New Year’s Eve 2009 – Part 1

New Year’s Eve at the homestead and I finally had a functional kitchen again. This has been a long year as the renovations started in February with the basement and I have been without a kitchen since late May. The backsplash in the kitchen went in Monday/Tuesday and the table and chairs for the dining room just arrived on the morning of New Year’s Eve. As our annual New Year’s Eve dinner celebration with Mick and Amy is normally hosted at our home, the bonus was that it was also the first proper multi-course meal in our new kitchen.

To play it safe, I decided to keep the menu for the evening simple and straight forward as I didn’t want to get too complicated with the new gas range.

"Great photo, Amy!"

For the first course, we started with two appetizers: Homemade Hummus with White and Multigrain Pita and a Tomato and Feta Salad. The reason for this choice is hummus is a great pairing for Viognier and Mick and I while stocking the new fridge about a week found out I had a shit load of it.

"The savages attacked before a photo could be taken!"

The wine pairing was a 2006 D’Arenberg “The Hermit Crab” McLaren Vale Viognier-Marsanne. The last time we had this wine was in January 2008 so it was fun to retry it again after almost a year. It was a great pairing with the hummus and a good pairing with the tomato and feta salad.

"Great wine at a very reasonable price!"

The nose was a pleasant blend of lychee, citrus and a floral-like component that we couldn’t quite nail down. Tasting the wine, the first thing you notice is a white grapefruit flavour followed by a nice tingling of the tongue as the acidity grabs you. There was a slight oily mouth feel that lingers as it finishes very smoothly. Mick was getting a yeasty, hops-like flavour in the mid-palate; I noticed a similar flavour but not as pronounced as he seemed to.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 89, Mark – 91, Kathy – 90, Amy 89, Overall – 89.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

d'Arenberg "The Hermit Crab" Viognier/Marsanne 2006

VINTAGES 662775

750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, White Wine,
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Australia, Australia
By: D'Arenberg Wines
Release Date: Mar 15, 2008

Description - Not only did Wine Spectator designate this wine as a 'Smart Buy', it ranked it number 84 on its list of the Top 100 wines of 2007!

Tasting Note - Soft and charming. A beguiling mouthful of spicy pear and grapefruit flavors that linger with focus on the open-textured finish. Not as rich as pure Viognier, but better balanced. Drink now through 2010. Score - 90. (Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com, Nov. 30 2007)

This wine is a huge value at $18 a bottle and I would strongly recommend it as a must buy for anyone’s wine rack.


Click here for Part 2

2005 Wegeler Kabinett Riesling

This past Tuesday, my wife came home after a rough day at work and asked for a bottle of wine to go with dinner. We were having Country Captain soup for dinner, which a curried chicken based soup with all sorts of other goodies in it like apple, red peppers, raisins, and onions. For dessert we were having some banana bread and mix fruit. As the soup has a sweetness to it from the apples and raisins, I decided that a dry wine wouldn’t be the best match and looked to something off dry.

"Good wine, shitty label"

I decided a Riesling would be a good match but wasn’t in the mood for my usual stand-by Riesling by Robert Mondavi. I looked over the wines in the new wine fridge and came across a 2005 Wegeler Kabinett Riesling. I’ll be honest here and couldn’t remember much about picking this wine. Looking at the label I figured it couldn’t be more than a $20 Riesling and thought ‘what the heck let’s give this a try’.

I poured out a glass and gave the wine a quick nose and really wasn’t getting much off of it. I want back to the kitchen without trying the wine and putter around getting dinner ready.

A few minutes later, Kathy sat down at the table, took a sip and exclaimed ‘Oh wow, this isn’t bad at all!’

I served up the soup, sat down and joined her. I nosed the wine again and my eyes opened wide in shock – the wine had really opened up and I was getting a really nice citrus and petrol aroma off of the wine now. Tasting the wine was real treat as well - very nicely balanced, a zesty citrus flavour to it and a beautiful finish.

