Louis Jadot Chardonnay 2011 with Char-grilled Prawns

I was born in Vietnam, so it's appropriate my first wine match post comes from Vietnam.

 

My recent trip to Vietnam was generally made up of very unpleasant wine experiences. Whether it's a storage issue or a lack of experience in buying wines; many restaurants stock very substandard bottles and charge vastly inflated prices. It's not uncommon to pay $15AUD for a glass of something that tastes like it came from a cask that's left to ferment in the sun.

 

The wine culture there is still developing; although there are a number of establishments that do understand wine and understand food matching.

 

The sommelier at 27 Grill above the Skybar in Saigon recommended this bottle; a Louis Jadot Chardonnay 2011. Without knowing match about French wines, I garnered what knew about Aussie chardonnays and hoped for the best.

 

I matched it with the char-grilled prawns with semi-dried tomato butter.

I was hoping since it was an oaked chardonnay that there might be a bit of malolactic fermentation. I do like a bit of 'malo' in my chardonnay. It gives it that sometimes caramel butter texture. The wine had a lovely fruity nose, medium bodied, but flattened out. Which is typical I guess of French wines I've tasted. I was hoping for a bit more acid to complement the semi-dried tomato, but it wasn't a bad match overall. The tomato-butter sauce filled in some of the flavours I was missing from the wine and the wine served up refreshing fruit lift in-between mouthfuls. Give it a go.

Wine score 7/10, Food score 8/10. Match score: 5/10; Total 20/30

Restaurant can be found at:
Tripadvisor link

 

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Why the right wine is so important

Getting the right food and wine match is one of those games that Andy and I like to play. Ok, so its not so tricky; just match up the body of the wine with the richness of the food. It's not rocket science, and if you stuff up, no big deal, you can still generally get through your meal.

But in our journeys we've found that when the food and wine match is right; the whole experience of dining; whether it be in or out, is transformative, incredible, heightened to a new level. Like an epiphany; when the clouds part and you see things clearly; when the wine opens up your experience of the food; and the food reveals nuances in the wine you wouldn't have tasted otherwise.

 

 

This blog is dedicated to seeking out the perfect wine & food match. We want the clouds to part everyday, not just on those special occasions. We want to seek out those ordinary to extraordinary culinary experiences that can be enhanced with the right Wine Match; from fish fingers to foie gras, from turkey to truffle. Nirvana might be in the pages of this blog. Cheers. x

 

 

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