Saturday Night – A nice, normal Saturday – Part 2

The main course for the evening was Oyster Po’ Boys and these tasty sandwiches were paired with a 2011 Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc.  The 2010 Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc was certainly one of my winning wines for 2012 and we easily brought more than a case of this wonderfully valued wine so I was curious to see how the 2011 would be.

 

The nose was a pleasant mix of wet hay, lemon grass, stone fruit, peach and grapefruit.  Tasting the wine, you initially get mango as the dominate flavour but it finishes grapefruit.  I liked the big mouth-feel this wine had but was a bit disappoint at the finish as it came across sharper at times than I would have liked.  It was more a New Zealand styled Sauvignon Blanc (big and fruit driven) vs. the 2010 which was more of a French style (crisp and precise).   So depending on your preference you may like this more or less than the 2010.  I tend to lean toward the French style so I was a touch disappointed but still believe this is a very solid wine for its price point.  The wine did make a good pairing with the Oyster Po’ Boys.

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –
GRAHAM BECK SAUVIGNON BLANC 2011
VINTAGES 948620
750 mL bottle
Price $ 14.95
Made in: Coastal Region, South Africa
By: Graham Beck Wines
Release Date: May 25, 2013
Style: Aromatic & Flavourful
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Sugar Content: 2 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note -  Q: What do lime, asparagus, peach, white pepper spice, and a bright minerality have in common? A: They are the aromas that you will find in this complex and delightfully aromatic wine. The well integrated flavour replays score multiple bonus points, while the crisp acidity keeps the wine lively and fresh. Next question: What to eat? A: Grilled prawns, shrimp, white fish, or salads with chopped kiwi, mango, and apples. (VINTAGES panel, June 2012)

The price has gone up a dollar since the 2010 vintage but at $15 this is a very solid wine that can hold its own with Sauvignon Blanc in a $20 price point.  Do yourself a favour and pick some up.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – House bound

Mick and Amy have missed the last two Saturday night dinners as they were in Jamaica for vacation.  So I was looking forward to getting together with them for this past Saturday.  It was supposed to be my turn to host but unfortunately Amy broke her ankle in Jamaica and didn’t want to attempt to walk/limp/crawl home drunk at the end of the night.  We decided to make things simple and just ordered in some Sushi at Mick and Amy’s house.

 

As we were having Sushi that meant it was time for a sparkling wine to pair with this and I had a new one for us to try – 2009 Cathedral Cellars Brut from South Africa.

While we were waiting for the Sushi to be delivered, Mick decided to augment our Sushi dinner with some fresh oysters so we cracked the wine early to go with them.

The nose on the wine was mild with rose/perfume, yeast and wet hay aromas.  Tasting the wine, pink grapefruit was the dominate flavour with a touch of tangerine in the background.  Structure-wise the wine had good acidity and a decent finish but was a kind of simple.  It was a very good pairing with the oysters and decent with the Sushi.  All in all not a bad sparkling wine but nothing about it will really jump out at you.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 85, Mark - 87, Kathy – 82, Amy – 85, Overall – 84.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

CATHEDRAL CELLAR BRUT 2009
VINTAGES 296426
750 mL bottle
Price $ 16.95
Made in: South Africa
By: KWV
Release Date: Nov 10, 2012
Wine, Sparkling Wine, White
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sparkling White
Sugar Content: 7 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

Tasting Note - Charming 2009 from refreshing, lemony chardonnay with enriching 11% pinot noir. Fine, creamy mousse; properly brut. Potential to grow. Score - 4 Stars (out of 5). (Angela Lloyd, Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2012)

I do believe my wife was being a little critical with her 82 rating but she doesn’t take price into account for her rating whereas I do.  This wine is solid enough to justify its $17 price point and I feel the 87 rating I gave it was right on the money but I can’t argue with Mick and Amy’s 85 ratings either.

It was good to have Mick and Amy back for our usual Saturday night dinner.  Amy might be switched to a walking cast this week.  That would be good as then she’ll be able to make it back and forth to our house and I can host this upcoming weekend’s Saturday night dinner and I have a new dish I been wanting to try out.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Seafood and Diablo Sliders – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting dinner this past Saturday night.  Mick had two new wines for us to review and paired them with two great dishes.

