Saturday Night – When life gives you lemons… - Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For the main course I went with a request that Amy made – Lemon Cream Pasta with Prosciutto.  My pairing for this dish was a 2001 Shafer “Napa Valley” Merlot

"Lemon Cream Pasta with Prosciutto"

The nose on the Shafer was a neat mix of tobacco, black pepper, thyme, plum and walnut.  Tasting the wine you’ll notice spicy, herbaceous and fruity flavours running the length of it.  The wine was nicely balanced in its structure.  I described this wine as a very Shiraz like Merlot after tasting it.  It was a solid pairing with the Lemon Pasta.

"Great Shiraz... opps I mean Merlot"

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


Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

SHAFER VINEYARDS MERLOT 2007


Vintages 346262
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 59.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Shafer Vineyards
Release Date: Oct 2, 2010

Tasting Note - The 2007 Merlot (a 10,000-case cuvee that includes 15% Cabernet Sauvignon) may be the finest Merlot I have ever tasted from Shafer. Reasonably priced for a Napa Valley Merlot, it is characterized by elegance and substance. Its dark ruby/purple hue is followed by notes of wood spice, forest, flowers, berries, mocha, and wood smoke, medium to full body, sweet tannins, and good freshness. Enjoy it over the next 12+ years. Drink: 2009-2021. Score - 90. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Dec. 2009)

Note – The 2007 listed is not the 2001 reviewed above

At $60 bottle the Shafer is not a cheap Merlot.  I enjoyed it but I don’t see myself rushing out to buy another as I prefer the Joseph Phelps Merlot which is a little cheaper.  I did like how different this Merlot was from other Merlots I have tried before.  The movie Sideways made fun of Merlot but this is an amazingly diverse grape that can be done in so many wonderful styles that it would be a crime not to keep Merlot in your wine rotation.  Merlot is also one of the most flexible reds for food pairing; my little rule I have with pairing reds – “if in doubt, go Merlot”.

"Triple Lemon Tart"

To finish our ‘lemontastic’ evening I went with a Triple Lemon Tart. I like this dessert as it isn’t a really heavy dessert like a number of chocolate based ones can be so it is a great finish after a meal with multiple courses.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – When life gives you lemons… - Part 2

The next course was a request from Mick – Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese, bagel crisps, capers, red onion, cucumber and (of course) lemon.  I paired this with a 2007 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay.  Smoked Salmon and Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve (Grand Reserve’s less expensive cousin) is in my opinion the greatest food and wine pairing on the planet.

"Smoked Salmon with friends"

In pouring out the Grand Reserve Chardonnay, one views a nice golden colour that one would expect from a Chardonnay.  The nose was very inviting with butterscotch, vanilla and tropical fruit notes.  Tasting the wine before the food got a wow from me; beautiful balance, fruit forward, oak there but not overdone and a stunning caramel finish that just lingers forever.  This is what a California Chardonnay should be.  I was however a bit disappointed with it as a pairing with the Salmon; it was very good but the Vintner’s Reserve is actually a better pairing as it is sharper than the Grand Reserve and in this case that flaw works to its benefit.  I find it gives the pairing a certain magical pop that the Grand Reserve didn’t.  I suspect that, other than this pairing, the Grand Reserve would be a hands down better pairing than the Vintner’s Reserve with any food that matches up well with Chardonnay.

"Another Zippy Sauce Top Ten White"

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 90, Mark - 91, Kathy - 90, Amy -89, Overall – 90.

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –


KENDALL-JACKSON GRAND RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2007


Vintages 59576
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 29.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Sep 4, 2010


Tasting Note - There are nearly 260,000 cases of the 2007 Grand Reserve Chardonnay, which comes from Jess Jackson's estate holdings in Santa Barbara and Monterey. Some serious vineyards' fruit is included in this wine, which no doubt explains the big, tropical fruit-scented nose, fine acidity, and medium to full-bodied flavors. Despite the fact that this cuvee sees 100% barrel fermentation with full malolactic, there is little evidence of oak. The wine is aged eight months, on its lees, in one-third French oak. It is an amazing Chardonnay for the price. Score - 90. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Dec. 2008)


They still have stock on this wine and at $30 this wine is too good to pass up – do yourself a favour a pick up a bottle or two before it is gone, you won’t be disappointed.


