Saturday Night – Combique with so many different wines – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

Mick did grilled Brie on a cedar plank with a bruschetta topping or as he calls it “Briechetta”.  Mick paired this with a 2009 Chateau La Croix Chaigneau from Pomerol.

 

The nose on this wine was powerful and easy to find with aromas of green pepper, clove and black pepper.  Tasting the wine, sour cherry was the dominate flavour with some black pepper and mushroom notes.  The structure on the wine was good but it did come across slight tannic at times but this got better with the food.  It made a good pairing for the food but I think with this dish I’d lean more towards a pure Merlot vs. a blend like this one.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 88, Mark - 88, Kathy – 86, Amy – 88, Overall – 87.5.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

CHÂTEAU LA CROIX CHAIGNEAU 2009
VINTAGES 173278
750 mL bottle
Price $ 23.95
Made in: Bordeaux, France
By: Vignobles Chatonnet
Release Date: Oct 27, 2012
Wine, Red Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Blend - Meritage
Sugar Content: 4 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note  -  A bold, complex and stately Right Bank wine showing notes of blackcurrant, plum, cherry, woodsmoke and coffee. Very nicely structured with tight fine-grained tannins surrounding a core of bright, spicy fruit en route to a dry, balanced, lingering finish. One for the cellar, this will really open up over the next 5 years or so. A fine choice for herbed beef stew. (VINTAGES panel, Aug. 2012)

The third course was Steve and Melanie’s and they did grilled flat bread with roasted corn, old cheddar and double smoked bacon.  They paired this with a Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne.  I won’t be reviewing it here as I don’t like to do this when guests provide wine.  I will add that their course was very good and the Champagne made a very good pairing with the food.

The fourth course was Alex and Zdenka’s and Alex made a Beef Tenderloin with smoked paprika mayonnaise with a side baby Arugula salad.   He paired this with a 2008 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon.  I really liked the wine as it was very fruit forward but with more than enough body to it that it didn’t come across as a ‘fruit bomb’.  Alex did an amazing job with the beef as it was cooked to exactly medium-rare and had a wonderful flavour to it.

I made the dessert course which was raspberry and white chocolate based.  Steve and Melanie were nice enough to provide the wine which was two bottles of Ice wine Riesling from Henry of Pelham.  The Ice wine was very good and worked exceptionally well with the dessert.

 

It was a fun night but judging by the way my head feels today probably too much wine.  It was great seeing everyone again and you just can’t beat a Combique for great food dishes and even better company.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark