December Wine Club – Bonus Tasting

After our regular six month long session of Wine Club we change up the format and do a bonus tasting.  In the first six months, I buy a case each month and we split the case eleven ways and do a tasting with the 12th bottle and normally have another bottle of something else as a comparison bottle.  For the bonus tasting there is no take home bottle so it is just two bottles for the tasting and that’s it; this usually allows us to pick up a couple of wines at a much higher price point than usual.

Here is the LCBO information on both of the wines we had for the bonus tasting –

BERINGER PRIVATE RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005

VINTAGES 149955
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 99.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.6% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, USA
By: Treasury Wine Estates
Release Date: Jun 11, 2011

Description - This vintage is being offered at a special one-time reduced price. Robert Parker awarded it 92 points and Stephen Tanzer rated it 94.

Tasting Note - Offers richness, concentration and depth while remaining elegant and supple, focusing on the ripe, spicy currant, mineral, herb and sage notes. Ends with a measure of finesse and polish, with the right mix of tannins. Drink now through 2016. Score - 93. (James Laube, Wine Spectator, Oct. 15, 2008)

YALUMBA THE SIGNATURE CABERNET SAUVIGNON/SHIRAZ 2006

VINTAGES 528356
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 51.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: South Australia, Australia
By: Negociants International
Release Date: Sep 3, 2011

Tasting Note - The 2006 The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz is composed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon and 31% Shiraz. Deep garnet-purple in color, it offers intense notes of blackberry preserves, warm cherries, black currant cordial plus an earthy / gamey undercurrent and nuances of marmite toast. The tight-knit medium to full-bodied palate is firmly structured with a high level of grainy tannins, high acid and just enough savory flesh giving a long finish. Approachable now, it should be best 2012 to 2018. Score - 91. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, erobertparker.com, Dec. 2010)

The two wines were both excellent but in different ways.  The nose on the Beringer’s was more aromatic of the two with cassis, raspberry, green pepper and leather whereas the Yalumba it was black pepper, strawberry and mint.  Tasting the two wines, the Beringer’s had flavours of cherry, mint, coffee and a leathery flavour to it.  The Yalumba was all fruit with blueberry, blackberry and raspberry notes.  The structure on both was good but the Beringer’s was more tannic than the Yalumba and the Yalumba acidity was more pronounced than the Beringer’s. 

I brought in bars of Lindt 70% dark chocolate and a LaRocca Hazelnut Bomb Chocolate cake to go with the wines.  The general consensus was the Beringer’s was the favourite with the dark chocolate and the Yalumba was the better wine with the Cake.  Overall the Yalumba was the bigger hit as most people liked both wines equally but once the price points were taken into account (the Yalumba at just over half the price of the Beringer’s) was the winner.

We will be looking at more wines again for Wine Club in January when we start the next session and I’m already looking forward to it.

Note - the Blog is probably going to be quiet until the New Year as the next couple of weekends we all have different Christmas obligations to attend so we won’t be together again until New Year’s Eve.  So I will take this time to wish my 3 or 4 loyal readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Champagne and Sheian – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

The Perrier-Jouët Champagne we first tried down in Las Vegas earlier this year and the four of us loved it.  Amy when we got back located some at the LBCO and we picked more up.  I was itching to try it again and review as we never did this when we were in Las Vegas.

 

The nose on the Perrier-Jouët was a combination of roses and truffles.  Tasting the wine you’ll find an interesting mix of lime and Crème Brûlée  flavour to it.  I was surprised to find the acidity was quite tart and not as smooth as I remember it being from Las Vegas.  It was an OK pairing with the Seafood but was a strong paring with the Alfredo.  I think the tartness of the wine worked against the heavy rich flavour of the Alfredo.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –87, Mark - 89, Kathy – 85, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

PERRIER JOUET GRAND BRUT CHAMPAGNE

LCBO 155341
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 64.95
Wine, Champagne
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 1
Made in: Champagne, France
By: S.A. Champagne Perrier Jouet


I’ll be honest and say that I think we were all a bit disappointed with the Perrier-Jouet as it was nowhere near as good as the one from Las Vegas; it could be that as it is non-vintage, the bottles in Las Vegas were in stock for a while whereas ours was just purchased so we were tasting completely different years/batches.  We still have a bottle each of the Perrier-Jouët  so maybe in a year or two it will improve.

Side note here, the past its prime Beringer’s Chardonnay still made a decent pairing with Alfredo but the wine had taken on too much of a caramel/butterscotch flavour to it and made it very one dimensional.

