Monday, March 11, Veuve Clicquot held a Rosé pairing dinner at Peter Luger steak house in Brooklyn, NY. Hosted by Senior Winemaker Cyril Brun and President of Veuve Clicquot U.S. Vanessa Kay, the evening set out to prove that not only can champagne be paired with even the manliest of meals – bacon, lamb chops, and steaks – rosé champagne can be, too.
Point taken! Our evening started off by mingling with guests like Rebecca Minkoff, Catherine Malandrino, Erin Fetherston, Lauren Scala, Alicia Quarles, Hannah Bronfman, Brendan Fallis, Erica Domesek, Fiona Byrne, and Kelly Framel while sipping the NV Rosé and nibbling on jumbo shrimp cocktail.
Next we sat down to two long tables with a brilliant pink tablescape that only exacerbated our current case of spring fever. Vases of white and prink roses spilled over onto our individual, take-home boxes of Veuve Clicquot Rosé champagne.
We were poured a glass of the Vintage Rosé 2004 and started the appetizer course of a nearly quarter-inch thick slab of sizzling bacon with a half-inch slice of tomato and raw onion. We covered it, and the (still on appetizers here, people!) lamb chop that followed with Peter Luger’s signature sauce. It’s worth noting that our side of the table had to ask for a second gravy boat of the almost drinkable sauce.
As we ate our weight in “the other white meat,” Brun told us about the rosé pairings deep pink color and notes of red berry, firm fruits, and ground coffee. Said Brun, “2004 is a very interesting profile: bold, rich, mineral and fresh at the same time. It is great to enjoy now on the fresh side but it can be kept for decades to discover the mature side of Vintage Rosé.”
The main event – the USDA prime, family selected, dry aged porterhouse steak (there was an option for salmon which we simply balked at) – was then paired with our favorite champagne of the night, La Grand Dame Rosé 2004. Sides of hash browns, creamed spinach, and fresh broccoli had nothing on the savory hunks of sirloin and filet mignon. The La Grand Dame met its match. More coppery and amber in color it had hints of nougat, currant, cinnamon, and cherry. “To my mind, La Grand Dame Rosé is not a wine made by a winemaker, it is more a gift from Mother Nature to us all. We left the wine as it is, almost untouched, wild and naked,” said Brun.
Ooh la la.
