Saturday Night – A Special Occasion – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting dinner this past Saturday. I got a call from Mick before the dinner asking if I had any Fume Blanc on the rack as he was doing spicy shrimp as the starter and Fume Blanc is a good pairing for it.

"Spicy Shrimp with Mint Sauce"

I checked the rack and saw a 2003 Robert Mondavi "To Kalon" Fume Blanc that I’d been saving for a special occasion. I informed that I did indeed have a Fume Blanc and would bring it. We had this wine back in 2008 - http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/07/saturday-night-amy-isnt-part-1.html and both Mick and I really enjoyed. I’d been keeping this bottle for a special occasion but with it being a 2003, I was getting concerned that it might be getting a little long in the tooth and figured now was a good time for it. As I grabbed it out of the wine fridge, I noticed that the colour seemed a little dark through the frosted glass bottle and was worried it was past its prime. I grabbed a 2004 Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc out of the fridge as a backup bottle just in case there was an issue with the Mondavi.

"It was a good Fume..."

We got to Mick and Amy’s just as Mick was firing up the grill for the shrimp so I opened the Mondavi. As I poured the wine out, I knew I was in trouble, as the colour was a deep amber colour and not the pale straw yellow that Fume Blanc usually is. I nosed and tasted the wine and my fears were confirmed; the wine was toast. I grabbed the Chateau St. Jean, opened it and poured it out.

"Spicy Shrimp close-up!"

The Chateau St. Jean was much better; the colour was the pale straw yellow I was expecting and it had a faint nose of vanilla, pear and loam. Tasting the wine you were rewarded by a nice soft rounded mouth feel with a lime and vanilla favour running throughout. This wine was extremely easy to drink. It paired well with the spicy shrimp and we killed the bottle very quickly. My one small complaint about the wine was it could have been a touch more acidic.

"Back-up bottle kick's ass!"

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 90, Mark – 90, Kathy – 85, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.25.
　
My wife’s rating was much lower that Mick and my ratings as she likes and expects a Fume Blanc to have really good acidity in it, if that is not there then ‘no good rating for you!’.
　
Here is the LCBO information on the wine –
　
CHÂTEAU ST. JEAN FUMÉ BLANC 2008
VINTAGES 537639
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 20.95
Wine, White Wine
13.6% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Foster'S Wine Estates Americas
Release Date: Apr 3, 2010
　
Description - TASTING NOTE: Intense smoke and honeysuckle aromatics mingle well together, leading to crisp and refreshing lemon, tangerine and yellow apple flavors on a medium body, with good acidity. The smoke flavors persist on the finish. Drink now. Score - 88. (MaryAnn Worobiec, www.winespectator.com, Web Only - 2010)
*Please note that the wine listing is the 2008 and not the 2004 we had.

I was pleased about how good the Chateau St. Jean was but I was a little bitter about the Mondavi. Lesson learned – find a white that really I like, drink now and don’t hold it for a ‘special occasion’.

Click here for Part 2