Saturday Night – It’s Saturday Night! – Part 3

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The main course of the evening was a shrimp creole recipe and Mick paired this with a 2012 Charles and Charles Rosé.

 

The nose on the wine was easy to find with big aromas of strawberry, acacia and soap.  Tasting the wine, under ripe strawberry was the main flavour with raspberry and lemon in the background.  The structure was nicely balanced but the wine was a bit odd that it was cloying at one time and then chalky at another.  I’m guessing the different flavour of the food were what caused that cloying/chalky thing to happen.  The wine wasn’t bad on its own but was really good with the food.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 88, Mark – 89, Kathy – 86, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.5.

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

 

Charles & Charles Dry Rosé 2012
VINTAGES#: 340521
Price: $13.75
Release Date: July 6, 2013
750 mL bottle
Alcohol/Vol12.9%
Made in:Washington State, USA
By:Sutter Home Winery
Sugar Content:11 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry
Style: Medium-bodied & Dry
Varietal: Rosé – Dry

 

Description - This blend of 81% Syrah, 16% Mourvedre, 2% Cinsault and 1% Grenache offers aromas and flavours of strawberry, cherry and a stony minerality. Charles and Charles would like you to know that (and we quote), 'Yes you can drink rosé and still be a bad#ss'. All joking aside, these unconventional dudes know their stuff: the 2011 scored 90 points and was rated #42 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 Values of 2011. This is perfect for grilled salmon.

 

For $14 a bottle this wine is a very good deal – easy to drink and very food friendly.  The shrimp creole dish was a new one and it was exceptionally good; I don’t think anyone add a drop remaining on their dish at the end of the dinner.

 

To wrap up the night, Amy picked up cupcakes which were well received by everyone.

 

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting dinner and to Mick for all his hard work; it was nice getting back to a normal Saturday night after this extended break.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – Everything is Rosé – Part 2

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The main course was a new recipe which Mick found from the Beer Bistro Cookbook – Chicken wings in a honey brown ale sauce with fresh cut fries.  Mick paired this with a 2010 Montes Cherub Syrah Rosé from Chile.

 

The nose on the wine was a milder as you did have to swirl the glass a bit to bring it to life and were rewarded with a nice mix of nutmeg, cranberry juice, strawberry and ginger ale.  Tasting the wine, you’ll find flavors of strawberry, sage and pepper.  The structure on the wine was good, not overly acidic or tannic with a nice lingering finish.  The wine was pretty easy drinking but did come across slightly tart at times.  I was surprised at how good of a pairing the wine was with the wings as the cumin flavour on the wings was quite dominate but the wine handled it effortlessly. 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 88, Mark – 88 Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.5.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

MONTES CHERUB SYRAH ROSE
LCBO 317982
750 mL bottle
SEASONAL/LIMITED QUANTITIES
Price $ 11.95
Made in: Region Not Specified, Chile
By: Montes S.A.
Wine, Rosé Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Rose
Sugar Content: 6 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

At $12 a bottle this wine is a very good value and with how well it worked with the wings, I could imagine a number of different food this wine would be a solid pairing for.

The wings were cooked to perfection, I liked the sauce but Mick has made better wing sauces so not sure I’d be in a rush to re-visit this particular one soon.

While Mick and Amy were away on vacation, I made cinnamon buns for the first time and Amy was a little pissed at me that she missed them.  As Amy is the official Zippy Sauce Photographer, I always want to keep her happy, so I agreed to make another batch for them.  I also brought my last bottle of 2005 Henry of Pelham Botrytis Affected Riesling to go with the cinnamon buns .  We have reviewed this wine before so I won’t go into much detail other than to say it has only gotten better with age and it was certain no slouch when we first tried it.

I really enjoyed the wide range of wines we had tonight and I am also thinking that I really should pick up some more Rosés in the near future as they are quite good in taste and price point. 

Thanks to Mick for the great dishes and both Mick and Amy for hosting another wonderful Saturday night dinner.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Just grin and Beer it – Part 2

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For the second course Mick did honey and chipotle bacon wrapped scallops grilled on the barbeque. We paired this with a 2010 Chateau d’Aqueria Tavel Rosé. I bought this wine as a pairing as this was the comparison bottle for Wine Club when we looked at Rosés. As we really enjoy the Wine Club take home bottle at last Saturday’s dinner and at Wine Club the Tavel was the favourite hands down over that bottle, I wanted Mick, Amy and Kathy to try it as well.

The nose on the Tavel was faint with sour cherry and a slight soapy aroma in the background. Tasting the wine, sour cherry and lime were the dominate flavours. The structure on the wine was good though it did have a bit of a sharp finish to it. With the food the sharp finish was more muted but I did find it got a bit funky with the food at times. I would guess the sweetness of the honey would be what caused the funkiness with the dry Rosé.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 86, Kathy – 86, Amy – 83, Overall – 85.25.

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine -

CHÂTEAU D'AQUÉRIA TAVEL ROSÉ 2010

VINTAGES 319368
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, Rosé Wine
12.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Rhône, France
By: Jean Olivier, Prod.
Release Date: May 14, 2011

Tasting Note - Tavel, an AC located across the Rhône River from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, uniquely makes rosé wines its exclusive focus. This version offers up fresh strawberry, sweet cherry, rosehips, and spring flowers in abundance. Dry, light bodied, fresh and tangy on the palate with waves of vivacious acidity. The lingering finish sports a strawberry-rhubarb character embroidered by herbal and floral notes. Enjoy with salmon-and-cream-cheese appetizers, or turkey breast with paprika. (VINTAGES panel, March 2011)

For the final course Mick did pulled pork quesadillas and paired them with a 2006 Seghesio Zinfandel. We have reviewed the 2006 Seghesio before so I won’t be reviewing it again today. I will add that both the wine and the quesadillas were excellent.

