When hanging out with fellow food obsessed friends and wine nerds, I often throw the following question out to the crowd to see the responses it will elicit:
If forced to choose, what would be your “electric chair” food and wine pairing?
In other words, what would you eat and drink for your very last meal on God’s little green earth. Inevitably, names like DRC, Lafite, d’Yquem and Krug weave their way into the conversation, matched with foods like duck breast, Wagyu, Foie Gras, and Sturgeon Caviar.
Even though I love posing the question, I always wrestle with an answer. Tonight though, from the comfort of home, I believe I settled on an answer. Oysters & Muscadet.
The oysters come from East Dennis Oyster Farm, Cape Cod. Plump, sweet and juicy, they’re at the pinnacle of the season right now. I personally like to add just a thimble full of red wine vinegar to each. I was lucky enough to pull the perfect bottle to go alongside my deathbed dish.
2005 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine pueri solis:
Golden straw color, surprisingly deep color for Muscadet. Classic nose of oyster shell coupled with toasted pine nuts, lemon and a touch of grassiness. Palate is very round and leesy, with honeyed lemon, apple and mineral notes coming through. Long, full, almost salty finish. Anyone who has tried to refute the notion of minerality in wine is sure to have their mind changed after a glass of this.
Aged 42 months on the lees, this isn’t your everyday bottle of Muscadet. A gorgeously textured and complex wine, it could probably improve with a couple more years of age. But why wait? You never know when your last meal will come…