Cooking Like Keller

2010 La Mer Chardonnay

It had been some time since my last review, this is not to say that I haven’t been drinking wine because I have.  A good amount of it too!!  In truth I have been working on two wine certifications, and the studying, both books and tastings, became all consuming for a while.  But hopefully I’ll soon have some credentials to add to my reviews instead of just being your average wino.  So I wanted to return with a great bottle to review, or what I hoped would be a great bottle.  So I chose the La Mer Reserve Chard 2010 from the Santa Lucia Highlands.  

It was on a trip to Napa about three years ago that Charlie Smith of Smith and Madrone Vineyards (one of the most amazing views of the valley you’ll ever see is on their property btw) told me that the next big thing from California would be Burgundy style wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands.  Truth be told, that AVA has been around since 1990 but only recently has been getting the acclaim it deserves and only after my visit to Smith and Madrone to I begin to pay attention to the area.  It has rolling hills and many of the vines are planted high (Up to 1200 feet) and combined with it’s proximity to the Monterrey Bay which provides cool breezes, fog and helps to moderate the climate in general, its the perfect spot for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  A North American Burgundy.  So I’ve come to really appreciate and like the wines made here, both Chard and Pinot, and was excited to try the La Mer.  

What I got when I opened the 2010 Reserve was a bit of a surprise however.  It was a clear, pale lemon color in the glass and had slow forming legs.  But the surprise started with the nose and continued on the palette.  The first things that jumped out on the nose were malolactic and oak, which is atypical for most wines from the SLH and any that seek to emulate a Burgundian style.  The nose was big, and I got a lot of creamy, buttery scents that are indicative of malolactic fermentation and vanilla and cooking spices from its time in oak barrels.  I had to seek fruit scents, but could get some citrus, like lemon, and tangerine.  But the oaky /  ML scents absolutely dominated.  On the palette, this bottle is a ML BOMB.  Cream and buttered popcorn were the first and most lingering flavors and much like the nose, I had to really search for some fruit.  I got that tangerine and citrus but also a little tart green apple as well.  It was dry, with a light body but the dominant characteristics were high acidity and high alcohol.  The acidity was through the roof, border-lining on unbalancing the wine.  And there was a definite alcohol burn, it’s a 14.1% ABV wine which is pretty high, especially for a white.  Bottom line, this wine is not Burgundian in style.  Quite the opposite in fact.  It is very much a California Chard, and the style would have fooled me into thinking it was from Napa if I wasn’t looking at the bottle.  It spent 10 months in new French oak and has sur lie aging and those two things dominate the smells and flavors of this bottle.  It has a nice long finish, but the finish is oak and ML, not fruity.  

There were less than 900 cases of this wine made, and its worth picking one up if you can find it IF you like the typical California style of chard; big, oaky and creamy.  Don’t pick it up if you’re looking for a Burgundy clone or a lighter, fruitier style of Chard that is much more common in the SLH region.  It’s good, not great, and I had trouble getting over the acid, ML and alcohol.  I think Id pair this a rich dish or a heavy white fish.  It could probably also stand up to red sauce or big protein because of the acidity.  It retails for $55, but I thankfully got it for $20 on winestilsoldout.com.  If you can find it at that $20 price point, go for it.  Again, but only if you like this style of chardonnay.  

Guest Post: Linguine alla Carbonara

Out of all the people I consider friends one man and I share a common love of food and push each other to make new dishes. He’s been bugging me to make a guest post for a while now but always forgets to take photos. Well, he finally remembered. Thad is a lawyer who happens to be very competent on the stove and a good friend of mine. So here he is with this great Italian dish:

A simple recipe often requires great timing and attention to detail.  Carbonara, whether it be a linguini, spaghetti, ravioli, or any other pasta that strikes one’s fancy, is a study in pace and motion.  I chose this dish for a casual Thursday night dinner alone—the wife and son being away for the evening—because I did not have time after getting out of work around 6:15pm to hit up a store and make anything too complex.  This is the ideal meal for a single person or a couple looking for a quick, yet gourmet, weeknight dish.  The portions are simple to control and the entire thing takes roughly 30 minutes from start to finish.

A few notes on ingredients: carbonara requires only 10 items, most of which people already have on hand. Italian red table wine like Sangiovese, extra virgin olive oil, eggs, black pepper, salt, pasta, pancetta (or bacon), garlic, shallots (or onions or both), and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Some recipes omit shallots and garlic, but I like the additional flavors.  The two quintessential Italian products MUST be purchased with an eye for quality or at least from a decent store.  Do not use Kraft sprinkle Parmesan cheese in this recipe.  It diminishes the final product by a factor of 4.  Get a nice, beautiful hunk of Parm-Reg and use a grater.  If you wanna get crazy you can also buy a legit hunk of pancetta, but I used slices because I couldn’t find what I really wanted. 

No worries.  Get your mise en place with a glass of Sangiovese (for drinking purposes), two cloves of garlic sliced or chopped, about half a medium shallot, finely minced, and 3-4 slices of pancetta coarsely sliced.  Put a pot of salted water on the burner for the pasta.  Beat two eggs and then grate Parm-Reg over it, beating until the consistency is almost like a paste, but still has a liquid quality to it.  Add a few turns of black pepper, a pinch of salt, and a glug of oil.  Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a glug of oil.  When warm, add the pancetta and gently brown the slices, sauteeing constantly to avoid sticking and burning.  Pancetta is sensitive, like a 13 year old.  At this point, if your timing is correct, the water should be boiling and you must add your pasta to achieve al dente perfection.

When the pancetta has browned sufficiently and the fat rendered, turn the heat down a little, add the shallots and garlic and a pinch of salt.  Saute like mad.  The shallots are even more sensitive and will quickly burn if left to sit.  Add some oil or water from the pasta if it looks and feels too sticky.  You want softened, translucent shallots.  If they brown, you can still eat the finished product, but that is not ideal.  Don’t worry about the garlic because that will not cook as fast as the shallots.

When the pasta is al dente—3-4 minutes—use tongs to transfer it directly to the skillet.  You want water to come along for the ride because it will help lubricate the sticky mass in the pan and prevent browning/burning of the shallots.  Saute the whole lot until the pancetta, shallots, garlic mix is distributed well amongst the pasta.  

REMOVE FROM HEAT.  I REPEAT, REMOVE FROM HEAT.  You are about to add the egg, PR mixture and if the pan is too hot, you’ll be making a frittata instead of carbonara.  You don’t have to let it sit or anything, but turn the damn heat off at this point.

Fold the egg/PR mixture into the pasta, mixing well with something that will not damage the pasta.  Taste.  Add salt if you don’t taste any saltiness.  Another generous pinch.  Mix again.  Serve immediately and grate some more fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano over top.

If done properly, the egg and cheese mixture will combine with the rest of the products into a creamy and delicious sauce and the eggs will not cook.  

Take another swig of fine Italian Sangiovese and enjoy this wonderful dish.