For New Year’s Eve, we are in the South, and we have invited friends. December 29 is devoted to warm the engine. As our friends had a good idea to bring rare food, we have to slice some Alba white truffles. To prepare our mouths, I open a Dom Pérignon 1998 with some toasts of foie gras. When the mouth is ready, some toasts excited by garlic with slices of white truffle form with the champagne a combination which is to die for. I had the same thrill yesterday with a magnum of Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle, associated to smoked salmon covered with pink berries. It was unbelievable. And this association of garlic, white truffle and Dom made me faint with pleasure.
We went for dinner and we had an association of lamb of Sisteron, violet artichokes and potatoes, which form a dish called “barigoule”. With that, the choice could exist between red and white wine. I chose red, and I was right.
We began with a Vacqueyras Domaine de la Garrigue A et L Bernard et Fils 1970 as my daughter loves this appellation. But she loves it when the wine is young, so I opened a Figeac 1988 which pleased her and pleased the entire table.
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pauljean propriétaire récoltant 1971 has an incredible character of Burgundy. It is just the excess of pepper which could indicate that we were not in Burgundy. We enjoyed this CdP which was lovely.
I expected a wine to be the star of the dinner as it was playing with a recipe of its region. But the Côtes de Provence Rimauresq red 1990, a wine that I adore, missed its appointment. No real excitement.
My ranking would be Dom Pérignon 1998, Figeac 1988, Chateauneuf du Pape 1971 for the wines. But if I had to rank wine or food, the winner would be the white truffle associated to garlic, as it is by large the best white truffle of the year for me.
The engine has warmed. New year’s Eve begins.