The 90 Overall rating gets this wine on to the Zippy Sauce Top Ten Whites. As three of the Top Ten Whites are Kendall Jackson wines, I’d like to assure my 3 or 4 loyal readers that KJ isn’t paying me anything, it is just that they make damn good Chardonnays!


Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – When life gives you lemons… - Part 1

It was my turn to cook this past Saturday and I had a bit of a lemon theme going on.  The first course was Spicy Shrimp with Mint Dipping Sauce (lemon is used both in the mint sauce and in the shrimp marinade).  I originally paired this course with a 2004 Chateau St.Michelle Fume Blanc but when I poured it out the wine was very dark in colour for a Fume and the nose was awful; it was gone.  I have a bad habit of when I find a wine I like I put it down for a special occasion; unfortunately, Fume Blanc isn’t designed to be aged long term.  So, as a second choice, I paired the shrimp with a 2005 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc.

"Spicy Shrimp with Mint sauce"

I was pleased when I poured this wine to see a nice pale straw colouring to it.  The nose on the wine was interesting as it contained aromas of wet grass, mushroom and a bit of peach in the background.  This isn’t a nose that I fell in love with but it was different.  In tasting the wine before the food you get a bitter, sharp taste with a hint of grapefruit.  It was missing the usual oiliness that you get from Fume Blanc as it was almost too acidic.  With the food this wine became much, much better; the bitterness and the sharpness faded and the grapefruit flavour became more pronounced.  

"2005 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc"

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 86, Mark - 84, Kathy - 86, Amy -83, Overall – 84.75.

 "Check out the colour difference"

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –



ROBERT MONDAVI FUMÉ BLANC 2008


Vintages 221887
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 22.95
Wine, White Wine
13.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Constellation Wines U S
Release Date: Jul 10, 2010


Tasting Note - Concentrated and robust peach, citrus, golden raisin and apple flavors have a firm structure and refreshing juicy acidity. Smooth and sophisticated, with a long, spicy finish. Drink now through 2012. Score - 88. (Mary Ann Worobiec, www.winespectator.com, Web Only, 2010)


Note – this is the 2008 and not the 2005 reviewed here, though the pricing would be the same.

After the shrimp I shocked the table a bit by saying I didn’t think I was going to purchase another bottle of Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc again. Why, my friends asked, as it is so very, very good with Spicy Shrimp? While this wine is indeed excellent with Spicy Shrimp, we have yet to find another suitable food pairing. Let’s just say the uproar was more than I could take as I was out-voted three to one… not necessarily a bad thing at the end of the day.

Click here for Part 2

Wine Club November – Niagara Rieslings

This past Thursday’s Wine Club was a bit of treat for me as I wasn’t the one picking up the wines.  Adam and Erik were in charge of selecting the wines and Kathy was responsible for picking up the food.

"3 Niagara region Rieslings"

The 3 Niagara region Rieslings that they selected were as follows –

2009 Cave Springs “Dolomite” Riesling, $16.95, available only at Cave Springs (i.e. no LCBO listing)

2009 Fielding “Lot 17” Riesling, $25.95, available only at Fielding

2009 Tawse Riesling, $19.95, available only at Tawse

All of the Rieslings were off-dry in sweetness and all were screw top bottles. For most White wines I’m more of a fan of screw top enclosures rather than cork; easier to open and you won’t be aging most whites so the cork is of no benefit.

