Yesterday I spent some time at Jimmy’s No. 43, an East Village cavernous hangout with an extensive selection of artisanal beers, fresh local cuisine supporting the Slow Food movement, and a carefully crafted wine list made up of Neal Rosenthal and T Edward Wines.
I pulled our new Cotes de Brouilly out of my bag and offered some to Jimmy, and he in turn brought out a plate of roasted pork and boiled potatoes from an upstate farm, as well as some almonds. And just like that, a perfect wine and food pairing was created…
Domaine de la Roche St Martin Cote de Brouilly is produced by one man, Jean Jacques Bereziat. He makes less than 500 cases of Cotes de Brouilly a year and takes care of all the vineyard management and winemaking himself. The small domaine sits atop Mont Brouilly, where 60 year old vines of Gamay grow on blue volcanic soils. His wines are considered among the best of Cru Beaujolais.
Aromas of red berries, volcanic minerality and smoke continue on the palate with a tingle of the tongue. The old vines lend to a great concentration of flavor in the wine. After a bite of salty pork the apparent strawberry and red cherry notes become almost juicy, but are well balanced by bright acidity and soft chalky tannins that complement the texture of the potato. A hint of black pepper on the finish, a persistent length, followed by a crunchy almond to clear the palate for the next sip…perfection.
