Wine Club - Chardonnay

This past Thursday Wine Club met and tasted two value priced Chardonnays.

"Value priced Chardonnays"

LCBO Information- NAVARRO CORREAS COLECCIÓN PRIVADA CHARDONNAY 2009
　
Stock Number – 64477
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 13.95
Made in: Argentina, Argentina
By: Diageo Canada Inc
Release Date: May 15, 2010

Description - Collección Privada is Navarro Correas' premier tier. The wines are designed to exhibit a classic style, and the bottle labels feature original artwork by celebrated Argentine painters. This Chardonnay is fresh and juicy, offering apple, pear, fig, and a touch of spicy oak. Delicious with grilled chicken, barbecued shrimp or artichoke salad.

LCBO Information - CATHEDRAL CELLAR CHARDONNAY 2008
　
Stock Number – 328559
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 14.95
Wine, White Wine
14.7% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: South Africa, South Africa
By: KWV Wines
Release Date: Apr 17, 2010

Tasting Note - The top-tier KWV range [Cathedral Cellar] honours the aptly named cellar that was built in 1930 and restored to splendour in 2005. With soaring stained-glass windows, granite and wood inlaid floor, and imposing rows of hand-carved wooden vats, it is a fitting spiritual home for these impressive and stylish wines ... Full, rich & ripe 2008, perhaps shade less elegant than 2007 but still very fine. Dense apricot, peach complement fat texture and toasty oak ([barrel] fermentation, 60% new; small tank-fermentation portion). Score - 4 Stars (out of 5). (John Platter South African Wines, 2010)
　
The Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay was the take home bottle and the Navarro was a single bottle that I purchased as a comparison bottle for the tasting.

The nose on the Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay was moderate with a lemon aroma dominating the wine with a bit of toasted almond in the background.

The nose on the Navarro was fainter than the Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay but not by much. The main aroma from the wine was lime with a some vanilla in the background.

Tasting the two wines the differences were quite apparent; the Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay was much more approachable with a nice lemon and vanilla flavour. The Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay was nicely balanced with fresh acidity and moderate fruit, it also had a soft lingering finish that I liked. The Navarro had a green apple/citrus flavour but the acidity was very tart. There was a bitterness to the finish that I wasn’t keen on.

One of Wine Club members bought in Chicken Salad and served it with fresh baguettes. Trying wines with the food both got better. For the Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay the fruit was more noticeable and for the Navarro the food helped neutralize the acidity and softened the bitterness on the finish.

Most Wine Club members preferred the Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay over the Navarro and were happy that it was the ‘take home’ bottle. There were however two Wine Club members that like the Navarro better.

I won’t say either of these wines were the best Chardonnay I have ever had but at $14 and $15 price points they certainly were good value for money. The extra dollar for the Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay is more than justified as I certainly found it the better of the two wines.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Curried Mussel bowls and other stuff – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For the main course, Mick did his Shrimp Creole recipe that he first tried early this summer. He picked a 2004 Columbia Crest Merlot to go with the dish.

"Awesome recipe"

The nose on the Merlot was easy to find with powerful aromas of plum, tobacco, smoke and with a hint of pepper lurking in the background. Tasting the wine I was surprised as the fruit was much more subtle than I was expecting and the wine had a cinnamon and clove flavour to it. I would describe it as a very adult tasting Merlot. The balance on the wine was good and the finish lingered pleasantly. I liked it as well as a pairing for the Shrimp Creole dish.

"A strong Merlot for $20"

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

There is no current LCBO listing for this wine but it was $19.95 when it was purchased. For a $20 Merlot this wine was solid and much better then a number of other Merlots at similar price points.

"Merlot Cake... whoops I mean Milky Way Cake"

The Shrimp Creole dish was excellent and this is one of Mick’s best new recipes for 2010. We finished the evening with a Milky Way cake, which the ladies renamed to Merlot cake as it was a superb pairing with the Columbia Crest Merlot.

Thanks to Mick and Amy for a great night of food and fun and I’m already looking forward to our next Saturday night get together.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Curried Mussel bowls and other stuff – Part 2

For the second course of the evening, Mick made an Avocado Shrimp salad. The salad was made up of shrimp, avocado, melon, red pepper with a mayo and sour cream based dressing. Mick chose a 2007 Max Ferd. Richter Kabinett Riesling as the pairing for this course.

"Something new..."

The nose on the Richter Kabinett was little more faint than the earlier Kabinett with lime and green apple notes. Tasting the wine brought a smile to my face, a zesty lime flavour with a touch of peach that ran throughout the wine. The acidity was crisp and fresh and made a beautiful contrast to the sweetness of the wine. There was a bit of frizzante happening with the wine which made it even more interesting. It was a strong pairing with the Avocado Shrimp salad.

"Stock up!"

