Bordeaux 红and Chile Chardonnay 配鱼肝

上周末请客，找来公司几个要好的同事和家人到家里来。当日菜单由老婆大人起草和审定，我再基于佳肴内容挑几瓶酒以求配合。我比较喜欢在家里和朋友聚聚，当然由贤内掌厨，我负责跑跑腿（端菜，开酒与放音乐一类的）。菜单很丰富，不多繁叙，今天写的是其中一个让我印象深刻酒和食物配合。

挑了我手上有的最便宜的白/红葡萄酒。包括两周前去品酒会买的智利白葡萄酒：100%霞多利Cono Sur Chardonnay (100% Chardonnay) ￥58 （top cellar） 和网上订的典型波尔多右岸红酒：60%梅洛，40%赤霞珠 Chateaux L’Heyrisson (60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon) ￥78 RMB （美日美月）

配合美食：鮟鱇鱼肝 （老婆大人做的）。一条中大型鮟鱇鱼（￥50），小心地取下鱼肝。

鱼肝质地细腻，完全不显现腥味。有如奶酪的绵密。我叫他为“大海的鹅肝”。附上照片，

（不好找，超市不多见）。大厨用干煎（非常小量的橄榄油），使得鱼肝外酥内嫩。佐以芝麻菜和绿叶沙拉。不需任何调酱，只用几滴Balsamic的醋。老婆大人对食物搭配的酱汁用法深得我心，鱼肝原味才得显现。以下是品酒心得：

Chateaux L’Heyrisson：紫色（介于Cabernet和Pinot Noir间），少许酒精味，淡淡的橡木（我猜应该是木桶和铁桶混合），红浆果，单宁低，酸度第。易入口，中厚，回味也为中等。是典型的右岸梅洛主导的波尔多。

Chile Chardonnay: 金色偏黄，浓郁的木桶，带着柠檬和橙味。这是一瓶2008的新酒，回味带甜，宾客都还蛮喜欢的，一下就被喝了大半。

我个人认为，酒首重与食物配合。食物是主角，酒可以扮演最重要的“配角”。波尔多红酒的厚度（body）加上梅洛柔和易入口的特色和鱼肝绵密的口感是好的组合。霞多利回味偏甜，虽然配和鱼类食物可让口中消除所有腥味，但此鱼肝无任何不愉悦的味道，我的推荐还是Chateaux L’Heyrisson。

I am inviting my colleagues of work over to my house for my traditional autumn food and wine party. Last year, I tried the “gastronomy” 4 course, and it certainly pleased guests and want to come back for more.  Well, the food is mostly prepared by my wife who enjoyed cooking as much (or let’s say exceed my expectation) as I did. She is also able and capable of doing a much better job than me obviously. I am skipping most of the (but all are deliciously made) dishes, but focus on the food-wine pairing that impressed me most, and do a careful comparison on two wines I tried with tasting note. The food is the pan-fried “Monk Fish Liver” where I get this huge fish liver from a fresh catch. The texture of the liver is so smooth, that I usually like to call it the “Sea Foie gras”, and it is so tasty and creamy. From the cross section of the cut, it looks exactly like a filet mignon, crispy outside and super tender inside. Yammy!

My picks for today are actually two cheapest wines from my collection. I got them over the web and from wine tasting event and both with good discount.

Tasting notes: Chateaux L’Heyrisson 2005 (Bordeaux, 60%/40% Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon), $78 RMB

Color: medium purple, clear. Sniff: medium alcohol, plum (according to my wife), cocoa (particular to me), red fruit, ras berry, woody (my wife), I sense less of oak (so it either oak in less extensive period or mixed with tank). Also, it is young in nature (no aging sign on palate or sniffing), and also ready to consume with no need of decanting. 

Palate: medium body, low tannin, low acidity (I sense some), medium length. Easy to drink, (I guess) a typical merlot/cabernet blends from right bank of Bordeaux.

Tasting note: Cono Sur 2008 Chardonnay (Chile, 100% Chardonnay), $58 RMB

Color: this bottle come in gold (yellowish), clear (not crystal), medium translucent. Sniff: oaky, citrus (orange like, lemon). This should due to the medium weather of Chile and terroir (type of soil, amount of sun, hand-picking etc). This is a 2008 vintage, and it is really sunny season (not a lot of rain). Also, a hint of passion fruit (pineapple) and really relate to some sweet in nature.

Palate: fruity, enough (medium) acidity accompanying the tropical fruit in nature. Medium body, the mouth leaved with a bit of sweet from end of the tongue. Medium to long length that make you want to come back for more. This is obvious a pretty popular wine for the crowd.

Food paring:

In general, both wines go well with the fish liver. However, I personally still favor the “Monk Fish Liver” with the Bordeaux red. Especially the low tannins right bank merlot dominant on this bottle. Noted, some aging Merlot can have more pronounced “blank fruit” and “oaky” taste that may not goes well with fish in principle. If you really like to nominate another red wine for this type of rich food, I think a light “Beaujolais” or “Pinot Noir” should also do. I had previously some success that goes well with some herb-deep-sea fish filet. The final deciding factor for the food pairing is the “strength” or “body” I am searching for from both the food and the wine. The liver gives more body than the Chardonnay is able to offer. The other notes from this particular Chile Chardonnay is the “push for sweetness” (it is dry, but the after taste did provide sweetness) that doesn’t move quite exactly on what the liver attempt to deliver (the silk like smoothness from the fat on the mouth). While the Bordeaux red can match with equal amount of body and the taste marching finish with harmony. Noted, the Chardonnay is still very efficiently capable of finishing up your mouth with crisp fruity due to its length. For me, indulgence can be more valuable if really stack rank with finishing.