This month, the French Winophiles are inspired by the Ile of Beaute, Corsica, located in the Mediterranean just north of Italy’s Island of Sardinia. Being so closed to both Euorepan nations famous for both wine and cuisine, it is no surprise that the foods have a flavor of both — with their own special ways.

Menu

Cheese plate:
Savarin, DeLice, St. Angel, Coppa, Roasted Nuts

Salmon Crespelle with lemon cream sauce:
Crespelle are pasta-like crepes– or crepe-like pasta — that work like the pasta in cannoloni– you stuff it! I found the recipe linked to above and Sue went from there changing it significantly. See below.

Strawberry Salad:
Organic spring greens, chèvre, pistachios, organic strawberries, lemon infused olive oil, a splash of rose vinegar.

Red Currant Clafoutis:
When I saw red currants in the store, i bought two pints not knowing how we’d use them. – but we could not have made a better dessert to go with the rose! We loved this dessert so much, we talked about so many other wines that this would go with. I’ve always wanted to try one!

Putting this combination of flavors together with this wine was an unexpected most fantastic experience that came about completely happenstance. The dessert is also great with cognac.

2018 – Domaine Poli – Ile de Beaute – Niellucciu – Eric Poli Vigneron – 12% alcohol
I purchased this wine for $14 at Wine House LA.
100% Niellucciu Rose — this is the Corsican word for sangiovese.

Color: Millenial pink, clear platinum rim

Nose: Florals, gardenia, fruit, kiwi, asian pear and marzipan, a hint of noxzema creme, mint. Very satisfying nose leaving you wanting to dive right into the glass.

Palate: Light crisp dry, lemon curd on the back of the palate, white stone fruit, white nectarine at the front of the palate. Slippery mouth feel as it rolls across the tongue. There is also a lovely finish.

For a rose at this price it over delivers.

Pairing: So much better with the St. Angel cheese than the Dafinois, very nice with the Savarin which brings out a beautiful fruit in the wine. Delicious with the coppa.

So delicious with the meal!

Loves the salad. The fruity notes of the wine marry well with the strawberries, in the salad. Your mouth explodes with flavor when this wine meets the meal. A fabulous burst of lemony, tarragon wonder that marries so well with the wine when they meet.

Rose is one of those wines that you can pair from appetizer to dessert, this is no exception. The tartness of the fruit, and the fact that this is not a high sugar dessert. It marries so well with the wine.

Sue says this is one of her favorite roses.

2018 – Le Rose de Pauline – Domaine de Marquiliani – Anne Amalric – Aghione – 11.5% alcohol – SRP $26 at LA Wine House

Color: This wine does not look very pink at all. It is more in the yellow. Super pale apricot. Is there a rose paler than this? Not pink or corral.

Nose: Sulphuric, Iron, mineral rich, hints of white stone fruit, and fresh cherry, or cherry blossom. nearby orchard in the springtime.

Palate: Crisp dry, fresh anise, slate, fennel pollen, this wine surrounds your mouth in flavor and then the flavor hangs out and lingers on.

Pairing: So good with the coppa, the peppery spice and salt in the meat,  brings out a lovely sweetness to the wine. The Dafinois is completely different with this wine. What a beautiful pair. The St Angel is very nice with the wine, but not as beautiful as with the Poli, and with the Savarin it is lovely bringing out a really nice fruit profile in the wine.

Both wines were very nice with the salad, but this wine knocks the salad out of the ball park: the complexity of the strawberries, pistachios, fresh goat cheese, salad greens, rose vinegar and lemon olive oil take salad to an entirely different level. This side salad really compliments the meal by balancing out the rich creamy characteristic of the salmon crespelles.

So much yum with the dessert. The vanilla is present with this wine and the dessert brings out a nice fruit in the wine which was not present when we first started tasting this wine.

A meal and wine to remember. Tonight was one of those nights where everything worked out so beautifully. The wine and the foods were absolutely perfect pairings. The wine went beautifully with the menu, and the menu was perfect with the wine.

Next time next wine? A red one! And to make next time to go with this wine? Corsica Stuffed Eggplant Boats which is a specialty of a town in southern Corsica, and they say is a summer dish but I bet it will be great during our warm fall as long as eggplant is in season!

Red Currant Clafoutis

1. • 1 cup whole milk
   • 3 eggs
   • 1/2 cup sugar
   • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
   • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
   • 9 ounces (1/2- one cup) red currants
2. Heat oven to 325.
3. Place iron skillet in oven with butter.
4. Prepare fruit (destem, wash).
5. Whip half the milk with the eggs.
6. Add the sugar, vanilla, and the rest of the milk then the flour slowly.
7. Pour mixture into hot skillet with melted butter.
8. Sprinkle the currants evenly across the top.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes (depending on size of the skillet.Note: add more flour for a more cake like clafoutis. You can add 1/2- 1 cup of any sort of fruit but red or black currants are perfect as they are naturally small, tart, and light. Huckleberries would be great as would be blueberries; I’d like to try pomegranate! Tiny muscat grapes would be good too, but you can do just about anything — just cut up larger fruits into smaller pieces.

Sue’s Salmon Crespelles