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

Saturday night – New foods and Egyptian hieroglyphics – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

The main course of the evening was Grilled Lamb Burgers with Eggplant and Tzaziki and a side of grilled Sweet Potato fries with Chipotle mayo dip. Mick picked a 2008 “A to Z” Pinot Noir from Oregon as the pairing for this dish.

Before I get to reviewing this wine, I have to poke fun at Amy; not only is Amy the official Zippy Sauce photographer (so you have her to thank for all the lovely pictures on this Blog) but she is also nice enough to take notes on the wines for us as well. It is her note taking that I’m about to poke fun at. The first wine/review of the evening is written in a lovely easy to read flowing script but as she has more to drink the quality of the note taking goes dramatically downhill from there. By the third wine/review it gets very dicey. The current notes I’m working off of for this review are so bad I think I need a Rosetta stone to translate it as I’m pretty sure the notes are no longer in English. Under taste I’m pretty sure she has a picture of the Egyptian god Anubis holding a Scarab as her description!

The nose on the A to Z is a pleasing mix of black licorice and cherry aromas. Tasting the wine you will find a colossal Raspberry flavour to it and not much else; I don’t believe Raspberries have this much Raspberry flavour to them but I like Raspberry so this isn’t all bad. Structure on the wine is fairly balanced but once again we have a wine where the acidity is stronger than the tannin. The wine does have a good finish to it that lingers for a while. This Pinot also had a much bigger mouth-feel to it than the first one. I wasn’t crazy about this wine by itself but it made a good pairing for the lamb burgers.

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 –

A TO Z PINOT NOIR 2008

VINTAGES 229781
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Oregon, USA
By: A to Z Wineworks
Release Date: Jun 25, 2011

Description - This wine ranked # 75 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2010.

Tasting Note - Lively, deftly balanced and refreshing in style, with pretty raspberry and cherry flavors playing against hints of spice and chalk. Finishes with impressive length. Drink now through 2016. Score - 90. (Harvey Steiman, winespectator.com, Dec. 15, 2010)

Amy picked up a Basket and Robbins Chocolate Ice Cream cake for dessert which was yummy.

I’d like to thank Mick for cooking up three new recipes and all were very good. It is impressive to try three new recipes and go three for three like he did. Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting, as we all had a good time with lots of laughs.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – New foods and Egyptian hieroglyphics – Part 2

The second course was Prosciutto and Mozzarella "Sandwiches". These were interesting as the ‘bread’ (top and bottom) of the "Sandwiches" was actually grilled Eggplant. They also had a roasted red pepper puree in the center with the Prosciutto and Mozzarella. Mick paired these with a 2006 Raphael Dubois Nuits St. George Pinot Noir from Burgundy.

The nose on this had a strawberry and cherry aroma that was more artificial like Starbursts Candies with some mushroom and smoke lurking in the background. There was lots of fruit to be found when drinking this wine with Cranberry, Strawberry and Cherry flavours to it. The wine was very easy drinking with nice acidity and soft tannin and a good finish. The balance to the wine was slightly off as it was more acidic than tannic. It was a good pairing with the food.

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

This was another wine I couldn’t find a LCBO listing for but once again Mick knew the price was $36. I liked this wine but honestly feel that at $36 it was a touch on the pricey side and not something I’ll be jumping to get another bottle of at that price point.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday night – New foods and Egyptian hieroglyphics – Part 1

This past Saturday, Mick and Amy hosted our weekly Saturday night dinner. Mick had three new recipes on tap and three new wines for us to try as well.

The first course was grilled Spanish Toasts which, while simple to make, were very tasty. The Spanish Toasts were made from sliced baguettes topped with a roasted tomato and garlic spread and Manchego cheese. Mick picked a 2006 Auka "Don Alfonso" Malbec to pair with them.

The nose on the Malbec had a huge leather aroma to it with a touch of white pepper, dried cranberry and orange rind in the background. Tasting the wine you will find dark fruit (Black cherry and black currant) as the main flavours with some truffle flavour to round things out. The structure on the wine was decent but it was more acidic then tannic and had a slightly hot finish to it. The pairing though was dead-on and was one of the better food and wine pairings we’ve had in a while.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 89, Kathy – 89, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.5.

There was no LCBO listing for the wine which is a shame as I would have liked to get more of it. Mick recalled the price as being $22. $22 is a fairly high price point for a Malbec but this wine does justify it as it was that good.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 3

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For the main course I did Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese (St. Agur) and Zippy Sauce with side of Green Beans and pan fry Potatoes with onions.