For dessert, Sheian brought Red Velvet Cake and a bottle of sweet Mosel Riesling to go with it.  I was stuffed to the gills at this point and didn’t try the Cake but the Riesling was quite nice.  The ladies had very clean dessert plates so I can assume the dessert was good too.

Thanks to Mick for bringing the oysters, and to Sheian for the dessert and Riesling, it was fun night and it always a good time adding Sheian to our normal Saturday night dinners.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Champagne and Sheian – Part 1

This past Saturday night our usual band of four was joined by one more; Sheian joined us for dinner.  Sheian is a friend of ours who is in her twenties and doesn’t mind hanging out with us old folks for an evening of food and wine.

I had three wines on tap for the evening – a bottle of Taittinger Champagne, a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Champagne and a 2004 Beringer’s Napa Valley Chardonnay.

The Champagnes were picked to go with the first course and hopefully everyone would have some left to try with the main course as well.  The Chardonnay was meant to go with the main course.  Unfortunately, the Chardonnay which was lovely a few years ago was past its prime; still drinkable but not anywhere near as good as I remember it being.  I really have to stop saving favourite white wines for special occasions and start drinking them in a more timely matter.  With that said we will just review the Champagnes in this Blog.

The started was shrimp cocktail and oysters and the main course was a Wolfgang Puck Chicken Alfredo recipe. 

I will review the Taittinger first and then in part two review the Perrier-Jouët.

The nose the Taittinger was an interesting mix of lemon, lime, melon, yeast and some vanilla aromas.  Tasting the Champagne you’ll notice a creamy lime flavour to it that is both easy to drink and refreshing at the same time.  The structure on the wine was good as the acidity was fresh without being too tart.  It was a decent pairing with the seafood but really good with the Alfredo.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 87, Amy – 89, Overall – 88.5.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

TAITTINGER BRUT RÉSERVE CHAMPAGNE

VINTAGES 814723
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 53.95
Wine, Champagne
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Champagne, France
By: Champagne Taittinger
Release Date: Oct 29, 2011

Tasting Note - A mature, dusty-minerally expression of champagne, with notable autolysis character of yeast and brioche, with bruised apple and dried citrus zest aromas. The palate is fullish and well balanced, though again dominated by mature flavours and mineral expression. A champagne for the table. Score - 90. (John Szabo, M.S., winealign.com, August 2010)

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Yeah, but what is the name of the recipe?

Mick and Amy hosted this past Saturday night’s dinner. We usually alternate weeks but the Sheian dinner is this upcoming weekend and then our next dinner is New Year’s Eve and both of those are mine so Mick ends up doing back to back dinners.

Mick broke out a new recipe "Jerk Shrimp" to which I replied, "Yeah, I know you made them but what is the name of the recipe?" Thankfully Mick has a good sense of humour about these things.

He paired this course with two different Rieslings, 2007 Max Ferd. Richter Kabinett Riesling and 2008 Kung Fu Girl Riesling. This double pairing was also used for the second course as well. We have reviewed both of these wines before and decided not to review them again.

The "Jerk Shrimp" was good and the Max Riesling was easily the better pairing as the Kung Fu Girl got a touch funky at times with the food. The "Jerk Shrimp" recipe was pretty good but Mick with grilled shrimp has set the bar pretty damn high so I can’t say this was the best shrimp he has ever done but they would be in the top 5.

The second course was Honey Ginger Chicken Satay with the above pairings. Once again the Max Ferd. Richter Riesling was the better pairing but it was closer this time and the Kung Fu Girl was a decent pairing.

The main course was a new BBQ Chicken Wing recipe and Mick paired this with a 2008 Sebastiani Zinfandel. These BBQ Chicken Wings were different as Mick usually does his wings in more of a drier style and these were quite saucy. They were a nice change of pace but Mick, as with the shrimp, has set the bar very high for chicken wing recipes and these weren’t the best wings he has ever made. On the other hand I did clean almost every scrap of meat and skin of these tasty treats.

The nose on the Zinfandel was big with blackberry, butterscotch and menthol aromas with traces of plum in the background. Tasting the wine, you’ll find lots of wild berry flavours and some vanilla lurking there too. This wine was a huge fruit bomb on the nose and in the mouth but in a good way as I was very easy to drink and went great with the ribs. It reminded me of 2000-2003 Rosenblum Zinfandel. I like the more complex Zinfandels like Seghesio but it was a very nice change to get back to a more straightforward one like this.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 87, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.25.