The Cave Springs Riesling had a big aroma of red apple with a hint of lime in the background. The flavour of green apples ran the length of this wine. The wine also had a long lingering finish to it which was really impressive. There was good acidity and it was the least sweet of the three Rieslings we tried. This was also my favourite of three wines without food.
The Fielding Riesling had an interesting nose of pear and smoke. I was surprised to find that peach was the dominate flavour to this wine, as that is not a flavour I usually associate with Riesling. It seemed the sweetest of the three but I found it had the least amount of acidity of the 3 wines so that might have made it seem sweeter than it really was. This was my least favourite on its own and with the food. I will note though that a number of Wine Club members picked this one as their hands down favourite.

The last one was the Tawse Riesling; this was the take home bottle for Wine Club members. The nose on the Tawse was half green apple and half lime; a very German nose to it. The flavours on this one matched the nose perfectly as it was green apple and lime. The acidity and sweetness was dead in the middle between the two other wines. This was my second choice before the food and became my favourite with the food.

Speaking of food, Kathy bought in an interest collection of goodies to sample with the wines. We had cheese and crackers, spicy pepperoni sticks and roasted red pepper hummus with baby pitas. It was quite a range of different tastes and I thought at least one would throw the wines for a loop but all of the food was at least a good pairing if not a great pairing. I was especially surprised at how good the spicy pepperoni sticks were with the Rieslings.

I am usually very harsh on VQA wines as I find they are over-exposed and over priced at the LCBO. I was a nice treat to try three VQA wines that I liked and in some cases like the Tawse, liked a lot.

We aren’t holding a Wine Club in December as that month tends to be stupid busy so our next one won’t be until January.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Mick cooks for five

Mick and Amy were hosting and we had a special guest for last Saturday night’s dinner as Chris joined us due to his wife Jan being out of town for the weekend.  Mick had three dishes on the menu for the evening – Baked Mussels, Satay Shrimp with Rice and Chicken Quesadillas.  His wine pairings were 2008 La Crema Russian River Valley Chardonnay, 2007 Max Ferd Richter Kabinett Riesling and 2006 Seghesio Zinfandel.  For this article we’ll just be reviewing  the 2008 La Crema Russian River Valley Chardonnay as we have reviewed the other two wines in past.

"Mussels in all their yummy glory"

Here is the 2007 Max Ferd Richter review –  http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2010/09/saturday-night-curried-mussel-bowls-and_14.html

Here is the 2006 Seghesio Zinfandel review – http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/07/saturday-night-amy-isnt-part-2.html

I will say that both of the wines were great pairings for their respective dishes.

"Nice Chardonnay but too expensive"

The first course Mick prepared was Baked Mussels, which with the Arugala, Goat Cheese, Bacon and Mozzarella Cheese, were very good.

The nose on the La Crema Chardonnay was a nice mix of vanilla, lime, lilac and a hint of pineapple in the background. In tasting the wine we noticed vanilla and lime as the main flavours and it has a well rounded mouth feel. This was a very easy drinking wine and it paired nicely with the Mussels. I would describe it as an inoffensive California Chardonnay as it was easy to drink but it lacked character to make it stand out from other California Chards. I was a little shocked when Mick told me that is was a $40 bottle. I’d probably buy more of it at $20 but at its current price point this wine is a skip as there are much better Chardonnays out there for the money.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 88, Mark - 84, Kathy - 87, Amy -86, Overall – 86.25.

Note – Chris’s rating for the wine was an 84.

"Satay Shrimp with rice"

Here is the LCBO information for the wine -

LA CREMA RUSSIAN RIVER CHARDONNAY 2008

Vintages 67231
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 39.95
Wine, White Wine
14.3% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Nov 13, 2010

Tasting Note - An exceptional effort, the 2008 Chardonnay Russian River was put through 100% malolactic fermentation. It exhibits a more honeyed style with notes of brioche, poached pears, and buttery citrus in its elegant, full-bodied personality. This impressively endowed Chardonnay should drink nicely for 3-4 years. Drink: 2010-2014. Score - 91. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Feb. 2010).

"Great Riesling at a great price"

"Surprised at how much the cork was pressed into the bottle..."