 

The first course was a mixed seafood platter of oysters, shrimp and Alaskan king crab.  Mick paired this dish with a 2011 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa.  We’ve had the 2010 version of this wine before so I was interested to see what the 2011 would be like.

The nose on the wine was a mild mix of wet hay bale, lime and wet stone aromas.  Tasting the wine, the lime aroma carried over and lime was the dominate flavour to the wine but it finish with a zesty pink grapefruit flavour to it.  The structure on the wine was good as the acidity was decent but it could have used a touch more as it came across a little flabby at times.  It was a good pairing with the food.  I was a bit disappointed with this wine as we had some truly terrific South African Sauvignon Blanc and while this one was decent, it didn’t do anything to stand out from the rest.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 86, Mark - 85, Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.5

Here is the LCBO information for this wine –

MULDERBOSCH SAUVIGNON BLANC 2011
VINTAGES 933424
750 mL bottle
Price $ 18.95
Made in: Western Cape, South Africa
By: Mulderbosch
Release Date: Nov 24, 2012
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Sugar Content: 3 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note -  A perrenial customer favourite, this Savvy brings crisp aromas and flavours of apple, citrus, garden herbs and freshly cut grass. Position this in your mind somewhere between the Loire and New Zealand style. Zippy and dry with a medium body, it's brilliantly refreshing. Quite food-flexible, this will shine alongside roast chicken, tuna steaks, herbed prawns or mild green curries. (VINTAGES panel, March 2012)

I can certainly see why the LCBO write-up called this wine ‘food-flexible’ as it was quite neutral and would work a number of different foods.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – I’m in the mood for bubbles – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

The second bottle of sparkling for the night was a 2007 Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blanc.

 

The nose on this wine was much prettier than the first with vanilla, rose and perfume aromas.  Tasting the wine, you find a pear, beer/hoppy and nutmeg flavours running the length of the wine.  It was much creamier than the Laborie as well.  There was a lot happening with this wine with its big mouth-feel and its long lingering finish.  It was a bit too much on its own but made a great pairing with the Sushi.  Even more impressive was as it warmed up, it got even better on the taste and the nose became more powerful as well.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 87, Mark - 88, Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 86.50.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

GRAHAM BECK PREMIER CUVÉE BLANC DE BLANCS BRUT 2007
VINTAGES 907568
750 mL bottle
Price $ 24.95
Made in: Robertson, South Africa
By: Graham Beck Wines
Release Date: Mar 31, 2012
Wine, Sparkling Wine, Other Sparkling Wine
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sparkling (Methode Champenoise)
Sugar Content: 10 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note  - Impressive as ever, 2007 unfolds ripe apple and citrus fruit. Rich leesy brioche underscores class. All borne on a fine, delicate mousse. Score - 4 1/2 Stars (out of 5). (Greg de Bruyn, Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2011)

We finished the night with a Reese’s Ice Cream cake from Dairy Queen which was quite good.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – I’m in the mood for bubbles – Part 1

I bought two South African sparkling wines a few months back when I picked up a number of French Champagnes.  The Champagnes are long gone and have been reviewed here on Zippy Sauce already but since then every time I went into the fridge, these two South African sparklers were staring at me.  I decided it was time for them to go.  So this past Saturday night, Mick and Amy were by for dinner and these two wines got opened to pair with the Sushi we ordered in.

 

I will review the 2009 Laborie Brut Sparkling wine first and then will review the 2007 Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blanc Sparkling wine in part 2.

The nose was easy to find on Laborie with aromas of Macintosh apple, yeast and wet cardboard.  Tasting the wine, the dominate flavour was lime with lime zest with hints of apple and nut in the background.  The wine was very crisp and refreshing but one dimensional.  Everyone preferred this wine on its own as it got a touch sharp/funky when paired with the Sushi.  The other flaw was the more this wine warmed up, the less appealing it got.  On the other hand, for $15 a bottle it was going down very nicely before the food arrived.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 86, Mark - 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

LABORIE BRUT SPARKLING WINE 2009
VINTAGES 280115
750 mL bottle
Price $ 14.70
Made in: Western Cape, South Africa
By: KWV
Release Date: Jun 23, 2012
Wine, Sparkling Wine, White
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sparkling White
Sugar Content: 8 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

