Friday Night? How About a Steak and an Old Bordeaux?

I love red Bordeaux! I was practically weened on red Bordeaux. Some of the best wines I have ever had have been red Bordeaux, but alas, other wines and grape varieties have claimed the largest part of my heart these last few years. Pinot Noir from Burgundy and Cabernet Franc from the Loire, to name a couple, have usurped Bordeaux's dominating allure over me. That being said, I still love Bordeaux.

I tend to drink most red Bordeaux at the ten to twelve year from vintage mark. That's just where my palate preference lies. When young, the wines can be very hard, one-dimensional, and undrinkable, but in their prime they can be quite complex and delicious. As the wines age and mellow, the tannins fade and integrate. The wines can take on a burger-y aroma, and develop many other earthy nuances that I still find irresistible. I also push some of the more notable wines further and drink them at the 20, 30, and alas, only once, to the 40 year mark.

I also tend to like the St. Estèphe appellation best, followed closely by Pauillac, then Margaux. Oddly St. Estèphe and Margaux are practically polar opposites. St. Estèphe wines tend to be hard and lean when young and sometimes they never get over their adolescent harshness, while Margaux wines tend to be soft and sexy even when young. North to south, masculine to feminine, yang to yin; but in the middle of the two lies Pauillac. Pauillac wines generally exhibit great dark fruit, tannic structure, and a fineness that gives them a sneaky charm.

One of my favorite pairings is beef and old red Bordeaux. It was Friday night and I lean towards steak on that night, so I thought it was time to break out an older bottle.

1995 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - The nose was a powerful smorgasbord of black fruit aromas and earthy memories. Blackberries and cassis bolted impressively out of the gate, followed by mushrooms, cedar and roasted herbs. There was also a eucalyptus, Ben-Gay type of minty-ness lurking. The wine showed very good equilibrium as the tannins had mostly resolved, yet it still had a very good acidic backbone, with a big mid-palate mouth-feel. The aromas mostly carried to the palate, but the blackberries and cedar, with that touch of mint dominated most of the other flavors. Moderately long finish with a touch of fruit sweetness that lingered. I would rate this wine Excellent-. It is drinking very well now, but I would give it at least 3-5 more years of excellent drinking.






A quick note on the steak and sauce. A little over a year ago a friend brought this sauce to my attention. I make it every chance I get, as long as I have Bourbon on hand. I find that the flavors of this sauce go best with a rib-eye, but this night I had bought a NY strip steak. It was not a bad thing.


2-3 Rib-eye steaks
1 shallot chopped fine
1/2 cup beef or veal stock
1/4 cup Bourbon

Salt and pepper steaks. Saute the steaks in a skillet with olive oil on med. high until browned on both sides (about 3 minutes a side.) Reduce heat to low and cover them for 3 minutes for rare or 5 minutes for medium. Remove steaks from pan and keep warm. Turn the heat up to med. high and add shallot to the pan and cook until softened. Add the stock and reduce by half. Add the Bourbon and, with much care and/or a long match, ignite. Have a cover handy in case the flames get out of hand. When the flames die out it is done. Pour over steak and serve. Cheers!