Rating: 4/5
A quick and dirty, Aaron Berdofe branded version of Coq Au Vin (Translated: rooster with wine) made with braised chicken thighs, leeks, yellow onion, golden beets, crimini and oyster mushrooms, shallots, cajun chicken sausage, tomato paste and of course, red wine.
Wine: Charles Smith’s Boom Boom Syrah 2009
Notes:
Most of the time I prefer to buy wine that’s restricted to a particular region. This generally ensures that the quality will be acceptable. However, occasionally I break from tradition if the winemaker behind the wine knows a thing or two. Enter Charles Smith; the guy out of Washington state that makes quirky wines with iconic b&w labels that make hipsters swoon. You might have passed by his Velvet Devil Merlot in the wine shop a few times, but now you’ll be able to spot it as a Charles Smith wine from afar just by the label. Boom Boom, I believe takes grapes from three different areas in Washington thus giving it a Washington State designation and not say a Walla Walla designation. Anyway, I can’t really use the word “explosive” with this wine like every other regurgitated wine review you’ll see on this. I can however, tell you that the experience you’ll get is much more akin to taking a dose of Pop Rocks in your mouth, sans soda pop of course. This wine bursts at irregular intervals with blackberry, spices, roasted meats and violets which makes you take a moment, let out a sigh and say, “Cool.” The oak on this wine is nice and smooth which makes me think it was French. In other words, it was a delightful accompaniment to my updated Coq Au Vin. I really didn’t know what to expect from either of them so the unpredictable-ness of the whole thing just kind of worked out into something warm and fuzzy. The only reason I didn’t give this a full 5/5 rating was because I had some thoughts on a few other wines that I would pair with the dish that would be enjoyable too while experiencing the Boom Boom Coq Au Vin. Speaking of Boom Boom, I had to listen to Sean Hayes’s “Boom Boom Goes the Day” while enjoying this. Here’s an acoustic (and less upbeat) version of the song:
Aaron Berdofe's Wine and Food Experience 