Pairing Sweet Bordeaux with Southern Fare #Winophiles

They can quickly expand a dining palate by bringing a broad spectrum of styles, price points, and food pairing options to the table

Sauternes and Sweet Bordeaux Wine – Spruce Eats

This month our French #Winophiles group of wine and food bloggers are collaborating with Sweet Bordeaux US, a group of wineries from a sub-region of Bordeaux that produce a variety of sweet wines. We explored food pairings beyond the last course these delicious wines.

This was not my first experience with the Sweet Bordeaux wines. My initial exposure to the wine was courtesy of the Snooth Media’s Go Golden Bordeaux campaign a couple of years ago. It was a such a great experience I was inspired to write “It’s Time To Go Beyond The Last Course with Sweet Bordeaux Wines

Image courtesy of Sweet Bordeaux. Click here for larger image

Disclosure: These wines were provided to me as media samples. I received no compensation for this post, and all opinions presented are my own.

The Sweet Bordeaux wine region is situated south of the city of Bordeaux. There, crafted by ancient forces, a serendipitous combination of soils and cool morning fog and warm, dry afternoons along the banks of the Garonne River, the beneficial fungus Botrytis (a.k.a.”noble rot”) grows on Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes bunches. Noble rot is an alchemy that happens inside each berry concentrating, and dramatically increasing the flavors, sugars and acids in the grapes.

The result? Sweet Bordeaux!

While the most famous of wines are intensely sweet, the wines are crafted in a variety of styles depending on the combination of overripe grapes and botrytized grapes uses to make the wines. Wines classified as “Moelleux” are off-dry or medium sweet. Wines classified as “Liquoreux” are intensely sweet.

The Wines and Pairings

I sampled four wines – two Vin Moelleux and two Vin Liquoreux and paired them with Southern fare.

2019 Château la Hargue Moelleux

When I first received these samples, the first dish that came to mind was Shrimp Étouffée, a classic Creole stew is made with shrimp, the Holy Trinity of onion, celery, and green pepper, and a simple roux. Étouffée is a French word that means “smothered” or “suffocated.”  It’s been years since I’ve made it, and so I decided to give it a try. This wine was a wonderful partner for my dish!

Tasting note: Very pale gold color with passion fruit, lime zest, golden apple, apricot aromas with a hint of yellow flowers.On the palate it’s medium-bodied and off-dry with bright acidity. It shows passion fruit, ripe peach, apricot, golden apple, and lime curd flavors with a medium finish. Blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle and Sauvignon Gris planted on clay and limestone soils in Entre-Deux-Mers. Vin Moelleux  11% abv|SRP ~ $18 We particularly enjoyed this wine as an aperitif. I think it would be hit a party (remember those) or until then, an outdoor gather of your pod!

2018 Château Tanesse Moelleux

Any Chicken and Waffle fans here? It’s typically brunch item for me, but inspired by my friend Michelle Williams of Rockin Red Blog, we paired this wine with take-out Chicken and Waffle. Whoa! She was right, it’s a great pairing. The sweetness of the wines is a wonderful counterpoint to the spiciness of the fried chicken and the wine’s acidity cuts through the buttery, maple-y goodness of the waffle!

Tasting note: Pale gold color with ripe stone and tropical fruit aromas with hints of lemon zest and white flowers. On the palate it’s medium-bodied, and off-dry with lively acidity and a supple texture. It shows with ripe peach, apricot, pineapple, lychee, and honey flavors with a hint of spice. Medium finish. Blend of 85% Muscadelle and 15% Sauvignon Blanc grown on silty and clay and gravelly slopes. Vin Moelleux. 12.5% abv|SRP – $16

2014 Château du Cros

This wine was wonderful paired with a classic Southern dessert Sweet Potato Pies.

Tasting note: Deep gold color with aromatic ripe peach, apricot, guava, mandarin orange marmalade aromas and mushroom aromas. On the palate it’s full-bodied with vibrant acidity and ripe yellow peach, apricot, mandarin orange marmalade, and guava flavors beautifully accented with appealing savory and mineral notes with a long clean finish. Blend of 90% Sémillon; 5% Sauvignon Blanc; and 5% Muscadelle grown in chalky clay with limestone subsoil. Vin liquoreux. 13% abv| SRP – $30|500ml. Fantastic value here!

