Saturday night – The request lines are now open – Part 3

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For dessert I picked up a chocolate brownie cheesecake and opened a bottle of 2003 Joseph Phelps ‘Innisfree’ Cabernet Sauvignon. The ‘Innisfree’ label is Joseph Phelps’ lower end label with prices running from about $15 to $20 US a bottle. I’d picked this bottle up at the Premier Group in NY a couple of years ago so I have no LCBO information on it and the Wine Spectator has no review for this wine.

"Saturday at 8:30 was some sort of save the Earth by turning off the lights event hence the candles"

The colour on the wine is a deep inviting purplish-red and the nose has tobacco, spiced plum, wood, chocolate covered cherries and lots heat on the nose as well. The wine is nicely balanced with maybe just a touch too much tannin, big fruit and mouth feel and an OK finish. The Innisfree was a good pairing with the cheesecake.

"Solid"

Mick describe the wine as “Tastes like a Cab. should taste” which is right on the money. The issue I have with this wine is it is a solid Cab. but is just missing the magic - enjoyable but forgettable.

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

I just noticed that the group ratings for all three wines were within a quarter point of each other (86.75, 86,75 and 87). I think Amy summed up the night the best – ‘Average wines, great food and good pairings’.

Cheers,

Mark

Saturday night – The request lines are now open – Part 2

For the main course I went with Island Pork tenderloin and a 2005 Chateau Montelena Zinfandel.

We really liked the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay we had awhile back so I was curious to see how they would do with a Zinfandel. Mick wasn’t as excited about it as he feels that if a winery doesn’t specialize in Zinfandel then they shouldn’t make one as they seem to miss with it more often then not.

"Island Pork"

The nose on this wine was huge compare to the Riesling with cigar box, cherry, tobacco, loan and a perfume aroma rounding out the nose. The wine on its own was tannic and dry with lots of pepper and not much fruit present. With the Island Pork with the sweetness of the brown sugar glaze, raisins, mandarins and mangos this wine came to life; the tannins really softened, the fruit was more noticeable and the pepper wasn’t quite as in your face as before which made the wine very nice.

"As good as their Chardonnay?"

Mick described this wine perfectly when he said if Bordeaux made Zinfandel this is what it would be like. I agree with that as I find a number of Bordeaux wines tend to be ‘food’ wines as they aren’t that great on their own but are amazing with food.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 85, Mark – 87, Kathy – 89, Amy – 86, Overall – 86.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Chateau Montelena Zinfandel 2005
VINTAGES 69633
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 33.95
Wine, Red Wine,
14.6% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Chateau Montelena
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Bursting with raspberry jam, cola and chocolate, this supple and elegantly styled Zin has plenty of ripe fruit balanced beautifully by a seam of acidity and some soft tannins. Enjoy with a savoury pork roast over the next 2-3 years.

Mick mentioned that he wondered what the Wine Spectator would have rated this wine, then paused for a moment and said “Chateau Montelena probably wouldn’t have submitted this wine to them as they didn’t want to get their good name slagged…”

Well, surprise buddy, here is what the Wine Spectator had to say about this wine –

Chateau Montelena Zinfandel Napa Valley The Montelena Estate 2005

Elegant and juicy, with cherry and sage aromas and supple plum, licorice and mineral flavors. Drink now through 2012. 4,800 cases made. –TF

Rating 87, Price $30.

I think Mick was a tad harsh on this wine but he has high standards on Zinfandels. I enjoyed this wine as it was a good pairing with the meal but I will say that at a $34 price point there are better Zinfandels out there

Click here for Part 3

Saturday night – The request lines are now open – Part 1

Mick and Amy were by for our usual Saturday dinner. Kathy had been asking me to do Island pork for awhile and Amy had been asking for honey gorgonzola crostinis so I decided to fulfill those requests.

"So simple, yet so good"

The first course was honey gorgonzola crostinis and Miss Vickie’s chips and sour cream. I decided to pair the crostinis with a semi-sweet Riesling and picked a bottle of 2004 Wegeler “Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg” Kabinett that fit that bill.

