Saturday Night – Amy, in the Kitchen, with the Wine Bottle – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the main course Mick did a mix grill of steak and sausage with grilled veggies and baked potatoes. He paired this with a 2008 Concha y Toro "Terrunyo" Carmenere.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the bottle was impressive due to its weight but it was also nicely wrapped in branded tissue paper, the cork was also a higher quality one so I have to give bonus point here for great presentation.  The nose was big and easy to find with aromas of hot chocolate with marshmallows, green pepper and a touch of nutmeg.  Tasting the wine, cocoa is the dominate flavour with blackberry, green pepper and some earthiness in the background.  Structure-wise is where this wine breaks down a bit as the tannin levels were much higher than the acidity levels which made the wine comes across very dry.  Thankfully with the steak and the sausage the tannin was neutralized quite a bit so it made a pretty good pairing with the food.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 89, Mark – 89, Kathy – 88, Amy – 89, Overall – 88.75.

There was no LCBO information on the wine, but a quick web search put the wine in the $24-44 range with the average price closer to $34.  For a $34 dollar wine this is a pretty good value as you usually don’t find the branded tissue paper, heavy bottle and high quality cork in a sub $60 wine that often, so from a gift giving perspective this wine would give you a lot of bang for your buck.  This is also a wine that cellaring for five more years or so will cause the tannin to soften some more and it will be that much better due to this.

 

I want to add that the steak Mick did was cooked and marinated to perfection.  Mick grabbed the marinade recipe from a fajita recipe.  The marinade had cilantro, garlic, orange juice and spices and it really made the steak flavourful and tender; probably one of the better steaks I have had in a while.

 

For dessert Amy picked up a dark chocolate based cake.  The cake was an even better pairing with the wine than the main course was (for those of us who still had some left!). 

 

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and Mick for all his hard work in making three wonderful courses.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

November Wine Club – Carménère

This month Wine Club got together for our final regular meeting of this session and will wrap up this final session next month with a ‘bonus’ tasting. This month we looked at two Carménère’s from Chile. The San Pedro 1865 was the take home bottle and the Calina was the comparison bottle.

"Crappy pictures like this is why Amy is the official Zippy Sauce Photographer and not me!"

Here is LCBO Information for both of them -


SAN PEDRO 1865 SINGLE VINEYARD CARMENÈRE 2008

VINTAGES 249201
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Maule Valley, Chile
By: Vina Tarapaca Ex Zavala
Release Date: Sep 17, 2011

Tasting Note - Complex and very flavourful Carménère with aromas of coconut oil, cassis, plum, underbrush, cloves and pipe tobacco. Dry, plush and fruity with velvety tannins. Very good aroma replays, with nice acidity wrapped around the fruit to make it beautifully lively. A refined, fruity/savoury wine with a very long finish. Enjoy with hearty ratatouille, rabbit stew, grilled eggplant or bison steaks. (VINTAGES panel, July 2011)

CALINA RESERVA CARMENÈRE 2009

VINTAGES 951079
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Central Valley, Chile
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Aug 20, 2011

Tasting Note - The 2009 Vina Calina Carmenere Reserva is a blend of 80 percent Carmenere, 12 percent Merlot, 5 percent Syrah, and 3 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. After a short maceration, the juice was fermented and transferred to an equal percentage of French and American oak barrels, of which only 15 percent were new. This winemaking technique avoided extracting carmenere's natural herbaceousness and overwhelming the fruit flavors with new oak accents. Black fruit and mild smoky aromas greet the nose, and black plum and blackberry flavors are carried on a velvety body that finishes in a pleasing, balanced finish. (John Foy, nj.com, Sept. 8, 2010)

The first time Wine Club look at Carménère was way back in the first session so it has been a number of years since we had it. Physically there was quite a difference between the two wines as the Calina was in a normal bottle whereas the 1865 came in a very heavy glass bottle like you would find more often in higher end wines. The 1865 bottle was also nicely wrapped in custom 1865 tissue paper. The heavy bottle and tissue paper isn’t something I’d expect from a $20 bottle of wine and it made a nice impression on everyone.

