I'm going to a wine dinner this Saturday and the wine pairing for dessert is leaving me stumped as to what or IF there is a suitable match. The dinner menu is not set up for our gathering, it's just a fixed menu. For dessert they are serving a "Tarragan Crème Caramel with pernod reduction". Between the taggagan and the Pernod I'm left clueless.

Any suggestions? or punt and just drink some coffee

Thanks for any help.

Of course mke sure tht Champagne is a demi-sec.

Normally I would recommend a Sauternes with Créme Caramel but this sounds like it may have a big-time licorice flavors. I think an older Port; one that is old because most of the bright fruit will have faded.

If you want to go crazy you could serve Absinthe.

Thanks for for trying. I would think sauterne also with a creme caramel but with the licorice, more so than the tarragon, it just threw me. Absinthe is tough in a mixed crowd, it's a love/hate thing with all things licorice. I'm leaning towards my initial thought of just having the coffee and hoping we just get overwhelmed with plenty of wines beforehand.

If you haven't had enough wine, you can order a flaming Sambuca with your coffee...

Change the restaurant...

the chef clearly does not like wine drinkers....

That said, it is an interesting dish.  The sambuca suggestion was right on imo.  Or maybe the chef has some home brewed digestif bubbling in the back.  I'd say try your best guess and see how it turns out.  Given the herbal flavors, maybe a late harvest chenin blanc?  Young and fruity, not the caramelized older wines.  That's my guess.  Please let us know how it turns out!

You could offfer to add some Ouzo to the coffee.  Ouzo is 40%+ alcohol so it would be easy to flame.  Put sugar around the rim of the cup and flame.  Pour the flaming liquid from one cup to another back and forth several times.  It is best to find someone with asbestos hands to do this.


Offer them some Smurf Cumm.  This would go realy good with the Anise Créme.

Pour 1 oz. of Baily's Irish Cream into a shot glass.  Add 1/2 oz. Blue Curaco + 1/2 oz. Galiano.

Shake!
Slamm!
Shake some more!

Wow! some really incredible responses. Normally I would take the Sambucca route myself but with some unknown company in my midst I wasn't sure how they would react to all that licorice going on. In the end I went with one of Stemors' all-time favorites... a 1990 Pichot Moullieux Vouvray (speaking of Stemor? any sightings?). It actually matched up very well. The combination of the licorice and taragon broght out the acidity in the wine which wasn't overly sweet. I really didn't know what to expect given it's description but if you like anise/licorice it was really, really good. Thanks again for all your input!

" ... one of Stemors' all-time favorites... a 1990 Pichot Moullieux Vouvray"

Hey, Rigga, thanks for remembering!  Did that one come from me, or did you find it locally?  Anyway, you know I love that stuff.  I'm down to my last few bottles of the 1990 ... then I'm on to some 96's that I've had hidden in the back of my cellar for a while now.

Steve

That's one I actually found in NH. It was probably the best bottle of the lot that I had also. Take care, let us know when you travels take you to Boston again.

I assume you decorated the table with some vines (red vines that is).