Saturday Night - Off to a foreign country for the night – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For our main course we all went with the Filet Mignon and ordered 3 sides for the 4 of us – Roasted sweet potato, fresh asparagus and fresh cut steak fries. Side note - the sides were huge, 2 would be more than enough for 4 people.

"1999 Chateau Latour"

To thank Mick and Amy for hosting Saturday night dinners for the past 6 months or so, we decided to order a bottle of 1999 Chateau Latour, Pauillac. Château Latour is one of the five first growths of the Bordeaux region. We tried the Les Forts de Latour back in November of 2007 -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/saturday-night-4-bottles-2-drunk.html

which is Château Latour’s second level wine and it is one the top five Cabernets I have ever had so I was really curious what their top level would be like. It was pricy as all of the top five growths always are but the Western Door hadn’t marked this up very much at all.

Andrew the manager came by to open the wine. We chatted and I commented about the price not being marked up very much. He said keeping all of the first growth at low markup was the Western Door’s way of thanking its wine loving patrons. He decanted the wine but poured out a small taster size in each of our glasses while we waited for our main course to arrive.

"This photo was taken days after the dinner, so picture how dark this cork was when first opened!"

The bottom of the cork was so dark purple it almost seemed black. The nose on this wine was awe inspiring – big, complex with dark chocolate, coffee, green pepper, herbs, clove, cedar and dark berry running throughout. The really cool thing about the nose is about every five minutes or so it would change and one of the aromas would pop out to the forefront and then fade five minutes later as another one took its place.

Tasting the wine was interesting as it was very nicely balanced, good fruit, tannin and acidity but it too would change. At times the wine did become a touch too tannic and at other times it was really good.

I was disappointed a bit at the taste as it was really good but it didn’t blow me away. I figure by the ratings, history and write-ups about the first growths that it would blow away Joseph Phelps Insignia or the Robert Mondavi Napa Private Reserve or even the Les Forts de Latour but I actually preferred the taste of those wines over it. The nose on the other hand was easily the nicest nose I ever had the pleasure of sampling.

It was a good match most of the time with the Filets but as I said at times the taste changed on it so sometimes it was heavenly with the food and other times merely good.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 93, Mark - 95, Kathy – 92, Amy - 91, Overall – 93.25.

Here is what the Wine Spectator had to say about the wine -

CHÂTEAU LATOUR Pauillac 1999

Big, yet racy '99. Shows blackberry aromas, with a hint of spice, and is full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit, firm tannins and a dark chocolate and coffee aftertaste. Wonderful texture. Goes on and on. Best after 2006. 13,330 cases made. –JS

Score: 93
Release Price: $148
Current Auction Price: $305

The main course was very good as the Filet Mignon was cook to perfection and all of the sides were very tasty.

We finished the evening with dessert or at least the ladies did. I enjoyed the Western door; Andrew, Hal and Justin were great and made us feel very welcomed. It was a blast to try a first growth Bordeaux though at their price points I don’t see me doing that again real soon. Thankfully, Kathy did very well at the Casino that night which helped offset the dinner bill.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night - Off to a foreign country for the night – Part 1

As a break from our usual Saturday night and to give Mick a well deserved rest from cooking, Mick, Amy, Kathy and I headed over the border to Seneca NY for a night. We got a room at the Crown Plaza across the street from Casino Seneca. We had dinner reservations at the Western Door restaurant that was located at Casino Seneca for 6:30pm.

Thankfully the weather was decent and with US dollar so high against the Canadian peso… err I mean dollar, the border was quiet so we arrived at the hotel at around 5:00pm. We all checked in and each couple went their separate ways to unpack, get changed and settle in before heading over to the Western Door for dinner. Kathy was unpacking and did an “uh oh” and explained that she forgot to pack my outfit for dinner. We called across and ask if jeans were OK and were told they were fine but no short sleeves were allowed.