Description - This is made in the time-honoured traditional method of sparkling wine, which was perfected in Champagne and is called Cap Classique in South Africa.
Tasting Note - Notes of graham cracker, orchard fruit and mineral on the nose. Quite dry with a medium body and plenty of acidity to balance the ripe fruit. The aromas replay nicely on the palate. This is a well-balanced, refreshing style of sparkling wine with a tasty, balanced finish. (VINTAGES panel, April 2012)

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Salsa for 700 people

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner.  The first course was a new recipe – crab and corn fritters with salsa.  He paired this with a 2010 Cape Point Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa.  We have reviewed this wine before so I won’t be going into too much detail on it - http://zippysauce.blogspot.ca/2012/08/saturday-night-tomato-extravaganza-part.html

 

The crab and corn fritters were very good, as was the salsa Mick made to go with it.  Mick is lucky that the salsa was so good as there was a ton leftover. He did the salsa as per recipe but it made probably 4 times more than was needed.  I’m assuming Amy will be having salsa on her cereal for the next few days and Mick with be finding other creative ways to use it up.  The wine was a decent pairing with the dish.

The main course of the evening was Mick’s chicken quesadillas and he paired them with a 2009 “The Prisoner” by winemaker Dave Phinney.  The Prisoner is a blend which contains the following - 51% Zinfandel 19% Cabernet Sauvignon 18% Syrah 7% Petite Sirah 3% Charbono 1% Grenache 1% Malbec. 

The nose on the wine was powerful with aromas of raspberry, dark chocolate, mint, cedar and nutmeg.  Tasting the wine, strawberry is the main flavour with raspberry, dark chocolate and vanilla notes in the background.  The structure was off on this wine as it came across very hot as the fruit, acidity and tannin weren’t enough to temper the high alcohol level (15.2%).  It was an OK pairing with the chicken quesadillas but the pure Zinfandels we’ve had in the past made a better pairing.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 87, Mark - 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 85, Overall – 85.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

11 THE PRISONER RED NAPA VLY (HUNEEUS)
VINTAGES 104299
750 mL bottle
Price $ 49.95
Made in: California/Californie, USA
By: Huneeus Vintners, Llc
Release Date: N/A
Wine, Red Wine
15.2% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 10 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry

* Note – this is for the 2011 and not the 2009 reviewed here.

Mick actually bought this in the US for $22.  Either the price of the wine has gone up since the 2009 was released or Mick got a really good deal on this.  When I rated this wine I thought it would be in a $30 Canadian price point based on Mick $22 US purchase price.  As $50 Canadian a bottle wine, I would probably lower my rating from 86 to 85/84 as for that money there are much better wines out there.

 

For dessert Amy picked up a Chocolate Banana cake which made a great ending to the night.

 

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for the wonderful dishes.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – Tomato Extravaganza – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner.  Mick decided on a Tomato based theme for the night as every dish contained fresh tomatoes from his garden.  Mick mentioned that most items in his garden haven’t been growing as well as they did last year except for tomatoes as he got a bumper crop of them this year.

 

The first course was brie barbequed on a cedar plank with bruschetta and toasted sliced baguette.  Mick paired this with a Bollinger’s Brut Rose Champagne (Non-vintage).  We have had this before - http://zippysauce.blogspot.ca/2012/07/friday-night-yet-another-champagne.html so I won’t be reviewing it again.  The Brie was excellent but the wine pairing was just OK.  There was a little too much lime on the flavour of the Champagne which made it seem sharp against the Brie.  Kathy thought a Merlot would be a good pairing for this dish and I think she is on the right track with that idea.

For the second course, Mick did a soup made from grilled tomatoes, onion and garlic.  Mick paired this with a Cape Point Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa. 

The nose on the Cape Point was big for a Sauvignon Blanc with aromas of Irish Spring soap, gooseberry, cat’s pee and some floral notes in the background.  Tasting the wine, vivid flavours of gooseberry and grapefruit with a touch of black licorice run the length of the wine.  The structure was good with fresh acidity, plenty of fruit but the alcohol of the wine peaked through at times making it a little hot.  The finish was a bit shorter than I would have liked but all in all a very easy drinking wine.  I liked it as a pairing with the soup as it stood up to all the different flavours of the soup without an issue.  I really enjoyed this wine, the nose and the flavours to it had me coming back for more very quickly.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –89, Mark - 90, Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 88.25.

