Saturday Night - Do you remember… - Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

Now we will take a look at the Pol Roger Brut Champagne.

 

The colour on this Champagne was much more of deeper amber yellow vs. the Moët and Chandon. The nose on it caught my attention as it was a powerful mix of yeast, baked bread and stale beer. Tasting the Pol Roger, you’ll find a fresh bread/hoppy flavour to it with a lime finish. This Champagne certain had a bigger mouth-feel to it than the Moët and Chandon which I liked but it was sharp at times. Without food the Moët and Chandon was much better than the Pol Roger but with the sushi the Pol Roger was very good as it was big enough to handle all the different flavours being thrown at it.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 89, Mark - 88, Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

POL ROGER BRUT CHAMPAGNE

LCBO 217158

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 60.80

Made in: Region Not Specified, France

By: Champagne Pol Roger

Style: Rich & Complex

Wine, Champagne

12.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Varietal: Sparkling (Champagne)

Sugar Content: 11 g/L

Tasting Note - Pale straw colour with fine mousse; apple, bread/toast, yeast and citrus aromas; medium bodied and dry; ripe apple, biscuit, mineral and citrus flavours; balanced with long lively finish

Serving Suggestion - Versatile , serve with brunch, smoked salmon, or as an aperitif

We finished up the night with the DQ Ice Cream cake which was enjoyed by all. Fun night – sushi, Champagne, ice cream cake and good friends… doesn’t get much better than that.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night - Do you remember… - Part 1

… the 21st night of September? Thought I’d kick off this Blog article with some upbeat Earth, Wind and Fire lyrics. OK, our Mick and Amy Saturday night dinner was actually last night which was the 29^th of September but at least I got the month right.

 

It has been a busy month for all of us as Mick and Amy have been spending a lot of the month either at the hospital for Amy’s Dad (who is doing better) and/or the vet due to their new kitten breaking its leg (who is also doing better). Kathy has been down and out with a back injury for the last couple of weeks. This is why the Blog has been a touch quiet this month. Last night’s dinner was very much a last minute type of deal, so we kept it simple and just ordered in Sushi. I also picked up a Dairy Queen Ice Cream cake for dessert, my thinking was if the night didn’t happen, the cake was frozen and would keep until next weekend or whenever we happened to next get together.

The great thing about Sushi is that means it’s Champagne time as they pair well together. I had two Champagnes that had been chilling in the fridge for months and I was looking for an excuse to crack them. The first was a Moët and Chandon Champagne who also produce a Champagne called Dom Pérignon which you may have heard of. The Moët and Chandon is about a third of the price of Dom. The second Champagne was a Pol Roger Reserve which was also $60 a bottle, so with both them being at the same price point it makes for a good comparison.

 

I will start with the Moët and Chandon and review the Pol Roger in part 2.

The colour to the Moët and Chandon was a pale yellow with a green tint to it. Nosing the wine, you’ll find roses, citrus, yeast and a touch of peach lurking in the background. Tasting the wine is a real treat; light, crisp and refreshing with a bit of creaminess to take the edge off the dryness. Flavours of lime and vanilla run the length of this wine. Very nicely balanced; it was almost too dry but doesn’t cross the line in being too sharp/harsh. On its own this Champagne was stellar but with the sushi, it became lost and couldn’t stand up to all the different flavours. Mick said that he wouldn’t use with this food but on a nice day on back deck, this wine would be one you could easily kill a bottle or two without even trying.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –92, Mark - 90, Kathy – 89, Amy – 90, Overall – 90.25.

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

 

MOET & CHANDON BRUT IMPERIAL

LCBO 453084

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 60.65

Made in: Region Not Specified, France

By: Moet & Chandon S.A.

Style: Medium-bodied & Flavourful

Wine, Champagne

12.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Varietal: Sparkling (Champagne)

Sugar Content: 13 g/L

Tasting Note -Straw/gold colour with with a greenish tinge and a fine mousse; forward floral, mineral, toasty, brioche, and yeasty aromas; dry with citrus, delicate bread dough and apple flavours; light creamy mouthfeel with crisp citrus acidity and a clean finish.

