Steak au Poivre wines

Tonight’s menu was steak au poivre with cognac cream sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and haricots verts. What wine to serve with steak au poivre, which food historians place as having its origins in Normandy? Bordeaux might be geographically closer, but the pepper aspects call for Rhône wines.

We had two apéritifs—neither of them Rhône—but one at least French (Burgundy), and the other Cali (because it had been Coravined and I wanted to finish it off).

I was a bit surprised at the two Chardonnay apéritifs. I have a long history with Newton, and have enjoyed numerous vintages; but tasted alongside the Drouhin Saint-Véran, it showed a significant diacetyl component that was a little offputting in context. Conversely, the Drouhin was fruitier than expected, especially in contrast to the Newton.

As to the Rhône wines: all of them were very good, and frankly, on any given night, given enough air, any of them could have reasonably been ranked #1—despite the fact that the vintages ranged from 2010 to 2022. The range was very tight, and given that, preferences become more subjective. Each were a great accompaniment to the steak au poivre, and would have been to steak frites or a variety of other beef dishes.