Two weeks ago I mentioned that I have a number of reds that are getting past their prime and needed to be drunk so I did an all Merlot night to use up some of them. Last night I went with an all Cabernet Sauvignon night to use up some older cabs.
With Cabernet Sauvignon as the wine of the night it was easy to come up with the main course (beef) and dessert (chocolate) as both of those foods pair very well with Cab. I did however need an appetizer to start things off so I did a web search and found this recipe –
http://www.matchmywine.com/index.php?mod=match&p=details&id=352 for Blue Cheese and thyme poppers. As this was a new recipe I decided to hedge my bets and also make Asiago wrapped in Prosciutto as another appetizer in case the poppers didn’t work out so well.
I had three Cabs on tap for the night, 1999 Rutherford Ranch, 2002 Vina Robles, 2002 KJ Grand Reserve but will review them one at a time. The first review will be of the 1999 Rutherford Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.
The nose on this wine was complex with cherry, chocolate, cocoa, evergreen and some cedar lurking in the background. Tasting the wine the cherry flavour carried over from the nose but it was more a medicinal cherry flavour than a fresh cherry flavour. The tannins were very soft to almost non-existent whereas the acidity was higher than I would have liked. The wine also had a very thin mouth-feel and disappeared almost instantly on the finish. If I blind tasted this wine, I would have guessed it to be a Sangiovese rather than a Cabernet Sauvignon. It wasn’t a bad pairing with either of the appetizers so that was a plus.
Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 84, Mark - 84, Kathy – 85, Amy – 85, Overall – 84.5.
Here is the LCBO information on the wine –
RUTHERFORD RANCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008
VINTAGES 73817
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, USA
By: Rutherford Wine Company
Release Date: Sep 3, 2011
Description - A fantastic value from Napa Valley, this ready-to-drink Cabernet includes small amounts of Merlot, Syrah and Petite Sirah, adding to its depth and appeal. It features ripe blackcurrant, cherry, cedar box and cinnamon notes wrapped in sweet, silky tannins leading to a lengthy finish. Enjoy over the next four years partnered with lamb chops or herb-crusted roast beef.
As you can probably tell by the fact the LCBO is selling the 2008 and we had a 1999 that I had this bottle on the rack for a few years and hence my urgency to drink it now.
The Blue Cheese and thyme poppers were pretty good but were missing that little something to make them stand out. Mick suggested less thyme and we kicked around the idea of melting shredded aged Cheddar at the end of the baking. I also think that switching from Stilton to Danish blue might be interesting as that would have given them more bite. The one good thing was the poppers were a great pairing with both the Rutherford Ranch and the Vina Robles as both wines got better with the poppers than on their own.
Click here for Part 2
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