For dessert Amy picked up a Milky Way cake that was very good.

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for making three new exciting dishes for us to try.

Cheers! (or maybe for this article “Beers!” would be a better ending)

Mark

Saturday – Summer is here! Part 1

Ah the sounds of Jackhammers tearing up our roads and corn on the cob back at the supermarket; that can only mean that summer is back! It was our turn to host the usual Saturday dinner with Mick and Amy and with the nice weather, I wanted to do a summer menu.

The starter for the night was Kettle chip Salmon bites and I paired this with a 2010 Bardolino Chiaretto Rosé from Zenato. The recipe was from a colour brochure that the LCBO put out spotlighting Rosé wine.

The nose on the Zenato Rosé was easy to find with aromas of lime and strawberry. Tasting the wine on its own, I found it to have a yeasty lemon flavor to it. The structure on the wine was decent but it was a touch on the acidic side but the crisp bite to the wine did make it very refreshing. It made a very good pairing with the Salmon bites and I was actually a bit shocked at how quickly the four of us killed the whole bottle.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 87, Kathy – 87, Amy – 86, Overall – 86.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

ZENATO BARDOLINO CHIARETTO 2010


VINTAGES 45203
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 11.95
Wine, Rosé Wine
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Veneto, Italy
By: Azienda Vinicola Zenato
Release Date: May 14, 2011

Tasting Note - This delightful candy-apple-coloured wine is made from the same grape varieties as Valpolicella - Corvina, Molinara, and Rondinella. Lively aromas of cherry, strawberry and blood orange greet the nose, along with a nice minerality and a lifted floral note. Dry, medium bodied with plenty of zippy acidity, it offers tart and tangy fruit to start, but sweeter notes emerge mid-palate and throughout the medium-long, crisp finish. Enjoy with crab cakes, or Portobello mushroom sandwiches with provolone cheese. (VINTAGES panel, March 2011)

The Kettle chip Salmon bites were really good, though a touch too lemony at times; it had both lemon juice and lemon zest in it. If I did this recipe again, I would cut the lemon zest by half to bring out more of the other flavours like capers, shallots and garlic.

Click here for Part 2

May Wine Club – Rosé

This month’s Wine Club meeting kicked off the latest six month session of Wine Club. I was pleased that everyone re-upped from the last session, so hopefully that means everyone is enjoying it as much as I am. When I started this Wine Club a few years back, I was committed to trying as many different regions, grapes and styles of wines as I could. That commitment to diversity has paid large dividends as I have found many a grape/region that were wonderful that I wouldn’t have on my own. The wines that we were tasting today was a Rosé from Italy as the take home bottle and a Rosé from French as a comparison bottle.

Here is the LCBO information on the wines –


ZENATO BARDOLINO CHIARETTO 2010


VINTAGES 45203
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 11.95
Wine, Rosé Wine
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Veneto, Italy
By: Azienda Vinicola Zenato
Release Date: May 14, 2011

Tasting Note - This delightful candy-apple-coloured wine is made from the same grape varieties as Valpolicella - Corvina, Molinara, and Rondinella. Lively aromas of cherry, strawberry and blood orange greet the nose, along with a nice minerality and a lifted floral note. Dry, medium bodied with plenty of zippy acidity, it offers tart and tangy fruit to start, but sweeter notes emerge mid-palate and throughout the medium-long, crisp finish. Enjoy with crab cakes, or portobello mushroom sandwiches with provolone cheese. (VINTAGES panel, March 2011)


CHÂTEAU D'AQUÉRIA TAVEL ROSÉ 2010


VINTAGES 319368
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, Rosé Wine
12.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Rhône, France
By: Jean Olivier, Prod.
Release Date: May 14, 2011

Tasting Note - Tavel, an AC located across the Rhône River from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, uniquely makes rosé wines its exclusive focus. This version offers up fresh strawberry, sweet cherry, rosehips, and spring flowers in abundance. Dry, light bodied, fresh and tangy on the palate with waves of vivacious acidity. The lingering finish sports a strawberry-rhubarb character embroidered by herbal and floral notes. Enjoy with salmon-and-cream-cheese appetizers, or turkey breast with paprika. (VINTAGES panel, March 2011)

I have been reluctant to try Rosé in the past as whenever I see it I think of White Zinfandel (or fun wine as I joking call it) from California.

I brought in a selection of Cheese and Crackers and some roasted Red Pepper dip to accompany the two wines.

Nosing the two wines, I was surprise to find the Zenato (the less expensive to the two) had the better nose. The nose on the Zenato had powerful aromas of grapefruit and strawberry whereas the Tavel had strawberry and gooseberry aromas though they were much softer on the nose and harder to find. Tasting the wines, the Zenato had flavours of lime and strawberry but the alcohol of the wine made it seem a touch hot. The Tavel on the tasting really shined with it apricot and herb flavours and its structure was much more balanced than the ‘hot’ Zenato. The fact that Tavel balanced the 14% alcohol better than the Zenato did with 12% alcohol probably accounts for why it is $7 more. I liked the Zenato quite a bit with the herbed Goat’s cheese, but it got a touch funky when paired with the aged cheddar. The Tavel worked very nicely with all the cheeses and both wines were good with the roasted red pepper dip.

I liked both of the wines, though I will give a definite edge to the French Rosé and could see myself happily killing a bottle or two on a warm summer’s day on the patio. On the other hand I wasn’t blown away by either and don’t see myself rushing out to buy tons more.

It was fun trying something completely new and I’m already looking forward to next month where we will be taking a look at two Spanish Riojas.

Cheers!

Mark