1999 Joseph Phelps Merlot

Mick and Amy dropped in last night to chat. They were off to Mexico for vacation as of 2:00am Saturday morning, so we weren’t going to have our usual Saturday night dinner together. I decided I was in the mood to open up a bottle and for the box of Truffles we had in the cupboard.

"Stunning"

I went down and found a bottle of 1999 Joseph Phelps “Napa Valley” Merlot on the rack. Joseph Phelps is an amazing winemaker; some of my all time favourite wines are from this winery.

I grab four glasses and opened the bottle and was greeted by a stunning aroma from the bottle itself. I was shocked at how deep purple the cork was, it was almost black. I served the wine and my wife, Kathy, was about to swirl the glass and I told her not to bother – the aroma was so powerful, it didn’t need any help.

"Holy Sediment, Batman!"

The wine was rich and smooth and decadent in how good it tasted. As we were sitting around enjoying the wine, the ladies noticed the bottle – there was so much sediment on the side of the bottle that it looked almost painted on.

Wine Spectator – 1999 Joseph Phelps “Napa Valley” Merlot

Lots of character. Dark, rich and plush, with an array of exotic flavors ranging from spicy currant to mocha-hazelnut to wild berry, herb and coffee. Well-balanced, with firm but fleshy tannins and a long, complex aftertaste. Drink now through 2009. 7,500 cases made. –JL

I picked this wine up in NY from Premier Group for $44.99 US (about $74 CDN.) and it is worth every penny.

Cheers!

Mark

Wine Club – Sauvignon Blanc

This Thursday it was time for the 1st meeting of Wine Club for our next series of 6 monthly meetings. We had an “Old World” versus “New World” theme for this meeting.

We tasted a 2007 Kim Crawford “Marlborough” Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and a 2006 Henri Bourgeois “Les Baronnes” from Sancerre (Loire) France.

"Kick'in it Old World Style"

New Zealand is currently considered the “New World” king of Sauvignon Blanc. Loire in France is considered the home of “Old World” Sauvignon Blanc.

I had tried the Kim Crawford before and really enjoy it but this was my first tasting of the Henri Bourgeois.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/01/saturday-night-dinner-love-boat-edition.html

(I didn’t include a picture of the Kim Crawford or the LCBO Information as both can be found in the link above.)

We enjoyed the wines with an assortment of Cheese and Crackers. The Kim Crawford had more fruit and body to it but the Henri Bourgeois had a nice mineral crispness to it that was very refreshing. I found both wines were good on their own and with the food.

The opinions around Wine Club were split. Everyone liked both wines but there wasn’t a clear favourite.

LCBO Information - Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Les Baronnes

VINTAGES 542548
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 24.75

12.5% Alcohol

Vol.Sugar Content : XD

Made in: Loire, France

By: Henri Bourgeois

Release Date: Oct 13, 2007

Description - One of the top domaines in the Loire, Henri Bourgeois has been perfecting Sauvignon Blanc for 10 generations. With fresh gooseberry, kiwi, green apple and grapefruit aromas, it's dry, fruit driven and well structured with excellent length. Enjoy with goat cheese, roasted cucumber salad or ceviche.

Next month’s Wine Club – Pinot Noir

Cheers!

Mark

2005 Dashe "Dry Creek" Zinfandel

Mick and Amy were over on Sunday to watch the Nascar Daytona race. We decided ahead of time, rather than cooking just to order in some Wings and Ribs. Mick had a bottle of 2005 Dashe “Dry Creek” Zinfandel that he wanted to try with it.

"A Funky-monkey of a wine"

Mick had recently tried the 2001 Dashe “Dry Creek” and thought it was exceptional and hoped the 2005 would be as good.

The wine was interesting. The nose was a mix of berry and pepper. Tasting it you are initially hit with good fruit and then the mid-palate had a bitterness to it, similar to the bitterness you get from eating walnuts. The finish wasn’t there; the wine just disappeared after the mid-palate.

The Dashe was an alright match with the Wings and Ribs, but a Rosenblum Zinfandel probably would have been better.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/20-favourites.html

Mick purchased this in the US and I couldn’t find any information on it on the LCBO’s website.

Wine Spectator - Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 2005
Rating – 87

There's a burst of fruit up front--black cherry, blueberry and licorice--then this firms up, offering tart blackberry, black pepper and smoke flavors that finish with rustic tannins. Best from 2008 through 2012. 5,211 cases made

Price $22 US (approx. $36 CDN)

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Happy 40th Buddy!

It was Mick’s birthday this weekend so we ended up at the 1010 Bistro to celebrate. Mick is actually turning 37 but I was having fun annoying him with the whole 40 thing.

"Very Food Friendly"

We started off the night with a bottle of 2005 Bouchard Pere & Fils “Petit-Chablis”. Petit-Chablis is a Chardonnay that is mostly grown at higher altitudes on mixed limestone soils. It tends to be much lighter than a California Chardonnay.