The nose on the Wegeler was very faint with pear being the predominate aroma with wet stone and a floral note in the background. The acidity on the wine seemed blunted and wasn’t as crisp as I hoped it would be. The main flavour of the wine was green apple but without the sour that you’d usually get from a green apple. The best way I can describe the taste is if 7-11 offered a green apple slurpee this would be the flavour of it as you get the green apple flavour but the sweetness overrides the sourness. The finish on the wine was very short and seemed to disappear almost instantly.

"What do a slurpee and this wine have in common?"

The upside on the wine was it was a fantastic paring with the honey gorgonzola crostinis.

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

"Chips!"

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Wegeler Riesling Kabinett 2004

Vintages 87999

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 23.95

Wine, White Wine,

11.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : MD

Made in: Rhine Rhinegau, Germany

By: Geheimrat J. Wegeler Erben

Release Date: Feb 28, 2009

Tasting Note - The Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg is stony from the slate in the vineyards but also has mineral white peach fruit and a fair degree of sweetness. It is uncommonly pretty and bears strong resemblance to a Spätlese. Score - 91. (Claude Kolm, The Fine Wine Review, Number 108, 2005)

I noticed that the LCBO is listing the alcohol at 11% yet the bottle is labeled as 9% and after trying the wine I would lean towards the 9% as being the correct number.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday night – Kathy’s Birthday – Part 2

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For the main course and as it was a special occasion, we decided to go with a 1999 Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac. We were all having steaks or filets so this wine should be a good match with the food.

"6oz Filet with Shrimp"

The Lafite had a lovely nose of truffle, coffee, chocolate, cherry, sweet tobacco, black current and anise. Tasting the wine just made you sigh with pleasure as it had nice fruit on the tongue to start, a smooth mid-palate and an incredible lingering finish. The structure of this wine was perfect; the balance made this wine so smooth and easy drinking it wasn’t funny. The most impressive thing about the wine was the finish as it just lingered for minutes and you could just sit back enjoy this. It was very good with the food.

"The Cork"

The only small compliant I had with the wine was the mouth-feel could have been a touch bigger/chewier. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing; the 1999 Latour we had a few months back had a much more masculine mouth-feel to it, where as this wine was more feminine in its approach. This is more of a personal preference than a criticism.

"The Cork from a more artistic angle"

There was no LCBO listing for a 1999 Lafite Rothschild so here are the Wine Spectator’s comments on the wine –

Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac 1999

Complex aromas of blackberries, tobacco, spices and black licorice are alluring in this full-bodied claret, with a solid core of fruit and silky tannins. Long, caressing finish. Superfine, well-structured. Best after 2006. 22,500 cases made. –JS

Score: 95, Release Price: $141 US, Current Auction Price: $327 US.

"The Bottle"

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 95, Mark – 93, Kathy – 94, Amy – 94, Overall – 94

That 94 rating places it second on the Zippy Sauce Top Ten list between the Insignia and the Latour. It is interesting with the top 3 wines that all of them have a quality that stands out; the Insignia had the best taste/mouth-feel, the Latour had best nose and the Lafite had the best finish. If I could find a wine that had all three of those qualities combined…wow! I guess I’ll just have to keep looking!

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Kathy’s Birthday – Part 1

It was my wife’s birthday on Saturday, so a group of us decided to go out for the evening to Seneca Casino. The Western Door is a steak and seafood restaurant at the casino which has good food and a great wine list.

http://www.senecaniagaracasino.com/dining-western-door.cfm

For the first course, we started with appetizers; crab cakes, Caesar salad, clams casino, smoked salmon and a chilled seafood platter. We ordered a couple of bottles of 2005 Sauvion from Sancerre. After the first bottle was poured out, we noticed that Kathy and Mick both had white crystals in their glasses. I wasn’t overly concerned about this as we’d seen the same thing a number of times with red wine; Rosenblum Zinfandel commonly has these crystals. We usually jokingly refer to them as ‘flavour crystals’.

"Flavour Crystals!"

I was curious as to why these crystal are in some wines and not others so I did a bit of web research and came across this article from winesloverspage.com.

Crystals in wine: What are they?

The crystals at the bottom of a bottle of wine are usually a sign that the wine is of good quality. They are more common on red wine where they are stained by the wine and are regarded as part of the sediment. In white wine they remain clear, and some people fear they may be glass.

