Saturday Night - Great Expectations, Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the main course basil and pine nut salmon with mashed potatoes and caramelized onions was paired with a 2004 Paul Hobbs “Richard Dinner Vineyard” Sonoma County Chardonnay.

"Salmon prepped and ready to be cooked"

The Paul Hobbs Chardonnay is by far and away the most I have paid for a Chardonnay as it was $100 US a bottle (about $165 Cdn. after duty, taxes and exchange). My wife, Kathy picked this one out. Kathy for a year had a subscription to Robert Parker’s newsletter. Her biggest compliant about the newsletter was for a large number of the wines reviewed that got high ratings were very small releases that were never available in the LCBO. Paul Hobbs winery was one that consistently got amazing reviews but isn’t available in the LCBO so when she saw a Paul Hobbs Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon at the Premier Group in NY she snapped both up.

"The finished product!"

I was really looking forward to trying this wine out. It’s colour was a amber gold colour that was a touch darker than normal for Chardonnays and it was slightly cloudier than I would have expected too. I was worried that there was an issue with the wine but the nose was great with vanilla, smoke, butter, pear and lychee. Tasting the wine, the my first thought was “Holy giant oak, Batman!”; this wine was an oak monster. There was a lot of complexity to this wine but I was find the huge oak kept distracting me from it. There was a nice spicy nutmeg flavour running throughout the taste of the wine with vanilla notes with a hint of pear as well.

"Not what I was expecting"

The Paul Hobbs Chardonnay wasn’t a bad pairing with the salmon but not as good as I’d hoped it would be.

Here is what the Wine Spectator had to say about this wine –

Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain Cuvée Agustina Richard Dinner Vineyard 2004

Offers subtle, delicate flavors that are built around complex notes of creamy pear, apple, fig and vanilla, which fan out nicely on the palate. Exquisite balance and depth, with a finely honed finish that holds the flavors on the palate, ending with a smoky marshmallow note. Drink now through 2009. 216 cases made. –JL, Score – 94, Price - $100.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 89, Mark – 88, Kathy – 90, Amy – 86, Overall – 88.25.

I was shocked to see how far off our group rating was from the Wine Spectator’s on this one and the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. For the Chardonnay, I think there were three reasons for this. The first is maybe this wine was a little past its prime as the recommendation was drink now through 2009 so we are at the end of the recommended time period. The second was we have been leaning more to French based wines in the last six months or so and have gotten used to the subtle oak. The last reason and probably the biggest factor was expectations on both wines were high and probably too high, so when they didn’t match those expectation we were a little harsh with them.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night - Great Expectations, Part 1

Mick and Amy are back from vacation, in case anyone was wondering why the blog had been so quiet recently, so it was time for our usual Saturday night get together. I picked a couple of old favourites as the dishes for the evening – Gorgonzola dip as the starter and basil and pine nut salmon with mashed potatoes and caramelize onions as the main course.

"It's green but it is good!"

To go with the Gorgonzola dip I decided to pair it with a 2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. I hadn’t tried the 2008 yet but the 2007 Kim Crawford was a great pairing for Gorgonzola dip - http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/01/saturday-night-dinner-love-boat-edition.html.

So I was curious to see how the 2008 version would be like.

The pale yellow with slight greenish tint was what you’d expect from a Sauvignon Blanc in colour. The nose of the wine was filled with different fruit aromas of pear, lychee, green apple and melon which was not what I was exactly expecting. Tasting the wine caught me completely off guard as it was very tart. Grapefruit and green apple were the dominate flavours with the acidity being very high and a complete lack of a finish being the biggest surprise.

"Not the 2006 or 2007 style"

If I hadn’t had the 2006 and 2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc before I probably would have enjoyed this wine more. The earlier version of this wine were nicely balanced and were soft and approachable, whereas the 2008 was more like a typical Sauvignon Blanc with a more straight forward approach with big acidity. In spite of the character change in the 2008 version the Kim Crawford was still a good pairing with the Gorgonzola dip.

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

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.

Here is what the Wine Spectator had to say about it –

2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Fragrant and complex, with a refreshing burst of lime, guava, grapefruit and grass flavors. Wet stone, passion fruit and oyster shell accents add interest, with bright acidity highlighting the vivid finish. Another outstanding Sauvignon from a perennial success. Drink now. 175,000 cases made. –DS, Score – 91, Price - $19.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 89, Mark – 86, Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.25.

