“Simple ingredients, treated with respect... put them together and you will always have a great dish.” - Jose Andres
One of my husband’s favorite dishes ever is a dry aged steak. It’s a treat when he is able to create this dish at home. For this steak, we paired it with a homemade chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri is a combination of fresh herbs and seasonings (finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and red wine vinegar) - it truly paired wonderfully with the dry aged steak or really any grilled meat.
When selecting a wine for this dish, it was a no brainer - Merlot would be a wonderful pair. There are some wonderful Merlots on the market today, but finding one for a reasonable price, balance, and complexity can prove to be a bit challenging. Alas, I was swept off my feet with a Merlot straight from the Rutherford region in California.
Today. I am pairing a spectacular wine, 2018 Textbook Merlot with a one of a kind Dry Aged Steak entrée and it is most certainly a treat.
Sliced dry aged coffee rub steak paired with a chimichurri sauce, accompanied by roasted garlic and herb rainbow carrots.
2018 Textbook Merlot
2018 Textbook Merlot
This merlot is absolutely stunning, and for less than $20 it was a steal. My WSET Level 2 classmate recommended this lovely bottle during my visit to our local Whole Foods, and she was incredibly right - I’d fall in love with this wine.
Here are the notes on the 2018 Textbook Merlot:
Oak: vanilla and chocolate
Black fruit: blackberry, plum, and black cherry
Earth: leather, hickory, and smoke
This Merlot is from California - Rutherford to be exact. The 2018 Textbook Merlot is bursting with flavor, and such a dynamic merlot for the price point. It is bold and smooth - the perfect balance. At first sip, it is soft on the palate, and dry on the finish.
I chose this wine for this dish as it was an outstanding compliment to the smoked dry aged steak. Mesquite wood was used in the smoking process, thus giving this protein a nice hearty flavor - the perfect match to this merlot pairing.
Any beef, lamb, or veal dish would compliment this wine perfectly - but this Chimichurri Steak is the optimal pairing.
Sliced smoked medium rare dry aged steak.
XO, Analise