MCF Rare Wine
Leftovers...
Friday night was one of the best nights of the year...all centered around the Turkey Pot Pie which, for me, is the whole reason to cook a Turkey in the first place. And I usually devote as much attention (most times more) to the 'Pie Night' wines as I do for the actual Thanksgiving wines.
On my way out of the shop on Wednesday night, in addition to what I'd picked for Turkey Day, I'd grabbed a bottle each of Domaine du Closel's Savennieres La Jalousie 2002 and Paitin's Barbaresco Sori Paitin 2006 - two wonderful, traditional examples of classic appellations.
I actually opened the Savennieres on Thanksgiving, enjoying a little bit of it with that meal, but knowing that, as virtually all of my experience with old Chenin has taught me, it would be better the next day.
When I pulled it out of the fridge on Friday during the prep phase of the Turkey pie, I'd quickly learned that it was the right call. The nutty, oxidative, savory wine from the night before had come even more to life, and actually tasted a good five years younger (that's the Chenin Paradox). It was now racy and bright and floral and honeyed...in other words it was perfect with the creamy, peppery, smokey, Turkey pie.
For the Paitin, I opened the bottle around 2pm in anticipation of a 6pm-ish dinner. I gave it a quick taste and it was aromatically beautiful, but still tight on the palate. In other words, it needed lots of air. So it seemed that I was 2-for-2 on the opening time decisions.
Just after I popped the pie in the oven, I checked on the Barbaresco again. It had come a long way, with the highly aromatic Nebbiolo character now expressing itself nicely on the palate, but I felt it could use just a little bit more air. I popped it into a decanter and set it on the table.
When we finally sat down, I started with a glass of the Savennieres which danced beautifully along with the comforting richness of the pie. As I finished the glass, I was torn - do I go for a second glass of the Chenin or dive into the Barbaresco?
A moment later, Emily said 'I'm going to grab myself a second glass because I can't decide which wine to drink. Does anyone else want one?'
She'd taken the words right out of my mouth, so I took her up on the offer.
It was a good thing I did, because the Barbaresco was equally as compelling. The classic, delicate red fruits, rosy aromatics and silky, yet firm finish were just as good a pairing with the meal. Really, though, I wondered just how good it would be with Thanksgiving 2030 leftovers, because it has so much life ahead of it.
Three generous helpings and a couple glasses of each later, I had an idea - why not write up an offer for both wines?
'Because I don't have enough of each...' I remembered.
'But they're both also available in really good current/recent vintages, why not offer those as well?'
After all, the 2015 La Jalousie, with its dense, yet precise details and lovely texture and the 2015 Sori Paitin (which I'd been planning to offer anyway) with its rich, muscular profile and otherworldly balance would both at the very least be just as great (probably way better) as these two were (at some point in the future, of course)...
The idea was so good, I got up and snapped a pic of each above the now-demolished Turkey Pie...
...I was pretty proud of myself...and the pie...
If interested, please call 212.255.8870 or email info@mcf-rarewine.com.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870
