Mick broke out a new recipe "Jerk Shrimp" to which I replied, "Yeah, I know you made them but what is the name of the recipe?" Thankfully Mick has a good sense of humour about these things.
He paired this course with two different Rieslings, 2007 Max Ferd. Richter Kabinett Riesling and 2008 Kung Fu Girl Riesling. This double pairing was also used for the second course as well. We have reviewed both of these wines before and decided not to review them again.
The "Jerk Shrimp" was good and the Max Riesling was easily the better pairing as the Kung Fu Girl got a touch funky at times with the food. The "Jerk Shrimp" recipe was pretty good but Mick with grilled shrimp has set the bar pretty damn high so I can’t say this was the best shrimp he has ever done but they would be in the top 5.
The second course was Honey Ginger Chicken Satay with the above pairings. Once again the Max Ferd. Richter Riesling was the better pairing but it was closer this time and the Kung Fu Girl was a decent pairing.
The main course was a new BBQ Chicken Wing recipe and Mick paired this with a 2008 Sebastiani Zinfandel. These BBQ Chicken Wings were different as Mick usually does his wings in more of a drier style and these were quite saucy. They were a nice change of pace but Mick, as with the shrimp, has set the bar very high for chicken wing recipes and these weren’t the best wings he has ever made. On the other hand I did clean almost every scrap of meat and skin of these tasty treats.
The nose on the Zinfandel was big with blackberry, butterscotch and menthol aromas with traces of plum in the background. Tasting the wine, you’ll find lots of wild berry flavours and some vanilla lurking there too. This wine was a huge fruit bomb on the nose and in the mouth but in a good way as I was very easy to drink and went great with the ribs. It reminded me of 2000-2003 Rosenblum Zinfandel. I like the more complex Zinfandels like Seghesio but it was a very nice change to get back to a more straightforward one like this.
Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 87, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.25.
Here is the LCBO information on this wine –
SEBASTIANI ZINFANDEL 2008
VINTAGES 672667
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Sebastiani Vineyards
Release Date: Jun 25, 2011
Description - Wine & Spirits magazine, and Tim Fish of the Wine Spectator, each scored this superbly priced Zin 88 points.
Tasting Note - Quite lithe and lively for Zinfandel with very engaging notes of red cherry, raspberry pie, plum and cinnamon toast on the nose. The palate is dry and medium-full bodied with a bright acidity and well integrated, balanced ripe tannins. Impressively structured with lots of fruit without being jammy. Very nicely made. Perfect for beef kebabs or lasagna. (VINTAGES panel, April 2011)
Interestingly enough we have reviewed this exact Zinfandel before back in July and I had forgotten about it -
Six months later we all went up exactly one point in our rating and the Blackberry notes on the nose are on both but from there the characteristics on the wine vary greatly. Not sure if the six month of addition aging made the difference, the bottles weren’t from the same barrel, or the food made the difference or all of these reasons but the two reviews were quite different.
For dessert, Amy picked up a Baco Chocolate Cake which was a nice way to end the evening. Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for the three great new recipes.
Cheers!
Mark
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