Saturday Night – What was that 3rd wine we had? – Part 1

Kathy and I were doing some shopping in Burlington on Saturday afternoon and decided to visit the LCBO while we were out there.  My lovely wife spotted 3 bottles of 2009 Robert Mondavi “To Kalon” Fume Blanc.  Mick and I have been huge fans of earlier versions of “To Kalon” Fume so I grabbed all three bottles.  We picked up some other wines as well and Kathy sent Amy a text when we got home mentioning our purchases.  It wasn’t long after that Mick called saying he’d heard a rumor about 3 bottles of “To Kalon” which I confirmed.  He added that a bottle of it would be great for a pairing for one of the courses he had planned for the tonight’s dinner.  I said I would happily bring one along. 

The thing I forgot about “To Kalon” is “To Kalon” is Latin for “I’m going to f^%k you up” … as the wine is evil – 14.5% alcohol and it goes down like Kool-Aid.  We weren’t feeling much pain by the time we hit the 3rd bottle of wine for the night.  Amy’s penmanship for the notes on the 3rd bottle of wine was so bad that I’m sure it could be used in a Public Service Announcement - “If your writing is this bad when you're drunk, imagine how dangerous you’d be behind the wheel of a car – Don’t Drink and Drive.”

We had the “To Kalon” with the second course but I will get to that in more detail in Part 2.  Mick started us off with a new barbequed Potato skins recipe and paired this with a 2006 Perrin and Fils. Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The nose on the wine was dominated by strawberry aromas with eucalyptus and clove aromas in the background.  Tasting the wine, cherry and raspberry flavours jumped out at you with a hint of black pepper sneaking around in the background.  I found the wine a little sharp on its own but with the potatoes skins with their bacon, cheese and creamy BBQ sauce toppings they neutralized the sharpness completely and the wine made an awesome pairing.

Here is the group rating for the wine –Mick – 88, Mark – 87, Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

PERRIN AND FILS LES SINARDS CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE (V)

VINTAGES 926626
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 34.95
Made in: Rhône, France
By: Perrin & Fils
Release Date: Apr 18, 2012
Style: Full-bodied & Smooth
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Blend - Other
Sugar Content: 4 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Description  - DID YOU KNOW? Some of the grapes for this were sourced at Perrin's great Château de Beaucastel estate. The Perrin family are without question the dominant, and one of the finest, producers in the southern Rhône. FLAVOUR & STYLE: Packed with fine aromas such as blackberry, cranberry, sour cherry and tobacco. FOOD MATCH: Fine Dining: roast leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic.

Mick mentioned that the potato skins were a lot of prep work, I liked them but I’m not sure they were worth the amount of effort he had to put into them.

Click here for Part 2