As glasses were getting low at this point we broke out the third Cab of the evening and uncorked a 2002 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on the KJ was more what I expect from a California Cab; cassis, mushroom, green pepper and lavender with a mossy aroma lurking in the background. If the nose was typical California Cab then the taste was even more so, I swear on my first sip I heard the bass beats from “California Love” with Tupac and Dr. Dre come to life in my head; huge cassis and raspberry notes to this wine. It was very smooth, easy to drink, lots of fruit, good acidity and tannin and great lingering finish. It was a decent pairing with the main course but not as amazing as I thought it would be from my initial tasting

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 87, Mark - 89, Kathy – 85, Amy – 88, Overall – 87.25.

Here is LCBO information on the wine –

KENDALL-JACKSON GRAND RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007


VINTAGES 678615
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 35.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Nov 27, 2010

Tasting Note - The 2007 Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is superb. Dense creme de cassis notes intermixed with fruitcake, coffee bean, and tobacco leaf are found in this fat, fleshy wine, which displays excellent purity, density, and richness. It should drink well for 15 or more years. Score - (90-93). (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Feb. 2010)

Note – This is for the 2007 and not the 2002 reviewed here.

For dessert Kathy picked up a decadent Chocolate cake that was a good pairing with the KJ.

I had fun trying 3 uniquely different California Cabs and am enjoying these nights where we just stick to one grape. I still have more Merlot that is getting long in the tooth as well as some Pinot Noir and Shiraz so I see more of these one grape evenings in my future.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 2

The other wine we had with the appetizers was the 2002 Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on the Vina Robles was quite different than the Rutherford Ranch as its main aromas were chocolate, vegetal, peat moss and a rich earthy aroma; there was little to no fruit to be found on the nose. It must have been Cab disguise night as I would have guessed this was a Cab by the nose but would have thought it was a French Cab by the nose and not a California Cab. There was one flavour to this wine and it was raspberry, big huge raspberry flavour dominated everything else in this wine. This wine had a much bigger mouth-feel to it than the Rutherford Ranch as the tannin, acidity and fruit were nicely balanced in this wine. The finish was short but it least it stay around long enough to say good-bye unlike the Rutherford Ranch which came for the food and left before anyone noticed it. The wine was a good match to the food.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 87, Mark - 87, Kathy – 84, Amy – 86, Overall – 86.

There was no LCBO listing for this wine but I remember it being in the $20-23 price point.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 1

Two weeks ago I mentioned that I have a number of reds that are getting past their prime and needed to be drunk so I did an all Merlot night to use up some of them. Last night I went with an all Cabernet Sauvignon night to use up some older cabs.

With Cabernet Sauvignon as the wine of the night it was easy to come up with the main course (beef) and dessert (chocolate) as both of those foods pair very well with Cab. I did however need an appetizer to start things off so I did a web search and found this recipe –
http://www.matchmywine.com/index.php?mod=match&p=details&id=352 for Blue Cheese and thyme poppers. As this was a new recipe I decided to hedge my bets and also make Asiago wrapped in Prosciutto as another appetizer in case the poppers didn’t work out so well.

I had three Cabs on tap for the night, 1999 Rutherford Ranch, 2002 Vina Robles, 2002 KJ Grand Reserve but will review them one at a time. The first review will be of the 1999 Rutherford Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on this wine was complex with cherry, chocolate, cocoa, evergreen and some cedar lurking in the background. Tasting the wine the cherry flavour carried over from the nose but it was more a medicinal cherry flavour than a fresh cherry flavour. The tannins were very soft to almost non-existent whereas the acidity was higher than I would have liked. The wine also had a very thin mouth-feel and disappeared almost instantly on the finish. If I blind tasted this wine, I would have guessed it to be a Sangiovese rather than a Cabernet Sauvignon. It wasn’t a bad pairing with either of the appetizers so that was a plus.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 84, Mark - 84, Kathy – 85, Amy – 85, Overall – 84.5.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

RUTHERFORD RANCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008


VINTAGES 73817
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, USA
By: Rutherford Wine Company
Release Date: Sep 3, 2011

Description - A fantastic value from Napa Valley, this ready-to-drink Cabernet includes small amounts of Merlot, Syrah and Petite Sirah, adding to its depth and appeal. It features ripe blackcurrant, cherry, cedar box and cinnamon notes wrapped in sweet, silky tannins leading to a lengthy finish. Enjoy over the next four years partnered with lamb chops or herb-crusted roast beef.

As you can probably tell by the fact the LCBO is selling the 2008 and we had a 1999 that I had this bottle on the rack for a few years and hence my urgency to drink it now.

The Blue Cheese and thyme poppers were pretty good but were missing that little something to make them stand out. Mick suggested less thyme and we kicked around the idea of melting shredded aged Cheddar at the end of the baking. I also think that switching from Stilton to Danish blue might be interesting as that would have given them more bite. The one good thing was the poppers were a great pairing with both the Rutherford Ranch and the Vina Robles as both wines got better with the poppers than on their own.

Click here for Part 2