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Photos By::
Adil
Arora
 Since
Baluchi Restaurant won the delWine Excellence Awards last September as
the Indian Restaurant with the Best Wine List in 5-star category, it came
under our watchful eyes. Charles Donnadieu, the Corporate Sommelier has
been expanding the wine list, adding several new Indian labels making
it the restaurant with highest Indian labels. He has also been experimenting
with wines from his home country, France. After trials with several wines
from different regions, he decided to get 13 wines from Champagne, Rhone,
Provence and Bordeaux for various restaurants.
We decided to have the 269th dinner of the Delhi Wine Club on July 5
in the Baluchi Restaurant serving North Indian food-and match it with
wines from Provence- White, Rose and Red from Château Ferry
Lacombe, an old winery from the heart of Provence in
South of France famous for the Rose wines, and finish of the dinner with
a Muscat Beaumes de Venise DOP fortified sweet wine which the members
had loved at an earlier dinner at the Grill Room serving European Continental
food.
Baluchi Restaurant has been in existence at The Lalit for over a couple
of decades and has maintained its food style and quality to have its own
fan following. The wine cellar on your right as you enter the restaurant
gives you a good, winey feeling and you feel reassured that the restaurant
has made efforts to promote wines with its cuisine. In fact, the restaurant
claims justifiably that this was the first Indian cuisine restaurant in
Delhi NCR to have a wine cellar within the restaurant. But what also adds
to the charm is the Nann’ery on the left where they bake different
breads in a Clay pots (tandoor).
There is nothing like starting an evening in Baluchi with Pheni Paratha,
a sinfully delicious small 4-bite sized naan look- alike
Indian bread with sesame seeds, which one can get easily addicted to.
It worked out a good accompaniment to sip the chilled Château
Ferry Lacombe Haedus Cotes de Provence Blanc AOC 2015- a quafable
light- bodied white wine made from 70% Vermentino and 30%
Clairette (remember the grape used by Grover Vineyards to make white wine
in the previous millennium?)It had floral aromas with shades of white
fruits like peaches-and a medium end.
It is noteworthy that we had selected the producer because the grapes
have been produced from sustainable vineyards, the theme for this month
to propagate the understanding of organic and biodynamic farming among
our club members and others interested in the sustainability and long
term stability of the Planet.
 A
long table of 25 set in one section of the restaurant is an ideal choice
for such dinners. We started with the well regarded Rosé-from the same
Chateau- Ferry Lacombe Haedus Cotes de Provence
Rose AOC 2015. It was even slightly paler than the usual Provence ;
this blend of Grenache (60%), Syrah (20%), Carignan (10%) and Vermentino
is also an easily drinking wine but in the Delhi summer heat, it was very
refreshing expecially as it was chilled and had muted tannins. The medium
bodied wine went very well with both the Awadhi Kalmi (chicken)Kebab and
Mutton Chapli Kebab because of its soft and pleasant tannins, a near-perfect
serving temperature of around 11-13°C and crisp acidity with juicy finish.
The Main Course made me realize we should have had a Sorbet before, not
only to cool and clean our palates but also give some time between the
previous and Main course. There was literally a lot on the plate. Makhanwala
(butter chicken) and Rarah Gosht- the royal and rich mutton dish
from chopped legs and keema, were both exquisite. So was Dal
Baluchi-always a favourite here. If one were to forget for a moment that
there was the French red wine being served from a decanter-even the 4
different types of sauces and chutneys, pickles and papads were
irresistible, not to mention the delectable, Dum Pukht style kat-hal
biryani one could have even taken home in the sealed bowl to
savour the next day. Château Ferry Lacombe Haedus Cotes
de Provence Rouge AOC 2015- blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache
was a perfect partner with spicy notes and berry flavours.
Gulab Jamun and Paan Kulfi is a pair that is very popular with those
with a sweet tooth and the members were not disappointed. I am not sure
if the Bakarkhani-the thick spiced-flat bread from the Nann’ery
added much to the dessert but the Domaine Lapigeade Beaumes de
Venise AOC 2013 served at an earlier dinner was a big hit
again and made me wonder why people loved dessert wines when served at
wine dinners but there was not much demand in Retail or the restaurants.
 It
is a compliment to the Chef that the wines played a second fiddle to the
food today but it was also a good example of how wine could enhance the
gourmet experience-even for Indian cuisine. It is very noble and visionary
of the hotel to actively promote the concept of wines with Indian meal.
It was also a successful attempt to highlight that wines don’t
have to be very expensive but should match the food ; the cue cards
in the Menu and the regular presence of Sommelier Charles Donnadieu are
a big help to the novices interested in trying a glass of wine with their
meals.
I only wish they offered small tasting servings of 90-100 mL at proportionate
lower costs to encourage and engage the customers. I hope Ravindra Kumar,
the Corporate General Manager who is totally supportive ofwine with Indian
meals and was instrumental in devising this dinner would make a mental
note. Wineby-the-glass-90-100mL should be the mantra that will entice
novices to indulge and try 2-3 different wines over the course of a meal.
Who knows, there might be several new wine connoisseurs walking out of
the hotel soon ?
Subhash Arora |