“Wine and food pairings
For almost thirty years, when choosing a wine to accompany a dish, I’ve preferred to choose the wine first, because each bottle contains a message that needs to be deciphered. The wine “explains” what it is and “tells” us what it wants. This dialogue between the wine and the dish, the alliance of taste combinations, which I hope will be courteous, will be appreciated by everyone according to their knowledge, culture or imagination.
Instead of opposing Bacchus and Comus as two independent worlds, or even as two autonomous disciplines, I chose to combine them in a single approach in the service of a new conviviality. To do this, I had to complete the process begun in 1992, and truly mark, not the pre-eminence of the liquid over the solid, but simply respect the anteriority of wine. The winemaker makes the wine, it’s up to the chef to adapt his dishes to each bottle. This new menu of alliances leads to a cuisine de courtoisie (courtly love).
It’s not a question, as Raymond Brunet did in the 30s, of drawing up an impossible nomenclature of “wines that harmonize with the 4,500 most common culinary preparations”. My approach is both more modest and more ambitious, as it focuses on the very essence of a wine’s aromatic construction and its gustatory correspondences in density and form. For every wine has its own aromatic history, as well as the taste of its era. And ours is rich in bottles that call on the skills of a chef at the service of the taster.
What we do with chords reflects our sensibility, our imagination and our knowledge. Our marriages are not left to the arbitrariness of the players. Thanks to the competence of the experts who have surrounded us during more than fifteen years of research, we hope to have brought a certain “legality” and a certain degree of truth to them, while knowing that we will never achieve complete certainty. The new presentation of my menu is the fruit of a true culinary concept centered on the art of combining tastes, and confirms the interest of a gastronomic initiatory journey based on the expression between the liquid and the dry. For me, this is the culinary universe of tomorrow.
I can’t consider or propose for tasting a dish whose conception, elaboration and cooking are based on parameters of great precision, without taking the precaution of ensuring the concordance of the fragrances that will accompany it, in order to make the most of the “crossroads of tastes”. If a wine is happy with a dish, it will become the showpiece, and vice versa. It will then reveal the depth of the dish, while releasing all the subtleties of its terroir.
SOME OF LUCAS CARTON’S GREAT CHORDS
Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon vintage 85
My polenta with black truffles
Creation date: 2000
For this creamy, delicate polenta structured by the addition of black truffles, a very tasty, sensual version, Dom Pérignon œnothèque 85, disgorged in 99. Notes of truffles, moss and almonds, sustained by magnificent freshness.
A sensual pairing! The unctuousness of the polenta and the finesse of the Champagne wind up in a firework display of flavors.
Texture and flesh: the grains of polenta and the bubbles of Dom Pérignon become one.
Manzanilla “El Rocio” – Gonzales Byass
Belons “000” roasted in their lutée shells, hazelnut beurre blanc, toast with Jabugo “Bellota-Bellota”
Creation date: 1995
Rare “horse’s foot” Belons, simply roasted in their lutée shells to preserve and develop their magnificent hazelnut flavor.
A few crunchy toasts of Jabugo “Bellota-Bellota”, tapas-style, for this freshly “drawn from the barrel” Manzanilla.
Very elegant, marked by iodine and hazelnut aromas, this Manzanilla transports us to southern Spain, to Andalusia.
The key idea of the agreement: the typical expression of the “cross” agreement
Texture and flesh: the acidity and freshness of this Manzanilla pierce the fat of the oyster to harmonize and multiply the flavors of this pairing.
Meursault 1997 – Coche Dury
Langoustines royales au vermicelle croquant, crème de coquillages, noisettes torréfiées “à manger avec les doigts”
Creation date: 2000
The original idea behind this dish was to prepare langoustines without the tedium of “shelling”, but to enjoy them immediately. Construction for Coche Dury Meursault, roasted hazelnuts. At the same time, the same recipe for a Comtes Lafon Meursault 97 with, for modification, very lightly roasted almonds to replace the hazelnuts. Lemon zest and fresh ginger to spice up the shellfish cream.
The key idea of this pairing: the crunchy vermicelli replaces the langoustine shell. It adds crispness while preserving the flavors without altering them.
Texture and flesh: the softness of the langoustine with the fleshiness of the Meursault, the vermicelli for the woody, roasted notes of the wine.
Puligny Montrachet 1969, 1er Cru – Domaine Leroy
Foie gras de canard et cèpes cuits sur un tapis de mousse, en papillote
Creation date: 2003
A Chardonnay of great finesse, with aromas of moss, undergrowth and mushroom, enhanced by excellent acidity. The balance, elegance and great maturity of this wine led us to imagine a roasted foie gras, cooked en papillote on mousse.
The key idea of this pairing: the delicate acidity pierces the fat of the liver to release all its flavors.
Sweet Jurançon.
Domaine Cauhapé 1995 – H. Ramonteu
Steamed Landes duck foie gras with cabbage
Creation date: before 1985
In 1969, a story of “Absolute Research” linked me to foie gras. I discovered that cabbage is the natural element that goes best with foie gras, making it “fatty”, “fatty” which is then absorbed by the cabbage. So I decided to steam the foie gras and wrap it in cabbage, my way.
