Match of the week

Comté cheese and Languedoc Syrah

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on February 2 2009 at 22:06

We’ve been down in the Languedoc for the past week and two bottles - both Syrah - have impressed me for very different reasons. One was an inexpensive but characterful Ressac Vin de Pays d’Oc Syrah which we bought from the co-op at Florensac, Vinopolis, after eating at their showcase restaurant Bistrot d’Alex which I’ve mentioned on the site before. The other a much classier bottle called Clos du Fou (the 2004 vintage) from a local Faugères winemaker Château des Estanilles which bore comparison with a Côte Rôtie.

Both went extremely well with a chunk of Comté, an unpasteurised Gruyère-like cheese from the Jura we bought from the local supermarket (the lack of good cheese shops in this part of the world is really quite depressing.) I mention it not because the cheese was exceptional but because it didn’t detract from either of these wines - one relatively light, one complex and full-flavoured. A more mature Comté might have done them fewer favours (a Jura or Savoie white is the more usual pairing).

Clos du Fou is made in limited quantities and does not appear to be available from the main UK stockist The Wine Society though you do appear to be able to order it from 1855.com The current vintage is 2005 but it definitely repays keeping.

Image ©Awe inpiring images

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