 

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

CAPE POINT VINEYARDS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010

 

VINTAGES 285221
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Made in: South Africa
By: Cape Point Vineyards
Release Date: Aug 4, 2012
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Sugar Content: 2 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Tasting Note - Very pale, clear color. Refined aromas of grapefruit pith, menthol, mint and flowers. At once rich and brisk, with intense lime and mineral flavors giving energy to the mid-palate. A distinctly Loire-like sauvignon blanc with a dense core of fruit and terrific acidity. Really rises slowly on the graceful back end. Outstanding sauvignon blanc. Score - 92. (Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, March/April 2011)

 

The soup recipe was a new one for Mick and it was pretty decent.  It was a bit thin and we all thought a quick two to three second burst with a hand blender would thicken it up and make the consistency better.

 

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Tomato Time!

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner and Mick had a Tomato theme going for the evening.  Mick decided that every dish on the menu (thankfully except for dessert!) was going to have tomatoes from his garden in it.

The first course was Caprese salad with a 2010 Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa.  We have reviewed this wine before so I won’t be doing it again now.  I will add that it was a decent match with the Caprese Salad but we thought a Chardonnay might be a better match.

The second course was sliders with a cherry tomato salsa.  Mick paired this with a 2007 Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose wine was big with easy to find aromas of cherry, cocoa, wood smoke, green pepper, coffee and mushroom.  Tasting the wine, it came across very French as it was herbaceous and loamy with dark chocolate and a touch of vanilla.  The structure was a little off as it was much more tannic than it was acidic and this caused the wine to come across as extremely dry on its own.  I wasn’t a big fan of this wine on its own but it really redeemed itself with the food and was a very good pairing with the sliders.   The sliders did a good job of neutralizing the tannin and bringing out the fruit in the wine.  

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

CONCHA Y TORO MARQUES DE CASA CONCHA CABERNET SAUVIGNON (V) 2009

VINTAGES 337238
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Made in: Maipo Valley, Chile
By: Concha Toro S.A.
Release Date: Jul 25, 2012
Style: Full-bodied & Smooth
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Sugar Content: 4 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry
Tasting Note  - A real beauty with graphite, minerality and rich, clean, exciting berry fruit and controlled oak aromas. Very pure and stylish Cabernet Sauvignon with fat but balanced cassis and sweet berry flavors. Big tannins lend structure and framework; young like a baby now; will be better and more evolved come fall, winter and over the next few years. Editors' Choice. Score - 91. (Michael Schachner, Wine Enthusiast, June 2011)

*Note – this LCBO listing is for the current release which is a 2009 and not the 2007 reviewed here.

The main course for the evening was Cherry Bomb Grilled Chicken with oven roasted fingerling potatoes.  The Cherry Bomb Chicken was a soak in a salt, sugar, cherry tomato and habanero brine before being grilled on the barbeque.  Mick paired this with a 2006 Seghesio Zinfandel.  We have had this wine before so we won’t be reviewing it again here.

The Cherry Bomb Grilled Chicken was really good; brine gave the chicken a sweet smoky flavour that was awesome.  The Seghesio was also a good pairing with this dish.

For dessert, Mick had picked up a decadent Chocolate cake which was enjoyed by all.

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick and his garden for three wonderful tomato based courses.

Cheers!

Mark
 

Saturday Night – Happy Birthday Jan! – Part 1

This past Saturday night our usual band of four got together with Jan and Chris to celebrate Jan’s Birthday with some good food and wine. We have had a number of dinners with Chris and Jan over the years and I wanted this dinner to special. I want three dishes that were very good and that Mick or myself hadn’t done for them yet. About a week and half ago I went through my recipe book and then discussed the menu with Mick and we put together a nice line-up for the night.

Mick’s Baba Ghanoush which he makes from barbequed Egg Plant and the usual ingredients but also adds sundried tomato was the first course. This was paired with two white sparkling wines - a Roederer Champagne and a Graham Beck Sparkling.

We have reviewed the Roederer before so I will just focus on reviewing the Graham Beck Sparkling.

