There's not a more ideal match than a good steak and good bottle of red wine, especially when the steak is at a reduced price. Add in a red wine friendly side dish and one has a great meal.
The steak was a two inch thick prime rib eye. It was allowed to come to room temperature after being salted with sea salt and lightly dusted with ground pepper, about a two hour process. Good weather is still hanging around so the steak then went on the grill.
The wine of the evening was a bottle I picked up from a recent excursion out of state. It was a 2009 Le Pigeoulet en Provence, a vin de pays de Vaucluse made by Vignobles Brunier, the folks behind Domaine de Vieux Telegraphe. The wine was 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 5% each Cinsault and Carignan. Bright, cheerful nose of fresh fruit and strawberries with a little darker and earthier side filling in a few spots. Wonderful, pure fruit taste with a bit of dry earth and maybe a hint of cardamon in the taste. It had great acid and good body and there was nothing extreme or out of proportion. Super good stuff and a great compliment to the rich steak.
The side dish featured freshly dug leeks sauteed in butter and thyme and then added to a casserole on top of some paper thin slices of potatoes. Once the pan was empty of the leeks we added a bay leaf, some garlic and some cream and reduced that. That went over the top of the leeks and at the end we added a mixture of Gruyere and Jarlsberg cheese. In spent 40 minutes covered in the oven and about ten minutes uncovered to allow the top to brown and bubble. Great side dish, but definitely on the rich side. It needed a wine with fruit and acid and that's what Le Pigeoulet provided.
14% alcohol and $15. Good bargain.
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