Fortunately for us, the final entrée in @newubinseafood wine paring session was decent enough to erase the memory of the lacklustre chicken. The Sous Vide Brazilian Zebu Cattle Hump was yet another interesting dish on the menu, and we learned that there’s a breed of cattle called Zebu, and they have a distinctive fatty hump on their necks.⠀
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Said hump stores fat, much like a camel, so it’s no surprise that the meat is well marbled with fat. However, it is still a cut that needs to be cooked low and slow for optimal tenderness, so it was never going to be done medium rare. I do feel that New Ubin scuffed a golden opportunity to make this Zebu hump meat a star, as the meat is just begging to be cooked in a redolent rendang or perhaps even a thick curry. The roasted vegetables that accompanied the Zebu meat were surprisingly sublime, and I found myself eagerly polishing them off.⠀
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While they missed the chance to put the Zebu hump meat into a sauce or stew of some kind, they didn’t miss when pairing it with this bottle of Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 2012. This is probably the biggest and boldest wine I’ve ever sipped on in recent memory, surpassing even most Syrahs & Shiraz. The extremely heavy body was perfect with the light tannin here, and the bouquet was utterly sensational.⠀
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Scents of raisins, dark chocolates, blackberry & cherry preserves, oak and tobacco all coexisted in harmony on the nose. Taste wise, I got a lot of sweet, dried fruits like dried blackberries & raisins on my palate, and the aftertaste was definitely reminiscent of a rapturous port wine. Oddly enough, it’s noticeably sweet despite its whopping alcohol content of 16.5%, and it was the perfect pair with the Zebu hump meat.⠀
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Thank you for the cordial hospitality, @newubinseafood!