Saturday night – Down Under – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

The main course was sliced NY strips with baby potatoes, corn, tomatoes and arugula paired with a 2003 Yalumba “Barossa” Shiraz/Viognier.

"Seriously dark cork"

I was stunned at how dark the cork was upon opening the black, as it was such a deep purple hue that it was almost black.

"Great dish but never looks great in pictures"

The nose on the wine was described by Mick as “Tim Hortons splattered with blackberries” (No one will ever mistake Mick for being Robert Parker). As funny as that description is, it was also accurate as coffee and blackberry were the two dominate aromas with eucalyptus and black pepper in the background.

"Tim Hortons splattered in blackberries... sigh"

Tasting the wine you got a medium bodied red that was very direct and not too complicated. The acidity of this wine was a touch off and got much more noticeable with the food. I suspect that the sweetness of the fresh corn was causing this sharpness to occur.

"Mmmm...cake!"

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 87, Mark - 85, Kathy – 91, Amy - 87, Overall – 87.5

Here is the LCBO information -

06 YALUMBA BAROSSA SHIRAZ/VIOGNIER

Vintages 524926
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95

Wine, Red Wine,

14.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : 1

Made in: South Australia, Australia

By: Negociants International

Release Date: N/A

*Note this LCBO listing is for the 2006 version and not the 2003 version reviewed.

A quick side note about the main course, I really like this dish as the only spice in it is salt and pepper but all the different ingredients really make a great flavour combination.

For dessert we had a Truffle Royale cake but we didn’t pair this with wine.

It was nice getting back to a normal Saturday night, unfortunately next week we all have plans so the Blog might be quiet for a bit.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Down Under – Part 1

We got together with our long lost friends, Mick and Amy, for dinner this Saturday (OK, it hasn’t been that long since our last Saturday night dinner, but it seems like it!).

I went with a couple of old favourites for the food selections – Caesar salad to start and sliced NY strips with baby potatoes, corn, tomatoes and arugula as the main course.

"Home-made Croutons!"

For the wine, I went with a region I usually don’t venture into too often – Australia and picked two Australian wines to pair with the food.

To go with the Caesar salad, I opened a bottle of 2005 Evans and Tate “Margaret River” Chardonnay.

"A decent $20 wine"

The nose on the wine was a very aromatic combination of vanilla, pineapple and butter. I loved the nose on this wine and Mick’s comment was if he didn’t already know that it was Australian, he’d have guessed by the nose that it was Californian. Tasting the wine was disappointing compare to the nose. It had a very narrow mouth feel and the acidity made the wine seem a bit sharp. You got an initial hint of vanilla to start and then the wine was dominated by a lime flavour. It was an OK pairing with Caesar, but it was much better on its own. To be fair the Caesar salad did have a lot of lemon in it and I find there are some Chardonnay’s that match up beautifully with lemon and other do not; this one didn’t like lemon. This wine would make a lovely pairing with a salmon dish in a butter sauce as the fat from both the salmon and the butter would neutralize the acidity.

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

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

EVANS & TATE CHARDONNAY 2006

Vintages 677765
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 19.95

Wine, White Wine,

13.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: West Australia, Australia

By: Evans & Tate

Release Date: May 23, 2009

Tasting Note - Well-made; nectarine and melon fruit complexed by carefully controlled barrel fermentation and other winemaker inputs; good mouthfeel and weight. Screwcap. Drink [until] 2011. Score - 92. (James Halliday, www.winecompanion.com.au, March 2007)

*Note – this wine is the 2006 and not the 2005 reviewed in this Blog.

I thought this wine was pricier than its $20 price point as it was purchased over a year ago and swore it was in the $35 range. At a $35 price point I wouldn’t be picking up another bottle but at a $20 price point it is a solid wine for that money.

Click here for Part 2

Wine Club – September – Vranac

Wine Club met this past Thursday to try two wines made from the Vranac grape. Vranac is a grape that is native to the Baltic region. Both of the wines we tried were from Montenegro and were from the Plantaze winery. The Pro Corde Reserve made from just Vranac whereas the Perla Nera was made from a blend of Vranac and Syrah.

