Lobster Tails Blog

My current favorite restaurant dish is called Buttered Lobster, a dish I enjoyed at Azie Restaurant in San Francisco, alongside a fabulous Chardonnay from Chalone Vineyard. Lobster, as you would imagine, does not appear as frequently in San Francisco as transplanted New Englanders like myself would want. Fortunately, better shipping and the search for new flavors is giving us more lobster than ever before.

When it comes to wine, there are lots of choices about style and grape to partner with lobster. Since I typically like the richer lobster preparations like Newburg or, in the case of Buttered Lobster, cooked in the shell, then smothered in butter before it is taken from the shell and served over a buttery polenta, I tend to choose a rich California Chardonnay to go with my lobster.

Other preparations might take a lighter wine such as a French White Burgundy, which is also a Chardonnay. My other favorite white for lobster is Sauvignon Blanc. Whether made in California where it is fairly full-bodied but still on the firm, bright side or from France’s Loire Valley where it appears under the names, Pouilly-Fume and Sancerre, I like these wines with lobster in lighter sauces or, better yet, straight from the shell and unadorned with anything but a little melted butter.

Chardonnay remains my favorite for my style of lobster, and it can easily go with almost any lobster preparation. What follows are a few choices from California and few from France. They range in price from moderate to expensive, but, when it comes to lobster, I like my wine to be as good as my lobster, and good wine is never inexpensive.

Executive chef, Jody Denton, the inspiration behind Azie as well as its famous cousins, Lulu’s and Zibbibo, has become a legend in San Francisco cookery, She has very generously provided us with the recipe for Buttered Lobster.

French White Burgundies

1999 Michel Colin-Deleger, St. Aubin, En Charmois, $15.00. Halfway between the richer French wines and the steely Chablis, this St. Aubin delights with its near-juicy, green apple fruit and its crisp finish. It is a great buy for the money.

1999 Francine et Olivier Savary, Chablis, $18.00. For a crisp, bright, steely white in the Chablisienne style, it is hard to beat this beauty. Just remember that it is best use with simpler lobster dishes than richer ones.

1999 Bernard Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet, Morgeots, $40.00. Complex and balanced, fruity and minerally, this handsome mid-sized wine combine richness and finesse in its green-apple and fresh pear fruitiness and provides layers of toasty and cr me brule like notes as well. It is not inexpensive, but none of the hyphenated Montrachets are.

1999 Paul Pernot, Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet, $110.00. When the need to splurge comes over you, look no further than this exceptional beauty. Well-ripened, rich, deep and polished, it is ever bit as intense as its California cousins but is more refined in style than most.

California Chardonnays

1999 St. Clement, Napa Valley, $16.00. A bright and lively California version of the grape, this one is a bit fuller in body but retains a fine sense of balance that will remind you of the French wines. It will go with most lobster dishes except for the richest styles.

1999 Charles Krug Reserve, Carneros, $21.00. Fragrant, well-filled, medium-volume and uniquely California in its mix of honey, lime, apple and roasted grains, this one is sure to please dishes like lobster meat served with a citrus-tinged cream sauce.

1999 Beaulieu Reserve, Carneros, $28.00. A step up in richness and complexity makes the Beaulieu into one of my favorite lobster wines. It is full in body but never heavy and has plenty of flavor depth to stand up to the creams and butters that accompany the lobsters of my choosing.

1999 Chateau St. Jean Reserve, Sonoma County, $45.00. Here is a wine that is all one could ever expect to find in a generous, full-bodied, outgoing, stunningly rich Chardonnay. It is not at all suited to delicate dishes, but it will be a superstar with complex, deeply flavored dishes like lobster fra diovolo.

Charles Olken is the publisher of Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine, a monthly newsletter available by subscription only. In its 27 years of existence, the Guide has proven itself as an unrivalled source of accurate, hard-hitting commentary on the wines and wineries of California.

Please look at its website, www.cgcw.com, or write to PO Box V, Alameda, California 94501.

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