The Perfect Bordeaux to Pair with a New York Strip

Recently, Cinnamon and I drank an excellent bottle of Pauillac, the 2012 Pastourelle de Clerc Milon, which is the 2nd label of Clerc Milon. This chateau is owned, along with Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau d'Armailhac by Baronne Philippine de Rothschild. Respecting our Friday night tradition, we paired this wine with a prime New York steak from Schwabs that Cinnamon cooked in our old cast iron pan, potatoes, and the first asparagus of the year. It was a very good time!

This wine is from the most charming and easy to drink vintage for me since 1997. The climactic conditions of this harvest were marked by flowering and veraison that hit almost precisely the 50-year average, but the driest August in 50 years. The harvest at Clerc-Milon was late and lasted between the 1st and 16th of October. This wine is composed of 65% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc, quite different from the Cabernet heavy blends that one thinks of from Pauillac. It was aged for one year in 2nd use French oak barrels.

The Pastourelle exceeded the expectations that I would have had for the 1st wine from Clerc Milon. My enthusiasm did not surprise K&L's Bordeaux wine expert Ralph Sands; however—he told me that he thinks that Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, the director at Clerc-Milon, is doing some of the best work in Bordeaux right now. The location of Clerc-Milon, framed by the river on one side and Lafite and Mouton on the other sides, could not be much better. This nearly 100-acre property is split up into 247 separate plots, and Mr. Danjoy's obsession with precise farming shines through in the superb quality of the finished product.

This claret had perfectly ripe, dark plum fruit that was as luscious as it was fresh. The wine was silky and medium to full-bodied in the mouth and left room for harmonious interaction with the food. It shined with the marbled, juicy, rare New York steak, and the clean gravelly character, as well as the pencil lead minerality, which made me want a sip after every bite. This, along with the long, lifted, dry finish, showed off the class of this great terroir.

I think that this is the perfect kind of Bordeaux to have in one's cellar. The drinking window is open, and the wine is beautiful now, but it will also keep for a long time. I think this will be just as great at 25 years old as it is now at eight years old. Having wines that are ready to drink, and special enough for great occasions at the ready will save one from opening something that is too young and too expensive. I am going to buy some more of this today—I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

—Gary Westby, K&L