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

SEBASTIANI ZINFANDEL 2008

VINTAGES 672667

750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Sebastiani Vineyards
Release Date: Jun 25, 2011

Description - Wine & Spirits magazine, and Tim Fish of the Wine Spectator, each scored this superbly priced Zin 88 points.

Tasting Note - Quite lithe and lively for Zinfandel with very engaging notes of red cherry, raspberry pie, plum and cinnamon toast on the nose. The palate is dry and medium-full bodied with a bright acidity and well integrated, balanced ripe tannins. Impressively structured with lots of fruit without being jammy. Very nicely made. Perfect for beef kebabs or lasagna. (VINTAGES panel, April 2011)

Interestingly enough we have reviewed this exact Zinfandel before back in July and I had forgotten about it -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2011/07/saturday-night-hey-buddy-great-1000.html.

Six months later we all went up exactly one point in our rating and the Blackberry notes on the nose are on both but from there the characteristics on the wine vary greatly. Not sure if the six month of addition aging made the difference, the bottles weren’t from the same barrel, or the food made the difference or all of these reasons but the two reviews were quite different.

For dessert, Amy picked up a Baco Chocolate Cake which was a nice way to end the evening. Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for the three great new recipes.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Mick’s cooking for six – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For the main course Mick did barbequed Prime Rib with a Shiraz reduction sauce and sides of baby potatoes and green beans.  I did up a batch of the Blue Cheese and Thyme Poppers as a side to go with the Prime Rib.

Chris and Jan brought a bottle of 1999 Chateau D’Agassac, Haut-Médoc as a pairing for the Prime Rib.

The nose on this was a nice mix of lead pencil shavings, tobacco, plum and black licorice.  The flavours to the wine were raspberry, cherry and cocoa.  The balance on this wine was very good with soft tannin, nice acidity and not much heat.  I liked that the fruit was still very much there despite this being a 1999.  The one small issue I had with the wine was the finish, as its lovely flavours disappeared way too quickly.  It was a very good pairing with the food and also very nice just on its own.

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

There was no LCBO listing for this wine.  I did some web searching on it and it looks like the bottle goes for around $50US so probably if the LCBO did carry it you would be in the $65-70 range.  Not a bad value for this wine.

For dessert Chris and Jan brought Blondie’s and Raspberry Chocolate squares and a bottle of Peach wine and a bottle of Raspberry wine.  Both desserts were very good and I really enjoyed both of the dessert wines. 

All the food and wines were amazing tonight and were only surpassed by the truly excellent company.  It was wonderful having Chris and Jan over for a usual Saturday dinner.  Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for all his hard work with the food.  Thanks to Chris and Jan for the great wines and desserts.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Mick’s cooking for six – Part 2

For the second course of the night Mick did his version of Insalata Caprese in which he adds Avocado and Red Onion to the usual Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil combination.

Mick picked a 2010 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa to pair with the dish.

The nose on the wine was an interesting combination of grapefruit, gooseberry, pear and moss aromas.  I was surprised on how strong the nose was on this wine, as with a number of Sauvignon Blancs you really have to swirl the glass to get any aroma at all, whereas on this one the nose was very easy to find.  The flavour to the wine was lime, gooseberry and a touch of vanilla lurking around in the background.  The balance on this wine was very good with crisp and refreshing acidity.  This wine was a good pairing with the food but even better on its own.  A bottle of this on ice during a hot summer’s day while idly killing the day on the deck would be awesome.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –87, Mark - 90, Kathy – 85, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.5.

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

MULDERBOSCH SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010

VINTAGES 933424
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Western Cape, South Africa
By: Mulderbosch
Release Date: Jun 25, 2011

Tasting Note - Light lemon-yellow in the glass. Fresh and invigorating aromas of green grass, asparagus, lime blossom, fresh herbs and mineral. Dry, medium bodied, with bright and tangy acidity. Crisp finish features savoury herbaceous notes. Good length. A very nice South African Savvy with some Loire and New Zealand influence evident. Enjoy with garden salads, steamed clams, or grilled chicken breast. (VINTAGES panel, May 2011)

As you can see on the ratings there was a fair difference from my 90 to my wife’s 85 and this can be explained quite simply – the bitch be crazy… just kidding.  Kathy enjoys the big acidity and razor sharp crispness of French Sauvignon Blanc or the big fruit of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and isn’t a big fan of middle ground Sauvignon Blanc like this one.  I, on the other hand, do really like the middle ground between those two pillars of the Sauvignon Blanc community which I find South African wines usually fit into.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Mick’s cooking for six – Part 1

This past Saturday night Mick and Amy were hosting and Chris and Jan joined as for dinner.  Mick had a couple new wines on tap and Chris and Jan brought a bottle to go with the main course so we will be looking at three new wines today.

