Broiled Eel and Bolaire

[AKR]

Hopefully this link will work

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BZKOiYPG4G9F6e442

2009 Bolaire [Bordeaux Superieur] I found an Asian market which carried eel and picked up a slab of it. It's an extremely fatty animal with a distinctive taste, that the rest of family doesn't like. (They don't like catfish either) But having grown up in the river delta here, these are flavors I can tolerate. I'm not sure what kind of wine pairs with it, but it was midweek, and the rest of the family were at confirmation classes, so I popped open a bottle and broiled my slippery beast. Bolaire is a Jeffrey Davies import and gets way more treatment than its price suggests. It's mostly petit verdot (!) and merlot, I think in equal portions, and can last. This example had lots of berry fruit, tobacco/pipe flavors, and a good 30 second finish. It is not complex though - the taste is kind of monochromatic. But its pretty darn good all things considered for a 'pop open casually, put rest in fridge' kind of wine. And its better than most California offerings under say $30, excepting a few favorites of mine. Chewy, full bodied. I've had other vintages before and its a rare example of how ripe petit verdot can be good - not all green and bell peppery. Perhaps global warming will continue to favor this estate. If you like modern, plush Jeff Davies kinds of wines, give this - or recent releases - a try. Perhaps AlexR will correct me on this, but I thought this importers other big innovation is to sell these directly, rather than through La Place system. If that helps keep the prices fair, I'm all for it ! Easy B+ wine, and I'd be interested to see how it might have scored blind, as I think this bold style does even better in beauty contests.

PS: I have updated the link, and changed the permissioning. Perhaps it will work now. Wine was good on day 2, but was better on the first day.

[JimHow]

They say Maine eel is very good.

[jal]

The pictures link is broken Arv.
I only ever ate eel in sushi smothered in teriyaki like sauce.
No idea what wine would go with broiled eel, maybe Bordeaux could work. Lamproie a la Bordelaise is a classic well known dish (lamproie is too scary and weird for me to eat, though. Give me some duck confit instead)

[dstgolf]

One of the most awful memories of the BWE 2005 trip to Bordeaux was our visit and dinner to Chateau Palmer. I'm sure Alex can elaborate further but a Bordeaux delicacy is apparently eel(lamprey??) that they served up as an appetizer Bordelaise style. I know it totally grossed me out just looking at it, the thought of eating this blood sucking parasite and I found the oily fishy taste/texture was not to my liking at all. Now if I recall there were lots that raved about it and Francois being one did not count as he'll eat and drink anything and still find something to praise!!. I remember Tom no longer in DC and David G having a love fest with this dish that I found repulsive in every which way. I remember commenting that the pieces on the dish looked liked some males private parts had been transected and served up for dinner and maybe that had some additive factor of turning my stomach. On the other hand I absolutely love the smoked eel with sauce for Japanese sushi (unagi) and my wife can't stand it....to each his own.

[AKR]

I remember having a brilliant pan fried skate dish at a French bistro (Singe Verte in NYC) that had some kind of weird sauce. I've never really found skate out here to be as good. Maybe its not as popular. But I used to love that stuff pan fried with a breadcrumbs and butter. Probably would be awesome in a Bordelaise sauce.

The eel didn't really go great with the wine, but who cares - I like them both !

[AlexR]

Arv,

Eel, or I should say lamprey, is one of the classic dishes in Bordeaux. It is usually cooked in its own blood with red wine, but can also be prepared with Sauternes (can’t go into the fine points here as I’ve never made it myself).
The usual (red wine) version is a rich dish that tastes as much like meat as it does fish.

The BWEers enjoyed lamprey at the dinner we had at Château Palmer in 2005 (yup, already 12 years ago…).

I looked up Bolaire on the Web. Seems it is made by the Haut-Médoc Château Bellevue on land just outside the AOC. Bellevue belongs to a member of the Mulliez family, owners of the Auchan supermarket chain (think Walmart).
I’ve not had Bolaire, but Bellevue has a lot of fans, including myself. So I’m not surprised that their Bx. Sup. is good too.

To what extent do châteaux deal directly? I am no longer in the trade, but my gut reaction is that few châteaux go it alone. And even there, it tends to be somewhat of an “all or nothing” proposition, meaning they either look after all sales, or else they sell most of their wine via the négoce without much in-between. In other words, it is considered an unhealthy situation when a producer sells to major merchants, but also to customers that “cut them out”. Négociants don’t like that ambiguousness.

Yes, of course, some châteaux sell their crop on their own without intermediaries, but they represent only a small proportion.
If you take the case of Jeffrey Davies (who has been in Bordeaux about as long as I have…), he is a broker. But, I’m willing to bet he is a traditional one, i.e. a link between châteaux and négociants rather than someone who sells directly to importers. That would give him an entirely different status.

Alex R.

[AKR]

Ahh that explains the Petit Verdot -- Bellevue is one of the rare other estates that has Petit Verdot. I remember when taking the first sip I thought, this is a little different flavor, almost like a Bogle Petit Sirah.

Eel must something only people who live in river/delta communities routinely eat. Although I think some of the fjord style terrains also have them too. I have read about the Danish and their jars of pickled eels delicasies, but have never had that.

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In the US its difficult to cut out the middlemen, but the only way I can understand the prices on CA wines in some CA retailers is that there must be some direct relationship. It's lawful for intra state sales to bypass the US tier system, from what I understand. But most states don't have a real wine industry. That may only benefit larger producers though who can set up direct channel sales though, and are willing to risk the ire of national wholesalers by doing so.

[stefan]

The Palmer lamprey dish is one I could take or leave, but I prefer to leave.

[Tom In DC]

Yup, I thought the lamprey was delicious.

[DavidG]

Good memory Danny. I did indeed love that dish at Ch Palmer.

[Nicklasss]

Only had eel in sushi, and liked it each time. I guess I would try the lamproie, even if the cooking is special. Especially with a good vintage of Chateau Palmer.

Thinking about gross meal, i'll start a different post about that.

Nic