Friday is the new Saturday

Mick and Amy were off on vacation Saturday so we decided to get together Friday night after dinner for some chocolate and wine. We picked up some Brix and Lindt dark chocolate and grabbed a bottle of 2001 Beringer’s "Knight’s Valley" Cabernet Sauvignon from the wine rack.

The nose on the wine had rich notes of dark chocolate, caramel, blackberry, eucalyptus and cedar. Tasting the wine, before having any chocolate, flavours of cassis, coffee and cocoa were present. I was a little shocked as the wine seemed very much like a French Bordeaux then a California cab. Mick jokingly called it "Cotes de California". Having dark chocolate with the wine caused a strawberry flavour to appear and dominated the wine. The structure on the wine was good but it was quite tannic which made the wine seem very dry at times.

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


Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

BERINGER CABERNET SAUVIGNON (V)

VINTAGES 352583
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 34.95
Wine, Red Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Beringer Vineyards
Release Date: N/A

*Please note that the LCBO information above is for the current Knight’s Valley (2008) and not the 2001 reviewed here.

I’m noticing recently that Amy and I keep having the same ratings on wine which worries me as either her taste is improving or mine is going downhill. :P

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Blackout dinner – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For dessert, Kathy and I broke with tradition of Blackout dinner and picked up scones, Devonshire Double clotted cream and strawberry jam for the evening’s dessert. The scones were on display when we went shopping on Friday and looked amazing so we picked up a 4 pack of raison scones and a 4 pack of cranberry and white chocolate scones.

Mick had a 187mL bottle of 2006 Dr. Loosen Beerenauslese Riesling to pair with the dessert.

I was surprised and a bit disappointed at the nose as it was very mild with hints of lychee and floral. Usually most dessert wines have big aromatic noses that you can just lose yourself in. Tasting the wine though more than made up for the mild nose, as it had lovely flavours of nectarine and green apple. The balance on this wine was stunning as the sweetness was perfectly countered by the crisp acidity of the wine. This is one of the best tasting dessert wines I have had in a while. It was a great pairing with the dessert.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 90, Amy – 90, Overall – 89.5


There is no LCBO information as Mick and Amy picked this bottle up in the US for about $10 which was an incredible deal in my opinion.

Blackout anniversary dinners are always a good time and this one was no exception to that. Thanks for Mick and Amy for hosting and I’m already looking forward to next year’s one.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – Blackout dinner – Part 2

The main course was four huge steaks, Zippy sauce and corn on the cob and it was paired with a 1996 Beringer’s "Napa Valley Private Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on the wine was big with green pepper, cloves, cedar, loam and black pepper. Tasting the wine before the food, you found more of an earthy and cocoa flavour to the wine with not much fruit left and the wine was incredibility smooth and easy drinking. For the structure of the wine, the tannins were super soft and silky and there was good acidity. The fruit flavors of Blackberry and Blueberry really came to the forefront with the medium rare steaks and I found myself enjoying the wine much more with the food. The tannin disappeared completely with the steaks and caused the wine to get lost against the food at times. The wine was really good but with the super soft tannin and mild fruit, I do think this wine was a couple of years past its prime and can’t help but wonder how amazing this bottle would have been then.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 91, Mark - 88, Kathy – 90, Amy – 90, Overall – 89.75

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

BERINGER PRIVATE RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005


VINTAGES 149955
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 99.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% 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)

* Note – This wine is the 2005 and not the 1996 reviewed here, the 1996 was picked up this year by Mick and Amy for about $139.

Mick’s steaks were killer and probably the best ones I have had in a very long time.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday night – Blackout dinner – Part 1

Back in 2003, Ontario and a good chunk of the eastern US lost power - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Blackout_of_2003. When the blackout occurred, I’d been planning on grocery shopping that night as there was no food in the fridge. Kathy and I decided to walk up to Mick and Amy’s and see where they stood for food. We caught Mick in the driveway when he was getting home and he had four large steaks that he’d been planning to cook up that night for dinner and to use for meals over the next couple of nights. As he had a ton of steak to get through, we joined him and Amy for dinner. The one thing we had plenty of at home was wine so we offered to bring a couple of bottles to go with the steaks. Mick did up the steaks and some corn on the cob and the four of us enjoy a great meal with a couple of bottles of wine. The wine that night was going down way too easily so the four of us walked back to our house to get a third bottle and we killed that too. It ended up being a great night and every year since we get together for steak, corn and wine to celebrate that night.

For the first course Mick broke tradition and started us with some chips and sour cream as a starter and paired this with a 2009 Eradus Sauvignon Blanc.