Not so. They are tartrate crystals formed as part of the aging process. Some wines are more susceptible than others due to the climate where they are made and the grape varieties used. German wines are often affected.

Because many consumers are upset by seeing these crystals in white wine and take them back to the retailer, most mass wine producers process the wine to precipitate and filter out the crystals. This process does, of course, result in a less complex and less interesting wine.
Thus I expect the wine you are referring to is a good quality wine, maybe from a boutique winery, that is developing in the bottle.

As long as the wine is stored properly then it should give you delight when you get around to drink it. However I suggest you do not keep the wine for too long.

Please reassure your friend that the crystals are totally harmless. Don't shake the bottle and pour the wine gently and they will all stay in the bottle.

Thanks to Peter May, host of The Pinotage Club on the Web, for providing this question and answer.

I guess as they are “a sign that a wine is of good quality”, the ‘flavour crystals’ joke wasn’t far of the mark.

The Sauvion is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre area of France. The nose on the wine was nice with lime, rosewater and wet stones. Tasting the wine, it had a faint peach flavour to start with, crisp acidity and a big lime finish. The wine on its own was nice but this wine really shined with the food; it was very good with any of the seafood appetizers and exceptional with the Caesar salad.

I tried finding an LCBO listing and had no luck so here is the Wine Spectator’s comments on the wine –

Sauvion & Fils, Sancerre 2005

Has a hint of pear up front, followed by more typical flint and straw notes on the light-bodied finish. Drink now. 1,000 cases imported. –JM
Rating – 87, Price - $22 US.

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

Click here for Part 2

Wine Club - Bonus Tasting

We just finished our 3rd six month session of Wine Club, so this Thursday was time for the bonus tasting. Our Wine Club format is as follows – there are 11 members in Wine Club and each month everyone pays $25. We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month and I pre-buy a case of wine for the tasting. We split the 12th bottle of the case between everyone and each person then takes home a bottle. We will usually pick-up a second bottle that is made by a different producer to split as a comparison to the first bottle. The price point usually ranges between $13-25 a bottle so usually at the end of a six month session there is some money left over for a bonus tasting.

"Two expensive wines"

For the bonus tasting we don’t take home any bottles, so usually the wines we are trying are at a much higher price point.

This tasting we looked at two higher end Italian wines. Below is the LCBO and Wine Spectator information for both wines -

LCBO Information -

TIGNANELLO

VINTAGES 986786
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 99.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Marchese Antinori
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Consistently one of the most sought-after wines, this is a must for any cellar. 'Tig' is considered one of the best Italian wines, racking up numerous awards and accolades with each and every vintage. This rich and spicy blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is loaded with blackberry, coffee, tar and truffle aromas. It should be cellared for 2-10 years, or decant it for at least two hours and match it with beef Wellington or a roasted lamb with a wild mushroom risotto.

QUINTARELLI VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE 2000

VINTAGES 986117
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 89.95

Wine, Red Wine,

12.6% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: Veneto, Italy

By: Quintarelli Guiseppe

Release Date: Feb 28, 2009

Description - 'The Quintarelli family, led by the great Giuseppe, sends a strong message of continuity for the legendary Valpolicella area. The wines do the rest...' (Gambero Rosso Italian Wines, 2008) Opulent, velvety and brimming with ripe red berry fruit, this wine aptly showcases Quintarelli's winemaking mastery. Quintarelli is without question one of the greatest winemakers still practising his art.

The Wine Spectator

ANTINORI Toscana Tignanello 2005

Pretty and fresh aromas of flowers, berry and licorice. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a solid core of fruit. Very pretty and balanced. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best after 2011. 26,250 cases made. –JS Rating - 92

GIUSEPPE QUINTARELLI Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2000

This has plum jam, cardamom and mineral on the nose, with a hint of cedar. Medium-bodied, with spicy plum and prune flavors, a very fine texture and a tight, spicy finish. Delicious. Drink now. 750 cases made. –JC Rating – 88

As you can see at $100 and $90 for each bottle these are well above our usual price point. The question is did they stand up to that extra price point?

