Saturday Night - Pats, Packers, Pinot, and Port

Saturday night, play-off NFL football and good friends... what more could anyone want? Oh yeah, good food and wine to go with all of the above. Mick and Amy came by for a Saturday night dinner and this was more of a casual evening on TV trays as we wanted to watch the football games.

To start the night I decided to go with a light appetizer of hummos and pita and a tomato + feta salad with basil. To accompany the starters I offered a bottle of D'Arenberg 2006 Viognier-Marsanne. I had tried the 2005 D'Arenberg on the very first meeting of wine club and the 2006 made the Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines of 2007 (84th over all with a rating of 90). As I hadn't tried it yet, I was excited for the opportunity. The 2006 Viognier went very well with the Hummos and pretty good with the Tomato + Feta. Everyone seemed to like this pairing. I will say for $17 this wine is a steal.

LCBO Information -

D'ARENBERG THE HERMIT CRAB VIOGNIER/MARSANNE 2006
VINTAGES 662775
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 16.85
13.0% Alcohol
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Australia
By: D'Arenberg Wines
Release Date: Oct 13, 2007

Description - Wine critic Jeremy Oliver awarded this white a score of 88. Employing the Rhône Valley varietals Viognier (70%) and Marsanne (30%), this dry, fresh white blend is a rich tapestry of flavours with notes of ginger, tropical fruit, almond and citrus beautifully woven together. Needless to say, crab would make a delicious food match.

The Wine Spectator - 90 Rating

d'Arenberg Viognier-Marsanne McLaren Vale The Hermit Crab 2006

Soft and charming. A beguiling mouthful of spicy pear and grapefruit flavors that linger with focus on the open-textured finish. Not as rich as pure Viognier, but better balanced. Drink now through 2010. 3,500 cases imported. –HS

"Tomato, Feta and Basil Salad"


"Hummos with Pita"

"The Spread"

"84th on the Top 100 Wines"

The next course was made by a co-worker of my wife, Kathy - Philo Pastry with Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers and Goat Cheese. The wine my wife's co-worker recommended was Pinot Noir. This was great as I have a fair amount of Pinot Noir on the rack and don't get a lot of occasions to break one out.

I bought the 2002 BearBoat Pinot Noir blind down in the US as I thought the label was amusing. I wasn't expecting much out of the wine and was pleasently surprised - very heady aroma of Raspberry and a floral scent upon opening the bottle. The wine was very big for a Pinot Noir - Fruit forward and a big mouth feel and an amazingly smooth finish. The Philo Pastry was excellent but the wine pairing was OK. I think a Sauvignon Blanc would be a better pairing. After finishing the Philo Pastry all of us enjoyed sitting around and just enjoying the Bear in a Boat Pinot Noir... it was a very easy drinking wine on its own and I regret only having the one bottle as I would have loved to try this with lamb. The Pinot Noir was $20.99 US so about $33-35 CDN after duty and exchange.

"Cool Label"

For the main course I prepared a stir-fry of Grilled Chicken Breast, Green Peppers and Onion in Zippy Sauce and cut the Zippy Sauce with about a 1/4 cup of Organic Chicken Broth. I served it on a bun for easy eating in front of the TV. I had no idea what to pair with this and decided to play it safe with a Merlot. I had picked up two bottles of Chateau La Commanderie 2003 earlier this week as it was reasonably priced and the Wine Spectator gave it a rating of 90. The Merlot was an OK pairing with the sandwiches, it would have been a lot better if the meat was steak rather than chicken. After the sandwiches we broke out a few squares of dark chocolate and the Merlot paired much better with the chocolate. The wine wasn't bad but it certainly didn't blow me away so I will keep the remaining bottle on the rack for a couple of years and see if it improves with aging. I won't be running out to buy more at this point.

LCBO Information

CHÂTEAU LA COMMANDERIE 2003

VINTAGES 35774

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 29.70

13.4% Alcohol

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: Bordeaux, France

By: Dourthe Freres

Release Date: Jul 7, 2007

Tasting Note - Aromas of jam and vanilla. Full-bodied, with lots of good fruit and a long, juicy finish. Very fruity. Best after 2008. Score - 90 (James Suckling, www.winespectator.com, March 31, 2006)

"French Merlot"

For dessert we broke out some Taylor Fladgate 20 year old tawny port and a cheese tray.

"Tawny Port... Mmm!"

St. Agur Blue Cheese and Tawny Port is a match made in heaven, though after killing three bottles of wine it is almost a tad too much.

The evening wrapped up as the New England Patriots defeated the Jaguars 31-20 and we walked (OK stumbled) Mick and Amy home.

Cheers!

Mark