We headed across to dinner and I was relieved to find that there were at least two or three other people in the restaurant in jeans. Nice thing about an upscale restaurant connected to a Casino is that they don’t tend to be as picky about dress code as a normal upscale restaurant. We were seated and soon met our serving team of Hal and Justin. Hal was awesome, very funny and great timing on food and drinks.

We decide to start with a bunch of appetizers – I had the lobster bisque, Kathy had the clams casino as did Amy and Mick went with crab cakes. We also order a “shrimp tree” to split among the table. For the wine, I picked a 2001 Prosper Maufoux, Mont de Milieu, Chablis from Burgundy to go with the appetizers.

The lighting at the Western Door is more geared to atmosphere than for examining wines and table lighting wasn’t good, the colour looked to be the normal yellowish gold that you’d expect from a Chardonnay. The aroma had a nice toasty vanilla aroma with a good mix of citrus. The Chablis was a bit of an odd duck, it was a bit more fruit forward for a French Chardonnay and the acidity was rounded but a touch blunt. The saving grace of the Chablis was that it had a very lemony finish to it which helped its pairing with all the seafood appetizers.

It was a good match for the crab cakes and the clams casino, an ok match with the shrimp tree but was a little funky with the lobster bisque. On a side note, second best crab cakes I have ever had; the actual crab cakes themselves were really good but the sauce served with it was too bland.

The Prosper Maufoux, Mont de Milieu, Chablis was listed at $62 US on the wine list and judging by the mark-up on other wines in that price point, I would guess it would retail in a store in the US for about $25. At $25 US that would be about a $35 wine in the LCBO and at that price point there are much better Chardonnays out there.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 87, Mark - 87, Kathy – 87, Amy - 86, Overall – 86.75

I couldn’t find this listed on the LCBO’s website or on the Wine Spectator’s website.

Click here for Part 2

Wine Club – Chardonnay

This past Thursday was the November meeting of Wine Club. Over a year ago, Wine Club first looked at Chardonnay -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/wine-club-recap.html,

Back then we looked at two Canadian Chardonnays and a South African Chardonnay. I wanted to re-visited Chardonnay and this time take a look at a couple of them from the traditional home of Chardonnay – Burgundy, France.

"Good but not quite good enough"

Here is the LCBO Information on both of the wines we tasted -

Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2006

Stock Number – 933077
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 19.95
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Maison Louis Jadot
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Long-time Jadot winemaker Jacques Lardière is not one to rest on his laurels. From the geographical headquarters of the Chardonnay grape, he creates this wonderfully versatile wine. Aromas of french vanilla, toffee apple, lemon and toasty oak are prominently on display. It is a textbook example of how well oak and fruit mingle. A fine partner for grilled freshwater fish or a vegetable stir-fry.


Vincent Sauvestre Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru Les Talmettes 2006

Stock Number – 84517
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 34.95
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Roger Sauvestre
Release Date: Sep 27, 2008

Description - Savigny-Les-Beaune is a reliable source of solid value wines. Located on the favourable, gently ascending, southwest-facing slope, Les Talmettes vineyard produces wines that feature floral, ripe apple and pear aromas and flavours. This rich and harmonious white would make a very pleasing match for oven-baked salmon or roasted poultry.

The Louis Jadot is a Chardonnay that is a personal favourite of mine and I wanted to share this wine with Wine Club. The Vincent Sauvestre was a new Chardonnay that I found at my local LCBO. As it was a Premier Cru and therefore above the Louis Jadot in the AOC pecking order I thought it would be an interesting comparison.

I did up a Caesar salad to try with the wines and Erik brought in a smoked salmon and cream cheese roll, a home made garlic cheese loaf, olives and pineapple chunks so we had lots of different foods to try with the two wines.