I was feeling a little guilty about opening the Tignanello (‘Tig’) as it contain Cabernet Sauvignon. I have a rule that I don’t like to open quality Cabs. until at least 5 and preferably 6 years after the date on the bottle. I find that extra time smoothes out the wine and makes it much better than it was. I poured out the Tig about an hour and half before we had it as I was hoping that the exposure to air would soften the wine. I didn’t have the same issues with the Quintarelli as it was a 2000 vs. 2005 that the Tig was.

The Quintarelli was much thinner in colour density then the Tig and the Quintarelli was leaning more to a brownish red where as the Tig was deep ruby-purple in colour. The nose on the Quintarelli was heavy with plum and cherry with a touch of a floral note in the background. The Tig had a huge nose of oak, vanilla, berry and a woody aroma which I couldn’t pin down.

Tasting the wines was fun as they were both very different from each other. The Quintarelli was a medium bodied, incredibly smooth and easy drinking wine with a lovely cherry and white pepper flavor running throughout the wine. The Tignanello was a huge monster of a wine; big and bold. The tannin was a touch astringent and this wine could definitely use a couple more years of aging, but you could easily see the potential to this wine. The Tig with a nice prime rib roast would be stunning. Even though both wines were very different they were both excellent in their own ways.

Would I buy either of these two wines again at their price points; yes and no? At a $90 price point, I would have a hard time buying the Quintarelli again; it was excellent but for $90 I could get a good Amarone for around $60 and a pretty good Valpolicella for around $25 which that combo would be a much better value. That is probably the biggest problem I have with it is that Valpolicella usually runs in the $15 to $30 range so $90 is a big leap. I think a big part of that $90 price is that there were only 750 cases made so it is fairly scarce.

The Tig at a $100 is certainly a wine that I would want to pick-up a bottle and lay it down on the rack for 3-4 years and try again.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Quick and Easy Part 2

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For the main course we went with NY Strips with Zippy Sauce and sides of baby potatoes and green beans. I want something special to go with the meal and went higher end on the wine – a 1999 Opus One. Opus One is a joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baroness Philippine de Rothschild producing a proprietary Bordeaux-style blend in California.

Side note- before I get rolling on this article, I wanted to comment about the pictures on this article. I usually start with a food picture and then a picture of the wine/wine label as usually the food pictures are more interesting to look at. On this article I lead off with the wine picture as Amy did an amazing job with this one. I think it one of the best shots she has ever done.

"I loved this picture!"

After grilling and plating the four meals, I joined everyone at the table and we tried the wine. The nose consisted of chocolate raspberry, spice and a hint of green pepper. The wine was very smooth and subtle but I felt it lacked fruit and there wasn’t much complexity to this wine; it is what it is. My wife and Amy had to good comments about this wine; “French lite” and “Identity crisis – hasn’t decided what it wants to be when it grows up.” That may sound we disliked the wine, which isn’t the case. It was very easy drinking and not a bad pairing with the meal, it just that at its price point we expected more ‘wow’ factor with the wine.

"Just missing the Zippy Sauce!"

Here is the LCBO information for the 2005 Opus One and not the 1999 reviewed -

OPUS ONE 2005
VINTAGES 26310 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 359.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Nath. Johnston & Fils
Release Date: Feb 14, 2009

Tasting Note - Bright ruby. Rather wild, claret-like aromas of currant, black raspberry, leather, dark chocolate, spices and tobacco. Then velvety in texture but also juicy and firmly structured, with mouthcoating flavors of dark berries, bitter cherry, minerals, cola and bitter chocolate. This elegantly styled wine really coats the mouth without coming off as overly sweet. Finishes with noteworthy spine and length. With extended aeration, this grew sweeter and creamier, with the black raspberry fruit taking over. Score - 92. (Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2008)

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

OPUS ONE Napa Valley 1999

An exquisite, complex, stylish wine, wearing a cloak of earthy, leathery tannins around flavors of mineral, currant, earth and blackberry. Gains intensity and shows its depth and concentration on the finish, which is long and detailed. Best from 2004 through 2012. 24,000 cases made. –JL
Score - 93, Release price - $150 US.

