Saturday Night - The Lost Meal

As my two or three loyal readers may have noticed, the updates to the blog have been slow. OK, for the last couple of months they have been nonexistent. This post for instance is dated as being posted Feb. 21st but it was actually posted April 20th.

It has been a stupid busy time for me recently and I fell behind on posts. That is not to say I didn’t have a single free moment in the last two months but on those few free times that I did get, updating ZippySauce wasn’t high on my list of things to do. I did try to keep notes on all wines/meals during this period but one has fallen through the cracks.

"Mick, King of the Salad?"

I debated skipping this post altogether as I had the pictures from the night but no notes. I decided not to for two reasons, the first is Amy’s pictures of the meal were great (as always) and second, the dishes Mick made were truly excellent.

"Way too good!"

Mick did a new salad recipe from scratch. He was trying to unseat my crown as Salad Master and it was a very worthy first attempt but unfortunately young Jedi you have not yet mastered the full power of the Salad.

The Camembert cheese Mick used was top notch and the Prosciutto combined well with it. The dressing was a touch heavy on the olive oil but other than that small flaw the salad was kick ass. As this was two months ago and there was no pictures for the wine with this course and I can’t remember the wine, I’m assuming that Mick paired it with an old favourite of ours which has been reviewed before. So unless Mick or Amy can remember the wine, this one will remain a mystery.

"Missing out on the Mussels = Mistake!"

Mick did a Curried Mussel Bowl for everyone but Amy, who got a Curried Shrimp Bowl instead as she doesn’t like Mussels. The Mussels were excellent, actually my words can’t even come close to describing how great this dish was. Mick could do Curried Mussels Bowls every weekend for the next ten years and I wouldn’t get tired of them, they were just that good.

"Pick your own rating..."

The wine we had with this course was a 2003 Dr. Fischer Spätlese Riesling that I’m completely drawing a blank on. Since I can’t remember it, I’m going to assume it was decent and not very good or very bad or I probably would have remembered it. I will also assume that Amy really liked the wine (she is a complete and utter Riesling whore, God bless her), Mick would have finished his glass and the rest of the bottle as Mick takes his job as wine clean up hitter very seriously. My wife would probably have just quietly sipped at her wine, enjoying it but not say much about it. I probably spent the first five minutes droning on about the wine and comparing to other Spätlese Rieslings we had before while Mick stabbed himself with a fork to keep awake while I did this.

In the end we would have all thrown out our personal ratings for the missing notes. Amy would be the highest rating (it was Riesling… any other grape Amy would be the Russian Judge and have the lowest rating), Mick and my ratings would probably be with in a point of each other and Kathy’s rating would be the lowest (as the ladies are usually tougher on the wines than Mick and myself for ratings).

So now dear reader, while you missed out on details and rating for this wine, you did get a rare glimpse into the highly scientific way we analyze and rate the wines. Mick got kudos for his work in the kitchen, Amy (without having to send me topless photos) got kudos for her awesome camera work for ZippySauce and I got another post off my growing To Do list… everyone wins!

Cheers!

Mark

Wine Club – Cabernet Sauvignon

Yesterday Wine Club met to taste Cabernet Sauvignon. The first bottle, which is also the bottle Wine Club members were taking home, was a 2006 Ghost Pines Cabernet from California. The second bottle was a 2006 Langmeil Blacksmith Cabernet from Australia which there wasn’t a take home bottle as I’d just picked up a single bottle for comparison purposes for the tasting.

Here is the LCBO information for both –

Ghost Pines Winemaker’s Blend Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Vintages 135376
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Louis M. Martini Winery
Release Date: Feb 6, 2010

Tasting Note - Another superb value is the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. A leafy, autumnal vegetal character provides a subtle complexity to the intense black currant fruit. This full-bodied, dense, nicely textured, silky Cabernet Sauvignon should drink well for 5-7 years. These are all super bargains! Made by the Martini family in conjunction with the Gallos ...The Ghost Pines offerings merit serious attention from bargain hunting consumers. Score - 90. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Dec. 2008)

Langmeil Blacksmith Cabernet 2006

Vintages 644039
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 22.95

Wine, Red Wine,

15.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: South Australia, Australia

By: Malesco Wine Broker

Release Date: Feb 6, 2010

Tasting Note - The purple-colored 2006 Blacksmith Cabernet spent 18 months in French oak hogsheads, 20% new. The nose reveals cedar, pencil lead, black currant, and blackberry leading to a forward, medium to full-bodied Cabernet with excellent depth, spicy flavors, and a lengthy finish. Drink it from 2010 to 2018. Score - 90. (Jay Miller, www.erobertparker.com, Feb. 2009)

Ideally, I would have like to serve the wines with a NY Strip or a Grilled Beef Tenderloin, but lacking a grill at work I went with a rich chocolate cake to pair them with. The wines were interesting, the Ghost Pines was a nice example of a California Cab with its fruit forward and approachable style. The Ghost Pines was also a drink now vs. laying it down for a few years. The Langmeil Cab on the other hand was done in a more earthy French style. The Langmeil Cab seemed a bit tannic and young and could have laid down for another two to three years.

What was fun about this tasting event is even though the wines were done in two completely styles both were very enjoyable and good values for their respective price points. Both paired well with the chocolate cake but more Wine Club members preferred the Ghost Pines over the Langmeil.

