The scallop season has begun and the festive season is approaching… Here’s some inspiration for preparing your meals!

The elegant, subtle taste of scallops and their tender, flavorful flesh make them an essential part of a refined holiday meal.

Enhanced by truffles, with their characteristic pronounced flavor, this is a distinguished dish that shouldn’t be paired with a random wine.

White wine is the ideal companion for seafood. In addition, scallops with truffles are a perfect match for more “evolved” dry white wines, which are able to compliment the intense flavours of the truffle.

What to serve with scallops with truffles?

Chassagne Montrachet white, the most distinguished pairing

The nose of Chassagne Montrachet blanc is strongly marked by floral notes: acacia, lime blossom, honeysuckle and hawthorn. After aeration, mineral aromas emerge, with distinct hints of flint and smoke. Aromas of hawthorn, verbena, honeysuckle and hazelnut enhance the complex flavors of truffle scallops. Intense mineral notes and a toasty bouquet from barrel ageing make this a wine of character that can stand up to truffles.

The palate is buttery and flowery, with controlled acidity and exceptional length, finishing on citrus notes. The attack is not lacking in vivacity, which a few years of cellaring will soften.

Age gives Chassagne-Montrachet notes of honey and ripe pear. Curvaceous and easy to drink, the fatness lingers on the palate.

Its opulence and power make it the ideal partner for sophisticated shellfish dishes.

Château Grillet, an unusual AOC

AOC Château Grillet is produced by a single estate of the same name. A 3.5-hectare Viognier monopoly located in the heart of the northern Rhône Valley, Château Grillet is a perfect blend ofinertia, tension and elegance. A great wine for laying down, it requires patience to reveal all its secrets.

The dominant fatness is enhanced by low acidity and magnificent aromatic complexity. The aromatic spectrum is broad: floral and fruity aromas can also be accompanied by notes of honey, nougat, hazelnut, white truffle or spices such as saffron. Its mineral expression is often accompanied by iodine freshness.

Ultimately, its astonishing finesse makes it an exceptional wine to match a dish as distinguished as scallops with truffles.

The indisputable Chablis Premier Cru

Here, pairings are perfect with powerful, full-bodied white wines such as Burgundy’s finest premiers crus and grands crus. Saint Jacques with truffles go very well with a Chardonnay from a limestone terroir that has been aged for several years in bottle, such as a Premier Cru from Chablis.

The aromatic intensity of Chardonnay is reflected in highly aromatic honey and acacia flower notes. Structured, full-bodied and long on the palate, they are perfect for sublimating scallops with truffles with finesse and subtlety. Each climate gives a Chablis Premier Cru its own distinctive character, from pronounced minerality to exuberant floral notes.