The first course was Spanish Toasts and Mick paired these with a 1995 Don Jacobo Rioja.


The nose on the wine was big with aromas of strawberry, black licorice, cedar and fresh vine tomatoes.  Tasting the wine, you’ll find dried cherry and mint flavours.  The structure to the wine was slightly off balanced, as it was more acidic than tannic which gave the wine a narrow mouth-feel.  I liked this wine but felt with the almost non-existent tannin and the dried fruit flavour that it was just past its prime and if you have any of this wine, drink it now.  It did make a good pairing with the Spanish Toasts but the Auka Malbec we had a few weeks ago when Mick first did this recipe was a better pairing.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –87, Mark - 87, Kathy – 87, Amy – 86, Overall – 86.75.

Here is the LCBO information for this wine -

DON JACOBO GRAN RESERVA 1995

VINTAGES 923748
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 27.95
Wine, Red Wine
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Region Not Specified, Spain
By: Bodegas Corral
Release Date: Apr 30, 2011

Description - The extra cellar time means this wine is almost perfect upon release. It will, though, still reward further time in a cellar, but why bother when it's this good?

Tasting Note -Ethereal nose with bright fig, spice and strawberry aromas, the palate is elegant with mature fruits balancing fine tannin. To be savoured. Score - Gold Medal. (Decanter World Wine Awards, 2010) 

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – High-end Cab night – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the main course I did beef tenderloin Oscar (Béarnaise sauce, shrimp and lobster topping) with sides of baby potatoes and sugar snap peas.

We actually opened and poured out the 2003 Paul Hobbs "Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon with the first course so we could try it and the Grgich Hills side by side. With the blue cheese dip the Grgich Hills was the better pairing, so let’s see how they both do with the main course.

The nose on the Paul Hobbs was cedar, tobacco, plum, dried cherry and leather at first and then as the wine sat for a bit and opened up, coffee aromas dominated the wine. With the blue cheese dip the two flavours we got from the wine was dark chocolate and orange liquor. The dark chocolate wasn’t a big surprise but I was stunned to find the orange liquor flavour on a Cab. As the wine sat for a while the orange liquor went away and was replaced with blueberry but dark chocolate stayed as the primary flavour. The structure on this wine was perfectly balanced but with more acidity and tannin which gave the wine a much bigger mouth-feel than the Grgich Hills Cab. With the beef tenderloin, the Paul Hobbs really shined as the pairing was heavenly. Funny enough the Grgich Hills got a bit funky with the beef tenderloin, it was still a decent pairing just nowhere good as it was with the blue cheese dip.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 91, Mark - 90, Kathy – 92, Amy – 91, Overall – 91.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

PAUL HOBBS BECKSTOFFER TO KALON CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006

VINTAGES 118794
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 224.00
Wine, Red Wine
15.3% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, USA
By: Paul Hobbs Imports Inc.
Release Date: May 10, 2011

 Tasting Note - Not surprisingly, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard is a profound Cabernet Sauvignon. The equivalent of a Bordeaux first-growth Pauillac, it boasts abundant quantities of creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, cedar, and subtle smoky oak and espresso notes. Atypically sexy for a 2006, it is full-bodied with oodles of concentrated black fruits, stunning purity and length, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. It should hit its apogee in 3-4 years, and last for three decades or more. Score - 96+. (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Dec. 2008)

Please note that this listing is for the 2006 and not the 2003 reviewed here. Once again this was a wine purchased in the US. Kathy was actually the one who put this in the cart and I remember questioning her on the $265 US price tag (close to $400 Canadian after duty, taxes and exchange).


The overall rating of 91 gets this wine into the Zippy Sauce Top Ten Reds.


Now a bit of disclosure, the four of us got into a bit of heated debate over our ratings on this wine. Mick and I, when rating wines, will take price point into account whereas the ladies don’t. Mick and I both loved this wine and I can say it is easily in the top five red wines we have ever tried and yet I gave it a 90 and Mick gave it a 91. My issue with this wine is its price - at close to $400 a bottle this is not an everyday wine and while I really liked it, I like the 2003 Insignia better and it is $265 Canadian a bottle. This is why I feel I have to take price point into consideration, if I can get a wine for less money that I like more, then in my mind that is going to hurt the rating. I can see where the ladies have a point that you should just rate the wine strictly on its merits of the wine and not the price but unless you are Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, price is an issue. The nice thing is with Mick and I worrying about price in our ratings and the wives not doing so the overall rating is usually pretty fair.