The nose on the Graham Beck was bigger than I would have expected from a sparkling wine as you certainly didn’t need to swirl your glass to pick up its aromas; aromas of yeast, citrus (lemon/lime) and pink grapefruit. Tasting the wine, the main flavours were lime and vanilla with ripe green apple on the finish. The wine wasn’t quite as dry tasting as I would have liked. The difference in dryness was more obvious when I tried it against the Roederer. I preferred the Roederer over the Graham Beck before trying any of the food. On the other hand that slight sweetness to the wine made it a much better pairing than the Roederer with the Baba Ghanoush. Considering the Graham Beck is less than a third of the cost at $19 a bottle than the Roederer, it did quite well as a comparison bottle.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 84, Amy – 88, Overall – 87.5.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

GRAHAM BECK BRUT SPARKLING WINE

VINTAGES 593483

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 18.95

Made in: Western Cape, South Africa

By: Graham Beck Wines

Release Date: Mar 17, 2012

Wine, Sparkling Wine, White

12.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Varietal: Sparkling White

Sugar Content: 11 g/L

Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note - (a 54/46 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay) Pale copper-tinged gold. Tangerine, spicy oak and a hint of exotic fruits on the nose. Fruity and harmonious, with a yeasty complexity adding depth to the fairly dense, harmonious middle palate. Comes across as sweeter and fuller than the Blanc de Blancs, but finishes dry and crisp, with a bit more length. No shortage of flavor here. Score - 89. (Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, March/April 2009)

As you can tell by the group rating my wife was a much bigger fan of the Roederer than the Graham Beck. Different strokes for different folks…

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Six for dinner

This past Saturday we were joined by Alex and Zdenka for dinner along with Mick and Amy.  This blog is just a quick overview of the night with no reviews as most of the wines we have reviewed before. 

Mick and I split the cooking duties for the night and Alex and Zdenka took care of dessert.

Here is the menu for the night –

Barbequed Brie with a Bruschetta topping paired with a 2010 Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc

Carrot Soup with Fire-Roasted Chilies paired with a 2005 Rosenblum Zinfandel

Almond encrusted Goat Cheese on a bed of mixed greens with a Raspberry Poppy seed dressing paired with a 2005 Wegeler Kabinett Riesling

Marmalade and Dijon Grilled Chicken Wings with a side of homemade Blue Cheese dressing and carrot and celery for dipping paired with 2010 Seghesio Zinfandel

Chocolate Cake paired with a 2008 Cattail Creek Select Late Harvest Merlot

The evening was a ton of fun and we got through a lot of wine hence the lack of reviews as the some of the evening was a bit fuzzy. 

Cheers!

Mark

April Wine Club - Cabernet Sauvignon + Wine Auction

This past Thursday, Wine Club got together to look at three different Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here is the LCBO information on the wines -

MOUNTADAM THE RED CABERNET SAUVIGNON/MERLOT/CABERNET FRANC 2007

VINTAGES 931105
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 30.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: South Australia, Australia
By: Mountadam Vineyard
Release Date: Feb 18, 2012

Tasting Note - Healthy colour leads into a very elegant and fine wine, with vibrant blackcurrant, cassis and cherry fruit running through the long finish; it is amazing how easily the wine has absorbed two years in new French oak barriques, and how polished the tannins are. Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc. Score - 96. (James Halliday, winecompanion.com.au, Aug. 3, 2010)

CHATEAU CHEVALIER CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006

VINTAGES 256776
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 34.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Spring Mountain Vineyard
Release Date: Feb 18, 2012

Tasting Note -  The Spring Mountain District is quite remote and relatively small, and the unique microclimate it enjoys has earned the region a global reputation for the flavour intensity and balance of its wines. This example delivers complex aromas of black plum, cedar, leather, cassis and blackberries. The palate it dry and full bodied with impressive flavour replays, round and soft tannins, fantastic structure and balance and a full-flavoured finish. Enjoy with grilled lamb in a warm blackberry sauce. (VINTAGES panel, May 2011)

VILAFONTÉ SERIES M (Bonus Bottle)

VINTAGES 7757
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 34.55
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Made in: Region Not Specified, South Africa
By: Vilafonte
Release Date: N/A

The Mountadam was recommended by my local LCBO Vintages consultant as it was Australian and had a high Cabernet Franc percentage which is something you don’t see that often.  It has been awhile since I had done a wine from “down under” so I figured we’d give it a try.  I picked up the Chateau Chevalier from California as a comparison bottle as it was around the same price point.  As a bonus I also decided to add the Vilafonté Series M as it too was in the same price range and I really enjoyed it ( http://zippysauce.blogspot.ca/2012/03/saturday-night-two-cases-later-part-2.html ) and wanted Wine Club to try it.