Now I was a little worried that I had grabbed a much higher priced bottle than I wanted for a middle of the week wine. This was quickly followed up by the thought ‘Oh well, too late to cry about it now!’

It went really well with the soup. It went surprisingly well with the banana bread, melon chunks and strawberries but got real funky with the pineapple - all in all a great little wine.

Here is the LCBO Infromation on this wine -

Wegeler Riesling Kabinett 2005

VINTAGES 650994
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 29.70
Wine, White Wine
8.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Moselle/Saar/Ruwer, Germany
By: Geheimrat J. Wegeler Erben
Release Date: Jul 21, 2007

Tasting Note - Ripe and juicy, with tangerine, lime and mineral aromas and flavors. Shuts down a little, needing time to integrate, yet all the components are in the right place. Finishes long. Best from 2008 through 2018. Score - 92. (Bruce Sanderson, www.winespectator.com, Feb-07).

I was pleased that the wine was ‘only’ $29; by how it tasted I was expecting that figure to be closer to $50 a bottle. I was amazed to see that there were still some bottles left in the province and I will be picking up a few more bottles of this wine.

Cheers!

Mark

Wine Club – Cotes du Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape

For the month’s meeting we were taking a look a couple of wines from southern Rhône – a 2004 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhône and a 2005 Perrin & Fils “Les Sinards” Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Kim, a Wine Club member, was nice enough to make a homemade lasagna to go with the wines.

"And in this corner..."

Both wines were a nice dark ruby/purple in colour. The nose on the E. Guigal was a combination of spice and dark berry. The nose on the Perrin & Flis had cherry, tobacco and a slight floral element lingering in the background. Out of the two wines the Perrin & Fils was my winner for nose.

"The plucky half price option"

Tasting both of these wines was interesting as they both had a lot in common; fruit and spice on the tongue to start, big tannins and good acidity. Where they differed was the finish the Perrin & Fils had a smoother finish. I was leaning towards Perrin & Fils as the more enjoyable wine of the two before we tried the food.

"Was it worth double the money?"

With the food, I actually liked the E. Guigal more as the lasagna mellowed the finish and brought more fruit to the forefront. The Perrin & Fils with the lasagna picked up a funny taste at times.

Here is the LCBO information on both wines –

E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône

LCBO# 259721
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.40
Wine, Red Wine,
13% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 1
Made in: Rhone, France
By: E. Guigal,
Release Date: N/A

Tasting Note - Deep ruby purple colour; complex aromas of mixed spice, plums, dark berry and pepper with floral notes; dry, medium to full-bodied, well balance with supple tannins, and flavours of white pepper, cassis,black cherry and mineral; good length on the finish.
Serving Suggestion - Pepper steak, lamb, grilled portabello mushrooms or seared duck in a cherry reduction sauce.

Perrin & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Les Sinards”

Vintages# 926626
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 38.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Rhone, France
By: Perrin & Fils
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Jean-Pierre, François and Pierre Perrin created Les Sinards as an homage to their late grandfather. With some of the grapes sourced from their famous Château de Beaucastel estate, this is a classic Châteauneuf with cherry, chocolate, tobacco and chicory aromas. It's dry, medium- to full-bodied and packed with rich fruit flavours, as well as earthy and smoky notes. With such great structure, match with a leg of lamb or roast beef cooked with plenty of garlic, thyme and rosemary. It will also reward 2-4 years in a cellar

I would probably give the Perrin & Fils the nod as the better wine of the two but not by much; it certainly wasn’t worth twice the price. Both wines went with the lasagna but I’d probably prefer a Merlot over either them. Being completely honest – both were fun to try but I wasn’t blown away by either and don’t see myself rushing out to get more. I do have a bottle of the 2004 E. Guigal as my “take home” bottle from Wine Club which I will store on the rack. I’d be curious to try this wine again with prime rib roast or roast chicken and see how it pairs as I suspect that it would be very good.

Next month’s meeting we’ll be taking a look at South African Chenin Blanc vs. a French Chenin Blanc.

