I enjoy trying food and wine matching - as I've mentioned on Bluesky, the right food can uplift a wine, and the wrong one can sink it.
Sometimes simply posting the wine reviews seems to be missing the meat of experience, so I decided to do a brief food and wine matching report from a recent experience at Ourea, a small restaurant in Marseille, France.
They have a short lunch and a complete course - I took only the "short" one.
To begin...
First off, Mediterranean bluefin tuna belly, prepared with 'nduja, lemon gel, and plums.
Now, I'm vocal about not being a fan of natural wine, but if a restaurant recommends a pairing, I'll give it a shot (to their credit, they did say they could bring out other options after my "is this a natural?" reaction upon tasting it, but I figured I'd go with whatever they recommended as their best pairing).
PANDAEMONIUM by Camille & Mathieu Apffel (2023) - 3 ⭐ Sweet lime, straight up. Fresh, with lots of lemon peel, and a smell of the sea, like someone's opening oysters near you. Natural wine, but surprisingly drinkable! White Wine from Savoie 🍷 #winesky #frenchwine #savoie #jacquere
Followed by...
Then eggplant sautéed with tamari, pomegranate, peanut chili oil, a coconut curry sauce, and focaccia.
L'Hecto by Clusel-Roch (N.V.) - 3½ ⭐ More pear than apple, green, just about to go ripe and crazy, but not bold enough yet, still demure. Cream, vanilla is there but not throwing a party, acting all proper and prim. Survived some slight spices in an aubergine dish. 🍷 #winesky #frenchwine
The main course...
The roasted veal was just slightly over, but went well with the crispy polenta, green beans, and smoked ricotta.
With, of course, a Malbec.
Les Escures by Mas Del Périe (2024) - 4 ⭐ Vegetables, violets wrapped in grape leaves, then blackcurrant! Right there! Quiets down after a couple of sips, even if it keeps tingle your gums and becomes a bit earthy and leathery.... 1/2 🍷 #winesky #frenchwine
...Juicy acidity not putting up with any fatty bullshit and cutting right through it. If you are used to more muscular Malbecs, this will come across as a blackcurrant knife. 2/2 🍷 #winesky #frenchwine #wine #sudouest #malbec
And dessert...
Finally, gorgonzola and fig jam.
And for my sins, another natural.
Parenthèse Macération by Ribérach (2022) - 3 ⭐ A taste of overripe pineapple and a burnished gold color. Ash, sulfur? Left it aside for a bit and it smelled of raw chorizo. I wouldn't buy it to have it around, but gotta say it went perfectly with gorgonzola and... 1/2 🍷 #winesky #frenchwine
...fig jam, which helped mellow it. 2/2 🍷 #winesky #frenchwine #wine #roussillon #grenache #maccabeu
To close...
I was about to request the bill when the chef asked if I would like some eau-de-vie. The flesh was weak.
Framboise Sauvage by HM Lehmann (N.V.) - 4 ⭐ Oysters and ice and caviar and freshly cut grass and seawater. What a lunch closer! Eau-de-vie from Alsace 🍷 #winesky #alsace #wildraspberry
I did end up getting the check before I did something dumb like asking which cognacs they stocked.