Eat & Drink
Originally published on Thursday, 27th November 2008
Truffles & a Tutonic Tipple?
Fresh from the first ever German Premier Grand Cru tasting, as hosted by the infamous folks at The Wine Barn, it seemed apt that the Wine Chap should bring you this Teutonic special to whet your Euro-friendly palate…
ShelfTalk: A Tutonic Tipple?
Riesling: it’s sickly-sweet, it’s German, it comes in silly, ugly bottles, and is deservedly cheap and nasty, yes? Well, whilst it is true they are suspiciously cheap (when did we lose our faith in value?), but German Riesling is actually well worth exploring. For starters, its plaque-stripping acidity in fact makes the wine feel less sweet in the mouth than many over-ripe New World Chardonnays.
Also there are few more food-friendly wines than a peachy Kabinett (pretty much dry) or ripe, spicy Spatlese (medium) – perfect with a variety of dishes, from light salads to richer, sweeter Oriental flavours. In youth, the best wines are fresh and minerally as good Burgundy, but with more age develop an aromatic complexity combining notes of petrol, dried peel, toasted almonds, cinammon and cloves.
The top wines from producers like Dr Loosen, August Kesseler and JJ Prum are also considerably more affordable than their Grand Cru Burgundian equivalents.
Which that leads us on to...
BoozeBluff: ‘Impressive in its rather obvious way, but not be considered in the same league as a good '97 Deidersheim Grand Cru from Bassermann-Jordan'.
Following on from ShelfTalk's focus on Riesling, here is a good riposte for the bluffer to anyone espousing the irreproachable superiority of old white Burgundy. The great advantage with these top German whites is that even supposed connoisseurs tend to have relatively little experience of these wines but know they should, so will start guiltily when reminded of the fact.
WineMate: Truffle Time.
The second most expensive commodity by weight in the world after saffron, a Tartufo Bianco (white truffle) from the hills around Alba in Northern Italy is the ultimate anti-credit crunch indulgence. Trading online for up to £7 per gram (a small truffle is 20grams), this most pungent of tubers is at its best shaved thinly onto fresh pasta or a good veal stock risotto, the scraps being sprinkled over poached or scrambled eggs the following morning.
Only available in the last quarter of the year and at their best consumed within 2-3 days of being unearthed (by dogs, pigs or, much preciously, pubescent girls, whose raging hormones apparently made them acutely sensitive to the intensely musky odour) these 'diamonds of the kitchen' need careful wine pairing. Old Champagne, sweet and mushroomy, is a suitably epicurean match, but more typically the earthy yet perfumed Nebbiolos of the surrounding region are found in tandem, particularly the more feminine wines of Barbaresco.
Either way its a costly combo. But in these End of Days times, give this Wine Chap the luxuries and you can keep the necessities.
