About ten days ago we had a couple of friends round for dinner on the basis that one of the friends promised to bring some foie gras. She kept to her promise, so it was a question of what to drink with the foie gras.
We could have gone for the traditional choice of Sauternes but these can be just too rich for the equally rich foie gras. Instead something with some acidity and freshness in the finish I think is much better. I could, of course, gone for something from the Loire from Vouvray, Montlouis or Anjou but instead chose to go for Charles Hours impeccable 1994 Clos Urolat Jurançon.
The 1994 restrained, honeyed richness balanced with acidity in the finish was an ideal match with the foie gras. It was also a fine foil for a later cheese course, especially the Stilton.
The dry and sweet wines of Jurançon have something in common with Loire Chenins. They both can age brilliantly. Charles Hours' 1994 (22 years old) was still youthful and will comfortably last 20 or 30 years more probably longer. This bottle had been kept in a London flat – not ideal storage conditions and the 1994 was still in excellent condition.
1 comment:
Sounds wonderful. We spent a week in the Jurancon region last Spring, and while we didn't visit Charles Hours, we did stop at a number of producers. Jurancon wines are an undiscovered gem; as I wrote in my travel blog, I'm not sure there are any bad Jurancon wines.
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