The Louis Jadot I have reviewed a number of times on this Blog so I will just focus on the Vincent Sauvestre. It had a classic golden yellow colour that is common to Chardonnays. The LCBO write mentions floral, ripe apple, pear aromas and flavours. On the aroma side I noticed the floral, pear but not the apple and got a slightly toasty aroma. On tasting the wine, the apple was definitely there with pear undertones, the wine was nicely balance and had a good finish.

With the foods the Louis Jadot was clearly the better match with the Caesar as the Vincent Sauvestre became a little funky with the salad. With the salmon, garlic loaf, olives and pineapple, the Vincent Sauvestre was the winner but not by a huge margin. The fruit forwardness of the Vincent Sauvestre had over the Louis Jadot was enough to give it the edge with all of the foods except for the Caesar.

Once you bring price into consideration I would have to give the edge to the Louis Jadot as the winner of the day. The Vincent Sauvestre was the better wine but not by enough to justify the extra price it is selling for.

Thanks to Erik for bringing in a wide selection of foods as it really made this meeting a very good time.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Old Favourites Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the second course Mick did NY Strips with Zippy sauce, roasted finger potatoes and asparagus and paired it with a 2004 Bonterra Vineyards “Mendocino” Cabernet Cabernet Sauvignon.

"It says 'Cabernet Sauvignon' on the label!"

Nosing the wine brought forth aromas of spice, loam, blackberry, cedar and black pepper. The Bonterra was an interesting tasting experience as it started with a subtle cherry/strawberry flavour, nice mid-palate but then a strange lingering finish. The acidity was also lower than I’d expect for a California Cab.

I think Amy hit this one on the head when she described it as “not a very Cab like Cab”. The Bonterra’s saving grace is that is was very good with the food.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 87, Mark - 86, Kathy – 86, Amy – 85, Overall – 86.

LCBO Information –

Bonterra Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintages# 342428
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 18.95

Limited Time Offer

Was: $ 19.95

Now: $ 18.95

Save: $ 1.00 Until Nov 30, 2008

Wine, Red Wine,

12.09% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: California, United States

By: Brown-Forman Louisville Operations

Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - This Cabernet uses only organically grown grapes. The extra effort rewards with pure and polished aromas and flavours of cassis, cherry, roasted herbs, licorice and ripe blackberry all wrapped in silky tannins with a medium-long finish. Toast the cooler months by serving with rosemary-and-thyme-rubbed veal chops, or with a hearty lasagna of beef, zucchini and eggplant.

*Note this might not be the 2004 reviewed and is probably the 2006 year instead.

Thanks to Mick and Amy for a great evening and sorry about the delay in updating the blog.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Old Favourites Part 1

This review is a tad late as things have been really busy lately with home renovations and a new project at work. Mick and Amy had us over dinner on Saturday November 9th. The first course was spicy shrimp with mint sauce and was paired with a 2005 Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc.

"Not as good as earlier years"

The Mondavi was a pale yellow in colour and had a strong citrus/grapefruit aroma with hints of grass, lime and cat’s pee. The grapefruit theme carried over to the taste side of the wine which started with a soft vanilla flavour but had a hard grapefruit finish. The Mondavi surprised me as being more rounded than usual with blunted acidity and was much more mellow than usual as well. It was almost like the grapes used to make the wine were overripe.

It was still a good pairing for the spicy shrimp but I missed the typical razor sharp acidity that earlier years of the wine had.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 86, Mark - 88, Kathy – 86, Amy - 87, Overall – 86.75

LCBO Information –

Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc
Vintages# 221887
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 24.95
Wine, White Wine,
12.7% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, United States
By: Robert Mondavi Winery
Release Date: May 10, 2008

Description - In 1966, in tribute to the Loire Valley's Pouilly-Fumé, the great California innovator Robert Mondavi dubbed his lightly-oaked Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Fumé Blanc. Its aromas include Granny Smith apple, citrus, mineral and light toast notes. It has a crisp, refreshing, fruity core and a vibrant, spicy, subtly toasty finish, making it a perfect partner for barbecued salmon.

