Kitschy factor aside, EU wine still wins

Tag : ginger sprout


Kenneth Yang , Contributor, Jakarta

When an august hotel such as the Gran Melia says it's going to feedand get members of the media drunk on French wine for free, it isnot for us to question their motives. Like all corporate behemoths flinging crumbs at strugglingjournalists, the good-hearted and sweet-faced people at the GranMelia invited The Jakarta Post along to try the new wines to go with its set menu out of a senseof pure altruism.

So it is with no sense of obligation at all to these new, belovedand undoubtedly sexually potent patrons that I pass on thefollowing advice: give the Gran Melia your money. The upside is that even as you empty your pockets, you'll feelricher doing it. The Gran Melia's Columbus restaurant is all aboutfusty Old Money grandeur in this decidedly New Money town.

Officially spelled Colvmbvs to be either classy or Balkan, I'm notsure, the place is all about evoking early colonialism and theInquisition, which are, I think, the first things that pop into anyof our heads when we think fine dining. And while the kitsch decor suggests smallpox and those giddy dayswhen Europe discovered syphilis, the food and wine suggest gout.Nay, they insist on it. And we are glad.

The pan-fried goose liver with caramelized figs and gingerreduction served with a 2005 Virginie Cinsault Merlot ros is ahighlight of the new food and wine arrangement and reason enough tohand your house keys to the Gran Melia.

The wine expert brought in to choose the new list, Frenchman DamienD'Ovidio, explained that the ros, which is tannin-free andredolent of fresh strawberries, was chosen to balance out the heavygoose liver. This of course made sense as I felt the liver's component partsregenerate inside me one last time for a one-inch punch square tomy internal organs.

White wines predominate in the new selection, with a heavy emphasison not overpowering the food, which is conservatively French withsome nods to Italian cuisine and our own tropical surroundings. Both the first course, crispy scallops on tomato salsa with mangoand passionfruit sauce, and the later brussels sprout soup withNorwegian salmon, came with fresh, dry whites. With the scallops, which were so fresh they were sweet, the winecuts in at just the right time to take the edge off the taste offrying, as well as any excess sugariness in the fruit.

With the creamy soup, the same acidity stops wholesomeness tippingover into fatty excess. The only time reds did get a look in was with the main course,wagyu tenderloin with black truffle bordelaise sauce, which washeavy enough to demand wines with real kick.

Two very different French reds, one a Shiraz Grenache and the othera Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend, were offered up withthe fatty and yielding beef.

The Shiraz, kept away from oak and low in tannin, was a sharp andspicy pickup for the wagyu, but not a crowd pleaser at the table. But it was the second red, aged in oak and velvety, rich and fullof body, that really worked with the beef. Despite efforts to steerus more decidedly toward the dessert wines, it remained a firmfavorite. As the night wound on, and pretensions of refinement gave way tojoyous boozing, the German head chef leaned forward in his chairjiggling a bottle of Australian wine.

He explained to us that the key to the night's fun was in EuropeanUnion standards that ensured preservatives stayed out of wine. His mouth curling in disgust, he boomed: "This is bullshit.They add sugar, they add chemicals. In Australia this is legal, inEurope, this would be banned." Under most circumstances, I don't enjoy being yelled at in German,unlike certain heads of certain racing federations. But at thatmoment, drunk and thoroughly bought off as I was, I could havehugged the man.