There are classic
wine and food matches that on reflection are straight-forward. The thought of having an interesting matching menu based on various expressions of
Chardonnay seems somewhat narrow in outlook, especially when all the wines come
from the same winemaker, region and vintage.
So it was with the Kumeu River dinner at Boulcott Street Bistro on
Tuesday 20 July. Here, Paul Brajkovich of Kumeu River put up a
range of wines for dining with. Sure, the
Kumeu River ‘single vineyard’ Chardonnay wines are all different, but their
family resemblance in the white burgundy mould is the overriding
commonality. The wines are separated in
their vineyard sources by only a matter of less than 5 km from each other and
the tastes vary in relatively subtle nuances of flavour, weight and
structure. It would take a genius to
create a dinner menu that excited someone drinking these wines with food courses
that came from directions and worked on levels that were not immediately
obvious. Rex Morgan, at Boulcott Street is the genius. Rex’s philosophy is to design the food around
the wine, as the bottled wine is unchangeable, whereas the food, its
ingredients and cooking can be altered to suit the wine in the perspectives of
complementing and contrasting. His food
at this dinner was inspired and sensational, and were provocative matches to
the wines. With this as a base, the
evening was a spectacular, fun-filled, educational and enjoyable one.
The Kumeu River ‘Coddington’Chardonnay 2008
is the most plush, rich and round of the single vineyard wines, often compared
to high grade Meursault. On this night,
it was almost decadent, and enraptured drinkers with its seamlessness. I thought it went excellently with the prawns, apple and fennel with mirin citrus
dressing, the fennel flavour moderated and the sweetness of the prawns
accentuated. The wine became a fine ‘cutting’
instrument that cleanly dissected its way through the dish.
Contrast was the
approach with the pairing of the roast
duck leg with watercress with the Kumeu
River ‘Hunting Hill’ Chardonnay 2008.
Duck and confit are inseparable and images of succulence, oiliness and
earthy poultry give so much comfort. The
wine is the most refined, floral and steely of the single vineyard wines, its
crispness and line and length can be searing, very much in the
Puligny-Montrachet style. Here the wine
lifted the aromatic and flavour profile of the duck and the breadth of food
flavour and texture highlighted the power and nuttiness of the wine. This was an exceptional pairing of stark
contrasts for many.
The star single
vineyard wine, the Kumeu River ‘Mates’
Chardonnay 2008 is just that because it is a step up in depth, weight and
ability to age. It has the full richness
of the ‘Coddington’ and the sheer purity, power and intensity of ‘Hunting Hill’
but taken further. I always think near
top grand cru Puligny-Montrachet, but the Brajkovich family’s daring comparison
with the Corton-Charlemagne grand cru may be more apt. The wine certainly looked grand cru on this
night! Rex Morgan humbly calls himself “just
a Maori boy who cooks”. Pork belly then,
must be a signature dish! Rex’s free range belly of pork with butternut and
lightly smoked almonds was a knockout.
The pork belly sensuous and fat and rich, but with soak-up textures from
the butternut and amazing piquancy and expression from the almonds which were
definitely NOT ‘lightly’ smoked. Only a
wine with the depth and restrained intensity could stand alongside this dish
and the ‘Mates’ did. The wine became
richer, and the wine sized up and neatly contained the rampant pork belly, but
allowed the delicious smoke come through, integrating with the wine’s oak
presence. Can you tell from the lyrical
waxing that this was special?
In Burgundy,
Chardonnay is grown with Pinot Noir. The
Brajkovich family have worked hard with Pinot Noir, and the new Dijon clone 777
has found favour. The Kumeu River Pinot Noir 2006 is indeed
suitably burgundian in style with its forest floor and savoury red fruit
characters. What made this a match with
the seared venison on peruperu and
spiced cherries was its robust tannin-based texture. Interesting the venison was not quite level
in flavour to the wine, but the echo from the cherries compensated. Maybe a little more ‘hang time’ for the meat
rather than the grapes might see perfect matching?
Served at its peak
age and temperature, the munster with
beetroot caramel was indeed a grand finale.
This stunning cheese was paired with the increasingly rarely released
Bordeaux expression, the Kumeu River ‘Melba’
Merlot/Malbec 2000. Bottle-age saw
secondary game and funky characters amid dark plum and chocolate fruit. A pairing of complexity of aromas and
flavours, to me somewhat too much to pigeon-hole as I like to do, but
eye-opening for other diners.
Then out the blue
came a beautifully refined and refreshing glass of Chardonnay-influenced Taittinger Champagne ‘Brut Reserve’ NV. The perfect pick me up after a dinner packed
with mind-boggling matches of wonderful flavours from the Kumeu River winery
and the kitchen of Boulcott Street Bistro.
Others with more stamina than me
continued into the night, no doubt revisiting the Chardonnays, but I was
happy to move on, contemplating the excellence of the evening.
- Raymond Chan