 

For dessert I picked up a Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Bombe cake. Amy was the only person who had some of the Paul Hobbs left at this point and was gracious enough to share a sip with each of us. This pairing was even better than the Paul Hobbs and beef tenderloin pairing and had me looking with longing at my now very empty wine glass.

It was a fun night and nice to try some higher end wines for a change but at the end of the day lower price point wines with get you just as drunk!

Cheers!


Mark

Saturday Night – High-end Cab night – Part 1

Sheian was supposed to come for dinner this past Saturday but cancelled earlier in the week. As I had been mentally planning this meal for weeks and I had some really good Cabernet Sauvignon in mind, I decided to go that route anyways. I had a 2003 Grgich Hills Cab and 2003 Paul Hobbs Cab on tap for the night.

I also had 4oz of St. Agur blue cheese in the fridge that I needed to use up and decided to go appetizer searching on the web and came across this recipe -

http://www.passion-for-parties.com/blue-cheese-appetizers.html

and found a recipe called "How to Make One of the Best Blue Cheese Appetizers You Will Ever Taste". As the first ingredient was bacon I decided to go with it as the starter; I mean how you can go wrong with blue cheese and bacon! The recipe also called for 4 ounces of blue cheese which is exactly what I had on hand.

I will review the Grgich Hills first and then do the Paul Hobbs in part 2.

The nose the Grgich Hills brought out my happy face as big notes of green pepper, cassis, coffee and eucalyptus dominated this wine. Tasting the wine, huge fruit flavours of raspberry, plum and strawberry jumped out of the glass at you. The balance on this was damn near perfect with good acidity, silky smooth tannins and great fruit and no noticeable heat. The only small issue I had with this wine is it needed a slightly bigger mouth-feel. This wine was really good on its own but with the blue cheese dip it was stunning and one of the better pairings I’ve had in a while.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 90, Mark - 90, Kathy – 91, Amy – 90, Overall – 90.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

GRGICH HILLS ESTATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007

VINTAGES 71407
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 69.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Grgich Hills Cellars
Release Date: Jun 25, 2011

Tasting Note - This blockbuster of a wine is certified biodynamically grown. Opaque ruby with a hint of garnet. Cassis, mocha, mineral/graphite, black licorice and woodsmoke. Dry, fruit driven, but with good structure from velvety tannins. Big, lushly textured wine that may be cellared 2+ years. Also a good choice for dishes such as veal medallions in a red wine sauce. (VINTAGES panel, May 2011)

The wine listed is the 2007 and not the 2003 reviewed here. I’m pretty sure I picked this wine up in the US for about $70 US so about $100 Canadian. Looking on the web the 2003 also seemed to be getting higher ratings than the 2007. I really liked this wine so I will be strongly considering picking up a bottle or two of the 2007.

The Blue Cheese dip was hit as everyone enjoyed it. I asked Mick if he would change anything and he wasn’t a big fan of the chopped walnuts sprinkled on top and we kicked around ideas and thought switching the topping to pecans might be interesting. There were leftovers that I heated up in the oven the today and found that the walnuts warmed up on top weren’t as in your face as the ones added after cooking last night so that too might be an idea. One thing I will note is this appetizer was very filling so keep that in mind if you are doing for a dinner party.

Click here for Part 2

November Wine Club – Carménère

This month Wine Club got together for our final regular meeting of this session and will wrap up this final session next month with a ‘bonus’ tasting. This month we looked at two Carménère’s from Chile. The San Pedro 1865 was the take home bottle and the Calina was the comparison bottle.

"Crappy pictures like this is why Amy is the official Zippy Sauce Photographer and not me!"

Here is LCBO Information for both of them -


SAN PEDRO 1865 SINGLE VINEYARD CARMENÈRE 2008

VINTAGES 249201
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Maule Valley, Chile
By: Vina Tarapaca Ex Zavala
Release Date: Sep 17, 2011

Tasting Note - Complex and very flavourful Carménère with aromas of coconut oil, cassis, plum, underbrush, cloves and pipe tobacco. Dry, plush and fruity with velvety tannins. Very good aroma replays, with nice acidity wrapped around the fruit to make it beautifully lively. A refined, fruity/savoury wine with a very long finish. Enjoy with hearty ratatouille, rabbit stew, grilled eggplant or bison steaks. (VINTAGES panel, July 2011)

CALINA RESERVA CARMENÈRE 2009

VINTAGES 951079
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Central Valley, Chile
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Aug 20, 2011