*Note – the LCBO listing above is probably the 2006 vintage and not the 2005 reviewed above.

Cheers!

Mark

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night Combique - Part 4

Click here for Part 1

Fourth Course – Gorgonzola Chicken Breasts with Nutty Brown Rice and 2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

Alex and Zdenka’s course was Gorgonzola chicken breasts with nutty brown rice. The wine pairing to go with this course was a 2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

"Wicked Chicken!"

Alex’s found this recipe earlier in the week and decided to try it for the first time at the Combique. He is a braver man than I am as I usually do tried and true recipes for the Combique but his bravery paid off big time as the meal was great. The chicken was cooked to perfection, it was firm and moist and the Gorgonzola really brought this dish to life. His rice was very good as well as the flavour of the nuts in the dish made it seem like more than just a rice side dish.

"Gallons of Grapefruit!"

I have reviewed the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc a few times on this site so I won’t go into much detail. The main element to the wine was pink grapefruit – in the aroma as well as the taste. It was a very good pairing with the dish.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 90, Mark - 92, Kathy – 88, Amy - 86, Overall – 89

As there were two other couples, I will list their ratings of the wine here as well – Zdenka – 81, Alex – 88, Melanie – 87 and Steve – 87.

Here is the LCBO information -

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
Vintages# 35386
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine,
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand
By: Constellation Wines Nz
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Vintage after vintage, the world-renowned Kim Crawford displays his winemaking prowess with Sauvignon Blanc. This version exhibits aromas such as gooseberry, asparagus, nettle, tomato leaf and citrus. Tantalizing with monkfish with tomato and fresh herbs, or steamed mussels.

"Out of focus Chocolate Cake... like our Photographer was when taking this picture!"

We finished up the night with chocolates, chocolates cake and a bottle of Henry of Pelham Late Harvest Vidal. I have reviewed this wine before so I won’t go into it, besides by that time of the evening and the amount of wine I consumed, I was having trouble even holding a pen, never mind trying to put together coherent notes.

"The always good Henry of Pelham"

The evening was a blast and thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting the night; they are probably still doing dishes at this moment! Thanks to Melanie, Alex and Mick for their amazing dishes.

Cheers,

Mark

Saturday Night Combique - Part 3

Third Course – Spicy Chicken Wings and 2007 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfadel

Mick and Amy’s course was a 50/50 mix of spicy chicken wings and curried chicken wings served with a creamy garlic sauce. The wine was a 2007 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfadel.

"Tonight's dinner brought to by Ontario's Poultry Farmers!"

The wine was something special – big, dark and powerful. Fruit, pepper and dark chocolate on the nose. The wine had a wonderful mouth-feel that just made you want to have more. The only let down with this wine was it was better on its own that with the chicken wings. Speaking of chicken wings, they were easily up to Mick’s usual standard of excellence.

"A Stunning Zin!"

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 92, Mark - 91, Kathy – 92, Amy - 90, Overall – 91.25

As there were two other couples, I will list their ratings of the wine here as well – Zdenka – 85, Alex – 89, Melanie – 91 and Steve – 87.

There is no LCBO information on this wine so here is the Wine Spectator’s information on it instead –

Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County 2007

A seductive and vigorous Zinfandel, with smoky black cherry and blueberry aromas and youthful wild berry, sage and cracked pepper flavors that have a lingering finish and zesty tannins. Drink now through 2012. 68,000 cases made. –TF

Score – 93, Price - $24 US

Click here for Part 4

Saturday Night Combique - Part 2

Second Course – Cheddar Apple Soup and 2007 Vineland Cabernet Franc

Melanie and Steve’s course was a Cheddar and apple soup garnish with fresh parsley and served with a slice of multi-grain bread. The wine was a 2007 Vineland Cabernet Franc.

"Working the cheese in!"

