Saturday – Wine driving the food – Part2

For the main course I had a French Malbec from Cahors on the rack that I wanted to try and had just picked up a Malbec made Argentina at the LCBO. I thought it would be fun to try them head to head. I did a search on Google for “food pairing Malbec” and came across a recipe called Spicy Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing from foodandwine.com.

"The assembly line"

I have never made Blue Cheese dressing before and the marinade for the steak looked interesting so I decided to give it a go and was pleased with the results.

"Steaks on the grill"

I’ll review the French Malbec first. The French Malbec was a 2004 Croix du Mayne from Cahors. The nose was different with over-ripe cherry, smoke, butter popcorn, cedar and leather. The taste of this wine was disappointing as the acidity was high, it was lacking fruit and had a bitter finish. It wasn’t a bad pairing with the meal which was about this wine’s only redeeming quality.

"Disappointing"

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Francois Pelissie Croix du Mayne
LCBO 28548

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 18.30

Wine, Red Wine,

12.9% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : 1

Made in: Languedoc, France

By: Compagnie Des Vins Du Grand Su

Tasting Note - Deep purple in colour, the nose suggests aromas of ripe fresh black fruit, white smoke and mineral. It is full-bodied, structured, smoky with a solid black fruit core. The finish reveals smoke and cocoa plus medium acidity and firm tannins.Serving Suggestion - Perfect with roast duck, cassoulet or beef roast.

* Note – I have had this wine on the rack for a bit so the LCBO information above maybe for the 2005, 2006 or maybe even the 2007.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 85, Mark – 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 85, Overall – 85.25

Click here for Part 3