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

Here is the LCBO information on this wine -

MAX. FERD. RICHTER RIESLING KABINETT 2007
　
VINTAGES 160556
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.95
Wine, White Wine
9.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Moselle/Saar/Ruwer, Germany
By: Dr. Dirk M. Richter
Release Date: Apr 17, 2010
　
Tasting Note - A generously extracted, beautifully made Riesling featuring aromas of apple, mineral, apricot and peach. Starts out off-dry, then the racy acidity comes to the fore, making the wine taste drier. Impeccably made and long finishing, it's a good white-wine cellar candidate (3-6+ years), or enjoy tonight with moderately spiced Thai dishes or planked salmon steaks. (VINTAGES panel, Sept. 2009)

For a sub $20 Riesling this wine is a great deal, do yourself a favour and pick some up while the LCBO still has stock.

The new Avocado Shrimp salad recipe wasn’t one of Mick’s better dishes; the mayo/sour cream dressing overpowered the other flavours too much. Mick wasn’t happy about the work vs. reward factor of this dish either as it was a lot of prep work for a mediocre dish. It was fun trying a new dish and they all can’t be winners…

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Curried Mussel bowls and other stuff – Part 1

Mick and Amy hosted this past Saturday night’s dinner. Mick had a craving for mussels and told me earlier in the week that he’d be making Curried Mussels which is all I needed to hear as these are always amazing.

"I could eat these until the end of time!"

Mick decided to start with the afore mentioned Curried Mussels and paired them with a 2007 Hattenheimer Schutzenhaus Kabinett Riesling.

The Riesling’s nose was mild to moderated in intensity with aromas mainly of green apple with a touch of floral and lychee in the background. Tasting the wine the green apple flavour carried through here with the small hint of lime. The wine was simple and straight forward so not the most exciting Kabinett Riesling I have ever tried. On the upside the acidity was a bit tart but it was a nice offset to the sweetness so it was easy to drink. It did make a good pairing as well with the Curried Mussel bowls.

"A good pairing"

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 84, Mark – 86, Kathy – 86, Amy – 87, Overall – 85.75.
　
Here is LCBO information for this wine –
　
BALTHASAR RESS RIESLING KABINETT 2007
　
VINTAGES 735241
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine
10.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Rhine Rhinegau, Germany
By: Stefan Ress
Release Date: Aug 7, 2010
　
Tasting Note - Loaded with citrus notes and great minerality. Refreshing vibrancy on the palate. Food matches: seafoods, asparagus, cloved ham, vegetarian curries. Score - 89. (Natalie MacLean, www.nataliemaclean.com, Dec. 6, 2008)
　
The Curried Mussel bowls with a side of crusty French bread were excellent as always.
　
Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – That’s Amore!

Our favourite newly weds, Chris and Jan, had Mick, Amy, Kathy and myself over for dinner last Saturday. They went with an Italian theme for the evening with the food and the wine.

"Bresaola with cheese and arugula"

The starter was cheese and arugula wrapped in Bresaola (which is like prosciutto but made with beef) and fresh bread with a dip of Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar. Jan had picked up the Balsamic vinegar on her last Italy trip; it had been aged for 18 years and had an amazing flavour to it. They paired a 2005 Farnese Sangiovese to go with the starter. The wine was a touch acidic, which I find is common with Italian wines, but it did make a very nice pairing.

"A little bottle of pure happiness!"

"Simple yet so good"

"Sangiovese"

The next course was Gnocchi with a Gorgonzola and walnut cream sauce. The pairing for this course was a 2003 Luciano Bruni Brunello di Montalcino. The Gnocchi were very good and the sauce was excellent. The Brunello was deep and complex and stood up well to the richness of the sauce.

"Loved the table settings"

"An action shot of Chris pouring out the wine!"

"Still drooling over this"

"A stunning wine"

The main course was pork cutlets with a tomato, garlic and herb sauce paired with a 2003 Christian Moueix Merlot from Bordeaux. The tomato, garlic and herb sauce was a nice compliment to the lean pork and gave the dish a wide flavour profile that I enjoyed. The Merlot was a bit thin and could have used a touch more fruit but was still a decent pairing.

"Pork with a tomato, garlic and herb sauce"

"French Merlot"

For dessert we were treated to a homemade Tiramisu paired with a bottle of 2008 L’Orpailleur semi-sweet gray wine from Quebec. The Tiramisu was yummy and I was impressed that they went to the trouble of making dessert from scratch which is something Mick or myself hardly ever do. The wine was different, very lemony, so much so that I almost wondered if it was made from lemon rather than grapes. I wasn’t a huge fan of this wine on its own but it was OK with the dessert.

"Homemade dessert...wow!"

"Very lemony"

To sum up the evening, it was a wonderful night with very good food, good wines and great company. Thanks to Jan and Chris for all their hard work and for putting together such an amazing evening.

Cheers!

Mark