Serving Suggestion - Apéritif; shellfish especially oysters; creamy cheese; seafood; quiche.

The 90.25 rating puts this up in the Top Ten Sparkling, etc. group which is where it should be. I like the Roederer better as it is a bit bigger and works better with food but I will be grabbing another bottle of the Moët and Chandon as it will be nice change of pace in the future.

 

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – An Easy Night – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

 

This wasn’t supposed to be a three bottle evening but get a couple of bottles of Champagne in me and odd things happen.  Towards the end of the meal I mentioned that I got a bottle of 2008 Le Serre Nuove Dell Ornellaia from a lawyer in my building this week.  A couple of months ago I gave him a bottle of the Robert Mondavi “To Kalon” Fume Blanc as I was discussing it with him and he wanted to try it.  He asked me what he owed for the bottle and I told him, nothing but if he comes across something that lights him up to return the favor with a bottle of it.  This was that bottle.

 

 

I picked up a mix of dessert slices and half of them were dark chocolate based so we decided to give this wine a shot.

 

The nose on it was big with vivid aromas of plum, blackcurrant, eucalyptus and vanilla.  The nose reminded me of a California Cab/Merlot blend then an Italian red but I love the nose off of California reds so this was a good thing.  Tasting the wine, rich blackberry, dark chocolate with some mint notes in the background made up the flavour profile to this wine.  I was shocked at how soft the tannin was in this wine as it was only a 2008 and by how smooth it was I would have guessed it was a 2001-2003.  It was stunning with the chocolate based dessert but did come across a little sharp on the finish on its own.  All in all, a very well-crafted red wine.

 

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

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

 

ORNELLAIA LE SERRE NUOVE DELL'ORNELLAIA 2009

VINTAGES 606194
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 59.95
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Tenuta Dell'Ornellaia
Release Date: Nov 12, 2011
Wine, Red Wine
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Blend - Other
Sugar Content: 6 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Tasting Note - The 2009 Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia is a gorgeous, fleshy wine that shows the radiant personality of the vintage. Mocha, espresso, raspberry jam and spices are some of the aromas and flavors that flow from this pliant, accessible red. This is all silk and polish. Stylistically, the 2009 is close to the 2007 for its early approachability but appears to have less overall stuffing. It is a gorgeous, rewarding wine to drink now and over the next 8-10 years ... Score - 92. (Antonio Galloni, erobertparker.com, August 2011)

 

* Note – this is the 2009 and not the 2008 reviewed here.

 

The Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia is the winery's 2nd level wine and the little sister to this one (LCBO Listing)-

 

ORNELLAIA 2008

VINTAGES 722470
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 184.95
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Tenuta dell'Ornellaia
Release Date: Oct 1, 2011
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Blend - Other
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Tasting Note - The 2008 Ornellaia has really come together beautifully over the last few months. Up until fairly recently it was a tightly wound, inaccessible wine, but it has begun to blossom quite nicely. The 2008 is a cool, inward Ornellaia graced with exquisite finesse in its dark fruit, mocha, licorice, tar and spices. I especially like the minerality and focus. There is a fabulous balance between the tannins of this structured, powerful vintage, but with gorgeous fleshiness and pliancy that makes the wine very attractive, even at this early stage. It will be fascinating to watch the 2008 develop over the coming years and decades. The 2008 growing season was marked by a rainy, wet spring which resulted in an irregular flowering and naturally low yields. The summer was hot, but temperatures cooled towards the end of the summer, particularly at night, so important for the development of color, aromatics and full phenolic ripeness in varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. The result is a big, massively structured Ornellaia built for the cellar. In 2008 the blend is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The 2008 Ornellaia spent about 20 months in French oak barrels, 70% new. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2028. Score - 96+. (Antonio Galloni, erobertparker.com, Aug. 2011)

 

With the second level being this good, it really has my curiosity peaked on how good the 2008 Ornellaia must be.