I will just be reviewing the Mountadam and the Chateau Chevalier as I have reviewed the Vilafonté Series M in the link above.  I will add that the Vilafonté Series M was my favourite out of the three wines but the Mountadam wasn’t that far behind.

The nose on the Mountadam was very French, with strong aromas of lead pencil shavings, green pepper and Blackberry.  The nose on the Chateau Chevalier was milder with cedar, cranberry and raspberry notes.  Tasting the Mountadam it was a nice mix of raspberry and herbs with a nice balance of acidity and tannin; though it was more acidic than tannic but not by much.  The Chateau Chevalier had cherry as the dominate flavour but it had a bit of ‘green’ taste to it as if the grapes were under ripe.  The Chateau Chevalier’s structure wasn’t bad but the acidity and tannin were much less than the other two giving this wine a small mouth-feel.  Chateau Chevalier with its greenness and small mouth-feel could best be described as Cab-lite like a light beer is to regular beer; the flavours are all there but it just seems watered down.

Monica, a Wine Club member, brought in a selection of cheese and crackers to pair with the wines.  The cheeses were very good especially the Brie, which I normally not a huge fan of, but this one was lovely.

The Chateau Chevalier is a “won’t buy again”, the Mountadam is a bottle that I would recommend grabbing a bottle of as it is a very solid wine for its $31 price point.  

The other thing that we did after Wine Club on Thursday was have a Wine Auction.  One of the managers I worked with came to me on Wednesday and said his son won 80 bottles of wine at a charity event.  He said his son doesn’t drink wine and he doesn’t either for medical reasons and had no idea what to do with 80 bottles.  The manager mentioned that the raffle ticket said the 80 bottles were worth $2000 and asked me if this sounded right.  I told him not knowing what the wine were I couldn’t say if they were worth $2000 or not and then said you can bet that they would be worth $800 as it is fairly hard to find wines at less than $10 per bottle  He then asked if I wanted all 80 bottles for $800. 

I at first said no as I wasn’t sure what the wines were or how old they were and I have more than enough wine at home to get through but a few hours later changed my mind.  I hit up Wine Club members and asked if they would be interested in 8 bottles of wine for $80 and in less than 20 minutes had 9 people interested.  I told the manager I’d take it and he checked with his son and his son was more than happy to turn the wine into $800 cash.  The manager brought all the wine in the next day which happed to be the same day as our Wine Club meeting.

I looked through the cases and the second bottle I pulled out was an Italian 2008 Tignanello which is $100 at the LCBO.  I started to doubt my wisdom about split these wines ten ways!  There were lots of French, Italian and Spanish wines in the first couple of cases but after that I would say at least half the wines were domestics and I didn’t find anything else on the same level as the Tignanello.  I put all the wines out on the counter so they were displayed.

We drew cards during Wine Club to determine who picked in what order and I got 4th pick.  The Tignanello went first, there were two Amarone that went 2nd and 3rd.  I grab a Brunello di  Montalcino as my choice.  After the first ten picks we reversed the order so the person who picked 10th, got the 11th pick as well and the person who picked 1st got the 20th pick.  This meant I had the 16th pick and grabbed a Chianti Classico as my pick. 

In the later rounds I got a bottle of ice wine from a winery I’d never heard of, a Speck family reserve Chardonnay from Henry of Pelham, a French red that was a GSM blend, and two VQA wines that I gave to two girls in the office.  When I did some quick LCBO searches I total up the six bottles I kept to $143… not bad for $80.  The rest of wine club members were between $140 and $240 and were happy with what they got as well. 

The auction itself was a hoot as when you were on the clock people were pushing you to make a quick pick so it got your blood pumping and we were laughing and having a good time with it.  I would do this again in a heartbeat but I don’t expect to come across this type of opportunity again anytime soon.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Two cases later – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the main course I decided on beef tenderloin as Mick and Amy had been in Cuba and I heard beef is the one food that is not in good supply down there.  As it happened, the resort Mick and Amy stayed at was well supplied with Alberta beef so they weren’t lacking in that department on their vacation.

