Poultry curry, Thai dishes with coconut milk, fragrant tagines: spicy food puts most wines in difficulty — tannic reds harden, light whites disappear. Yet the answer exists: a rich, ripe, textured white whose flesh wraps around the heat and whose aromatics converse with the spices.
Our Premiers Crus, tried by fire
It is a pairing we have recommended on our sheets from the start: our Premiers Crus aged 24 months — the opulent Aux Bouthières, the buttery Aux Chailloux, the indulgent Les Ménétrières — have the substance and length to stand up to boldly flavoured dishes. Their notes of ripe fruit, vanilla and hazelnut slip surprisingly well between ginger, mild curry and lemongrass.
The rules of the game
Two precautions: serve slightly cooler than usual (13 °C rather than 14), as freshness calms the heat; and keep the pairing for spiced-aromatic dishes rather than scorching ones — beyond a certain fire, no wine survives. With an iodine-rich Asian dish, also try the mineral counterpoint of the Vers Cras: surprising and delicious.