 

For a casual and spur of the moment dinner, this was a lot of fun – two out three of the wines were excellent and the food was good and the company was even better.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – An Easy Night – Part 2

The non-vintage Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve was the other Champagne we tasted with dinner.

 

The colour on it surprised me a bit as it was a touch more golden yellow than I expected especially when compare to the pale yellow colour of the 2004 Piper-Heidsieck.  The nose on the this wine was fairly easy to find though not as powerful as the Piper-Heidsieck; aromas of fresh bread/pastry and crabapple were the two most noticeable.  Tasting the wine, apple juice, grapefruit and a slight metallic flavours were to be found.  The structure on this wine was a little off as it was flabby to start and through the mid-palate but finished a touch sharp.  It was ok on its own and a decent pairing with the Sushi. 

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –86, Mark - 83, Kathy – 85, Amy – 85, Overall – 84.75.
Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

CHARLES HEIDSIECK BRUT RÉSERVE CHAMPAGNE

VINTAGES 36962
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 54.95
Made in: Champagne, France
By: Charles Heidsieck S.A.
Release Date: Sep 1, 2012
Wine, Champagne
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note  - Like a Persian carpet this lovely, elegant Champagne seamlessly weaves together its elements, with fine-grained texture and vibrant acidity joining rich flavors of toast, patisserie fruit and candied lemon zest that show subtle spice notes of cardamom and ginger. Drink now through 2020. Score - 93. (Alison Napjus, winespectator.com, Nov. 15, 2011)

Mick mentioned that if he tasted it blind, he would have guessed it was Prosecco and I think he was dead on with that; considering it was $55 a bottle and Prosecco is usually in a $13-20 price point, this isn’t a good thing.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – An Easy Night – Part 1

This past Saturday night we got together with Mick and Amy for dinner.  This dinner sort of came together at the last minute as Mick and Amy were going to be away this weekend but due to weather and a few other issues, they decided to stay home instead.  Since everything was short notice, we decided to make things easy and just order in Sushi.  I did go out before dinner and pickup dessert but that was the extent of my “hard work” on this dinner.

 

The upside to this Sushi plan was I had a couple of new Champagnes I wanted to try and Sushi and Champagne is a great match.  The two Champagnes were a 2004 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne and a non-vintage Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve.

We had both of these with the Sushi in a little heads up competition, but I will review the 2004 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne first and then cover the other one in part 2.

 

The nose was very powerful for a Champagne with aromas of yeast, apple, peach and strangely enough a Philly Cream Cheese aroma.  Tasting the champagne, apples and hops were the dominate flavours with some walnut in the background.  The structure on the wine was very good as the racy acidity made the flavours of the wine jump out at you and gave this wine a very full mouth-feel.  I liked this Champagne quite a bit by its self but it really shined with the Sushi. 

 

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick –89, Mark - 90, Kathy – 86, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.25.

 

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

 

PIPER HEIDSIECK BRUT CHAMPAGNE 2004

 

VINTAGES 281337
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 75.95
Made in: Champagne, France
By: Cls Remy Cointreau
Release Date: Sep 1, 2012
Wine, Champagne
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 13 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Tasting Note  - Rich and toasty, with hints of graphite and vanilla accenting brioche, poached apple and pear, almond cream and verbena. Vibrant and harmonious, with finely detailed texture and a long finish. Drink now through 2024. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. Score - 94. (Alison Napjus, winespectator.com, Dec. 31, 2011)

 

I like the Non-vintage Roederer a touch more than this wine and it is about $10-12 cheaper.  I joked with Mick that I would be happy with the Roederer as a steady girlfriend but if the Roederer went out of town for a weekend, I would be very happy to have the Piper on the side for a weekend. 

 

Click here for Part 2