To sum up - if you are looking for a Cabernet to pair with some steaks this evening I’d recommend picking up a bottle of the Ghost Pines. On the other hand. if you have the patience to wait a few years, pick up the Langmeil as this wine will be truly excellent in late 2012 to 2014.

Next month Wine Club will be looking at Viognier.

Cheers!

Mark

You got mail!

Kathy, Amy, Mick and myself have a lot of fun rating and discussing wines. Occasionally we get a touch mean with our comments. Hecula Monastrell was one wine that Amy and myself gave poor Mick a ton of ribbing over.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/03/saturday-night-snow-problem.html

When we tried this wine, Amy and myself both found it had a real soapy taste to it and joked that you could save some money and just drink Sunlight dish soap instead. Mick got a touch defensive about this and said that he had a second bottle on the rack that he was going to put down for a few years and then since we made so much fun of it, we wouldn't get some. To which we laughed and joked that he was more than welcome to the second bottle as we could just share some Sunlight instead. Mick told us both where to go and said that Hecula was highly rated and that we didn't know what we were talking about.

I got the picture below in my Inbox yesterday and laughed ...

"Mick's subtle 'I told you so'"

Saturday Night – Mick’s Excellent Adventure – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For dessert, Mick and Amy picked up a rich chocolate and hazel nut cake. Mick paired a 2004 Coriole “The Soloist” Shiraz to go with the dessert.

"Yummy!"

The nose on the Shiraz was a heavy mix of eucalyptus, heat and leather - there was no question this was an Australian Shiraz. Tasting the wine you got a very chewy, tannic and somewhat oily mouth feel. The wine seemed syrupy and more like an Amarone then a Shiraz. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not a huge fan of Shiraz at the best of times and this wine certainly wasn’t the ‘best of times’. It didn’t work that well at all with the cake.

"Fail"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 82, Mark - 78, Kathy – 82, Amy - 81, Overall – 80.75

I couldn’t find any LCBO information on this wine but other Coriole wines ranged in price on the LCBO’s website from $18 a bottle to $45 a bottle .

I’d like to thank Mick and Amy for hosting this Saturday’s dinner and give Mick props for trying two brand new recipes.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Mick’s Excellent Adventure – Part 2

For the second course Mick made Prime Rib for the first time. He did up mashed potatoes and green beans as sides. Mick paired the meal with a La Fiole du Pape, Chateauneuf du Pape. Interesting thing about this wine is there was no vintage date on the bottle anywhere so we have no idea what year it was. The blacken glass in its warped shape and aged looking bottle makes this wine bottle very distinct and easy to find.

"Naked Beef"

The nose had big aromas of brownie batter, chocolate, coffee and black pepper. Tasting the wine you were rewarded with a very smooth and balanced wine with a raspberry and plum flavours running throughout. With the food the wine became a touch sharper but not in a bad way and was a good pairing with the meal.

"Dressed and ready to eat!"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 87, Kathy – 88, Amy - 88, Overall – 87.5

"Nice wine"

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

ANSELME LA FIOLE DU PAPE CNP

LCBO 12286
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 38.25
Wine, Red Wine
13.4% Alcohol/Vol.
Made in: Rhone, France
By: Maison Brotte

Tasting Note- Garnet ruby red colour; dried berries, sour cherry, sweet fruit, minerals and herbs on the nose with black pepper, olive and clove notes; dry, full-bodied with spice, vanilla and ripe cassis and red berry fruit on the palate.

Serving Suggestion - Roasts, Mediterranean dishes, sharp cheese or kidney pie.

"Won't mistake this bottle for something else!"

Mick did a very good job with the Prime Rib as it was cooked to perfection and very flavourful.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Mick’s Excellent Adventure – Part 1

Mick and Amy had Kathy and I both over for dinner last Saturday and Mick had two new dishes on the menu.

"New recipe"

He started the night with a curried bean soup which was a new recipe and paired it with a 2007 Reinhold Haart Kabinett Riesling.

The Riesling had a faint nose of fresh cut lime and pineapple. Tasting the wine before the food, it was very simple and tasted like green apple juice that had alcohol added to it. It was very simple and one dimensional and without the food was cloying and sweet. The wine’s saving grace is it was very good with the food.

"Simple"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 85, Mark - 85, Kathy – 86, Amy - 87, Overall – 85.75

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

REINHOLD HAART RIESLING KABINETT 2007

VINTAGES 727461
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : M
Made in: Moselle/Saar/Ruwer, Germany
By: Weinexport Hildegard Haart
Release Date: Feb 6, 2010

Tasting Note - From a combination of younger vines and 'pre-harvest' selection (Vorlese), the Haart's 2007 Piesporter Kabinett smells of apple and grapefruit; comes to the palate quite softly-textured and delicate; and displays crushed stone and a slightly detached but refreshing lemony citricity in its rather sweet finish. All in all, though, this will provide considerable satisfaction over the next couple of years. Score - 91. (David Schildknecht, www.erobertparker.com, June 2009)

The soup was very good but Mick was a little heavy with the spice weasel as the soup quite spicy. The heavy spice hid other flavours that the soup had to offer and I think it would have been much better toned down so those other flavours came through more.

Click here for Part 2