The aromas for both wines were easy to find but quite different from each other. The Calina had aromas of cocoa, raspberry and plum and the 1865’s aromas were black currant, strawberry, licorice and pine needle. Tasting the Calina you find a blueberry and tobacco flavours with high amounts of acidity. The 1865 had much more fruit flavours to it with currant, strawberry and lime notes. The 1865 had less acidity and more tanning to it and combined with the big fruit gave this wine a much bigger mouth-feel and better balance to it than the Calina. I liked both wines but thought the 1865 was easily the better wine of the two and more than justified extra $4 of sticker price.

Sean, one of our Wine Club members, was nice enough to bring in some food for us to have with the wine. He did Nan bread with olive oil, garlic, stir-fried mixed sweet peppers, onions and chicken and then topped with melted cheese. The food with excellent and went very well with both wines.

Eight of the ten Wine Club members preferred the 1865, one was torn equally between both of them and one liked the Calina better.

This session was a very good one and I’m already looking forward to the bonus tasting next month.

Cheers!

Mark

Wine Club recap

About four months ago Adam (a co-worker) and I formed a Wine Club at work. Wine Club consists of 11 people (including myself) who each pay $25 per month for six months. Each month we get in a case of wine, split a bottle eleven ways in a tasting and then everyone takes a bottle home with them. We take turns bringing in food to go with the wine. Depending on the cost of the wine we may also pick-up a single bottle or two to try at the tasting as well.

We have also set a goal to never repeat a grape or a region in the six months.

This past Thursday was the fifth meeting of Wine Club which I'll cover in my next post. Here is a write up of the wines and food we have had so far.

1st Meeting -

“The Hermit Crab” 2005 VIOGNIER/MARSANNE by D’Arenbreg

LCBO Information

Stock Number – 662775
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 16.95 ($16.75 + $.20 deposit)
Made in: South Australia, Australia
By: D'Arenberg Wines
Release Date: Apr 14, 2007

Tasting Note: A blend of 70% Viognier and 30% Marsanne, the lovely 2005 The Hermit Crab exhibits notes of honeysuckle, apple blossom, and litchi nuts in its medium-bodied, dry, exuberant, even flamboyant style. It also displays some restraint and elegance. Drink it over the next 1-2 years. Score - 90 (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Oct. 2006)

This was paired with Hummus and Pita and Wendy(another co-worker) brought in Fried Wontons and Guacamole. The Viognier on first taste was smooth and easy drinking, but the wine was amazing with the food, the fruit in the wine just came alive. The 2005 is sold out at the LCBO as of a couple of months ago but the 2006 has just been released recently. I have picked up two bottles of it and can't wait to try it.

2nd Meeting

“Casillero Del Diablo” CARMENERE by Concha Y Toro

LCBO Information

Stock Number – 620666
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 12.65 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Chile
By: Concha Toro S.A.
Release Date: N/A

Tasting NoteDeep ruby coloured; aromas of ripe red berry, toasted wood, smoke and capsicum; medium-bodied, silky and ripe, it offers flavours of ripe fruit and hints of tobacco, smoke and wood.

Serving Suggestion: Beef roast with red wine reduction, barbecued ribs

I had a bottle of Carmenere on the rack from Concha Y Toro and donated it to Wine Club so we could see what the difference between them were.

LCBO Information

CONCHA Y TORO WINEMAKER'S LOT CARMENÈRE 2005
VINTAGES 30957
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Wendy brought in some BBQ ribs and chicken to go with the Carmenere and I brought in some aged cheddar and St. Agur Blue Cheese. The biggest difference between the two wines was smell... the Wine Maker's Lot had a good bouquet great straight from the bottle where as the Diablo's was flat. The Diablo after about 20 minutes 'opened up' and at that point it was difficult to tell the two apart. The wines were ok with the Chicken and the Cheddar, good with the Ribs and really good with the St. Agur Blue Cheese. The St. Agur cheese was the hit of the meeting.

