TN: Can Riesling work with oysters?

T

Tim York

Tim York
This is not intuitively an apt pairing. Riesling's usually strong fragrance and floral notes can give a sweetish impression even in "dry" examples and clash with the salt and iodine in the oysters. However with this one the combination worked brilliantly.

Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Alte Reben trocken 2008 C. von Schubert - Alc.11% was bone dry, perfect with the oysters and very good with Alsatian choucroute. It showed medium/light body, minerality, very crisp but non-astringent acidity allied with quite dense substance and a firm finish with a surprising degree of salinity and with the usual lovely Abtsberg fragrance present but held sufficiently in check not to clash with the oysters. More subtle and complex than a bottle two years ago without any loss of crispness; 16.5/20+++.

To take the matter further, I recall a conversation with Dr. Carl von Schubert a couple of years ago in which he recommended richer and sweeter styles of his wines with high iodine oysters on the grounds that they would be a much better foil for such oysters than a bone dry wine, which would tend to be hardened. I wonder? Any views?
 
Tim, you trying to convert all the Musky fans here?!!
Had this discussion last night at local wine store after your recent post on WLDG and all thought you might have a fair point.
 
FWIW

Alain Senderens held three Michelin stars for a long time (think Lucas-Carton) until he voluntarily gave it up to pursue other approaches to food. Unlike most major chefs, he is very knowledgeable and passionately interested in wine and in fact for well over a decade had a column about matching food and wine in La Revue du vin de France. I frequently disagreed, but respected his views greatly.

In his book The Table Beckons (1993), he endorsed Riesling (Alsatian, natch; I doubt that he knew any others, unlike top French chefs today) for oysters. For crustaceans in general, he said that served cold with mayonnaise, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc (only Graves) as well as Pinot Blanc from Alsace or Burgundy. With sauce that is spicy or scented with herbs, he said to consider a wine made from Roussanne combined with Viognier from the Rhône or a Roussanne and Savignin from the Jura. Lobster, he said, could be matched only with Corton-Charlemagne or Montrachet, but his lobster with vanilla (a signature dish) would go only with Meursault. Muscadet has no reference in the index of his book.
 
Thanks for that, Claude. I think that I have that Senderens book somewhere. I guess that, when he wrote that, Residual Sugar had not yet invaded Alsatian Riesling. I can imagine that oysters might work at a pinch with some from Trimbach though I would expect to find them too full bodied and floral to be ideal.

Notwithstanding von Schubert's views, I think that modern Alsatian Riesling with noticeable RS would be a disaster with oysters. His own sweeter wines, Kabinett and Spätlese from the Ruwer, with their crisp mouth-watering acidity and minerality might just work.
 
Yeah, I dunno. I too wonder if a riesling like Trimbachs might overpower.
As an aside and to add some humor, maybe we should also think Picpoul! Now that might work eh. Another idea might be Pinot Blanc?
 
originally posted by Tim York:
Thanks for that, Claude. I think that I have that Senderens book somewhere. I guess that, when he wrote that, Residual Sugar had not yet made invaded Alsatian Riesling. I can imagine that oysters might work at a pinch with some from Trimbach though I would expect to find them too full bodied and floral to be ideal.

Notwithstanding von Schubert's views, I think that modern Alsatian Riesling with noticeable RS would be a disaster with oysters. His own sweeter wines, Kabinett and Spätlese from the Ruwer, with their crisp mouth-watering acidity and minerality might just work.
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These days, though, with such an emphasis on drier Rieslings in Germany, there is no shortage of lighter-framed dry Rieslings to choose from. Even ignoring the Grosses Gewächs wines, there are still plenty of Kabinett Trocken and Spätlese Trocken to choose from, many of which I suspect would do rather well with oysters.
I would also not be averse to trying a Feinherb Riesling with them, especially one from a higher acidity year (such as 2010).

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
<

These days, though, with such an emphasis on drier Rieslings in Germany.
Click to expand...

not so much "emphasis" -- is teh modern viticultural practices. maybe the hwangs should buy out von schubert.

fb.
 
originally posted by fatboy:
originally posted by MLipton:
<

These days, though, with such an emphasis on drier Rieslings in Germany.
Click to expand...

not so much "emphasis" -- is teh modern viticultural practices. maybe the hwangs should buy out von schubert.

fb.
Click to expand...
and hwang him out to dry?
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by fatboy:
originally posted by MLipton:
<

These days, though, with such an emphasis on drier Rieslings in Germany.
Click to expand...

not so much "emphasis" -- is teh modern viticultural practices. maybe the hwangs should buy out von schubert.

fb.
Click to expand...
and hwang him out to dry?
Click to expand...

more pinot blanc!
 
dolde alte reben, maybe.

and also, teh geezers working with kalk (mineral) have something to bring to the table.

but generally, silvaner has too much oomph from lower sites for teh snotcreatues.

fb.
 
I've had good luck with Clemens-Busch Riesling Trocken.

Maybe some wines from Stein or Lauer might work, but the earthiness of Clemens-Busch seems to work well.
 
originally posted by kirk wallace:
a taste test over a few days'09 E. Muller Schartzhofberg kab is good with Kusshi's, but '02 Huet reserve pet. is better.
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You didn't want to go local with a BC riesling ? You could probably find one from the same island
 
originally posted by .sasha:
originally posted by kirk wallace:
a taste test over a few days'09 E. Muller Schartzhofberg kab is good with Kusshi's, but '02 Huet reserve pet. is better.
Click to expand...

You didn't want to go local with a BC riesling ? You could probably find one from the same island
Click to expand...

Not at Slanted Door or Zuni.
 
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