Your mouth will be watering after reading about these delicious Oregon wines from Résonance paired with a delectable menu of South Asian foods. To add to the cultural mix, Résonance is a winery with French roots. If you have ever been hesitant to pair new flavors and spices, let yourself be inspired with this delicious menu!
In August, I was invited to a private tasting with French Winemaker Guillaume Large of Résonance Wines in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in Oregon. After serving as Assistant Cellar Master at Maison Louis Jadot in Burgundy, and no longer able to “commute” to Oregon to oversee the new project, Guillaume packed up his family in 2017 and made Oregon his permanent home. Born and raised in the southern section of Burgundy’s Pouilly-Fuissé in the Maconnais district and raised under the guidance of his grandfather, who was a local grower, Guillaume went on to graduate from the Jules Guyot Institute in Dijon.
This project, Résonance Wines, is Maison Louis Jadot’s first venture outside of France since their inception in 1859. Maison Louis Jadot saw something special in the soils of Oregon. It all started with the purchase of the Résonance vineyard and Résonance Wines was born.
Read more about Oregon winemaking here: How Oregon Is Making the Best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay This Side of the Atlantic
The luncheon was held at Bombay Palace in Beverly Hills. Its dramatic setting proved to be the perfect backdrop for these special wines. After all, Bombay Palace is celebrating their 40th anniversary; quite a feat for a restaurant in this finicky climate of failure and change.
Oregon Wines with South Asian Food: 5 Pairings
But First, from France: Meursault and Samosas
Interestingly, Guillaume started the tasting with a 2018 Meursault from Maison Louis Jadot to set the stage for style, reference, and correlation (or lack thereof) to Oregon. This 100% Chardonnay shows Jadot’s expertise in the appellation with tremendous balance and acidity from a full body stoked by floral and hazelnut essence. We paired this beauty with exotic Punjabi Samosas accommodated by a mélange of chutney sauces of mint and cilantro, tamarind as well as Aloo Gobi Masala, a dish of fresh cauliflower and potatoes cooked with ginger, tomato, and mild spices along with Saag Paneer.
Oregon Chardonnay with Marinated and Grilled Jumbo Prawns
Next we moved on to the 2020 Résonance Willamette Valley Chardonnay. This wine holds a special place as the 2020 is the inaugural vintage! Mainly sourced from the estate vineyard along with other top vineyards of the valley, the clean nature of the wine personifies it organic medallion. I asked Guillaume about this Chardonnay in comparison to the Meursault. “We wanted to produce a wine that is terroir-driven to speak to the character of each vineyard it’s sourced from, similar to what we do in Meursault,” he said.
The very limited 2018 Résonance Hyland Vineyard Chardonnay is a more direct reflection of true character sourced from one place. This high-scoring wine has charmed critics far and wide. The famous vineyard is located in the McMinnville AVA. We juxtaposed this beauty with faintly seasoned and grilled jumbo prawns, which were fired over coal bringing out the linear qualities of the volcanic soil. With lots of ideas and emotions at hand, this pairing needed no follow-up questions as we enjoyed ourselves in contented silence.
Oregon Pinot Noir with Chicken Tikka and Lamb Curry
The red line up started with the 2020 Résonance Willamette Valley Pinot Noir celebrating its seventh vintage. It, too, like the Willamette Valley AVA Chardonnay, is sourced from estate vineyards as well as other top vineyards in the valley. Arriving simultaneously was a fresh plate of chicken tikka presented by the owner of Bombay Palace, Deep Sethy, explaining the marination of yogurt with ground spices, finished in a clay oven.
The 2018 Résonance Découverte Vineyard Pinot Noir is firmly planted on a volcanic site in 1986 comprising only seven acres, the second vineyard purchased by Résonance. Meaning “discovery” in English, it showed very intense color. On the nose there was black cherry, blond tobacco, and black truffle notes with a profound minerality; we enjoyed it with Rogan Josh lamb curry.
Grand Finale Red with Karachi Kadai Gosht
Finally, the coup de grâce was the 2017 Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir. This showstopper is a three-headed clone of 777, Pommard, and Dijon (for fellow geeks reading along). A heady and calculated Pinot Noir spending 15 months in French oak, it is dry and organically farmed. Ruby in color and still very young and austere, this limited wine is layered with a cinnamon core fruit ending with mineral accented cherry resin. Appropriately, the Karachi Kadai Gosht hit the table before the first sip: a Pakistani specialty of lamb cooked with ginger and tomato in a wok!
