Match of the week

Stir-fried lobster, egg white and scallop mousse with Chateau Fombrauge Bordeaux Blanc 2009

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on July 2 2012 at 07:32

A standout combination from the Hong Kong Tourist Board lunch at Bordeaux’ annual wine festival Fête le Vin last week. It was also the standout dish, a finely worked assembly of delicate flavours and textures from Chef Man Sing Lee of the Mandarin Oriental.

It would have been easy to overwhelm it with a more powerfully oaked white Bordeaux like the Château Pérenne 2010 which accompanied a cold starter of crab with mushrooms, seaweed and a sesame and citrus dressing but the lusher, lighter Fombrauge added a lovely fresh, citrussy lift.

The meal also contained one of the most bizarre wine matches - and desserts - I’ve ever come across - a couple of coconut coated marshmallow rabbits which were paired with a full-bodied (14%) 2006 Magrez Fombrauge 2006 Saint Emilion Grand Cru.

It wasn’t as much of a mismatch as I thought it was going to be - the dessicated coconut managed to marginally offset the tannins - but it was definitely a case of ‘you could but why would you?’ Maybe I’m missing a significant cultural reference here but it’s not even year of the rabbit.

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