While researching the versatility of Sweet Bordeaux wines, I came across a few recommendations for using the wines in cocktails. Since I had a bottle of Amara Amaro d’Arancia Rossa (my favorite Amaro), I decided to create a cocktail. Inspired by the Aperol Spritz, I mixed(roughly) 2oz of the Chateau du Cros Loupiac, 1 oz of the Amara, filled a glass with ice and topped it with Fever-Tree Tonic water. My wife and I both loved it. There’s a nice interplay between the sweetness of the Louipiac and the herbal slightly bitter notes in the Amaro and the tonic water lightens it up and adds to its freshness. I call it Amareaux and Tonic!

No fancy twist of citrus, but damn this was refreshing and tasty!

2016 Château La Rame Sainte Croix du Mont

We paired this wine another classic Southern dessert – Peach Cobbler. Another fabulous pairing!

2016 Chateau Château La Rame paired with a quintessential Southern dessert Peach Cobbler

Tasting note: Brilliant medium-gold color with exuberant ripe peach, apricot, mandarin orange marmalade. On the palate, it’s full-bodied with a supple texture and vibrant acidity with ripe peach, apricot, honey, and citrus jam flavors and a long finish. Blend of 95% Sémillon, 5% Sauvignon Blanc from 50 y.o. vines grown on clay-limestone soil with fossilized oysters subsoil. Vin liquoreux. 13% abv|SRP – $34

Image courtesy of Sweet Bordeaux.com

The wines and the pairings were a hit in our house! The wines of Sweet Bordeaux have definitely inspired me to try more savory pairings, serve the wines as aperitifs and maybe even a cocktail or three!

For more information, including lot of pairing ideas and recipes check the Sweet Bordeaux website.

If you’re looking for me amazing pairing ideas for Sweet Bordeaux wines, be sure to check out what my fellow #Winophiles discovered during their exploration of these wines! And if you’re up early enough please join our Twitter chat on Saturday 11/21 at 8a PT/11a ET. Just follow the #Winophiles hashtag.

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16 Comments

  1. Lynn says:

    Your Shrimp Étouffée is noted. I enjoyed the La Harge, trying it with several dishes. It, and the Tanesse, could take white zin lovers to a new level. And your cocktail is the bomb Martin! Since M and I love Amaro, we’ll be enjoying it soon.

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks Lynn. I thought the Amara D’Arancia which is based on Sicilian Blood Oranges was a wonderful addition to my drink. We got turned on to Amaro when we visited Italy several years ago. The Amara D’Arancia is a fave (it make an Aperol Spritz much better for me).

  2. culinarycam says:

    That cocktail! Oh, I am swooning. And I love the pairings. Étouffée is genius. I notice that Katarina leaned to the Cajun-Creole, too. I might have to try that, too.

  3. The Corkscrew Concierge says:

    Martin, we were definitely on the same page! You had me at etouffee! I need to try my hand at a couple of cocktails.

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks Kat! I’m looking forward to reading about your pairing! #mixmastersindahouse

  4. Love your description of how botrytis occurs and the effect it has on grapes! And those pairings look delicious. Can’t decide which I want to make first.

  5. Martin, your post takes me back to the shrimp creole and other Southern delicacies we enjoyed in New Orleans. Wish I had a sweet Bordeaux then! And that cocktail – sounds amazing!

  6. Robin Renken says:

    I want to try every single one of your pairings, as well as the cocktail. These sound like perfection! But my favorite part of this piece:
    “There, crafted by ancient forces, a serendipitous combination of soils and cool morning fog and warm, dry afternoons along the banks of the Garonne River, the beneficial fungus Botrytis (a.k.a.”noble rot”) grows on Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes bunches. Noble rot is an alchemy that happens inside each berry concentrating, and dramatically increasing the flavors, sugars and acids in the grapes.”
    There is the voice over for a commercial for Sweet Bordeaux…beautifully and evocative written!

  7. wendyklik says:

    Ok, I am definitely in for that cocktail. I love how you found so many savory pairings for this wine.

  8. Payal Vora says:

    Delicious pairings! You went all out… took me back to my time in Louisiana! Pass on the chicken and waffles – fuzzy memories of wayyyy too many late nights at Waffle House… haha! Agree that the Ch. la Hargue makes a great aperitif… cannot wait to have another 40 ppl bash at our house. I so miss the clinking of glasses and conversation all around.

  9. David says:

    Delicious pairings! I especially like that etouffe pairing! I haven’t made that in awhile…need to again, with Sweet Bordeaux of course!

  10. Nicole Ruiz Hudson says:

    I love all of these pairing ideas! Shrimp Étouffée and chicken and waffles — yes please! Also, I have a little bit of one of my Loupiacs left in a bottle — I think I might follow your example and make a sprtiz out of it. Great idea!

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