Tasting Note - The 2009 Vina Calina Carmenere Reserva is a blend of 80 percent Carmenere, 12 percent Merlot, 5 percent Syrah, and 3 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. After a short maceration, the juice was fermented and transferred to an equal percentage of French and American oak barrels, of which only 15 percent were new. This winemaking technique avoided extracting carmenere's natural herbaceousness and overwhelming the fruit flavors with new oak accents. Black fruit and mild smoky aromas greet the nose, and black plum and blackberry flavors are carried on a velvety body that finishes in a pleasing, balanced finish. (John Foy, nj.com, Sept. 8, 2010)

The first time Wine Club look at Carménère was way back in the first session so it has been a number of years since we had it. Physically there was quite a difference between the two wines as the Calina was in a normal bottle whereas the 1865 came in a very heavy glass bottle like you would find more often in higher end wines. The 1865 bottle was also nicely wrapped in custom 1865 tissue paper. The heavy bottle and tissue paper isn’t something I’d expect from a $20 bottle of wine and it made a nice impression on everyone.

The aromas for both wines were easy to find but quite different from each other. The Calina had aromas of cocoa, raspberry and plum and the 1865’s aromas were black currant, strawberry, licorice and pine needle. Tasting the Calina you find a blueberry and tobacco flavours with high amounts of acidity. The 1865 had much more fruit flavours to it with currant, strawberry and lime notes. The 1865 had less acidity and more tanning to it and combined with the big fruit gave this wine a much bigger mouth-feel and better balance to it than the Calina. I liked both wines but thought the 1865 was easily the better wine of the two and more than justified extra $4 of sticker price.

Sean, one of our Wine Club members, was nice enough to bring in some food for us to have with the wine. He did Nan bread with olive oil, garlic, stir-fried mixed sweet peppers, onions and chicken and then topped with melted cheese. The food with excellent and went very well with both wines.

Eight of the ten Wine Club members preferred the 1865, one was torn equally between both of them and one liked the Calina better.

This session was a very good one and I’m already looking forward to the bonus tasting next month.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – New foods and Egyptian hieroglyphics – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

The main course of the evening was Grilled Lamb Burgers with Eggplant and Tzaziki and a side of grilled Sweet Potato fries with Chipotle mayo dip. Mick picked a 2008 “A to Z” Pinot Noir from Oregon as the pairing for this dish.

Before I get to reviewing this wine, I have to poke fun at Amy; not only is Amy the official Zippy Sauce photographer (so you have her to thank for all the lovely pictures on this Blog) but she is also nice enough to take notes on the wines for us as well. It is her note taking that I’m about to poke fun at. The first wine/review of the evening is written in a lovely easy to read flowing script but as she has more to drink the quality of the note taking goes dramatically downhill from there. By the third wine/review it gets very dicey. The current notes I’m working off of for this review are so bad I think I need a Rosetta stone to translate it as I’m pretty sure the notes are no longer in English. Under taste I’m pretty sure she has a picture of the Egyptian god Anubis holding a Scarab as her description!

The nose on the A to Z is a pleasing mix of black licorice and cherry aromas. Tasting the wine you will find a colossal Raspberry flavour to it and not much else; I don’t believe Raspberries have this much Raspberry flavour to them but I like Raspberry so this isn’t all bad. Structure on the wine is fairly balanced but once again we have a wine where the acidity is stronger than the tannin. The wine does have a good finish to it that lingers for a while. This Pinot also had a much bigger mouth-feel to it than the first one. I wasn’t crazy about this wine by itself but it made a good pairing for the lamb burgers.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 87, Mark - 87, Kathy – 87, Amy – 86, Overall – 86.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

A TO Z PINOT NOIR 2008

VINTAGES 229781
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Oregon, USA
By: A to Z Wineworks
Release Date: Jun 25, 2011

Description - This wine ranked # 75 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2010.

Tasting Note - Lively, deftly balanced and refreshing in style, with pretty raspberry and cherry flavors playing against hints of spice and chalk. Finishes with impressive length. Drink now through 2016. Score - 90. (Harvey Steiman, winespectator.com, Dec. 15, 2010)

Amy picked up a Basket and Robbins Chocolate Ice Cream cake for dessert which was yummy.

I’d like to thank Mick for cooking up three new recipes and all were very good. It is impressive to try three new recipes and go three for three like he did. Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting, as we all had a good time with lots of laughs.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – New foods and Egyptian hieroglyphics – Part 2

The second course was Prosciutto and Mozzarella "Sandwiches". These were interesting as the ‘bread’ (top and bottom) of the "Sandwiches" was actually grilled Eggplant. They also had a roasted red pepper puree in the center with the Prosciutto and Mozzarella. Mick paired these with a 2006 Raphael Dubois Nuits St. George Pinot Noir from Burgundy.

