bourgogne blancs

[jgould]

has anyone discussed the differences bet the "grand crus" of chablis, meursault, puligny-montrachet, & chassagne-montrachets??? & what foods they best match with?

[jgould]

has anyone discussed the differences bet the "grand/premier" crus of chablis, meursault, puligny-montrachet, & chassagne-montrachets??? & what foods they best match with?

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i guess not too many white burgundy lovers on egullet

Edited January 6, 2005 by jgould (log)

[winemike]

Actually, like most wine drinkers, I am a BIG fan of white burgundy...

But I do not understand how the fact that they're grand/premier crus will make a difference in their pairing with food (as compared with the "village" appellation).

They should be the same, just that the wine is "better" (depends on the producer, of course )

[jgould]

Actually, like most wine drinkers, I am a BIG fan of white burgundy... 

But I do not understand how the fact that they're grand/premier crus will make a difference in their pairing with food (as compared with the "village" appellation).

They should be the same, just that the wine is "better" (depends on the producer, of course )

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interesting point! i could either amend the original inquiry to reflect grand,premier/village ac's; or hopefully others will chime in with why the grand/premiers DO make a difference, in that strictly speaking, pretty much ALL wine is meant to accompany food, & not really for drinking by itself.

[jgould]

Actually, like most wine drinkers, I am a BIG fan of white burgundy... 

But I do not understand how the fact that they're grand/premier crus will make a difference in their pairing with food (as compared with the "village" appellation).

They should be the same, just that the wine is "better" (depends on the producer, of course )

←

interesting point! i could either amend the original inquiry to reflect grand,premier/village ac's; or hopefully others will chime in with why the grand/premiers DO make a difference, in that strictly speaking, pretty much ALL wine is meant to accompany food, & not really for drinking by itself.

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ok, i'll start: which would match better with a steamed lobster? & which would match better with a broiled lobster stuffed with crabmeat?

[ctgm]

Not answering your question but I do find some Grand Cru Chablis awful. When I buy a Grand Cru I really don't want it having any oak near it at all but some insist on oaking it. As my Chablis producer says, if you want to make an oaky wine in Chablis, you should have saved yourself the bother and bought some land in Beaune/Macon

[bleudauvergne]

Lets see, we served a Grand Cru Chablis with the octopus a la greque when Bux came to dinner.. This same wine went into a pate de fois de vollaile the day after. We also served one with the soup course at Thanksgiving dinner. I think though, that on a day when I wanted to just have a nice glass of wine, a glass of a very good Chablis would be right at the top of my list. I agree with ctgm that Chablis should be kept from oak. It covers all of the delicate flavors.

[Rebel Rose]

interesting point! . . . in that strictly speaking, pretty much ALL wine is meant to accompany food, & not really for drinking by itself.

Oh, oh! Does eGullet count as an accompaniment to wine?

Just yanking your chain. I do lean toward food wines for food, and sipping wines for sipping, though. But that may be a perk of my lifestyle.

[RobInAustin]

Hi,

Sorry to chime in so late here, but been out of pocket last week or so since New Years.

Yes, I think there actually IS a difference between Village wines and Cru wines in White burgs. AND when pairing with food. (Ok, well in a perfect universe anyway, some crappy producers bollox up the otherwise useful rules.)

Village wines are pretty much thinner, "paler" versions of their Appellations. Yes, they will show some terroir associated, but, not all that much. Think of the difference between a fast food hamburger and a home grilled burger made from hand ground prime sirloin, and you'll get the picture, they're both burgers, but not the same.

So, you will want to choose lighter fare for the village wines, the GC and PC wines certainly can stand up to more robust food. I certainly could see a fine Montrachet GC standing up to say creamy lobster stew with saffron...

Also, the more complex GC and PC wines actually, when well made, can tolerate the use of new oak. This is one of the few, very few, exceptions I make about using oak. The oak can balance out the acids with tannins, and frankly all GC and PC wines must be aged to really bring out the best in them. (yeah,, I know some "new world" style producers are there...remember this is in a perfect world.)

Chablis, a slightly different critter, since the cheaper village and PC wines are more for drinking now, and the GC really must age out, and are not to everyones taste.

This is just a really quick answer. Grab Matt Kramer's book on Burgundy for a really great treatment of all the different appellations and producers.

Cheers,

Rob

[winemike]

I do agree that Grand Cru/Premier Cru do not pair with food the same as a "village" would but, I think it's just common sense not to serve a pale flavourless Chablis with a very rich/elaborated dish. The better the wine, the better the food should be.

Interestingly, when the wine is really great, a friend of mine calls it a "perfect match" wine, meaning that it's going to pair well with *almost* any food.

Also, when the wine is really great, I try to serve it with a dish that will leave the room for the wine. Perfect pairings are difficult to get (it takes a lot of work even to Alain Senderens) ...

To answer the question : "chicken cooked in herbed salt" with Batard-Montrachet. I like this

[GordonCooks]

I am lover of White Burgs but when pairing grand crus or monte's, I use very simple fish dishes to accent the nuances in the wines. Others I tend to drink alone such as a Coche Meursault Perrieres or Chave Hermitage Blanc.