If I recall correctly, this wine was picked up in the US by Mick and Amy on the way back from a trip for us. As they had been in the US for a week and so this bottle came duty free. It was $129 US so about $165 Cdn. after exchange. If they had to pay duty on the wine it would have been around $230 Cdn. a bottle.
Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark – 89, Kathy – 89, Amy – 89, Overall – 88.75

For the price point, I’d go with the Robert Mondavi Napa Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Insignia or a Les Forts LaTour instead as any of those three wines had much more going for them.

The one place the Opus One did shine was with dessert; it was awesome with the chocolate fudge torte.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Quick and Easy Part 1

Mick and Amy were coming over for dinner on Saturday but we also had a number of things happening on Saturday during the day which limited our dinner choices. I decided to go with a simple and straight forward menu of pear and walnut salad to start, NY strips with Zippy Sauce and sides of baby potatoes and green beans for the main course and a store bought chocolate fudge torte for dessert.

The ingredients to the pear and walnut salad are as follows – mixed baby greens, thinly sliced pear, walnuts, shaved Parmesan and a dressing made from 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons of Balsamic vinegar, splash of salt and a good hit of cracked pepper. You can make this recipe in about 10 minutes. The nice thing about starting with this salad is an off-dry to sweet Riesling is a great pairing for it and as I have picked up about half a dozen German Rieslings recently it worked out well.

"Another great German Riesling?"

The Riesling we were trying with the salad was a 2005 Baron Heyl Estate Riesling.

Here is the LCBO information on this wine -

Heyl Zu Herrnsheim Baron Heyl Estate Riesling 2005

Vintages 89573
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 17.95

Wine, White Wine,

12.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : MD

Made in: Rhine Rheinhessen, Germany

By: Heyl Zu Herrnsheim

Release Date: Feb 14, 2009

Description - Heyl Zu Herrnsheim is a pioneer in the German wine industry when it comes to organic viticulture. The estate began its conversion to organic methods in the late 1970s. In 2002, the top two wines in the world according to Harpers magazine's ecological ranking were from Heyl Zu Herrnsheim. 2005 was an outstanding vintage in Germany so expect this wine to be off-dry, featuring layers of lime, grapefruit and peach on the nose and palate, with refreshing acidity balancing the finish. Enjoy it with quiche Lorraine. Our QA Laboratory has determined that this wine contains 21 mg/L of free sulphur.

The nose on the wine was dominated by grapefruit and lime with a hint of pear and pineapple in the background. Tasting the wine you get hit with a big green apple and pineapple flavour to start and a tart finish. The wine structure seemed sloppy as the acidity wasn’t as crisp and refreshing as I would have expected. It wasn’t a bad pairing for salad but the sweetness of the pear did throw this wine for a loop at times.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark – 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 87, Overall – 86.5

I would put this wine in the fun to try but not bothering to buy again category. It had some nice qualities to it but not enough ‘wow’ to make you want to get more of it.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday – Wine driving the food – Part3

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The other Malbec was a 2005 Luigi Bosca Malbec which I’d just picked up the day before. The weight of the glass on this bottle was a shock; very heavy, usually this type of bottle is used for wines at a much higher price point.

"Now that is a salad!"

The nose on this wine consisted of smoke, leather, dried cherry and anchovy like aroma. This wine was completely opposite to the French one in taste; fruity, big bodied mouth-feel, blueberries and coffee flavours running throughout. It was also nicely balanced and smooth when compared to the French. This one was a better pairing with the food as well.

"Heavy bottle"

Here is the LCBO Information on this wine –

Luigi Bosca Rerserva Malbec 2005
Vintages 79293
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, Red Wine,
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Argentina, Argentina
By: Leoncio Arizu S.A.
Release Date: Aug 30, 2008

Description - This wine earned an Editors' Choice nod with a score of 91 points in the February 2008 issue of Wine Enthusiast.

