Saturday Night – Happy Birthday Jan! – Part 2

The next course was French Onion Soup with homemade croutons and paired with a Henri of Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc.

I hadn’t done this recipe in a while and was looking forward to it.  Mid-way through finely chopping up eight large onions, I remembered why I hadn’t done this in a long time.  A few years ago I did a very large batch for my annual Tax Season lunch at the firm I work at.  That large batch needed 32 large onions.  By the end of doing that I had tears streaming down my face and worse, the cat which had been hanging out in the kitchen keeping me company looked up at me from the floor and she too had tears streaming down the front of her furry little face.  I felt bad for her and I think that episode made me gun-shy about doing this recipe again.

On the upside, the soup was so damn good it was more than worth the tears this time!

The nose on the Henri of Sancerre was also huge for what I was expecting (seems to be a theme for the night) with a dominate gooseberry aroma with cotton candy and lychee aromas lurking in the background.  As the wine warmed up, cat’s pee, lime and lilac aromas were to be found there as well.  Tasting the wine, there was a lovely and refreshing pink grapefruit flavour to it.  Structure-wise  the wine had good acidity but not as much I was expecting but was very smooth and easy drinking but the finish didn’t linger at all.  It was a great pairing however with the French onion soup. 

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 89, Mark - 90, Kathy – 89, Amy – 88, Overall – 89.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

HENRI BOURGEOIS LES BARONNES SANCERRE (V)

VINTAGES 542548
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 24.95
Made in: Loire, France
By: Henri Bourgeois
Release Date: Apr 18, 2012
Style: Aromatic & Flavourful
Wine, White Wine
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Sugar Content: 4 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Description  - DID YOU KNOW? Sauvignon Blanc is the only grape permitted in Sancerre white wines. Henri Bourgeois winery has been making wines for 10 generations. FLAVOUR & STYLE: Explosive classic Savvy aromas and flavours of gooseberry, grapefruit and fresh herbs, with an exceptionally long finish. FOOD MATCH: Everyday: grilled shrimp skewers. Takeout: sushi. Fine Dining: raw oysters, grilled tuna steaks.

I have two small complaints about this wine – Price and Labeling.  At $25 it is a touch pricier compared to New Zealand and South African counterparts (though it is consistently year after year a great wine so it isn’t too hard to justify the $25 price tag).  For the Labeling, the older bottles used to be in a distinct green label with gold lettering… I could spot it 20 feet away and now they have move to the more modern looking black and white label.  The new labeling looks better/more modern which is a plus but I miss the old labels as it was much easier to find.

Click here for Part 3