Earlier in the week we got a cheese promotion flyer/magazine in the mailbox that had a bunch on interesting recipes in it.  There was one for a potato salad with crab and Swiss cheese that looked pretty tasty so I decided to do it as a side dish.

As we were going with Grilled Beef Tenderloin as the main course, I need a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Bordeaux-style blend as my pairing.  I decided to make it an all South African night and went with a 2006 Vilafonté Series M as my wine pairing.  I picked this up 4 to 6 months ago and remember paying $40-42 for it.  The LCBO usually doesn’t carry much South African wine over $20 so I was really curious to try this as I find South African wine is usually a great value for money.  The Series M is a Bordeaux-style blend red wine.  Vilafonté is a joint venture between South African and California wine makers.  Here is a link to their website - http://www.vilafonte.com/framework/index.asp 

The nose on this wine was easy to find with lovely aromas of tobacco, cherry, raspberry, smoke and evergreen.  Tasting the wine, cassis, juniper, raspberry/blackberry notes dominate this wine but the wine finishes with a dark chocolate flavour to it.  The wine’s structure is a well-crafted blend of super fine tannin, nice acidity and alcohol.  Even though the alcohol is 14.5% it certainly doesn’t come across as hot.  It was very good on its own but I really loved this wine paired with the beef tenderloin.  I will note that was a lot of sediment (see picture below) in the wine and would recommend decanting this wine first.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 91, Mark - 91, Kathy – 91, Amy – 91, Overall –  91

Here is the LCBO information for the wine –

VILAFONTÉ SERIES M

VINTAGES 7757
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 34.55
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Made in: Region Not Specified, South Africa
By: Vilafonte
Release Date: N/A 

The price on this wine has been reduced since I bought it as I firmly remember it being in the $40-42 range.  At $35 dollars a bottle this wine is an exceptional deal and I have order a case of it.  Mick said it best during the night when he commented “There are $100 bottles of wine that I would put this against and pick it over them…”  The Overall rating of 91 puts this wine in a tie for 6th on the Zippy Sauce Top Ten Reds.

Amy really liked the potato salad with crab and Swiss but we all agreed it was more of a summer time dish. 

For dessert I picked up a Carmel Brownie Cheesecake which went over well. 

To sum up – two decent new recipes, two Top Ten wines and Mick and Amy back for a normal Saturday night… life is very good.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Two cases later – Part 1

Mick and Amy were back from vacation and it was my turn to host dinner this past Saturday night.  One of our local supermarkets had a few different types of pre-made pesto that Kathy and I have been trying and enjoying with Gnocchi.  I decide to start the night with Gnocchi but to make a pesto from scratch and see if I could do better than the pre-made ones.

I did a quick web search and found this - http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/ and decided to give it a go.
 
The pesto didn’t take too long to whip up but then my next question was what to pair with it.  I was leaning toward a Chardonnay but decided to do some web searching again and a number of sites were recommending Sauvignon Blanc instead of Chardonnay. I went with their advice and paired the first course with a 2010 Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa.

The nose on the wine was classic Sauvignon Blanc with cut grass, gooseberry and some cat’s pee in the background.  I was surprised at the strength of the nose as a number of Sauvignon Blancs you really have to swirl the glass to get any nose off the wine whereas this one no swirling was needed as it had very easy to find aromas.  The colouring was also very typical of a Sauvignon Blanc as well as it was a very pale greenish-yellow in colour.   Tasting the wine you will find a pleasant combination of white grapefruit and gooseberry running the length of the wine.  Structure on the wine was good as it was a very clean, crisp wine that was very drinkable.  It was good on its own but was a great pairing with the pesto.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 89, Kathy – 92, Amy – 88, Overall –  89.25

Here is the LCBO information for the wine –

GRAHAM BECK SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010

VINTAGES 948620
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 13.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Region Not Specified, South Africa
By: Graham Beck Wines
Release Date: Oct 15, 2011

Tasting Note - [The 2010] shows nettles, limes, with dusty pebble finish. Well judged, solid and elegantly balanced. Score - 31/2 Stars (out of 5). (Greg de Bruyn, Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2011)

The 89.25 just puts this wine in a 10th place tie on the Zippy Sauce Top 10 White Wines.  The other thing I did want to point out is the $14 price which makes this wine a heck of a deal so much so that I have ordered a case of it.

