This match is left of centre, but I wanted something unique and interesting while still being practical. I was lucky enough to be this year's runner up and below you'll see what I put forward.
And the great thing is at the bottom of this post is everything you need to re-create both this dish and the wine match at home - if your up for the challenge!
Recipe Name: Roast breast of pasture fed chicken with chicken oysters, 'mac and cheeese', mushrooms, leeks and turnips.
Chefs: Matt Moran and Ben Turner
Wine Match: I chose the 2001 Yarrabank 'late disgorged' Cuvée (sparkling wine made from a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir at Yering Station in Victoria) to match this dish from ARIA Sydney's menu to put a new spin on the classic marriage of sparkling wine and cheese. This wine has added complexity for 8 years on lees.
The chicken (from Bega NSW) is succulently sweet and melts in your mouth, the chicken oyster beignets bring savoury, herbal characters whilst the 'mac and cheese' adds complexity. The jus gras tops the dish alongside mushrooms sautéed with eschallots, garlic and cream.
The 2001 Yarrabank 'Late Disgorged' Cuvée works so well with this dish because it keeps a good line of acidity, cutting through the cheese component, whilst still working in harmony with the chicken and the more savoury elements in the mushroom duxelle.
This wine match has two key concepts - texture and temperature. That's why I chose to serve the Yarrabank in two different glasses, at two different temperatures, but at the same time.
Glass 1
Ten minutes prior to the dish being served, carefully decant a quarter of the bottle of Yarrabank into the 'Ovarius' decanter - a decanter originally developed in the Jura region of France, designed to enhance sparkling wine to showcase 'true terroir' characters through kinetic energy. (These are all hand blown decanters and are endorsed by some big name champagne producers). A taste can then be poured into a Red Burgundy glass just before the dish arrives.
Glass 2
Once the decanted Yarrabank is poured, immediately serve the same amount from the chilled bottle into a clean Champagne flute for the same person.
Explanation
When tasting this dish you get two small portions of the 2001 Yarrabank, in two different glasses, at two different temperatures. The decanted Yarrabank is more specifically for the two meat components of the dish, the breast and the chicken oyster biegnets. The bubbles are diffused in the decanter, resulting in a more 'creamy' texture, therefore showcasing more secondary characters such a brioche and also some earthy, herbal characters, which ties in well with the dish. This glass is to be tried first and for me it's great to see this almost as a 'still' wine.
The second taste is from the Champagne flute and this is to be tried shortly after. For me, this is more suited to the 'mac and cheese' and mushroom duxelle in this dish as it not only cuts through the richness from these ingredients, it leave the palate feeling fresh, enticing you to take another bite.
Idea behind the match
The idea of this match was to celebrate sparkling wine and to show how it can be enjoyed be over the course of a whole meal, as opposed to having it as an aperitif or for the first course. In addition I wanted to show how a decanted glass of sparkling wine can take you on a different journey than that of a traditionally served 'glass of bubbles'. This can become a talking point for you and your friends and open the door to a larger spectrum of food and wine combinations.
To cook: To cook pasture fed chicken with chicken oysters, 'mac and cheese', mushrooms, leeks and turnips click here.
To drink: To buy the 2001 Yarrabank 'Late Disgorged' Cuvée Sparkling ($45 per bottle), Click here.
To decant: To buy a groovy Ovarius decanters, Click here. Can be used for whites and reds too..
Tell your guests: Yering Station is Yarra Valley's first vineyard (planted in 1838) and Yarrabank is a joint venture between Yering Station and Champagne house Devaux, making for one heck of team.
And finally, congratulations to Matt Brooke from Circa in Melbourne who pipped me at the post to be this year's winner - well done! To check out more about the competition, the finalists, and some other great recipes and matches, click here.