thanksgiving with the countess (and tomme de savoie)
Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday. What is not to love about an entire day centered around giving thanks for food, glorious food! Every year, I like to host an eclectic mix of friends and family for the most delicious of special days.
This year, I planned a dinner for seven. But our friend Dean had the brilliant idea to to come early, not to don and apron and get down with the bird but in order to have time to celebrate a special guest, the Countess de Lalande. Those of you who are Bordeaux buffs are getting the picture but for less wine nerdy who think that Dean consorts with French royalty, I should explain. Dean arrived promptly at 1pm in a fresh button down with not a perfumed European tart on his arm but a bottle of 1985 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (one of Bordeaux’s finest wines). The bottle had been given to him years ago as a thank you gift from a Hollywood studio. (Dean is a writer on the TV show Bones. The infamous Jersey Shore episode? You have Dean to thank for that one.) He’d been saving the Comtesse de Lalande it for a special occasion and what could be more special than spending the foodiest day of the year with the kinds of friends who geek out appropriately over such an offering?
Dean had prompted me in advance to find an appetizer suitable of showcasing the wine. A shot in the dark, I picked up a tomme de savoie cheese, its thick, bumpy rind promising good aging and to accompany, a package of salty, rye wafers.
You might think that with my job as a wine critic, I drink the world’s greatest wines on a regular basis. But the Lalande was a true treat for me, in part because I have fond memories of spending time with the Countess (Comtesse) at her home (chateau) on Bordeaux’s Left Bank–yes, Virginia, there really is a Countess–but also because I get few opportunities to drink great wines with over 20 years aging. More often than not, I’m afforded the opportunity to swirl barrel samples or pre-releases. My job, as far as the wineries are concerned, is to help get the adolescent wines sold, predicting how they will evolve rather than imbibing in the wines once they’ve grown into their voluptuous adulthood.
I have to admit that this particular bottle of wine, being an ‘85, was nearing the end of its life but it was still very much a respectable lady with a complex but subtle array of flavors that lingered long. Its delicate, floral and dark fruit aromas were a delightful contrast to the sage, shallot and crackling aromas of turkey and potatoes wafting from the kitchen. And the pairing with the cheese? Well, that was probably the best part of the meal. Not meaning to toot my own horn, I’d say I put together one hell of a taste sensation! What was truly an accidental marriage, the cheese’s slight creaminess added a softness that masked the wine’s diminishing acidity. Its high salt content made the mouth salivate for the Bordeaux and its herbal notes brought out the wine’s underlying herbal and earthy notes.
Four of us went through the bottle and a half a pound of cheese in 20 minutes flat. This year the Thanksgiving meal was good but it was most definitely friends who share great wine for which I gave the most thanks!