As to the homemade Pesto recipe, it was slightly better than the store bought stuff as it was richer tasting.  Mick and I discussed the recipe and both thought that upping the pine nuts from 1/3 of a cup to 1/2 a cup would be a good idea as it would make the pesto sauce a bit more ‘meaty’.

Click here from Part 2

Saturday Night – Mick’s cooking for six – Part 2

For the second course of the night Mick did his version of Insalata Caprese in which he adds Avocado and Red Onion to the usual Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil combination.

Mick picked a 2010 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa to pair with the dish.

The nose on the wine was an interesting combination of grapefruit, gooseberry, pear and moss aromas.  I was surprised on how strong the nose was on this wine, as with a number of Sauvignon Blancs you really have to swirl the glass to get any aroma at all, whereas on this one the nose was very easy to find.  The flavour to the wine was lime, gooseberry and a touch of vanilla lurking around in the background.  The balance on this wine was very good with crisp and refreshing acidity.  This wine was a good pairing with the food but even better on its own.  A bottle of this on ice during a hot summer’s day while idly killing the day on the deck would be awesome.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –87, Mark - 90, Kathy – 85, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.5.

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

MULDERBOSCH SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010

VINTAGES 933424
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Western Cape, South Africa
By: Mulderbosch
Release Date: Jun 25, 2011

Tasting Note - Light lemon-yellow in the glass. Fresh and invigorating aromas of green grass, asparagus, lime blossom, fresh herbs and mineral. Dry, medium bodied, with bright and tangy acidity. Crisp finish features savoury herbaceous notes. Good length. A very nice South African Savvy with some Loire and New Zealand influence evident. Enjoy with garden salads, steamed clams, or grilled chicken breast. (VINTAGES panel, May 2011)

As you can see on the ratings there was a fair difference from my 90 to my wife’s 85 and this can be explained quite simply – the bitch be crazy… just kidding.  Kathy enjoys the big acidity and razor sharp crispness of French Sauvignon Blanc or the big fruit of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and isn’t a big fan of middle ground Sauvignon Blanc like this one.  I, on the other hand, do really like the middle ground between those two pillars of the Sauvignon Blanc community which I find South African wines usually fit into.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Just the four of us – Part 2

The second course of the evening was Grilled Calms with Serrano ham. These were paired with a 2009 Leopard’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa. If you have been reading this Blog for a bit then you know my feelings about South African Sauvignon Blanc, as I feel it is best in the world so I was excited to try another one.

The nose was very aromatic for a Sauvignon Blanc, no glass swirling needed to find the nose here! It was a nice mix of gooseberry, cat’s pee, green apple and a little bit of lychee in the background. The main flavours to the wine were grapefruit, lime and mango. The flavours really popped with the Clams and made a great pairing. I loved the big fruit on the wine but my one complaint with it was it needed a touch more acidity to it. Normally South African Sauvignon Blanc are a nice balance between the steely, crisp French ones and the fruit driven New Zealand styled ones, I found this one leaned too much to the New Zealand style. That said it was a great pairing with the food.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 88, Kathy – 90, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.5

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

LEOPARD'S LEAP SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009


VINTAGES 203356
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 12.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Region Not Specified, South Africa
By: Leopards Leap Wines
Release Date: Jan 22, 2011


Description - This fresh and zippy South African Savvy is a great palate refresher, or enjoy it with grilled prawns with a moderately spicy sauce.


Tasting Note - Crunchy summer fruits & lemongrass nuance in '09; elegant & crisply dry. Score - 3 Stars (out of 5). (Christine Rudman, Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2010)

For $13 a bottle this wine is a heck of a value and I would recommend it as a must buy. It had a lot going on for this price point and with its big fruit flavour it should be a good pairing for a number of dishes.

The calms were good. I’d never had Serrano ham before and it looks exactly like Prosciutto. It was nowhere near as salty as Prosciutto is and had more sweetness to it. Mick talk about doing the recipe again and using Prosciutto instead and Kathy told him not to as she liked the sweetness of the ham and its contrast to the saltiness of the clams. I’d say my lovely wife nailed it right on the head with that assessment.

Click here for Part 3