Tasting Note - A big, broad-shouldered wine, with muscular layers of black fig, coffee, bittersweet cocoa and dark licorice piled on top of hefty cedar-tinged tannins. A bit of a brute in style, but cellaring should soften its edges enough. Drink now through 2010. Smart Buy. Score - 91. (James Molesworth, www.winespectator.com, Feb.29, 2008)

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

As you can tell by the 85 rating on both by Kathy and the 85/86 rating on two wines by Amy that neither of the ladies were a big fan of Malbec. I suspect there is a reason why Malbec is used in blends more than as a stand alone varietal, as the wine on its own just seems to be missing something.

It was fun to take a different direction for the evening as usually the food is what determines the wine rather than tonight’s approach of the wine driving the food. The new Steak recipe was good and I’m glad I tried it. Also that Blue Cheese recipe will be one that I’ll be using again. So maybe when planning your next dinner, try picking the wine first and see where it leads you, you maybe pleasantly surprised with the results.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday – Wine driving the food – Part2

For the main course I had a French Malbec from Cahors on the rack that I wanted to try and had just picked up a Malbec made Argentina at the LCBO. I thought it would be fun to try them head to head. I did a search on Google for “food pairing Malbec” and came across a recipe called Spicy Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing from foodandwine.com.

"The assembly line"

I have never made Blue Cheese dressing before and the marinade for the steak looked interesting so I decided to give it a go and was pleased with the results.

"Steaks on the grill"

I’ll review the French Malbec first. The French Malbec was a 2004 Croix du Mayne from Cahors. The nose was different with over-ripe cherry, smoke, butter popcorn, cedar and leather. The taste of this wine was disappointing as the acidity was high, it was lacking fruit and had a bitter finish. It wasn’t a bad pairing with the meal which was about this wine’s only redeeming quality.

"Disappointing"

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Francois Pelissie Croix du Mayne
LCBO 28548

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 18.30

Wine, Red Wine,

12.9% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : 1

Made in: Languedoc, France

By: Compagnie Des Vins Du Grand Su

Tasting Note - Deep purple in colour, the nose suggests aromas of ripe fresh black fruit, white smoke and mineral. It is full-bodied, structured, smoky with a solid black fruit core. The finish reveals smoke and cocoa plus medium acidity and firm tannins.Serving Suggestion - Perfect with roast duck, cassoulet or beef roast.

* Note – I have had this wine on the rack for a bit so the LCBO information above maybe for the 2005, 2006 or maybe even the 2007.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 85, Mark – 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 85, Overall – 85.25

Click here for Part 3

Saturday – Wine driving the food – Part1

I picked up a few bottles that were of interest to me and decided to plan our Saturday night dinner menu around them. The first bottle of wine was a 2006 Ridge Sonoma County Three Valleys. The Three Valley is a blend of 80% Zinfandel, 10% Petit Syrah, 5% Carignan, 5% Grenache. As the main bulk of the blend is Zinfandel, I decided to use that as my basis for pairing and went with Carrot soup with fire roasted chilies.

"Ah, Carrot Soup!"

The clarity of the Three Valleys was extremely high and it looked a bit thin in colour for what you’d expect from a Zinfandel. Huge blackberry on the nose with coffee/cocoa and eucalyptus notes in the background. Tasting the wine, the first thing that you notice is a dried cherry taste followed by a velvety smooth finish. The structure of the wine was very good with nice balance between tannin, acidity and alcohol. This wine was a very easy drinking wine; you could serve this to someone who isn’t a big red wine fan and probably have good results. The wine reminded me more of a Cabernet Sauvignon than a Zinfandel as it was very subtle and not a giant fruit bomb like Zins can be.

"Not a pure Zinfandel, but a really good wine!"

The Three Valleys was also a very good pairing with the soup.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Ridge Three Valleys 2006

Vintages 652875

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 29.95

Wine, Red Wine,

14.3% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: California/Californie, United States

By: Ridge Vineyards

Release Date: Dec 6, 2008

Tasting Note - [80% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignan, 5% Grenache] One of the friendliest Ridge zins we've tasted in a long time, this is exuberant and focused on fresh black cherry flavors. It has a cool, foresty feel to balance the tannins and their lasting spice. Give those tannins anything meaty, especially slow-smoked ribs. Score - 93. (Wine & Spirits, June 2008)

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark – 90, Kathy – 88, Amy – 89, Overall – 88.75.

Click here for Part 2.