Pairing advice… chicken in plums

[MattHo]

We have friends coming at the weekend and the main dish for lunch will be ‘chicken in plums and sweet spice’ (a Honey &. Co recipe).

I’m thrown for a white to serve with it, the plums and spice take this in a different direction to normal roast chicken, and suggest something sweeter maybe, but quite full.

In no particular order I’ve got available:

• Boxler Pinot Gris, 2015
• Donnhoff Spatlese 2009
• Prum Spatlese 2015
• Prum Auslese 2012
• Huet Demi-Sec 2010
• Huet Moelleux 2005
• Pieropan Rocca 2018

Also various Rhône whites (Beaucastel, Chapoutier Chante-Alouette, Exhibition Hermitage, Vieux Telegraphe) but I’m thinking they wouldn’t pair with the sweet spice. Same for chardonnay (Kumeu River, Jean-Marc Vincent burgundy, Exhibition St-Aubin).

I’m tending towards the Huet Moelleux at the moment…but would love some collective wisdom!

[CCouzens]

Prum Spatlese for me thanks

[SteveSlatcher]

I’m not sure how sweet that dish would finish up - there’s quite a bit of vinegar that would mask some of the sugar, and plums can be quite tart too. Anyway, on balance I’d go for the PG

[Martyn]

I’d second the PG. It feels like you’d need off-dry, not sweet/medium-sweet.

[SteveSlatcher]

Yes. You often hear the advice that the wine you drink must be sweeter than the food, but I think that only applies to desserts

[MattHo]

Thanks, I appreciate the input! I’ll try the Pinot Gris…

[lapin_rouge]

Looks like a tagine?

Unusually I might go for a full bodied rose - a rioja rosado or a decent cote de Provence. nothing red and tannic.

The dish will be packed with spice, fruit and quite sweet. Definitely make sure the chicken gets some caramelized edges

[MattHo]

Interesting thought! I didn’t have it on my original list but I have a bottle of the recent Lopez de Haro Rosado waiting to be drunk…

[lapin_rouge]

On the other hand… Those chenin Blanc’s

[Jimmybob]

A lovely set of options you have there!

@MattHo

Donnhoff Spatlese 2009

Sounds like the right answer to anything.

[John-C47E2]

Which did you try and how did it work out? The Pinot Gris would probably have been my choice but I might have put a couple of the sweeter wines in the fridge and actually paired when I have tasted the sauce…

[MattHo]

Reporting back at the end of a very fine lunch…

I didn’t manage to get a photo of the various dishes before they were served, but as you can see from my overfull plate there was salmon-en-croute as well, and I nabbed a bit of that, plus three really good veggie side dishes.

And the wine? I went for the Boxler Pinot Gris, Sommerberg W, 2015, which worked brilliantly. Drinking beautifully, really rich and full. My second bottle this year, and it’s developing depth and a hint of sherry. Powerful, with a hint of sweetness. Not something to drink by itself, but it was a fabulous pairing for the food we had. @SteveSlatcher was absolutely right that the sweetness of the sauce was balanced by the vinegar. I had spatlese on standby, but I the pinot gris was just right. In particular the pinot gris has a richer mouthfeel which really worked with a plate of food like this.

Thank you for the guidance!

[MattHo]