The next course was the Satay Shrimp with rice pared with the Max Ferd Richter Riesling.  Mick nailed this course beautifully as the shrimp were cooked to perfection, the Satay sauce was very good and the wine went great with it.

"Chicken Quesadillas"

The main course was Chicken Quesadillas with 2006 Seghesio Zinfandel.  Mick always makes awesome Quesadillas and tonight was no exception.  Seghesio is probably one of best winerys for Zinfandel and the 2006 was easily as good as I remembered it being before.

"One of the great Zins"

For dessert Chris made Carrot Cake and he even made a couple of Carrat Cake cupcakes which both of the wives loved. The Carrot Cake was moist and flavourful a perfect way to end an evening of great food and wine.

"Carrot Cake and Cupcakes"

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting this week and to Mick and Chris for cooking/baking.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Not the usual band of malcontents

This past Saturday we added three more guests to our usual Saturday night dinner with Mick and Amy – Chris and Jan and Sheian.

We didn’t review the wines as we usually do, so this blog is more just a quick recap of the evening.

"Menu for the evening"

"Crab Dip with Crackers"

The starter was Crab Dip and Crackers paired with 2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.  The grapefruit flavour and crispness of the wine made a good contrast to the sweetness of the Crab dip.

"2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc"

"Homemade Croutons with Caesar :)"

  

The second course was Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons paired with 2008 Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay.  We have done this pairing a number of times and it is always a beautiful match.

"Louis Jay-DOT as Mick would say"

"Beef Tenderloin being carved up"

"Port and Shallot Sauce"

"The final plate" 

For the main course I did Beef Tenderloin with Port & Shallot Sauce and Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and a side of Green Beans paired with Joseph Phelps 2003 Insignia.  The 1999 Insignia is the highest rated red wine on the Top 10 Red wines list.  The 2003 Insignia isn’t quite as good as the 1999 but it wasn’t far off.   I would guess that we would have rated in the 91-92 point range; wonderful nose and incredibly smooth taste it wasn’t hard to kill this bottle.  

"2003 Insignia"

"Cork from 2003 Insignia"

"Table shot (from left to right) Mick, Sheian, Chris and Jan... Amy is taking the picture and I'm cooking... so where is my lovely wife?"

"Oh there she is raiding the wine fridge!"

We opened a 2005 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon as the Insignia was gone before we finish the tenderloin.  The Cab paled in comparison to the Insignia but it is a quarter of the price of the Insignia as well.  The Cab was more fruit forward than the Insignia and didn’t have the rich earthiness that the Insignia did but it was a decent pairing with the course.

"Not Insignia"

"Three to Dream dessert by Sheian"

Sheian made her “Three to Dream” Dessert and we paired it with a 2006 Inniskillin Vidal Ice Wine that Chris and Jan brought.  The dessert was quite good and the Ice Wine was a stellar pairing.  I’m usually not a huge Ice Wine fan as I prefer the less expensive and less sweet Late Harvest wines instead, but this Ice wine was very good; the huge sweetness was there but there was big acidity to nicely balance it out.

"2006 Inniskillin Vidal Ice Wine"

"White Chocolate Raspberry Tart by Chris and Jan"

Chris and Jan made a White Chocolate Raspberry Tart paired with Southbrook Framboise which they also provided.  The tart was very good.  I liked the Raspberry based dessert wine though it was a little sharp at times with the dessert.

"Southbrook Framboise"

The evening was a blast and I like to thank everyone for coming. I especially like to thank Chris and Jan for the dessert and the dessert wines and Sheian for her dessert.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Sometimes you feel like a nut - Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the main course I did pine nut and basil crusted salmon with a lemon butter and basil sauce with mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas as the sides. To pair with the course I went with a 2008 Luigi Bosca Reserva Chardonnay.