LCBO Information - BOUCHARD P & F PETIT CHABLIS

LCBO 51466
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.10
11.7% Alcohol/Vol.
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: BOUCHARD PERE & FILS

Tasting Note - Pale straw colour; green apple, pear, citrus and minerals with touch of almond on the nose; dry, crisp and clean with a hint of clove and a long citrus finish.

Serving Suggestion - Hors d'oeuvres; crab stuffed sole; oysters on a half shell; simply prepared shellfish dishes

This wine is definitely a food wine – on its own it is nothing special but with food it is really good. The wine paired amazingly well with a number of different appetizers – Tomato and Lobster Bisque, Crabs Cakes with a spicy Santa Fe sauce, Scallops on a bed of Lentils and Grilled Calamari. It was OK with a Caesar Salad. The seafood appetizers being a good match weren’t a surprise but I was very impressed how well the wine handled the Tomato and Lobster Bisque.

The wine was so good we ended up ordering a second bottle. For a $20 wine this is a “must” buy.

"Something New"

For dinner Amy and I had the Beef Tenderloin, Kathy had the Grilled Venison and Mick had the evening’s special which was Lamb Shank. The wine I ordered was a 2000 Chateau Fleur de Jean Gué Lalande de Pomerol. I knew this wine would work with the Tenderloin and the Venison but wasn’t sure about the Lamb.

The Chateau Fleur de Jean Gué Lalande de Pomerol is a Merlot with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blended in. At first there wasn’t much of a nose to the wine, but as it sat and opened up, there was a nice berry and smoke aroma. The Merlot was very dark in colour and had a good full body to it. It was a good match for the Tenderloin, and great match for the Venison and an OK match for the Lamb Shank.

Mick ended up ordering a California Pinot Noir that the 1010 had by the glass. He really liked it; unfortunately I forgot to write down the name of it.

The 2000 Chateau Fleur de Jean Gué Lalande de Pomerol was fun to try and a nice wine but it didn’t blow me away. I couldn’t find any information on it at the LCBO or the Wine Spectator. My recommendation on buying this wine is to spend your money on something else as I have had better wines for less money. Hey, they all can’t be winners can they?

Dessert was accompanied by a couple of glasses of Taylor Fladgate 20 year old port which I passed on, but was told that it was up to its usual standard of excellence. The night was a great night of friends and food at one of Hamilton’s better restaurants.

Cheers!

Mark.

Saturday Night – Perfect Pairings

This Saturday was my night to cook. Most times I make a meal and then find a wine to pair with it. This Saturday I went the other way as I had two wines that I wanted to have.

The first wine was a 2002 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, that I put in the fridge about a month ago and didn’t get to it. I was worried that 2002 is a bit old for a Sauvignon Blanc and put a bottle of 2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge just in case.

The second wine was a 1999 Chassagne-Montrachet White Burgundy. I’d picked this up on my last trip to the US back in November and was looking forward to trying it. I did toss a more recent Chardonnay in the fridge just in case this one had past its prime as well.

"Grab the Handle"

I picked French Onion soup as my pairing for the Sauvignon Blanc. I hadn’t made French Onion in a while and on a cold day, a nice hearty soup is wonderful.

Once Mick and Amy arrived I opened the Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc and handed it to my wife to pour out as I got back to adding the croutons and cheese to the soup. Then at the last moment I remembered my concerns about the age of the wine – “Dear, just pour out a glass for Mick and see what he thinks…”

As I was adding the last bit of cheese to the soup before broiling it, Mick piped up from the living-room, “Smells like rotten apples” follow by “and it doesn't taste much better than that either!”

He held up the glass and I got my first look – the wine was a deep yellow, almost amber colour which would be great for a dessert wine but not so good for a Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc tends to be very pale in colour. I tried a sip of the wine, it wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever tasted but it wasn’t good either.

I decided to break out the Kim Crawford instead. I won’t go into much detail as I have covered the Kim Crawford before –

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/01/saturday-night-dinner-love-boat-edition.html

It was a very good match to the French Onion. The type of match where you are licking the glass and looking at the empty bottle like you just lost your best friend.

Generally most white wines you want to drink sooner than later and most reds will benefit from some aging.

"Mmm... Mold"

For the main course I needed something to pair with the 1999 Chassagne-Montrachet White Burgundy (Chardonnay). I went with a Chicken Caesar Salad.

I removed the covering from the Chardonnay and was greeted by a little mold over the top of the cork. “Great” I thought to myself another wine that is no good. I removed the cork and despite the mold was in good shape. I gave the bottle a tentative sniff and smiled - no strong musty odors. I poured out a glass and took a small sip, now I was wearing an even bigger grin as there was nothing wrong with this wine.

"Whoa... Garlic"

I poured out the wine, plated the Caesar and we settled down to dinner. As good as the first match was this was even better. The garlic and lemon of the Caesar really brought this wine to life. This was a huge wine but at the same time very subtle. I was kicking myself that I only bought the one bottle. The I bought this from Premier Group for $44.99 US (so about $73 CDN after duty and taxes) .