Asserting that taste is the texture of the product, that this is what gives it its shape, I decided to give the dish a unique “feel in the mouth”, with coarse salt and a mignonette of pepper. The result is a wonderful recipe that has become one of the most sought-after items on the menu. Today, this dish is the result of the purest expression of knowledge, not chance.
A Jurançon that’s lighter than Sauternes, ideally capturing the lightness of duck foie gras, its wild, “animal” side. The result is roundness, softness and extreme aromatic power. The fat of the foie gras is balanced by the acidity of the Jurançon, which you can’t taste but which unifies the whole.
Meursault 1993 – Domaine des Comtes Lafon
Lobster from Brittany with vanilla “Bourbon de Madagascar”
Creation date: 1978
A trip to the land of perfume was the inspiration for this creation. Picking a vanilla flower in Sri Lanka one day, I instantly associated it with the sweetness of Breton lobster when cooked just right. The idea was to make a savory dish with vanilla, and the result is a sublime recipe where flavors speak to the heart and taste buds.
The key idea of the accord: an accord sublimated by the presence of a naturally vanilla-flavored Meursault. An authentic, natural accord, as if it were self-evident.
Savennières Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 1988 – N. Joly
Wild Scottish salmon with dill cooked in clay
Creation date: before 1985
While reading a book about the history of the Vikings, I discovered how, when fishing, they would preserve and then cook salmon over a wood fire, surrounded by clay collected from the river banks. The recipe for Saumon Sauvage à l’Argile (Wild Salmon in Clay) reconstructs this legendary tradition, proposing the discovery of a simple and extremely tasty dish, with delicious authentic scents.
The key idea: a white wine with extraordinary minerality and strong acidity. The “grain” and finesse of this great “chenin”, with its highly aromatic flavors, caress the salmon with great delicacy. (Gypsies still use this tradition to cook hedgehogs).
In China, there’s also “beggar’s chicken”, baked in clay and allowing the chicken to be “plucked” quickly after cooking.)
Banyuls 1985 – Cave de l’Etoile for the supreme
Banyuls Solera “Hors d’âge” – A. Parcé for the leg in salad
Apicius duck roasted with honey and spices
“Dish from Roman times”, 2000 years old
Creation date: before 1980
A story, 2000 years old, that was “reawakened” when two friends (Jean-François Revel and Claude Imbert) asked me to imagine a meal with a “Roman” theme. Deciding to “revisit” this Apicius recipe with my own personal modifications, I worked on the garnishes of this dish in the spirit of the time. Thus, date purée with mint and ginger, as well as quince, apple and saffron, are sublimated in this divine recipe. (“Oxyporion” was the name given to ingredients with digestive properties). A recipe brought to perfection, when the Chef imperceptibly modifies it to match the harvest years of the Banyuls offered.
The key idea of this pairing: a perfect alliance, because the food and wine are equally chewy. The presence of Banyuls offers an ideal marriage with the spices. Two different textures: one soft and delicate, “le magret” for Cave de l’Etoile’s Banyuls 85; the other denser and firmer, “la cuisse” for Domaine Parcé’s Solera.
Tokaji 5 Puttonyos 1993 – Royal Tokaji Wine Company
Monseigneur le Coing “nu”
Creation date: 1995
A dish created around wine, out of love for Tokaji, the wine of the Lord and requiring all the genius of man to harvest. Not one to praise non-French wines, I fully appreciate the extraordinary characteristics of this ideal wine, unique in its ability to accompany fruit, particularly quince. So I set out to find an ideal match for this legendary wine, while at the same time offering the most subtle treatment of a particular fruit.
The key idea in terms of taste perception: tasting a finely-textured, full-bodied fruit that’s tasty and mellow, matching the texture of the wine.
The key idea behind this combination: the ideal complementarity of quince and Tokaji.
Rivesaltes “Aimé Cazes” 1975 – Domaine Cazes
Peppermint meringue and licorice ice cream
Creation date: 1995
The freshness of peppermint enhances the licorice aromas tenfold. A refreshingly complex aromatic palette.
The key idea: Rivesaltes Aimé Cazes 75 is extraordinarily fine. Its aromatic palette and freshness have the same structure as this dessert. The whole coils to leave a fresh, highly perfumed finish, even more pronounced than the two separate wines.
THE FINEST WINE AND CHEESE PAIRINGS
Briquette de l’Ardèche Saint Joseph blanc 2000 –
with its B. blond raisin bread Gripa
Comté (48 months) Côtes du Jura 1990 –
with walnut bread Domaine Rolet
Munster with bread Gewurztraminer 1992, Cuvée
au cumin Laurence – Domaine Faller
Roquefort Cave des Baragnaudes Château d’Yquem 1987
with toasted Poilâne bread
(thick sliced without crust)
Fourme d’Ambert with 1980 Graham’s Vintage Port brioche
spiced with black cherries
Maroilles “Crémeux à Coeur” Krug – Collection 1964
with toasted Poilâne bread
(thick sliced without crust)
Vacherin with black truffles Corton Charlemagne 1990 –
with toasted Poilâne bread Domaine Bonneau du Martray
(thick sliced without crust)
Saint Marcellin ” creamy Muscat de Beaume de Venise
à coeur” 1990 – Domaine de Durban