Mas de Gourgonnier Les Baux en Provence 2003

I have been reading Rudolph Chelminsky's intriguing and disturbing "The Perfectionist," a biography of the 3-star Michelin chef Bernard Loiseau. It's a fascinating book for anyone interested in French gastronomy, the role of the Michelin guide, or the development of nouvelle cuisine over the past 40 years. Loiseau was famous for, inter alia, his veal chop, and reading the book inspired me to prepare veal chops following in "le style Loiseau." The chops were browned in my best butter and olive oil, then transferred to the oven to cook through. I removed them from the pan to rest, while I deglazed with rose and veal stock, which I reduced to a glaze. At the end, I added the veal back to the pan to coat with the glaze, and served it with Stephanie's potatoes dauphinoise and an excellent Boston lettuce salad.

I paired the veal with a wine not from Loiseau's Burgundy region but from Les Baux en Provence in Southern France. It is medium-bodied but deep red in color. Stephanie detected hints of basil and boiled peanut. I found it ripe and round, but dry and minerally on the finish - no doubt from the bauxite in the soil (the mineral was named for this region where it was first discovered). No doubt a Gevrey-Chambertin would have been a better choice, but it was a pleasant wine for $12.