"Pine nut Salmon and sides" 

The nose on the Chardonnay was a pleasant mix of lime, grapefruit, vanilla and tropical fruit notes in the background. Tasting the wine you initially get a crisp lime flavour but then from the mid-palette to finish this wine make a very wrong turn and the flavours become a mix of coffee and grapefruit. The finish on this wine is terrible, Mick describe it as if you were biting in to orange peel. The wine got even worse with the food. After having some salmon I reached for the wine and took a mouthful and exclaimed to the table "Oh my god this wine is f&^king awful!". There were no noticeable defective aromas to the wine so it wasn’t off so I have no idea why this wine was as bad as it was.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 78, Mark - 75, Kathy – 75, Amy - 74, Overall – 75.5.

"If you don't have anything nice to say..."

Here are the LCBO details for the wine -

LUIGI BOSCA RESERVA CHARDONNAY 2008


VINTAGES 142836
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, White Wine
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Argentina, Argentina
By: Leoncio Arizu S.A.
Release Date: Dec 5, 2009


Tasting Note - Straw-gold. Pineapple, peach, spicy oak and a whiff of honey on the nose. Ripe acidity gives shape to the supple flavors of pineapple, mango and spice, with a hint of toasty oak adding nuance to this essentially round wine. Finishes firm, with good length and verve. Score - 88. (Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Jan./Feb. 2009)

"Lemon Tart"

You might be wondering how this wine even got a 75.5 rating (i.e. if it was so bad why not rate it much less than a 75?). Basically if a beverage is made from grapes, has alcohol/is fermented and looks like wine it will get a 70. As the nose on the wine was nice I didn’t think a 70 was fair so that how I got to my 75 rating. A wine around an 80 rating is decent but nothing special, an 85 rating means the wine is solid and may have a bit of character to it, a 90 rating mean this wine is something special and a 95 rating puts this wine in a class on it own (nectar of the gods area).

Well the Chardonnay was disappointing, on the upside the salmon rocked so the night wasn’t a total bust. We finished the night with a triple lemon tart that was also very good.

Next Saturday I’m hosting again and we’ll have some addition guests besides Mick and Amy so that should be a fun time.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Sometimes you feel like a nut – Part 1

This past Saturday it was time for me to tighten up the apron strings and get cooking as Mick and Amy were joining us for dinner. The menu was a couple of old favourites; almond crusted goat cheese wheels with poppy seed dressing and pine nut and basil salmon as the main course.

"Goat Cheese Salad with Raspberry and Poppyseed dressing"


The first course was the almond crusted goat cheese wheels with poppy seed dressing on a bed of baby spinach. I paired this with a Markus Molitor Kabinett Riesling which we have reviewed before - http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2010/01/saturday-night-going-little-coco-nutty.html.

The nose on the wine was a nice mix of peach, orange zest and lychee. I picked this wine as the pairing because for a Kabinett Riesling it was very sweet and was actually closer in style to a Spãtlese Riesling. Tasting this wine the sweetness was certainly there and it had an orange liquor flavour to it. The acidity was there but a touch softer than it should have been as on its own it was a touch cloying at times but was very good with the salad.

"Orange you glad you picked this one!"

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

Here are the LCBO details for the wine -

MARKUS MOLITOR RIESLING KABINETT 2007

VINTAGES 115634
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 20.65
Wine, White Wine,
11.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : M
Made in: Moselle/Saar/Ruwer, Germany
By: Markus Molitor Vineyards
Release Date: Jul 18, 2009

Description - A true visionary, Markus Molitor is driven by an uncompromising devotion to quality at all stages of the winemaking process and believes that each vineyard and vintage should express itself through his wines. In the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, only organic materials are used, yields are kept low, and grapes are hand-picked. Keeping with his philosophy of authenticity, Molitor ferments his wines using only wild ambient yeasts. This world-famous vineyard site is known for producing wines that are impressive for their juicy fruit, unique balance, nuance interplay and piquant acidity.

I like this Riesling due to its orange flavour which makes it very different from other Kabinetts that usually have a lime or green apple flavour. If they would tone down the sweetness and/or up the acidity this would be an amazing wine.

Click here for Part 2