Here is the LCBO Information on both -

PLANTAZE PRO CORDE RESERVE VRANAC 2006

Stock Number – 972976
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.95
Wine, Red Wine,
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Montenegro, Montenegro
By: Dd Plantaze
Release Date: May 23, 2009

Tasting Note - Vranac is a specialty in Montenegro. DNA analysis has uncovered that it is a close cousin to Primitivo/Zinfandel. It shares with that variety the deep colour and rich fruit flavours. It responds extremely well to oak ageing, creating wines of even more intensity and dimension. Cellar this one 1-3 years or enjoy it with game bird, slow-cooked roasts or barbecued meats.

PLANTAZE PERLA NERA 2005

Price: $ 11.95
Wine, Red Wine,
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Made in: Montenegro, Montenegro
By: Dd Plantaze
Release Date: May 23, 2009

Tasting notes – Montenegro is a little bit off the beaten track for some wine lovers, but, with a viticultural history that dates back to the second century B.C., it is a country well worth discovering. This medium full-bodied gem is a blend of Negroamaro (best known in the wines of southern Italy), the local variety Vranac, and the international superstar Syrah. Deep, dark and delicious, this round and approachable wine displays rich black fruit and exotic spicy notes.

Pouring out both wines I was amazed how dark these wines were, the Pro Corde Reserve was a deep purple-red that was almost opaque; the Perla Nera’s colour was the same but the colour depth was less.

Nosing both wines, the Pro Corde Reserve’s was slightly more aromatic of the two. The Pro Corde Reserve has aromas of dark berry and tar. The Perla Nera had an earthy and white pepper aroma to it.

Tasting the Pro Corde Reserve I was surprise to find it more of a meduim bodied wine; by the colour and aromas I was expecting it to be much more full bodied. The dark berry nose carried over to the flavour profile as well. The structure of the wine with its subtle tannin gave the wine a very narrow mouth-feel.

The Perla Nera was disappointing on the tasting. There was a metalic quality to the wine which overpowered anything else the wine had to offer.

Harold was nice enough to bring in a selection of cheese and crackers and Dorie did a soy sauce, garlic, olive oil and rosemary goat cheese dish as well. The Pro Corde Reserve went nicely with all of the cheeses. The Perla Nera was OK with everything but the metalic taste was still present.

All of Wine Club was overjoyed that the take home bottle was the Pro Corde Reserve and not the Perla Nera.

I liked the Pro Corde Reserve but at its $16 price point there are other wines that are better value for money.

Cheers!

Mark

Sunday Night – A little of this and a little of that

You may have noticed that the Blog has be a tad quite recently, this is due to Mick, Amy, Kathy and my Saturday schedules being busier than usual. No Saturday night dinners means no Blog articles. This past Saturday Mick and Amy had plans so we didn’t get together. Sunday afternoon I got a call from Mick asking what we were doing for dinner and the four of us decided to get together for an impromptu dinner.

"New recipe"

Saturday night I tried a new recipe for a chorizo sausage and shrimp soup. There was a quite a bit leftover so that was my course for the Sunday dinner. Mick did up some chicken enchiladas as his course.

One of the reasons I did the soup up in the first place was the suggested wine pairing was Rioja. I’ve been on a Rioja kick recently and find when I try a new style of wine I like to try as many of them as possible.

"Good but very filling"

I had a bottle of 2004 Baron de Ley Rioja that I’d never tried before and picked it as the pairing for the night.

"More Rioja"

The nose was quite aromatic with notes of cocoa, leather, earth, clove and some very faint strawberry in the background. The structure of the wine was OK but the acidity was a touch high which made the wine seem tart. The main flavour of the Baron de Ley was sour cherry with vegetal undertones. It was a decent pairing with the soup and an OK pairing with the enchiladas.

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

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

BARÓN DE LEY RESERVA 2004

Vintages 958868
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.95
Wine, Red Wine,
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Rioja, Spain
By: Baron De Ley
Release Date: May 23, 2009

Tasting Note - A classy, traditionally made Rioja -- 100% Tempranillo, 20 months in American oak, plus 24 months in bottle before release. It shows pretty aromas of blackberry, fig, raisin, and cedar. In the mouth, it's dry, medium-bodied with well-typed fruit flavours balanced by silky tannins, and completing the picture is a pleasing medium-long finish. Delicious with chorizo sausage, lamb skewers, or a selection of hard cheeses. (VINTAGES panel, Sept. 2008)

Cheers!

Mark