I don’t see any wine opportunities coming up from now until Christmas, so I take this time to wish all three or four of my dedicated readers a Merry Christmas and hope that they all receive a nice bottle or two under the tree this year!

Cheers!

Mark

Happy Birthday Sara!

Kathy and I were at my parents for dinner on Friday to celebrate Sara’s (my sister) Birthday. The menu for the evening was Dad’s lasagna, garlic bread and Caesar salad. If you have been reading the blog for awhile this isn’t the first time that menu has popped up at my parents’ house. My father is a great cook and does a ton of different wonderful meals but lasagna and Caesar salad would have to be his signature dish and happens to be both my wife’s and my sister’s favourite. Since tonight was to celebrate Sara’s Birthday, lasagna it is.

We started with the Caesar salad and garlic bread and paired it with a bottle of the 2006 Louis Jadot “Bourgogne” Chardonnay. Great pairing but I have covered this wine and food combo so many times on the blog if I write about it one more time you’ll think Louis Jadot is paying me or I’m a member of the Romaine Lettuce Farmer’s Association!

"Black labels with gold or white lettering are hard to get good photos of!"

To pair up with the lasagna, I brought a bottle of 2006 Zenato Valpolicella Ripassa. This wine was a recommendation of Diane Braemer, a LCBO Product Consultant at the Upper Gage and Fennell LCBO. Diane has done a wonderful job of stocking the store’s Vintages section with very good wines and the store, for its size, has a great selection. Diane has also been very helpful in getting in wines for me for Wine Club.

Even though I feel that the LCBO should be privatized to better serve Ontario consumers, I certainly can’t deny that there are some very talented and knowledgeable people who work at the LCBO and Diane easily fits into this category. Kinda of a “hate the game not the player” sort of situation.

The nose on this wine was big, no swirling of the glass needed to nose this wine! Raspberry, chocolate and peat moss aromas jumped from the glass and had me drooling in anticipation of tasting it.

Unfortunately, the wine wasn’t quite up to my expectations I got from the nose. It was slightly off balance with the acidity a touch too high and the tannin a touch to low, nice fruit and a great finish. Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice wine and it did go well with the lasagna but it didn’t live up to the stunning nose. This was a big wine and at times was a bit too much for the lasagna, I will try this wine again but would like to try it with a roast or a NY strip steak.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Zenato Valpolicella Superiore Ripassa
Vintages# 479766
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 24.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Veneto, Italy
By: Azienda Vinicola Zenato
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Founded in 1960 by Sergio Zenato, the winery's philosophy is to celebrate the region's traditions coupled with an unquenchable desire to surpass everything they have done before. The Ripassa consistently delivers on that philosophy with its aromas of blackberry, plum purée, smoke and cocoa. The palate is dry with plenty of fruit flavours, hints of licorice, ripe tannins and even more cocoa. A great match for pecorino cheese, roast beef, or pasta with meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce.

Thanks to my parents for hosting the dinner and Happy Birthday Sara!

Cheers!

Mark

Wine Club Bonus Tasting – Port

We had some extra cash in the kitty, so Wine Club decided to have a bonus tasting. This would be our first look at fortified wines as we were trying the 10 year old and the 20 year old Taylor Fladgate Tawny Ports. I brought in some Stilton and St. Agur blue cheese to go with the port.

I have reviewed the Taylor Fladgate 20 year old a number of times on this blog so I won’t go into much detail. The 10 year old Taylor Fladgate was a big surprise as I haven’t been a big fan of it in the past but the one we tried was really good. Usually there is a world of difference between the 10 and 20 year version, but they were much closer than usual and that makes the price difference between the two harder to justify.

Both were excellent with the cheeses and slowly sipping on both while nibbling on the cheese and crackers made it a fun way to kill a lunch hour.

Here is the LCBO information on both

Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Port

VINTAGES# 121749
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 34.95
Wine, Port,
19.8% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : S
Made in: Portugal, Portugal
By: Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - With these top-of-the-line Tawnies with age indication, Taylor Fladgate aims to create a consistent quality year in and year out.