3rd Meeting

FLAT ROCK CELLARS CHARDONNAY 2004
LCBO Information

Stock Number – 681247
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 16.95 ($16.95 + $.20 deposit)
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Flat Rock Cellars
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2007

Description: Flavours of fresh herbs and green apple are balanced by a rich mouth-feel and a hint of mild oak. These elements, coupled with mouth-watering acidity make this classic, cool-climate Chardonnay an ideal food wine. Try pairing it with rich fish dishes like poached salmon with a creamy herb aioli. It is also an excellent example of Ontario's ability to produce good-value-for-the- money Chardonnays.

FLAT ROCK CELLARS CHARDONNAY 2006 (NON-OAKED)

Is not available via the LCBO, and it only available from Flat Rock directly. See website for directions: - http://www.flatrockcellars.com/index.html

CATHEDRAL CELLAR CHARDONNAY 2004

LCBO Information

Stock Number – 328559
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 14.95 ($14.95 + $.20 deposit)
Made in: South Africa, South Africa
By: KWV Wines
Release Date: Dec 9, 2006

Tasting Note: To date, all showy, powerful. 04 has wealth of flavours, from intense ripe fruit, generous oaking: toffee, dried peach, bread & butter pudding; with house-style silky texture, making for irresistible drinkability. 8 months new French [oak]. Score - **** (out of 5) (Christine Rudman, John Platter South African Wines 2006)

I brought in Smoked Salmon, with Cream Cheese, Bagel Crisps, Red Onion, Cucumber, Capers and Lemon wedges as this is one of my favourite food and wine pairings on the planet. This wine was chosen by Adam. He and his family went to Flat Rock Cellars and tried the Oaked and Unoaked Chardonnay. He picked up a case of the Unoaked as that was the preferred and 1 bottle of the Oaked. The Cathedral Cellar was a bottle I picked up as it was the favourite white in a recent Calgary wine tasting competition. All three wines were very different but all were great with the Smoked Salmon. The Flat Rock Unoaked was crisp and had a nice hit of citrus while the Flat Rock Oaked was filled with green apple and pear and a touch of oak. The Cathedral Cellar was a big buttery Chardonnay. Everyone's opinions on the wines were all over the place and there wasn't a clear winner.

4th Meeting -

“Gimblett Road” MERLOT by C. J Pask
LCBO Information

Stock Number – 9134
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 14.85 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: New Zealand
By: C.J. Pask Winery Limited
Release Date: N/A

“OKANAGAN” MERLOT V.Q.A. by JACKSON-TRIGGS

LCBO Information

Stock Number – 543876
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 14.50 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: British Columbia, Canada
By: VINCOR INTERNATIONAL INC. - B.C.
Release Date: N/A

Tasting Note: Deep red violet; rich vanilla, cooked cherry, peppercorn and spice aromas; dry, medium-full bodied, lush, with fine balancing tannins and flavours of ripe berry, vanilla and toast; long finish.

Serving SuggestionRare beef, grilled steak or lamb.

“FOUNDER’S ESTATE” MERLOT by Beringer

LCBO Information

Stock Number – 534255
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 19.95 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: California, United States
By: BERINGER VINEYARDS
Release Date: N/A

Tasting Note: Ruby garnet colour; red berry aromas with light oak notes; dry, medium-bodied palate with fine tannins on the finish

Serving Suggestion: Beef stroganoff

The CJ Pask Merlot was the winner in the Merlot catergory at the Calgary tasting that recommended the Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay, so we picked up a case of it. I also purchased a bottle of Jackson Triggs Merlot from BC as I'd been reading good things about the Okanagan region. The Founders Estate Merlot is a personal favourite so I added it to the tasting. Merlot is such a diverse grape and I was hoping to show that with the 3 different bottles. Monica (another co-worker) prepared a Tomato-based Pasta and I brought in some store bought Chocolate Fudge cookies that my wife and I tried earlier with a bottle of the CJ Pask Merlot that went really well with them. None of the Merlots were amazing with the Pasta which is funny as usually I've found Merlot and Pasta to be a pretty good pairing. The only Merlot that worked with the cookies was the CJ Pask. The Jackson Triggs Merlot from BC was crap.

Wine club has been a ton of fun and it has been exciting to try a number of value priced wines from many different countries. I'm finding even if I'm not blown away by the wine, it is still been a great experience at each meeting.

Cheers!

Mark