This month, we return to Châteauneuf du Pâpe with  2008 Côte de l'Ange Châteauneuf du Pâpe. 

Your allocation is for one bottle. (We also have some of the 2007 Côte de l'Ange left on the shelves.  Feel free to pick up a bottle of that as well!).

Côte de l'Ange is run by the husband and wife team  Corinne and Yannick Gasparri. They have taken over from Corinne's parents, Monique and Jean Claude Mèstre. Corinne is born out of two old families of wine growers in CdP.  The property has 14 hectares of AOC Chateauneuf du Pape and 2,5 hectares in Cotes du Rhone.

Their Châteauneuf du Pâpe is primarily Grenache (70%) with10% Mourvèdre and 20% Syrah, and aged in large foudres for approximately 12 months.

The Gasparris make muscular, old school CdPs, with an emphasis on structure and acidity.  These are great food wines, attractively priced for Chateauneufs.  While 2008 in Chateauneuf was a challenging year, we have chosen our CdPs judiciously.  I was impressed  Cote de l'Ange's  easy drinkability.  

RECIPE:  Roast Pork with Summer Vegetables Serves 6

Peter Hoffman, chef of Savoy in NYC, serves this dish with a garlicky cilantro sauce, roasted chiles and market vegetables.

Pork:

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 boneless pork shoulder, about 3-4 pounds, trimmed
• Sea salt
• 4 shallots, unpeeled and halved lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Cilantro Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 green cardamom pod
• 1⁄2 cup minced cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced
• 3⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt

Market Vegetables:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 4 tomatillos, peeled
• 2 poblano peppers
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1⁄2 bunch broccoli di rabe, trimmed and blanched until tender

Prepare the pork: Put coriander, fennel, and cumin in an 8" skillet over medium heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until seeds are toasted, about 5 minutes. Coarsely grind seeds in a spice grinder and transfer to a small bowl. Add paprika, sugar, and garlic and stir to combine. Put pork on a plate and season generously with salt. Rub pork with coriander mixture and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.

Make the herb sauce: Put coriander, cumin, and cardamom in an 8" skillet over medium heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until seeds are toasted, about 5 minutes. Finely grind seeds in a spice grinder and transfer to a medium bowl along with cilantro, garlic, and jalapeños. Using a fork, whisk in olive oil and season sauce with salt; cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Heat oven to 475°.

Put sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake, turning once, until tender, 40–50 minutes. Transfer to a plate; set aside. Increase heat to broil and arrange a rack 4 inches from heating element. Put tomatillos and poblanos on baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Broil, turning once, until charred and tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer tomatillos to plate with sweet potatoes and transfer poblanos to a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes. Peel poblanos, discarding seeds and stems, and tear poblanos into 1⁄2"-wide strips; set aside.

Heat remaining olive oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add broccoli rabe; cook, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and remove pan from heat; set aside.
Reduce oven to 350°.

Heat canola oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Place shallots cut side down under pork. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of pork reads 125°, 30–50 minutes. Transfer pork and shallots to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes. To serve, slice pork thinly and transfer to a platter along with shallots. Cut sweet potatoes into small pieces and halve tomatillos. Transfer potatoes, tomatillos, poblanos, and broccoli di rabe to platter. Spoon sauce over pork.

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