Smoked Salmon and Chardonnay is one of my absolute favourite food and wine pairings. The Smoked Salmon is served with Bagel Crisps, Cream Cheese, Capers, Thinly Sliced Red Onion and Cucumber and Lemon Wedges. Kendall Jackson Chardonnay is one of the best Chardonnays to go with Smoked Salmon.
Description: From the geographical headquarters of the Chardonnay grape comes this wonderfully versatile wine. Expect aromas of baked apple, citrus, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla. It's creamy, ripe and balanced. Medium-bodied with a lingering finish. Tantalizing with freshwater fish or a vegetable stir-fry.
LCBO Information -
Tasting Note... 2005 continues their streak of top-notch wines. Loads of tropical fruit, surprisingly deep texture, medium body, and wonderful purity results in a crisp, elegant, dry Chardonnay. It is ideal for drinking over the next 1-2 years. Score - 89. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Dec. 2006)
I was looking forward to this match up - both wines are close in price $19 vs. $20, both are from well known producers, both are similiar in alcohol and dryness and both were 2005's.
And the winner is ... Kendall Jackson Chardonnay.
Both wines were really good but also really different. The Kendall was big, buttery and with tons of fruit. The Jadot was crisp and refreshing with a much thinner and more precise mouth feel than KJ.
I usually divide Chardonnays into to two types ... ones that go with Smoked Salmon and ones that go with Caesar Salad. The Kendall Jackson is awesome with Smoked Salmon, but not so good with Caesar. The Louis Jadot was ok with the Salmon but I have no doubt that it would be stunning with a Caesar Salad. Mick was thinking the same thing as he asked if I had any more of it as it would be great with Caesar Salad.
I would happily recommend either of these two wines.
The Main Event
I'd picked this wine up on my last trip to Prime Wines in NY. Chateau Latour is one the five "First Growths" of Bordeaux. This wine is not there premier wine but their second level. The top level Latour ranges from about $499 to $2600 depending on year. This wine was $59.99 US (so after duty and exchange about $98 CDN). This was my first chance to try any wine from the five top Bordeaux producers. This was from the Pauillac region of Bordeaux and of the five "First Growths" three are located here.
On opening this bottle, the aroma was very powerful - floral, earthy and some fruit. It the smells reminded me of something I'd had before but I couldn't place it. On the initial tasting we were all surprised at how smooth this wine was. It paired nicely with the Beef Tenderloin and was OK with the grilled veggies. The wine reminded me of Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet Sauvignon by how smooth it was.
For dessert was a simple store bought Chocolate cake and this cake goes so well with Cabernet Sauvignon that we call it "Cab Cake". Here is where the wine shined, first sip after a mouthful of cake and I was in heaven!
I'd highly recommend this wine.
Wine Spectators comments about this wine -
Les Forts de Latour Pauillac 1998
Solid second wine for Latour, although a bit elegant in style. Wonderful licorice and currant character. Medium-bodied, with ripe and fine tannins and a long, fruity finish. Tempting now. Score range: 85-89 –JS
Score: Barrel Tasting
The only downside to this wine was it has me very curious on the top Latour ...
Once we all finish our wine, we were longingly looking at the empty glasses and the remaining Cab Cake. I decided in my already very drunken state to go get another bottle...
Here is another 1998 Bordeaux from another one of the five First Growths - this time Haut-Brion. This one was also purchased from Prime Wines and was $39.99 US (about $64 CDN after duty and exchange). This one is also not the top wine but a second level wine from Haut-Brion.
This wine was completely different from the Latour, much bigger and much more tannic. It was OK with the Cab Cake. We discussed this wine and decided that something with some good fat on it - Lamb, Prime Rib, etc. would be probably be a great pairing for this wine. I'd give you more detail but the night at this point is a little fuzzy :). This wine is not one that I'd probably buy again.
Here is the Wine Spectator's write-up on it...
Chateau Bahans Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 1998
Subtle aromas of raspberry, vanilla and mineral. Full-bodied, with a solid core of ripe fruit, ultrafine tannins and a long, long finish. Amazing for a second wine. Best after 2008. 10,000 cases made. –JS
Score: 92
Funny, it got a higher rating than the Latour but I'd recommend the Latour but not the Haut-Brion.
Cheers!
Mark
2 comments:
With how I was feeling on Saturday night, there's no way the KJ Chard was only 3.5% alcohol! ;)
(If only the misprint were true... I'd have been in much better shape Sunday morning!)
Yeah that typo is fixed... at 3.5% that would be a pretty lame Chardonnay
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