Wine Spectator – 89

Fernand & Laurent Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1999

Smooth and supple, but what's there is very seductive, with honey, lemon, pear, green apple and spice and smoke. Full-bodied, with a balanced finish. Drink now through 2005. –PM

Remember what I said about most whites "drink sooner than later…" White Burgundy may not fall in the category of “most whites”.

"Blue Cheese+Port = Heaven!"

For dessert we had a cheese tray and 40 year old Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port for dessert. It was part of a kit where you got a half bottle of the 10, 20, 30 and 40 year old Tawny port. We picked this kit up for New Year’s but never got chance to crack it open. A few years ago, we purchased a similiar gift box and we agreed the 30-year old tawny port was actually superior to the 40. We haven’t yet tried the 30 year but the 40 year was excellent. Blue Cheese and Port is another match made in heaven.

There are some evenings where you miss with the wine and food pairings and on other nights you just nail it. This Saturday I was very blessed with not one but three exceptional pairings. What makes these pairings even more special is a year or two ago I would have gone with a California wine as my comfort zone was with the region and the wines produced their. Not a single California wine was served this evening and with great results. If you are hooked on a wine region, maybe think about stepping outside your comfort zone and trying something new, you never know what you might be missing.

I’d love feedback from anyone reading this, please feel free to post your comments and suggestions.

Cheers!

Mark,

Saturday Night – Mick’s Cooking up a Storm

All day Friday we were hit with a good dumping of snow. I have to say watching my wife shovel all that snow on Saturday really worked up an appetite! Mick’s menu was inspired by his desire to try two new seafood dishes.

"Grilled Tandoori Shrimp"

The first course was a Grilled Tandoori Shrimp served on a bed of couscous and with a wedge of lime. Mick decided to go with an old favourite for the wine pairing – a Robert Mondavi Riesling.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/20-favourites.html

The shrimp were grilled to perfection. Mick and I really liked Tandoori flavour; the ladies not so much. The wine pairing was OK but not perfect, though I have no idea what wine would be a good match here. It may be that beer or an alcohol based cider would be a better match than wine.

"What am I?"

The second course was Pan-Seared Scallops with a Crab, Onion and Lemon garnish. I really love seafood but scallops are an item that wouldn’t be high on that list. So I wasn’t overly looking forward to this dish. Mick decided to go with a new wine to pair with this – a 2005 Beringer Knight's Valley Alluvium Blanc.

"I'm Frying"

Remember how I was saying that I didn’t like Scallops… well guess who was looking around for more once he finished his portion? Yup, it was me. Mick prepared Scallops to perfection. The Crab garnish was very tasty as well, though a touch too much lemon in the mix. We all agreed that this garnish would be great on a Filet Mignon. The Alluvium Blanc was an OK pairing at best.

"Tasty little morsels of heaven"

Beringer’s Alluvium Blanc is a blend of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc with small amounts of Chardonnay and Viognier. I’m not a huge fan of blends like this as it tends to leave the wine with an identity crisis and seems to pick up the worst characteristics of each of the grapes.

To sum this wine up - interesting to try something new, glad we got the chance to try it but it isn’t a wine I’m going to rush out and buy another one of anytime soon.

LCBO Information – 05 BERINGER ALLUVIUM WHITE

Vintages # 403188
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 25.75

14.2% Alcohol/Vol.

Made in: California, United States

By: Foster's Wine Estates Americas

We were kicking around ideas of what wine would be an ideal match for this amazing scallop dish. Chardonnay came up, a true Sauvignon Blanc, and a Viognier were tossed around and debated – then I tossed out the idea of a dry sparkling wine. Mick lit up at the idea of a dry sparkling wine and said he would do the dish again and try it.

"Not bad for $13"

Mick’s main course of the evening was Chicken Quesadillas. These are a favourite which he has done before –

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/10/saturday-hitem-with-spice-weasel.html

Mick decided to try a Cline Syrah with the Chicken Quesadillas instead of Red Zinfandel. The wine had a nice aroma to it that was full of fruit, unfortunately that was the only place the fruit showed up. The wine tasted very one dimensional and the one Syrah/Shiraz trait that was there in spades was pepper, but no fruit to speak of. The wine was an OK pairing. For a $13 bottle of wine, the Cline isn’t a bad deal, but I won’t be running out to pick more up.

LCBO Information - CLINE SYRAH (V)

Vintages # 733758
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 12.85

14.3% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: California, United States

By: Cline Cellars

Release Date: Feb 2, 2008

Description - Made with grapes sourced primarily from Cline's Sonoma County vineyards, this is an excellent value! This Syrah will have you singing its praises with its aromas of blackberry, cracked pepper, spice, and leather, with flavours of black cherry with a hint of oak and a medium long finish. A natural partner for grilled lamb or gourmet sausages.

Amy picked up a La Rocca Chocolate Royale cake for dessert which was very good. I’m enjoying Mick’s forays into all these foods and wines as they have a way of brightening these dull winter days!

Cheers!

Mark.