Autumn dinner party inspiration - Jurançon Sec and mushroom soup - delightful match

We recently posted 2 blogs about superb wine and food matches that we enjoyed over Easter - seafood paella and Ch La Rayre Begerac Rosé 2009 and coq au vin with sauce Madiran matched with Domaine du Crampilh Vieilles Vignes MAdiran 2006 . The trilogy in this unintented seres was last nights dinner. 

Lady Helen picked some fresh field mushrooms from our paddocks, some herbs from the herb garden, some lemons  and conjured up a delicious soup using a recipe published in Stephanie Alexander's food bible the Cooks Companion which many of you no doubt have on a shelf in your kitchen (and if you dont maybe its time to run and get one?!) The recipe is called Tom's Mushroom Soup. Helen used a lot less cream than that stated and it was still rich and delicious. 

Cream of something soup can be a challenging wine match. Some use a dry white and sherry can be a great match. The recipe included 3/4 cup white wine so we opened a Ch Jolys Jurançon Sec 2009 and at this great price one can use it anytime including in a soup! From the excellent 2009 vintage and from one of the most beautiful and under rated regions in France. So we served some with the soup and it was superb!

A delightful, complex, fruity but dry wine with typical manseng characterstics. Bright yellow colour with greenish tints. The nose is elegant and intense, with both floral and fruity aromas: honeysuckle, jasmine, grapefruit, citrus and fresh grape. On the palate, the wine is fresh, fruity and rich at the same time. The finish is long and fleshy.The fruit characteristics are typical of the region/manseng variety with tropical fruit and pineapple characteristics, and some citrus/acid backbone. The soup recipe includes lemon juice and we think this one element tieing the two together. In any case it was a great match. Hopefully might inspire some of you for a quick and easy meal or a first course at an autumn dinner party! 

We felt like we were back in Jurançon - one of the most beautiful regions in France. Château Jolys, the largest estate in the Jurançon AOC with its 36 hectares, nestles on the superb hills of Chapelle de Rousse village. Rolling green hills, relatively unpopulated and stunning views to the nearby snow-capped Pyrenees Mountains. Could this be the next big thing after New Zealand sauvignon Blanc? Discover for yourself!  DiscoverVin™ is confident that these wines will surprise and delight you. Above all the wines that we have talked about in this blog that are well made and incredibly good value wines.