Chicken Chasseur + Guigal Crozes Hermitage 2016 #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles are exploring the Northern Rhône with Rupal, the Syrah Queen, at the lead. You can read her invitation: here. 

Before I get to my post, here are the others' offerings on the topic of Northern Rhône. These will all go live between Friday, April 17th and early morning Saturday, April 18th. And if you are reading this early enough, feel free to join us for a live Twitter chat. You can find us with hashtag #Winophiles; if you chime in, be sure to use the hashtag as well, so that we can see your tweet.

• Cindy from Grape Experience writes Strength and Power Meet Balance and Elegance in Syrah from the Northern Rhone.
• Wendy from A Day In The Life On The Farm presents To Syrah with Love.
• Lauren from Swirling Dervish explores Old World Syrah from the Northern Rhone: 2016 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage.
• Jeff from Food Wine Click offers A View of Northern Rhone’s Saint Joseph through Three Wines.
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass posts Crozes-Hermitage: A Gateway to Northern Rhône Wine.
• Jill from L’Ocassion asks What's the Difference Between France’s Northern Rhône and Southern Rhône Valleys?
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator writes In These Times, Drink from Deep in The Cellar: Two from Northern Rhone’s St Joseph’s.
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles is Finding Connections in the Northern Rhône.
• Susannah from Avvinare writes about Virtually Visiting Crozes-Hermitage Through Chapoutier’s Wine.
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures With Camilla pairs Chicken Chasseur + Guigal Crozes-Hermitage 2016.
• Nicole at Somm’s Table serves A Simple Spring Lamb Feast with Maison Nicolas Perrin Crozes-Hermitage.
• Jane from Always Ravenous pours A Taste of Hermitage Marsanne.
• Martin from Enoflyz Wine Blog suggests Looking For Value in Northern Rhône? Look For Crozes-Hermitage!
• Lynn from Savor The Harvest goes Exploring Treasures of the Northern Rhone.
• Terri from Our Good Life sings Hey Syrah, Syrah, Whatever Will Be, Will Be.
• Our host, Rupal on Syrah Queen is Exploring Côte-Rôtie –Syrahs With A Twist.

In the Glass

As we've just finished the fourth full week of our shelter-in-place order here in California, I have been buying my wine online, when possible. I was able to find this bottle - Guigal Crozes Hermitage 2016 - at wine.com. It was delivered right to my doorstep. Gotta love that convenience.

At a suggested retail price of $30, it might be on the pricier side for a regular middle of the week pairing, but these are not regular days, are they?

map from winefolly.com

Crozes-Hermitage is the southern gateway into the Northern Rhône Valley as you can see from the map above. I was able to get my hands on a bottle of Guigal Crozes Hermitage 2016 for this pairing.

Domaine Guigal first produced a Crozes-Hermitage in 1999 from a low-yielding, hillside vineyard. Since then they have continued to acquire quality vineyards, exclusively on hillsides, grouped in the north of the appellation.

This is a single varietal - 100% Syrah - and was fermented in stainless steel before being aged for two years in barrels from Guigal’s Chateau d’Ampuis cooperage.

To the eye, the wine pours a dark, ruddy color while the nose has a pleasant balance of red fruit and hints of earthy wood. On the palate, the wine is surprisingly fresh with nicely structured tannins. The woodiness is mirrored on the tongue with balancing hints of vanilla and berries.

On the Plate

   

The earthiness in the wine made me think of mushrooms, so I opted to make my version of Chicken Chasseur, a classic French chicken dish that translates to 'Hunter's Chicken.' I have heard it's so named because hunters would pick up mushrooms along the way as they brought home their catches.

I like that this is a rustic, one pot dinner. I just have to give fair warning and a way that my mushroom-averse child can avoid them easily. I do insist that he takes at least one bite with a mushroom; I know they'll grow on him eventually. He claims that he hasn't liked mushrooms since I took him to a local mushroom farm. Even just talking about mushrooms he gags. How is he my child?!?

Also, I didn't have any Cognac or Brandy so I went the less-than-traditional route of using White Port.

Ingredients serves 4

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 T butter
• 8 ounces mushrooms, brushed clean and thickly sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1/4 C White Port
• 1 C chicken stock
• 1 T flour, as needed
• fresh herbs (I used a combination of fresh thyme and fresh parsley)
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper

Procedure

Melt 1 T butter in the bottom of a heavy skillet. Place chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. The skin should be browned and crispy. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.

Leave the chicken fat in the pan and stir in the onions. Let them sweat a few minutes until they are softened and beginning to turn translucent.

Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock. Stir in the mushrooms and sprinkle in some herbs.

Nestle the chicken thighs, this time skin-side up, into the mushrooms and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. The sauce should be thickened and reduced. If it's too liquidy, whisk in some flour and stir till the sauce thickens.

To finish, pour in the White Port. You can tip the pan so the liquid moves to the edge of the skillet and you can light the port with the stove flame. Or use a stick lighter to ignite the port. Let the alcohol burn itself out. Once the flames extinguish, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle more herbs over the pan and serve it family style.

That's all for the French Winophiles' April 2020 event. We'll be back next month with a focus on Cru Beaujolais with Cindy of Grape Experiences leading the discussion. Stay tuned.