The nose on this had a strawberry and cherry aroma that was more artificial like Starbursts Candies with some mushroom and smoke lurking in the background. There was lots of fruit to be found when drinking this wine with Cranberry, Strawberry and Cherry flavours to it. The wine was very easy drinking with nice acidity and soft tannin and a good finish. The balance to the wine was slightly off as it was more acidic than tannic. It was a good pairing with the food.

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

This was another wine I couldn’t find a LCBO listing for but once again Mick knew the price was $36. I liked this wine but honestly feel that at $36 it was a touch on the pricey side and not something I’ll be jumping to get another bottle of at that price point.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday night – New foods and Egyptian hieroglyphics – Part 1

This past Saturday, Mick and Amy hosted our weekly Saturday night dinner. Mick had three new recipes on tap and three new wines for us to try as well.

The first course was grilled Spanish Toasts which, while simple to make, were very tasty. The Spanish Toasts were made from sliced baguettes topped with a roasted tomato and garlic spread and Manchego cheese. Mick picked a 2006 Auka "Don Alfonso" Malbec to pair with them.

The nose on the Malbec had a huge leather aroma to it with a touch of white pepper, dried cranberry and orange rind in the background. Tasting the wine you will find dark fruit (Black cherry and black currant) as the main flavours with some truffle flavour to round things out. The structure on the wine was decent but it was more acidic then tannic and had a slightly hot finish to it. The pairing though was dead-on and was one of the better food and wine pairings we’ve had in a while.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 89, Kathy – 89, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.5.

There was no LCBO listing for the wine which is a shame as I would have liked to get more of it. Mick recalled the price as being $22. $22 is a fairly high price point for a Malbec but this wine does justify it as it was that good.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For the main course I did Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese (St. Agur) and Zippy Sauce with side of Green Beans and pan fry Potatoes with onions.

As glasses were getting low at this point we broke out the third Cab of the evening and uncorked a 2002 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on the KJ was more what I expect from a California Cab; cassis, mushroom, green pepper and lavender with a mossy aroma lurking in the background. If the nose was typical California Cab then the taste was even more so, I swear on my first sip I heard the bass beats from “California Love” with Tupac and Dr. Dre come to life in my head; huge cassis and raspberry notes to this wine. It was very smooth, easy to drink, lots of fruit, good acidity and tannin and great lingering finish. It was a decent pairing with the main course but not as amazing as I thought it would be from my initial tasting

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 87, Mark - 89, Kathy – 85, Amy – 88, Overall – 87.25.

Here is LCBO information on the wine –

KENDALL-JACKSON GRAND RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007


VINTAGES 678615
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 35.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Nov 27, 2010

Tasting Note - The 2007 Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is superb. Dense creme de cassis notes intermixed with fruitcake, coffee bean, and tobacco leaf are found in this fat, fleshy wine, which displays excellent purity, density, and richness. It should drink well for 15 or more years. Score - (90-93). (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Feb. 2010)

Note – This is for the 2007 and not the 2002 reviewed here.

For dessert Kathy picked up a decadent Chocolate cake that was a good pairing with the KJ.

I had fun trying 3 uniquely different California Cabs and am enjoying these nights where we just stick to one grape. I still have more Merlot that is getting long in the tooth as well as some Pinot Noir and Shiraz so I see more of these one grape evenings in my future.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 2

The other wine we had with the appetizers was the 2002 Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on the Vina Robles was quite different than the Rutherford Ranch as its main aromas were chocolate, vegetal, peat moss and a rich earthy aroma; there was little to no fruit to be found on the nose. It must have been Cab disguise night as I would have guessed this was a Cab by the nose but would have thought it was a French Cab by the nose and not a California Cab. There was one flavour to this wine and it was raspberry, big huge raspberry flavour dominated everything else in this wine. This wine had a much bigger mouth-feel to it than the Rutherford Ranch as the tannin, acidity and fruit were nicely balanced in this wine. The finish was short but it least it stay around long enough to say good-bye unlike the Rutherford Ranch which came for the food and left before anyone noticed it. The wine was a good match to the food.

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

There was no LCBO listing for this wine but I remember it being in the $20-23 price point.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 1

Two weeks ago I mentioned that I have a number of reds that are getting past their prime and needed to be drunk so I did an all Merlot night to use up some of them. Last night I went with an all Cabernet Sauvignon night to use up some older cabs.

