Merlot Tuesday!

Ended up with a surprise day off from work on Tuesday and decided to do a little cooking (and drinking). For dinner I made a pasta with Lemon cream and Prosciutto -

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/107652

This recipe is a favourite of ours and it pairs very well with a Merlot. The wine for the evening was a 2000 Château La Mission from Lalande-de-Pomerol.

This was another wine I picked up from my wine run down to the US. I was looking forward to trying this as this would be my first Merlot from Bordeaux. I had read about Petrus and how good Merlots from Pomerol were but Petrus is $700-$1300 a bottle or more so I don't think I will be trying it any time soon. This would let me get a flavour for the region on a budget.

I uncorked the bottle and the first aroma I got from the bottle was prune and a woody-earthy scent that I couldn't identify.

I poured out two glasses to go with dinner and noticed the deep purplish-red colour as I poured that is common with Merlot.

The first sip caught me a little off guard as I'm used to California Merlots and was expecting much more fruit on the tongue. The second sip was was better as I cleared my expectations, very rich and deep and yet subtle.

I served up the pasta and tried the wine again - yum! The wine went great with the pasta and my wife and I manged to put a pretty good dent in the bottle.

After enojying this bottle, we will be keeping an eye out for more Pomerol based wines.

Here is the details and write up from Prime Wines -

2000 Château La Mission, Lalande-de-Pomerol 750 ml.

-->This estate’s vineyards are planted to 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 60% Merlot and 10% Malbec. This wine comes from clay-on-limestone soil and is traditionally fermented in cement vats. It then spends 18 months in oak barrels with 1/3 of the barrel renewed each year. This wine is best consumed with red or white meats and all cheeses.

Our price $19.99… Only $18.00 when you buy a solid or mixed case.

Note - I did buy a mixed case so I got it at $18.00 so with duty $29.52

Staff- Deep and plummy Merlot flavors and textures predominate in this terrific red from the satellite region at the northern edge of Pomerol. While clearly not as well known as its famous neighbor, Lalande-de-Pomerol offers the kind of solid value wines to look for if you want to taste great 2000s without refinancing your house (have you seen what 2000 Pétrus is going for?).

Cheers!

Mark