Cellar & Stove: Patient Cottat "Le Grand Caillou" sauvignon blanc + charcuterie

Charcuterie is the king of finger foods. Who wouldn't love a large spread of fancy meats and cheeses? Yesterday was the start of a week's vacation at the Connecticut shore, so naturally the only way to properly start vacation is a trayful of meats and some fine wine.

Charcuterie, for those not in the know, is a French word denoting a branch of cooking that deals with cured and prepared meat products. Many restaurants, especially those with a continental European flair, often have charcuterie as a dish or appetizer. This could constitute anything from a couple of meats on a slate board to a full spread of cured meats, bacon, pates, and cheeses. My favorite spot for charcuterie is Robert Wiedmaier's Brasserie Beck restaurant in the McPherson Square neighborhood of DC. They have a great charcuterie featuring pate, head cheese, salami, and one's own choice of three cheeses.

Tonight's charcuterie doesn't take place in a fancy restaurant, however, but is in fact chosen by me, my aunt Jayne, and my mother. Our spread includes several cheeses:

• Cypress Grove "Humboldt Fog" goat cheese (a personal favorite)
• Saint-Agur blue cheese
• Cave-aged Gouda cheese
• Triple-cream brie

And for meats....

• Prosciutto di Parma
• Crocodile paté
• Jamón serrano
• Salchicón
• Chorizo

The whole deal was served with crostini, mushrooms, red peppers, epi bread, roasted artichokes, and assorted olives.

Today's wine is an equally-anticipated selection. It's Domaine Patient Cottat's 2014 "Le Grand Caillou", a 12.00% ABV sauvignon blanc. Grown on a small estate in Sancerre in the Loire Valley, this wine is made by the famous Fournier family of vintners. Sancerre is an AOC, the region of which is classified as a "cool continental climate" region.

The wine was chilled for hours before opening, and I let it breathe for about 15 minutes. The aroma has major floral notes, which is really nice. It smells like a light perfume. It's a pale pale green in the glass, almost clear.

The wine was dry and buttery with some white grape flavors that gave it a bit of sweetness. There weren't any mineral notes. My brother Dan seemed to think it was like a non-oaked Chardonnay. I tasted a slightly-acidic finish, just a little bit of bitterness on the way out. But overall, a delicious wine, perfect for the beach. But...

...in terms of the pairing - here's where a bit of learning has taken place. I think the wine was a bit too sweet for the fatty and rich nature of the meat. The wine was delicious - no question - but the pairing was a bit off. I think the wine could have had a slight fruitiness to it instead of a butteriness which we think could have paired better. Still, the wine was tasty and so was the food, so I can't complain!