Saturday Night – Shrimpageddon – Part 2

The only problem with the first course and the first wine is both set the bar quite high for the next course.

The second new recipe for the night was grilled blackened shrimp with an avocado corn relish. Mick paired this one with a 2008 Kim Crawford "Flowers" Sauvignon Blanc.

"My mouth is still burning..."

The second new recipe for the night was grilled blackened shrimp with an avocado corn relish. Mick paired this one with a 2008 Kim Crawford "Flowers" Sauvignon Blanc.

The nose on the "Flowers" was big and easy to find with aromas of pineapple, citrus and pear. Tasting the wine you are knocked upside the head with its ripe melon flavour. The balance on the wine was off as the huge melon flavour needed to tempered with lots of acidity which wasn’t there; this made the wine seem flabby. It was an OK pairing with the food.

"Way too fruity"

I didn’t mind this wine but prefer the regular $20 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc more. I’m finding that usually I’m not a fan of ‘special’ releases. I find what happens with ‘special’ release wines is this, the wine maker is known for imparting a certain characteristic to a wine (Example – Kim Crawford makes a fruit driven Sauvignon Blanc, or Toasted Head makes a big oak Chardonnay) and then the wine maker for the ‘special’ edition takes that same characteristic and puts it on steroids. The problem is that characteristic is already exaggerated in the normal wine so when they push it up another level it just becomes ridiculous (Fruit monster, Oak monster).

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Kim Crawford SP Flowers Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Vintages 69245
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 24.95
Wine, White Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand
By: Constellation Wines Nz
Release Date: Jun 12, 2010

Tasting Note - This top-end label from Constellation NZ is sourced from various vineyards. A generous wine with a strong presence, the 2008 vintage has concentrated tropical-fruit and herbaceous flavours, fresh, crisp and dry. Score - 4 Stars (out of 5). (Michael Cooper, Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines, 2010)
　
The blacken shrimp were OK. Mick hit the spice weasel on them a touch too hard so some of the flavours were lost/hidden by the spicy burn. The avocado corn relish was truly excellent.

Click here for Part 3