It’s time to get back to some serious oyster eating.
After all, we’re now in the months when oysters are usually at their prime. With fresh shucked oysters on the half shell must go wine, and ideally something crisp and dry, even stony at that.
The best oyster wines can be summed up as “less is more,” where the fruit is present but not overt, the acidity prevalent and the core of the palate wrapped in stony layers with a bone dry finish.
While Champagne or sparking wine will always suffice and steely dry Riesling is often plain wicked, it’s tough to beat Sancerre.
Worth hunting down is the crisp and bright Mellot Sincérité Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (Loire Valley), which sports some floral and fruity notes before a fresh and lively palate. Cue the beach oysters, please, and don’t chill it down too much. It’s best to let white wines stand at room temperature for 20 minutes or so before serving (private wine stores, around $21, 90 points).
For more complex-flavoured, special occasion oysters, such as Pearl Bay or Kusshi, try bumping things up a notch and you’ll be well rewarded. I recently had Kusshi oysters with Joseph Mellot La Chatellenie AOC Sancerre 2014, which has a distinctly flinty streak thanks to the flint and silica-based soils that typify the best sites in Sancerre. With fresh citrus and stony notes up front, followed by a keenly focused, distinctly mineral, fresh palate and lingering close, this drop adds up to the perfect match (private stores, around $35, 92 points).
Speaking of food and wine matching, while pairing with oysters can be a geekishly precise endeavour, there’s also a lot to be said for stalwart, flagship drops that endure for decades, if not generations. Bellying up to the original La Bodega bar, now installed at Bodega on Main Street, I wasn’t surprised to discover the Torres flagship, Gran Coronas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.
With its soft and plush profile, black fruit, coffee, vanilla, and anise tones, with definite oak but approachable tannins, this workhorse of a wine epitomizes the value that Spain so often delivers (BCLS $17.79, 90 points).
It would be hard to find a three-year-old aged wine (with at least a year in oak) from elsewhere for this kind of money. It’s an easy match with everything from braised meats to spicy chorizo or strong cheese. And, just a hunch, it was probably on La Bodega’s original wine list when it opened way back in 1971.
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Coming up fast: Hopscotch (Nov. 16-20), billed as Vancouver’s premium whisky, beer and spirits festival. Full details and tickets at hopscotchfestival.com.
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Belly’s Best
Gray Monk Odyssey White Brut 2013: With its solid mousse, creamy mouthfeel, apple, citrus and stone fruit notes, no wonder this stylin’ Riesling and Pinot Blanc bubble scooped a coveted Platinum medal at this year’s B.C. Wine Awards ($21-$25, 91 points).
Tim Pawsey writes about wine for numerous publications and online as the Hired Belly at hiredbelly.com. Contact: [email protected].
