Tuesday, August 10, 2010
By The Glass By the glass at... Miller Union
Wine from the Loire meets an egg in celery cream
Posted by Jimmy Sobeck on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 10:08 AM
- Jimmy Sobeck
The dish: Farm egg baked in celery cream
The wine: 2008 St. Nicolas Les Clous Fief Vendeens
The pairing: Delicacy on the plate meets gentle blend in the glass
Miller Union has quickly earned high accolades for their deftly executed farm to table cuisine, though the almost exclusively European and California wine list provides many intriguing offerings, and is deserving of its own praise. The restuarant’s bar, which is a simple and welcoming affair perched between the host stand, a wall of windows and the dining room, is a great setting to sample one of the by-the-glass offerings with a quick bite or a full meal.
The 2008 St. Nicolas Les Clous Fief Vendeens is a personal favorite of part-owner and general manager Neal McCarthy. Hailing from the Loire Valley of France, this blended organic and biodynamic wine is a wonderful balance of chenin blanc and chardonnay. The initial flavors of salty butter and a touch of oak is accompanied by a light amount of chenin blanc acidity and stone fruit, eventually giving way to a slightly mineral finish.
- Jimmy Sobeck
A very gentle dish, it is important that the wine not overpower the subtlety of the delicate egg yolk in the lightly seasoned and creamy base. A chardonnay on its own may have proven too much, but the mild richness of the chardonnay and the light acidity of the chenin blanc worked in tandem to both complement the creaminess of the yolk and liven up the gentle flavors of the cream. Slathering the egg mixture on the provided grilled peasant bread allows the chardonnay aspect of the wine to shine even more, as the buttery mouth feel plays well with the slight bitterness of the charred flavors.
Comments (2)
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Not to split hairs here, but the wine is not from the loire valley. It's close, but not quite...
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Actually, Fief Vendeens is part of the Nantais- the western most sub-region of the Loire Valley, most famous for Muscadet. While the VDQS Fief Vendeens is not directly adjacent to the Loire River, it is characterized by sandy soils typical of the Muscadet appellation, and is for the most part farmed by biodynamic farmers like Thierry Michon of Domaine St Nicolas.
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