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Nestled between the culinary towns of Dijon and Lyon lies the winemaking region of Burgundy known as the Côte D'Or, with its street signs spanning the Route Des Grands Crus that read like the wine list at an upscale brasserie. It’s hard to determine whether the region is more famous for its mouthwatering classic dishes, or its equally awe-inspiring wines. Regardless, the region's fare compliments its picturesque farm-scape. Burgundian cuisine is a cheerful, home-cooked style of simple, down-to-earth delicacies and wines that are anything but: complex and ravaging as they are.
Thus, it’s easy to see why this region practically invented pairing in its modern sense. People here have honed their skills consuming local cuisine for the thousands of years that these recognizable dishes have been made here. In this column, we will explore four different classic Burgundian recipe’s, discuss their classic pairings, and explain why the shoe fits so nicely.
The first notable pairing is the ever-delicious Coq au Vin, a regional staple of Burgundy, and a dish that has been popularized around the world. Traditionally, the dish is made with dark meat chicken, which is seared in butter or duck fat, flowered, then mirepoix is added, along with fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley), garlic, porcini mushrooms and finally the mix is deglazed with red wine. Generally speaking the red wine will be a Bourgogne labeled bottle, or occasionally, you may want to cook with a village bottle. Then brandy or cognac is added, and the pot is cooked on low heat for several hours.
This is a fantastically simple recipe, and one that conjures an incredible umami of savory esters. Those who enter the home that this dish is cooke in are blessed immediately by the smell of roasted herbs, garlic and red wine, which gives of an incredible aroma of caramel and pepper when used to deglaze the dish. when finished, the chicken is tender and the flavors are perfectly amalgamated.
Traditionally this dish is paired with a structured, and racy premier cru, from Burgundy of course. The most structured come from Givrey-Chambertin - the raciest, from Clos de Vougeot. In the middle, striking a balance between lush, structured flavor, and bold, eclectic palatability, is Morey St. Denis.
I would recommend the incredible Dom. Artaud Morey St. Denis Premier Cru, “Les Ruchots.” This wine comes from a mineral-dense and rocky plot just east of the famous Clos de Tart Monopole. These wines are known to be soft, but grippy and interesting with hints of animal gaminess and truffle. The reason this pairing will work as well as it does, is obviously the incredible finesse of the wine, matched with the simplicity of the dish.
The Ruchots will spice up and add additional flavor craft to the chicken and help to open up a lot of herbaceous flavor in the dish. It is also intense enough not to be stepped on by all of the flavors of the chicken and has the acid to cut through the fat of dark meat. Altogether a notably interesting and sensual pairing to try.
Changing gears, let’s take a look at a staple of Burgundy, perhaps its most well known, but least regarded dish, at least by us yanks: Escargot de Bourgogne. For those who don’t know, these are snails; specifically the Burgundy, or Roman snail. They are generally sourced locally in Burgundy, where they are a part of the vineyard ecosystem.
They first need to be boiled for about three minutes to kill them, then their shells need to be removed and saved. You will need to rinse them in vinegar to remove mucous. Then fry them in butter and garlic briefly to add a sear, and add a bit of herb mix and deglaze with Chablis.
Then, using French butter, mix parsley, garlic, rosemary; bread crumbs and minced shallot, adding the snail back to its washed shell, and covering with the butter-herb mix. Bake at 350 for fifteen minutes, et voila.
The escargot should be served on toast points of baguette or ciabatta. They resonate herbal flavor and earthy, hearty minerality as well as some zest from the wine. The mix becomes a soft, fatty, herbal blend that tastes a bit like truffle with the delicate texture of mussels or barbecue brisket fat. These spreadable delights make for a wonderful amuse bouche, or intricate snack.
The classic pairing if you ask anyone is the creamy and subtle Puligny-Montrachet. This laudable chardonnay is unlike the Chablis that the snails were cooked in. There is far more substance here, and texture. Chablis is zingy while Puligny is creamy, though still sharp. Karen McNeil describes Puligny as a Katana covered in whipped cream. A bright, herbaceous, mineral, metallic and earthy wonder, with bold, rich body, and lees for days.
The reason that this classic paring performs so well is because the texture of the wine adds a lactic undertone to the fried butter sauce and the acidity helps to pierce the fattiness of the butter. Not to mention the aromas of orchard fruit that sing so well in harmony with the shallot and garlic. This mineralic wine is also a perfect compliment for the earthy Escargot, adding extra layers of dimension to the palette. Granny smith apple acid from the wine and basic bitter licorice flavor of the parsley from the food are other reason that this pairing just works so well.
My favorite among the Puligny’s is the ever well regarded, Dom. Paul Pernot. This spanky eye-opener is from the south of the climat, bordering on mineral-dense limestone, and south eastern slopes. It’s creamy and harbors incredible flavors of thyme, seawater and key lime pie. The under-palette is a katana of sharp green apple and yellow pear, with some hearty brioche undertones and passive floral apricot.
Lastly, Boeuf Bourguignon is a dish that displaces Coq au Vin as the heartiest meal on this list of classic Burgundy fare. It’s food so quintessentially Bourgogne, that its named after the region itself. also notable is the fact that it is available in one form or the other, at basically every restaurant on the Côte d’Or, and this could be due to its nearly homogenous likability, and palpable aromas.
The classic recipe calls for lardons of bacon to be chopped and seared, and top sirloin to be seared on both sides in olive oil. Mirepoix is then added and again seared, and then white mushrooms. After thoroughly cooked, flower is added to the steaks for consistency sake. Then an herb bundle of Thyme, Parsley, and a bay leaf are seared along with some butter, and pearl onions. The mix is then deglazed with some village level burgundy, and roasted tomatoes are added, along with some water, and the dutch oven sits for several hours to sear, not unlike Coq au Vin.
This dish is a casserole technically, and a hearty one at that. The bacon adds a familiar richness to the steak, and all of the herbal characteristics jump out of the dish and onto your palette seemingly at once. There is a tender earthiness that exudes personality depending on the skill of the cook, and the right deglazing wine can speak volumes to the candied flavors of the dish. It’s tender and rich, and flavorful and soft all at the same time.
To accompany this dish, traditionally a strong pinot is used, one with good finesse, and earthiness, but brash in attack. Again I will be looking to the Cote de Nuits for just the product. A nice Vosne-Romanée should do the trick. As soft as velvet, yet complex as a swiss watch, the wines of Vosne are wold renown for their opulence. But being Cote de Nuits means a strength that in hot vintages can confuse even the most trained palette to sense… Pomerol? My word what a lovely right bank specimen this is! Except it’s not - It’s just a brash example of a typically lush and opulent Burgundy.
This pairing is infinitely complex and couples so well, it’s difficult to report what’s actually happening in the glass. First off, the complementary nature of the pairing. The wine is a textural punch to the gullet in years like 2015, when the summer was hot and the rains were late. The cherry flavors of the wine suit the sweet seared onions and the acid kicks apart the jam-like gravy of the dish. The bacon goes with the gamey flavor an hedonistic nature of the wine, and the lush ribbon-like texture of the wine helps to softly carry the tender meat beyond your palette.
My recommendation would be Michel Noëllat Vosne-Romanée. It’s a classic example of Vosne from a glowing producer. This wine in its best vintages is a soaring melody during for a harmonious food. Overall flavors generally are baked strawberry, red Mackinac cherry, cinnamon, fresh prosciutto, and white truffle. The wine has a good portion of delicate flavored cedar notes as well as a texture and mouthfeel that is unbelievably soft, and lingering for minute afterward. Truly a rare find for a village wine.