With Cabernet Sauvignon as the wine of the night it was easy to come up with the main course (beef) and dessert (chocolate) as both of those foods pair very well with Cab. I did however need an appetizer to start things off so I did a web search and found this recipe –
http://www.matchmywine.com/index.php?mod=match&p=details&id=352 for Blue Cheese and thyme poppers. As this was a new recipe I decided to hedge my bets and also make Asiago wrapped in Prosciutto as another appetizer in case the poppers didn’t work out so well.

I had three Cabs on tap for the night, 1999 Rutherford Ranch, 2002 Vina Robles, 2002 KJ Grand Reserve but will review them one at a time. The first review will be of the 1999 Rutherford Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on this wine was complex with cherry, chocolate, cocoa, evergreen and some cedar lurking in the background. Tasting the wine the cherry flavour carried over from the nose but it was more a medicinal cherry flavour than a fresh cherry flavour. The tannins were very soft to almost non-existent whereas the acidity was higher than I would have liked. The wine also had a very thin mouth-feel and disappeared almost instantly on the finish. If I blind tasted this wine, I would have guessed it to be a Sangiovese rather than a Cabernet Sauvignon. It wasn’t a bad pairing with either of the appetizers so that was a plus.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 84, Mark - 84, Kathy – 85, Amy – 85, Overall – 84.5.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

RUTHERFORD RANCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008


VINTAGES 73817
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, USA
By: Rutherford Wine Company
Release Date: Sep 3, 2011

Description - A fantastic value from Napa Valley, this ready-to-drink Cabernet includes small amounts of Merlot, Syrah and Petite Sirah, adding to its depth and appeal. It features ripe blackcurrant, cherry, cedar box and cinnamon notes wrapped in sweet, silky tannins leading to a lengthy finish. Enjoy over the next four years partnered with lamb chops or herb-crusted roast beef.

As you can probably tell by the fact the LCBO is selling the 2008 and we had a 1999 that I had this bottle on the rack for a few years and hence my urgency to drink it now.

The Blue Cheese and thyme poppers were pretty good but were missing that little something to make them stand out. Mick suggested less thyme and we kicked around the idea of melting shredded aged Cheddar at the end of the baking. I also think that switching from Stilton to Danish blue might be interesting as that would have given them more bite. The one good thing was the poppers were a great pairing with both the Rutherford Ranch and the Vina Robles as both wines got better with the poppers than on their own.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Curse you Blackened Scallops! – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the second course, Mick did skillet grilled Mussels and Clams with parsley and Chorizo sausage. Mick went with a 2006 Domaine Joseph Voillot Vieilles Vignes Volnay as the pairing for this course.

"Someone forgot to take a picture of the Calms and Mussels before they got eaten *cough* Amy *cough*"

The nose on this Burgundy Pinot was huge strawberry with some pepper and pine needles in the background. The flavour to the wine was a combination of strawberry and cranberry. The wine had lots of acidity but a thin mouth-feel and a short finish. I thought it was OK on its but really like it with the Clams and Mussels as a pairing.

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

DOMAINE JOSEPH VOILLOT VIEILLES VIGNES VOLNAY 2007


VINTAGES 91884
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 37.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Domaine Joseph Voillot
Release Date: Sep 4, 2010


Tasting Note - Better aromatic ripeness and more complexity come at the price of less elegance on the earthier red pinot fruit nose that leads to delicious, rich and relatively full-bodied flavors that are supple and culminate in a youthfully austere finish. In sum, there is just more depth here. Drink [from] 2011+. Score - 88. (Allen Meadows, burghound.com, April 2009)

The clams and mussel dish were a new recipe as well and while it was good and I finished every bit of it, Mick has set the bar pretty damn high for mussel recipes and he has a couple of other recipes that I enjoyed more than this one.

This gets us to Mick’s Blackened Scallops as the next course with the Willy Gisselbrecht Gewürztraminer pairing. The scallops were their usual excellent standard but unfortunately the pairing was not. It was a decent to good pairing but it just was ‘the pairing’; like where you take a sip and smile and go ‘That’s it!’ so the quest continues. Curse you Blackened Scallops! Why must be so excellent yet some darn tricky to pair with. On the upside, Mick will just have to keep making them until we do find that perfect pairing so maybe this isn’t the worst fate out there.

For dessert, Mick picked up a decadent double chocolate cake which looked amazing but I was too full at this point to try. I can add that judging by the three clean plates around me that it must have been pretty good.

Thanks to Mick for his hard work and to both Mick and Amy for hosting.

Cheers!

Mark