Sailing the Seas of Cheese

Wine & Cheese Session 2: "Kings and Queens of Fermentation" 9/27 @ houseRed

Ok, the research for this series is getting downright dangerous! Apart from the excuse it affords for tearing into multiple chunks of serious cheese at once (how else is it to be done?!), it is more alarmingly proving quite hard on the ol' cellar. And the magic can prove to be rather elusive...but not tonight. Even with a severely embattled, burger and fried dough ravaged palate, tonight's experiment, still in progress, is shaping up beautifully. The stuff they call 'Delice de Bourgogne', (from, you guessed it, Burgundy!) is a heart-stopping number that makes the adjective TRIPLE cream sound inadequate. With a texture falling between lightly whipped butter and frosting, and an intense yet supremely delicate flavor profile, you really gotta be careful with this stuff. A little research suggested spreading it on a slice of toasted baguette (which was conveniently on hand), and the advice is on the money. Far too creamy to eat by itself, and too silky to waste on some chewy un-toast, this is clearly the only way to go. Moreso than what may be obvious with some, this is one cheese that will slap you if you aren't patient (or sleepy) enough to let it come around to full-ooze room temperature. As for the wine, we are going way out on a limb and drinking a, uh, Burgundy; one I feared may have been near to (if not way) over the hill; a '95 Paul Pernot Santenay 'Bievaux' (one of those v'yds never granted 1er Cru status that everyone considers to be one anyway). The questionable provenance of this particular bottle, and the quickly disintegrating cork proved irrelevant. The color is a STUNNING (I really try not to say that) crystalline orange-tea-garnet. On the schnozz it immediately brings a focused licorice-root, and a general damp earth overtone. More than a touch of absinthe-soaked lunchmeat... Startlingly acidic - given the age - so much so that I choked on the first sip. The acidity quickly melted away, and revealed a shimmering, volatile, but still powerfully built drink. The
match-made-in-heavenness here may be somewhat in question; but when you've got two guests bringing so much depth to the conversation, I think it best to enjoy them both and be happy that they get along at all.