The aroma of the wine was a very strong candied cherry aroma with a hint of a mossy/green aroma. The wine had a thin precise mouth-feel with a strawberry and green pepper flavours. It had a slightly acidic finish to it but overall a light to medium body wine that was very easy drinking. There was a sweetness to the wine that leads me to suspect that the sugar was a one vs. being a bone dry zero.

"Lots of flavours!"

Melanie did a great job with the soup; the flavours combined to give the soup a hearty rich flavour. The sweetness of the apples was showing through the richness of the cheese. We talked about the idea of adding bacon to the soup to round it out a touch more. The multi-grain bread was terrific with the soup. The Cabernet Franc was a good pairing the slight sweetness of the wine playing well with the apples in the soup.

"Suprisingly good"

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 88, Mark - 89, Kathy – 85, Amy - 86, Overall – 87

As there were two other couples, I will list their ratings of the wine here as well – Zdenka – 86, Alex – 87, Melanie – 85 and Steve – 87.

LCBO Information -

Vineland Cabernet Franc VQA
LCBO# 594127
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 12.95
Wine, Red Wine,
12.2% Alcohol/Vol.
This is a VQA wine
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Vineland Estate Wines Limited

Tasting Note - Pale ruby/purple; aromas of black fruit, herbs and green pepper; light to medium-bodied, lively finish.

Serving Suggestion - Sautéed beef and pepper or vegetable risotto.

I’m not a huge fan of Canadian wines (except for dessert wines) as I stated before on this blog but for $13 a bottle this wine was quite good. A few more like this and I might be changing my opinion of VQA wines.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night Combique - Part 1

This Saturday Mick and Amy hosted a Combique with Kathy and myself and two other couples. A Combique is our made up term for a party where each couple makes a dish and brings a bottle (or two) of wine to pair with it.

First Course – Caesar Salad and 2006 Louis Jadot “Bourgogne” Chardonnay.

As I still have no kitchen due to the renovations, I ended making the salad course as it required the least amount of stove time. I truly believe the secret to good cooking is the following – use fresh quality ingredients and don’t take shortcuts.

"Caesar from scratch!"

Caesar salad is a good example of this - you can buy a bag of pre-chopped Romaine lettuce, buy a kit that has the dressing and croutons already made and then buy the pre-cooked bacon bits, assemble and presto, instant Caesar salad. Or you can buy a Romaine lettuce and be selective using just the heart. Making the dressing from scratch so you can customize the ingredients to your guests tastes. Buy bacon and cook it up and finally make the croutons yourself. There is a world of difference between the above two salads that your guests will notice.

Home-made croutons recipe - Cut up a baguette into one inch cubes. Melt a stick of butter, add a tablespoon or so of grated Parmesan cheese and half a tablespoon of garlic powder. In a large bowl, throw in the cubes of bread and pour the melted butter mixture over top and stir so all the cubes are nicely coated. Pour the cubes on a cookie sheet and broil in the oven until evenly toasted. Less then 10 minutes you have wonderful fresh tasting croutons.

"Classic French Chardonnay"

I served up the Caesar salad and poured out the wine and we all sat down for the first course. I have reviewed the Louis Jadot a number of times on the blog so I won’t go into much detail. The wine is a very food friendly wine and is an amazing pairing with Caesar salad at a pretty reasonable price point.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 89, Mark - 91, Kathy – 89, Amy - 88, Overall – 89.25

As there were two other couples, I will list their ratings of the wine here as well – Zdenka – 88, Alex – 91, Melanie – 88 and Steve – 87.

Here is the LCBO Information –

Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay
Vintages# 933077
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine,
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Maison Louis Jadot
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Long-time Jadot winemaker Jacques Lardière is not one to rest on his laurels. From the geographical headquarters of the Chardonnay grape, he creates this wonderfully versatile wine. Aromas of french vanilla, toffee apple, lemon and toasty oak are prominently on display. It is a textbook example of how well oak and fruit mingle. A fine partner for grilled freshwater fish or a vegetable stir-fry.

Click here for Part 2