The nose on the wine was mild with apricot, grapefruit and orange zest aromas. Tasting the wine it started with a nice apricot flavour but finish with a grapefruit flavour. The wine had a bitterness in the mid-palate which I didn’t care for but other than that was decent. It went well with the chips and dip.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 84, Kathy – 84, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.

Here is the LCBO information

ERADUS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009

VINTAGES 225557
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 14.95
Wine, White Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Region Not Specified, New Zealand
By: Eradus Wines
Release Date: Jul 14, 2011

Description - Ottawa-based wine critic Rod Phillips gave this wine a score of 4 1/2 stars (out of 5) in his online newsletter. He recommended enjoying the wine with a 'wide range of white fish and seafood.' (www.rodphillipsonwine.com, Jan 19, 2011)

Tasting Note - Eradus continues a successful run with this year's Sauvignon Blanc. As usual, it's fairly pungent and herbal upfront, but then delivers waves of passion fruit. It's concentrated and fairly full-bodied for a Sauvignon, with a lingering finish.
Click here for Part 2

Saturday night – Mick’s Mom joins us for dinner – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

For the third course I did Hummus with Pita and a Tomato salad with Greek feta and fresh herbs. I paired this with a 2006 d'Arenberg “The Hermit Crab” Viognier-Marsanne. This wine we have had a number of times so I won’t be reviewing it in detail. It was its usual excellent pairing with the hummus and was good with the tomato salad.

Irene wanted the recipe I used to make the hummus -
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/appetizerssnacks/r/hummusbitahini.htm so here it is. Couple of notes, it asks for 3-5 Tablespoons of Lemon – go with 3 Tablespoons and not a drop more. I like lemon but find any more than the 3 Tablespoons and it is too much. Also it asks for 2 cloves of garlic… just do the 2 cloves as any more and the garlic will over power everything.

Irene wanted the recipe I used for my hummus -

For the main course, Mick and I decided to ‘kick it Old School’ and went with NY Strips with Zippy Sauce and grilled veggies as a side. I picked a bottle of 2002 Robert Mondavi "Oakville" Cabernet Sauvignon as my pairing for this course.

The nose on the wine was anise, cedar, raspberry, blackberry and green pepper. Tasting the wine you’ll notice big fruit flavours of black cherry, blackberry and cassis. Considering this wine was a 2002, I was very surprised at how much fruit was there. The structure on the wine was very nice with soft tannin, good acidity and great fruit; this wine has aged very well. It was a great pairing with the food.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 90, Mark - 90, Kathy – 87, Amy – 89, Overall – 89.


There is no LCBO information on this wine but I’m pretty sure I picked this up at the LCBO years ago for around $60.

For dessert I picked up a La Rocca “Ruby Red Velvet” cake for dessert which made a nice ending to the meal.

It was fun having Irene join us and it was a fun night of good food, wine and conversation and you really can’t ask for much more than that!


Cheers!


Mark

Saturday night – Mick’s Mom joins us for dinner – Part 1

The past Saturday night we had Irene, Mick’s mom, join us for our usual Saturday night dinner. Mick and I split up the menu for the night and we ended up with a five course meal for the evening.

The first course was Kettle chip Smoked Salmon bites and we paired this with a Masottina Prosecco.

The nose on the wine was a pleasing mix of yeast, lime, roses and lychee. Tasting the wine you get an initial flavouring of lemon that transitions to a lime flavour on the finish. The structure on the wine was good as the crisp acidity really brought this sparkling wine to life. It was a decent pairing with the Smoked Salmon bites but once we finished those, I brought out the extra chips and the leftover lemon/cream cheese topping and the wine paired amazingly well with just the chips and dip.


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 the wine -


MASOTTINA EXTRA DRY CONEGLIANO VALDOBBIADENE PROSECCO SUPERI


VINTAGES 216317
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Sparkling Wine, Other Sparkling Wine
10.7% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Veneto, Italy
By: Masottina
Release Date: May 14, 2011

Tasting Note - Masottina has been producing wines since 1946. Aromas of apples, peach, and floral. The palate is very dry, with a racy acidity and fantastic fruit throughout. Very well structured and expertly made. This lively and delicious bubbly is the ideal aperitif for casual or formal affairs. (VINTAGES panel, July 2010)

For the second course Mick did Spicy Shrimp with Mint Sauce… well he brought the ingredients for the Mint sauce and had me make the mint sauce (not that I’m bitter about this or anything!). I was out of Fume Blanc so we had to use a Sauvignon Blanc instead. I went with a 2007 Henri Bourgeois "Les Baronnes" from Sancerre as my pairing. We have reviewed this wine before so I won’t be going into great detail on this one. It was a good pairing with the Spicy Shrimp though a touch shy of being as good a pairing as the Robert Mondavi Fume is.

Click here for Part 2