My 86 in the rating was probably a touch harsh as I wrote earlier I was expecting something very different from this wine. I will have to pick up another bottle and try it again with a more open mind.

Click here for Part 2

Wine Club looks at 3 of the 5 Bordeaux blending grapes

"The 3 wines on tap"

This month’s Wine Club we took a look the three lesser grapes of the five that make up a classic red Bordeaux blend. The five grapes used in a Bordeaux blend are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

Here is the LCBO information on all three -

2004 Trius Cabernet Franc

Stock Number – 587964
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 14.95 (+ $.20 deposit)
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.

This is a VQA wine

Made in: Ontario, Canada

By: Andres Wines Ltd

Tasting Note - Medium-deep red brick colour; aromas of cedar, white pepper and red cherries; dry, with fine textured tannins, medium body and flavours of raspberry, smoked meat and cloves; medium finish.

Serving Suggestion - Beef stew or pasta in a meat sauce

2004 Chateau Haut-Monplaisar “Prestige” (Malbec)

Stock Number – 936534
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 17.95 (+ $.20 deposit)
Sugar Content : XD

Made in: South West, France

By: Chateau Du Cedre

Release Date: Nov 8, 2008

Tasting Note - Well-incorporated oak gives smoky edge to sweet fruit. Lush, soft; more accessible than many. Sumptuous, multi-layered. Drink 2007/8. , Score - 3 Stars (out of 5). (www.decanter.com, 2007)

2005 Pirramimma Petit Verdot

Stock Number – 986752
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 23.95 (+ $.20 deposit)
Wine, Red Wine,

14.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: South Australia, Australia

By: Malesco Wine Broker

Release Date: Nov 8, 2008

Description - Over a century ago, winery founder and McLaren Vale pioneer Alexander Campbell Johnson chose the name 'pirramimma', an aboriginal word meaning 'the moon and the stars'. Today chief winemaker Geoff Johnson shares his grandfather's pioneering spirit, having planted the first Petit Verdot vines in Australia over twenty years ago. This rare single-varietal offering of the lesser-known Bordeaux grape is considered among the world's best

I have never tried a wine made only with Petit Verdot, so I was looking forward to this opportunity. Pouring out all three wines, the Cabernet Franc was the most unique of the three as it was a thin red-brown in colour sort of like the thinness you get with Pinot Noir. The Malbec and the Petit Verdot were both dark and opaque, though the Malbec was more purple-red vs. the ruby red of the Petit Verdot. I’m guessing that the Malbec, due to the purple in the colour, had some Merlot blended in.

The aroma from the Cabernet Franc was a mix of Black Currant and Cedar, I didn’t get the white pepper or red cherries that the LCBO had in their description. The Malbec has a classic earthy aroma to it that I find common in French Wines as well as some green pepper and oak. The Petit Verdot had a huge nose of smoke, cedar, vanilla and chocolate.

The structure on all three wines was very different. The Cab. Franc was high in acidity with weak soft tannins making the wine light, easy drinking and approachable. The Malbec’s acidity seemed lacking but big tannins and good body made this wine seem much bigger than the Cab. Franc. Lastly, the Petit Verdot was a big huge wine with fresh acidity and good tannin and body and was probably the most balanced of the three.

A Wine Club member brought in a selection of soft cheeses; a spiced goat’s cheese, a cranberry goat’s cheese and a fig goat’s cheese as well as a brie. With the cheeses the Cabernet Franc was the crowd favourite, follow by the Petit Verdot and the Malbec came in dead last. I like Malbec though with the spiced cheese but would agree with the rest on the order. I will also note that the sweetness of the cranberry and the fig goat cheese didn’t make it a good match for any of the wines.

I’m a little surprised that for me a VQA Cabernet Franc was my first choice of the three and that the Australian Petit Verdot was second and the French Malbec was dead last as usually Canada and Australia are my two least favourite wine regions and France is one of favourite areas but that is the nice thing about trying new wines and keeping an open mind is that you can be pleasantly surprised at times!

Cheers

Mark

Saturday Night – Let’s mess up the Top Ten list – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

The 2003 Rutherford Hill Merlot was a Zippy Sauce Top Ten wine that I have always felt a bit guilty about as all wines on the Top Ten are rated by all four of us except for it; only Mick and I rated it.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/08/friday-night-guys-night.html

"Tastes much better than it looks"

The Rutherford Hill Merlot is a big, chewy, reach-out-of-the-glass-and-smack-you-in-the-face Merlot which is a style that Mick and I really enjoy. Amy prefers a more fruit forward Merlot and Kathy tends to like a more well rounded Merlot. So it would interesting to see how it would do ratings wise with the ladies in the picture.

