Chateau’s wines

Château Cos d’Estournel 1985 (92, $55 in 1994) has the velvety feel of maturity and smoky, tobacco-like notes that are typical of this château’s wines. At the center is a solid core of currant fruit, and that carries the day with the pork and rhubarb. The food points up a slight bitter edge to the wine, but that only lasts a moment and then the rest of the flavors find a welcome balance.

Suppleness of texture seems to be the prime requirement for a wine to go with this dish. An elegant Pommard 1990 and a smooth California Pinot Noir 1992 also paired up nicely in our tastings, but sturdier wines fared less well. The modest level of sweetness in the dish brought out a tough edge in a Zinfandel 1992, a Ribera del Duero 1990 and even a more mature Salice Salentino Riserva 1988.


To start off, pass a plate of Green Onion & Sage Diamonds filled with broiled baby eggplant slices or thin slices of dry salami. The diamonds are a variation on scones, only these are not sweet and rely on sour cream for their texture and delicate flavor. They come out of the oven like little flat biscuits, perfect for nibbling with an apéritif wine.

Several different white wines match up appealingly, as you might expect. It was a difficult choice between the Alsace Pinot Blanc and a lightly herbal California Sauvignon Blanc, but a slight preference goes to the Hugel Pinot Blanc Cuvée Les Amours 1990 (85, $11). Round and smooth, it has good acidity to balance its tropical fruit, grapefruit and mineral flavors. It becomes lively and spicy with the salami-filled diamonds and turns rounder and picks up some extra dimensions with the eggplant version.

For the salami, choose a dry type with wrinkled skin and cut it thin at an angle to make oval-shaped slices that fit nicely into the diamonds. Low-fat or low-salt versions are perfectly acceptable. If you use eggplant, cut small Japanese eggplant in a similar manner to create ovals.

Dessert uses a quintessential fall fruit, the persimmon. A no-bake pie, its filling cooks on top of the stove and then it only needs to refrigerate for the gelatin to set. The finished dessert vaguely resembles pumpkin pie, only lighter and a little fresher-tasting.

Sweet sherries are good with pies such as this, but I am especially partial to a late harvest Riesling. The Covey Run 1993 at $7 is rich and sweet enough to perform well, and it’s made in sufficient quantities to be available. For many wine drinkers, a dessert wine is optional, but try at least one small glass with this instead of going directly to coffee.

Advance preparation is easy. The first thing to get out of the way is the pie, which needs several hours (or overnight) to finish quietly in the refrigerator. The diamonds can bake a few hours in advance. They taste fine at room temperature, but improve if reheated for two minutes in the oven. The chops taste best if they are cooked to order, a matter of less than 20 minutes. If time is of the essence, however, cook the dish to the point when the chops return to the pan for their final simmering. Then they need only five minutes to finish.