of caviar and lots of creme fraiche.

See, there ya go, thats the politically correct answer. Nobody likes to be told their DP 1990 is a lousy match for food...

I'm sorry Mark, but if I'm going to drink a champagne with caviar (which, BTW, no matter what the producer, is a horrendous combo to begin with, they totally smash into each other rather than compliment) I'm going to go with the lesser of all evils and drink a zero dosage champagne (which, as we all know, are virtually impossible to find these days). But my preferred accompaniment to caviar is chilled vodka. Vodka has a neutral flavor that doesn't get in the way of the fishiness/saltiness and other subtle flavors of the caviar. Sometimes I think the caviar/champagne combo happened strictly because some bourgeoisie genius in the 19th century saw that both items were expensive, could only be afforded by the rich, and decided to put them together, like in the Reese's commercial.

As I said my tastes are quirky and my sentiments are not at all popular... standard disclaimers do apply, your mileage may vary, etc. etc.

[Mark Sommelier]

I'm sorry Jason, but if you notice, I did say a "small amount of caviar with creme fraiche". The parmesan chip thing I learned from Claude Taittinger, many years ago. Parmesan is salty. A small amount of caviar is also salty. Hence.......

[Jason Perlow]

I'm sorry Jason, but if you notice, I did say a "small amount of caviar with creme fraiche". The parmesan chip thing I learned from Claude Taittinger, many years ago. Parmesan is salty. A small amount of caviar is also salty. Hence.......

Hey, I didn't say -parmesan- didn't go well with caviar. I bet the creme fraiche and the parmesan chips and caviar would go great with the chilled Vodka shots.

[Marlene]

Parmesan chips? I'd like to know more about these please! Oh and I'm kinda with Jason on this one. We tend to drink champagne on it's own, and pair wines/ports with dinners and appetizers.

[Mark Sommelier]

Parmesan chips? I'd like to know more about these please! Oh and I'm kinda with Jason on this one. We tend to drink champagne on it's own, and pair wines/ports with dinners and appetizers.

I'm talking about chipping pieces of Parmesan off a big wheel, not the thingies you cook up in a teflon pan or on a silpat.

[chromedome]

Chromedome, only one bottle. Should be enough for me and my wife. Sorry.

Damn. Guess I'll have to work on my boss about that bottle of '85 Dom she got for Christmas...

[winebill]

Poached Lobster or Crab would be my choice.

Now if you want some really wonderful Food Champagne, seek out thes Terry Theise selections.

* Champagne Chartogne-Taillet

* Champagne Pierre Peters

* Gaston Chiquet

* L. Aubry Fils

* Larmandier-Bernier

* Pierre Gimonnet & Fils

* Champagne R. Geoffroy

[Marlene]

Parmesan chips?  I'd like to know more about these please!  Oh and I'm kinda with Jason on this one.  We tend to drink champagne on it's own, and pair wines/ports with dinners and appetizers.

I'm talking about chipping pieces of Parmesan off a big wheel, not the thingies you cook up in a teflon pan or on a silpat.

Ah got it.

[Jason Perlow]

Poached Lobster or Crab would be my choice.

Now if you want some really wonderful Food Champagne, seek out thes Terry Theise selections.

* Champagne Chartogne-Taillet

* Champagne Pierre Peters

* Gaston Chiquet

* L. Aubry Fils

* Larmandier-Bernier

* Pierre Gimonnet & Fils

* Champagne R. Geoffroy

Yeah. Now we're cooking with gas. Most of these are Recoltant Manipulant (Single estate champagnes). My case in point.

[Brad Ballinger]

Yeah. Now we're cooking with gas. Most of these are Recoltant Manipulant (Single estate champagnes). My case in point.

Okay, I have to nit about something. I love RM Champagnes, too. I would assume that you like them because they are more interesting and have a greater variety of character than many of the NM (Negotiant Manipulant) wines. But that doesn't de facto make them better food wines than the 1990 Dom that started this whole discussion (or better food wines than Bollinger, Krug, etc.).

[winebill]

Who said better ?

Edited February 12, 2004 by winebill (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Yeah. Now we're cooking with gas. Most of these are Recoltant Manipulant (Single estate champagnes). My case in point. 

Okay, I have to nit about something. I love RM Champagnes, too. I would assume that you like them because they are more interesting and have a greater variety of character than many of the NM (Negotiant Manipulant) wines. But that doesn't de facto make them better food wines than the 1990 Dom that started this whole discussion (or better food wines than Bollinger, Krug, etc.).

A lot of them CAN be better because a lot of these wines aren't oaked and are made in very small batches. New oak barrels and new oak chips used for seasoning in some of the NM's are expensive, which a lot of these small houses can't afford. They also aren't made with the American palate in mind.

Hence, many of them make better food wine. But not all of them.

I will reiterate though, I think Champagne (as in the real McCoy, as opposed to other sparkling wines) as a whole is generally unfriendly to most food, though. There are other french sparklers such as Cremant d'Alsace which I think does a much better job, as does Cava and Prosecco. None of these go with Caviar, though.

In the case of Bollinger (NV) and Pol Roger, these are two outstanding NM champagnes which I personally feel match well with many foods. But they are diamonds in the rough, so to speak.

[Brad Ballinger]

Who said better ?

Jason did -- "My recommendation is that you drink the DP 1990 on its own to toast the new house and find something else to drink with dinner that matches better with food."

Although he followed this up with Prosecco or a $10 Argyle recommendation. He later wrote "My case in point" with respect to your Terry Theise list. I made the link on my own, which may or may not have been wholly accurate, but Jason took the bait so...

Jason,

Yes, some see oak. Interestingly, one of the big oak users (abusers?) -- Vilmart -- still manages to make wines with plenty of character, and that are good food partners. I'm not saying that there are NM wines that are poor food partners. There are plenty. My nit was just about generalizing to a classification of wine is all. As I wrote, I prefer the RM wines, and right now that's all I have for Champagne in my cellar (so I'm in your corner). But I've had the 1990 Dom, and I think it would go well with several appetizers and entrees. But I agree with you on one point -- not caviar.

[Jason Perlow]

I -did- say my opinions on this matter were unpopular.

[Coop]

I would try to acquire a whole dover sole. Poach it in fish stock and white wine on the bone. Make a reduction of the poackhing liquid. Finish with butter and cream. At the last minute add a chiffonade of sorrel. This dish is kind of 80's ish but then so is drinking Dom.

[LDLee]

We finally moved in to the new house. At the end of the move, we were able to open the bottle and enjoy it.

You are right that it is not a great dining wine, but it was an outstanding champagne to relax and enjoy. I am not very good at describing wines, so I won't embarass myself too much. I did notice the champagne was dry with a tiny bit of sweetness, tight bubbles, and pear and citrus aromas.

Thanks for the suggestion to pair it with parmesan, creme fraiche and caviar. What worked better was potato chips, creme fraiche and caviar. The parmesan was a little too salty and overpowered the caviar. The potato provided a nice base for the other two.

Thanks all for your comments.

Lindsey