It should be a one line blog post -- f***in Biggio Hamina Melon and Dungeness crab is a meal of the gods.
But I must elaborate. Stop now if brevity is beauty.
I first tried Biggio Hamina Melon (the grape of Muscadet) last year at a terrific dinner at the Zenith Vineyard for all producers of pinot noir from that excellent vineyard. The BH Melon shocked me. So austere, so challenging to the senses. That is, until we had crab cakes. Oh my god it was all so good.
Fast forward to Todd Hamina's recent pouring at Storyteller Wines in Portland, which I wrote up here with glowing praise. Biggio Hamina wines aren't going to win prizes for color or extraction. They will tantalize you with complexity and subtlty. This humble 2008 Biggio Hamina Melon de Bourgogne from the Deux Vert Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA is no exception.
Todd didn't pour this wine that night, but there was a lone bottle left for sale and I grabbed it. When should I open such a solitary treat? How about when the new Whole Foods is practically giving away big, delicious Dungeness crab as part of their opening week promotion? Yes, I am a little drunk on crab at the moment.
The wine is pale with a somewhat neutral aroma at first. With time there's a stone fruit and mineral scent, and it grows more pronounced when paired with the crustacean. The flavors develop similarly, particularly with food. Where the flavors are subtle on their own, the meaty crab with its oceanic flavors brings out the wine's fruit. I'm not talking about a top heavy, candy fruitness. Rather, fruit of temptation. Think garden of Eden, except full of this delicious wine and not the alleged wrath of god.
In sum, this isn't profound wine that will blow your mind with its power and depth. Rather, it's fresh, precise and authentic, and utterly delicious with tonight's dinner. Nevermind that the price is well under $20.
1 comment:
I may be in foggy, frozen Lawrence, Kansas but the mere thought of fresh crab meat and Todd's Melon make me feel like I'm on the spit at Nehalem Bay. In the summer time. And the livin's easy. Gotta go, time to pull up those crab rings.
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