Tasting Note - A refined and subtle Port. Outstanding. Lovely aromas of flan, caramel and egg custard with a hint of toffee. Medium-bodied, with a light sweetness and a refined, clean finish. Tastes older than 10 years. Drink now. Score - 91. (James Suckling, www.winespectator.com, Sept. 15, 2003)

Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny Port

VINTAGES# 149047
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 68.95
Wine, Port,
20.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : S
Made in: Douro, Portugal
By: Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman
Release Date: Dec 6, 2008

Description - After 300 years of continual Port production, Taylor Fladgate can rightly claim to be masters at their craft. This ready-to-serve aged Tawny is close to perfection. Match it with crème brûlée or hazelnut torte to fully appreciate Taylor's trademark rich apricot and dried-fruit flavours and lengthy, nutty, honeyed finish. Just as with the 10-year-old version (121749, $34.95), once opened this will last for several weeks.

As you can see the 20 is almost twice the price which most years it is worth it but I think this year I may pick up the 10 year old instead.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Something old and new – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the main course Mick was the grill-master again and this time giant ass “T” bone steaks were his medium. He also served them with a side of grilled vegetables. The wine for this course was a 2002 Benziger “Sonoma County” Cabernet Sauvignon.

"Where's the fruit?"

The nose on the Benziger was very pleasing with tobacco, cedar and dark roast coffee. The taste was very surprising for a California Cab. as the main thing lacking on it was fruit, which is something you don’t say very often about a California Cabernet. The wine did have good tannin and good acidity and a smooth finish. This was a very ‘adult’ cab as the main flavours running throughout were coffee and dark chocolate.

The wine was a good match with the steaks which Mick cooked beautifully but it got a bit weird with the grilled veggies.

No LCBO information on this wine so I’m guessing Mick picked it up in the US. The Wine Spectator didn’t review the 2002 but did review the 2000 and the 2005 and both were listed at $19 US a bottle. This would put the wine at about $33 CDN a bottle.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 87, Mark - 88, Kathy – 86, Amy - 88, Overall – 87.25.

I liked the Benziger Cab. but not sure if it was a good dinner Cab. The lack of fruit limits its versatility and for me makes it a winter/fall wine. I think this wine would be nice to have on a cold day, sitting around a warm fire with some dark chocolate, in this role I think it would excel.

December maybe a quiet period on the blog for Mick, Amy, Kathy and myself as our schedules aren’t matching up well for the month. On the upside, the next time we get together my kitchen will hopefully be done and I’ll get to cook for a change.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Something old and new – Part 1

Mick was back to his usual hosting/cooking detail this past Saturday. The first course was an old favourite that we haven’t had in awhile – Prosciutto wrapped shrimp paired with a 2005 Robert Mondavi Riesling.

While Mick was out grilling the shrimp, we poured out the wine. The Mondavi Riesling had a soft perfume-like nose with pear, rose, lychee and grapefruit elements. The Riesling was showing peach and pink grapefruit flavours on the tongue with ok acidity.

Mick finished cooking the shrimp and we all sat down to enjoy the first course. Mick’s prosciutto wrapped shrimp were great and the Riesling was a good pairing.

I tried to find LCBO information on this wine but they don’t carry it. The last time the Wine Spectator reviewed the Mondavi Riesling was in 1996 and they gave it a 83 rating. I know we bought this at the Premier Group in NY for about $8-9 US a bottle so with duty and exchange it would be about $13-15 CDN.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 89, Mark - 85, Kathy – 89, Amy - 89, Overall – 88.

The Riesling is listed on the blog as one of my $20 favourites, but I have found the last couple of times I have had it, the shine is wearing off of it for me. I’m starting to find it too sweet and too one dimensional. The wine comes across syrupy and sloppy compared to European Rieslings and I truly feel that they would be a better food match most of the time.

On the other hand, 3 out of 4 of us still really enjoy it and it is a very good price point compared to those European Rieslings I was comparing it too.

Click here for Part 2