"Still worthy of being a Top 10 wine"

The main course was grilled steak slices with fresh corn and baby potatoes. The dish also has diced celery and shallots, sliced cherry tomatoes and arugula. I think this is a really neat dish as other than salt, pepper and a little butter and olive oil to brown the potatoes with there are no spices. The different ingredients really bring the flavours of this dish and I find each mouthful is different from the next.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to pair this with at first so I decided to go with my favourite red wine rule – “When in doubt, go Merlot”. Narrowing the choice down to a Merlot, from there I decided that with the steak in the dish, I wanted a ‘bigger’ Merlot to go with it and Rutherford Hill popped into my head.

There is no doubt when you nose this wine it is a California red with loamy, plum and cedar aromas in the wine. Tasting the wine you get a dry, chewy, big Merlot with an enjoyable smoky tobacco flavour running throughout. This Merlot does a wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon impression, not quite a Cab but I could see someone mistaking it for one – big, lots of tannin and not as fruity as you’d expect from a Merlot. It was a good but not great pairing with meal. I think the main reason the pairing was good vs. great is the steaks were much leaner than I expected and didn’t cut through the tannin like I’d hoped.

The LCBO rating and Wine Spectator write-up were covered my early article about the Rutherford Hill Merlot so I won’t bother doing them again.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 90, Mark - 90, Kathy – 89, Amy – 89, Overall – 89.5.

As that is the four person rating for the wine, I will use this as the official rating which does, unfortunately remove it from the Zippy Sauce Top Ten. This is still a very good wine which I will happily recommend to anyone.

So at the end of the day, we gain a wine on the Top Ten and lose one as well. Both wines for the evening were enjoyable and I’m already looking forward to next Saturday’s wine adventures.

Cheers!

Mark.

Saturday Night – Let’s mess up the Top Ten list – Part 1

This past Saturday Mick and Amy were by for our usual Saturday night dinner. The menu for the evening was a curried Thai sweet potato soup with grilled shrimp and multi-grain pita and was paired with a 2005 Wegeler Kabinett Riesling. The main course was a grilled steak slices with fresh corn and baby potatoes paired with a 2005 Rutherford Hill Merlot

"Curried Thai sweet potato soup"

Kathy and I had the Wegeler Riesling earlier this month and really enjoyed it so I wanted Mick and Amy to try it as well.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2009/01/2005-wegeler-kabinett-riesling.html

The curried Thai sweet potato soup was also a new find that I wanted to share with them as well. I decided to add some grilled shrimp and pita as sides to the recipe as both are great for dipping with the soup. I poured out the wine slightly ahead of them arriving as I find this wine gets better as it warms up a bit as it really tends to open up.

"Awesome!"

Shortly after they arrived, all four of us sat down to eat but we did take a minute to examine the wine before starting. The nose of the Riesling consisted of citrus, petrol, melon and an undetermined floral note to it. Tasting the wine, the first thing that hits you is a sweetness on the tip of your tongue with a green grape/apple taste through the mid-palate with a really great finish. The Riesling has nice fresh acidity which really helps cut through the initial sweetness of the wine. The character of the wine when paired with soup intensives and really brings the wine to life. This wine is very easy drinking and we were all commenting that you could kill a couple bottles of this with no problem at all.

Here is the LCBO Infromation on this wine -Wegeler Riesling Kabinett 2005

VINTAGES 650994

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 29.70

Wine, White Wine

8.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : MD

Made in: Moselle/Saar/Ruwer, Germany

By: Geheimrat J. Wegeler Erben

Release Date: Jul 21, 2007

Tasting Note - Ripe and juicy, with tangerine, lime and mineral aromas and flavors. Shuts down a little, needing time to integrate, yet all the components are in the right place. Finishes long. Best from 2008 through 2018. Score - 92. (Bruce Sanderson, www.winespectator.com, Feb-07).

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 91, Mark - 93, Kathy – 90, Amy – 90, Overall – 91

With a 91 overall rating this wine slides, in my opinion, rightly into the Zippy Sauce Top Ten. Speaking of the Top Ten, that brings us to Part 2 of this article…

Click here for Part 2