Saturday Night – That’s Amore – Part 3

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The final course of the evening was an amazing homemade lemon tart that Jan and Chris made and they paired this with a 2008 Inniskillin Riesling Ice wine.

 

The nose was a powerful mix of lychee, pear, green apple and pineapple aromas.  Tasting the wine, lime and canned peaches were the two dominate flavours to this wine.  Structure-wise this wine was beautiful as the fresh acidity balanced out the sweetness of the wine.  The wine wasn’t cloying at all which isn’t something you can say about an Ice wine on a regular basis.  It was a stellar pairing with the lemon tart.

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

INNISKILLIN RIESLING ICEWINE 2008
VINTAGES 558288
375 mL bottle
Price $ 69.95
This is a VQA wine
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Constellation Brands Inc.
Release Date: N/A
Wine, Icewine
9.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Riesling
Sugar Content: 234 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: S - Sweet

At $69 a bottle this is a touch high on what I expect to find an Ice wine for (usually I find $50 for Ice wine and $20-25 for Late Harvest Vidal is the ballpark) but it was easily good enough to justify that $20 premium. 

I want to thank Jan and Chris for the lovely dishes and great wine; I’m always blown away at how much effort they put into these nights and how good all the food is. 

This will be my last Blog post for 2012 and it is nice to end on a high note (once again thank you Chris and Jan!) and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – That’s Amore – Part 2

The second Italian red for night was a 2008 Palazzo Della Torre.

 

The nose on this wine was milder in intensity than the Salcheto but was an interesting mix of peat, pine needles, vanilla bean and caramel aromas. Tasting the wine, lots of different fruit flavours were to be found such as watermelon, cherry, raspberry and over-ripe strawberry. The structure on this wine was lovely as it was incredibly smooth as the tannin and acidity were in perfect harmony with each other. The wine was very dainty and at times got lot against the richness of the food and ended up being a better wine on its own than with the food.

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

There was no LCBO information on this wine; a quick web search put this in the $20 range which is a good value for a wine this good.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – That’s Amore – Part 1

Jan and Chris were kind enough to have Mick, Amy, Kathy and myself over dinner this past Saturday night.  We reviewed three new wines and were treated to three wonderful new dishes as well.

 

The first course was a Mediterranean Tart which had roasted goat cheese and a wide array of roasted vegetables in it.  This was paired with a bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne.  We have reviewed the Roederer before so I won’t go into much detail.  It did pair well with the food but was funny as with certain bites it was an amazing pairing and at other types it was OK; the tart had a very wide range of flavours so this was a tricky dish to pair with. 

The main course was Italian Meatballs with Tomato Sauce.  Jan paired this with two different Italian reds – a 2006 Salcheto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and a 2008 Palazzo Della Torre.  I’ll review the Salcheto first in Part 1 and then cover the other wine in Part 2.

The nose on the Salcheto was easy to find with powerful aromas of leather, pine, eucalyptus with some plum and black pepper notes in the background.  Tasting the wine, you will find sour cherry and black peppers flavours that run the length of the wine.  The structure of the wine was good though it was a bit acidic at times.  The finish on the wine lingers around for quite a while.  I wasn’t too keen on this wine on its own as the acidity was very noticeable but it was quite good with the food as the acidity was neutralized and it went down very nicely with the rich food.

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

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

 

SALCHETO VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO 2006

VINTAGES 685180
750 mL bottle
Price $ 24.95
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Salcheto
Release Date: Nov 24, 2012
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sangiovese (Chianti)
Sugar Content: 5 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Tasting Note -  The 2006 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano shows the darker side of Vino Nobile in its wild cherries, scorched earth, grilled herbs and leather. This is a decidedly muscular, authoritative Vino Nobile endowed with considerable richness and depth. Though delicious today, it really begs for another few years in bottle. It is a fabulous effort. The estate's Vino Nobile is 100% Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese) fermented in large oak vats and aged in a combination of small French oak barrels and in large Slavonian oak casks for a total of 24 months. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. Score - 92. (Antonio Galloni, erobertparker.com, Oct. 2010)

 

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Decoy for Dinner – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

 

The main course of the evening was maple chicken wings wrapped in bacon.  Mick paired this with a 2005 Decoy Napa Valley red wine by Duckhorn Vineyards.  Decoy is a California wine that is done in a Bordeaux blend.

 

The nose on this wine was powerful with solid aromas of chocolate, green pepper, cedar, blackberry and mushroom.  Tasting the wine, you will find black cherry and chocolate flavours on the start that finish with a caramel flavour.  Interestingly enough as the wine sat for a while, the black cherry flavour changed to a very raspberry one which was pretty cool.  The structure on this wine was good as it was big and chewy with lots of tannin and acidity that balanced well.  The finish lingered for a long time as well.  It paired decently with the wings but a pure Merlot would have been a better pairing.  All in all this was a very enjoyable wine.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 90, Mark - 91, Kathy – 88, Amy – 88, Overall – 89.25.

 

There was no LCBO information on this wine.  Mick said it was around $42 which is a great value for such a solidly crafted wine.

 

To finish the night up Amy picked up a white chocolate raspberry cake which was a good ending to the night. 

 

Thanks to Mick and Amy for a great night of food, wine and friendship.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – Decoy for Dinner – Part 2

The second course was Mick’s Curried Mussels or as I like to call them “Heaven in a Bowl”.  Mick paired this with a 2009 Max Ferd. Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling.

 

The Riesling had a very pretty nose of petrol, green apple and peach.  Tasting the wine you will find a sour green apple candy flavour that runs the length of the wine.  The structure on this wine was perfect as the sour green apple flavour and the high acidity nicely offsets the sweetness of the wine; the wine without these offsets would have been a cloying monster.  The finish on this wine lingered around for a long time.  It was a great pairing for the Curried Mussels.  I haven’t enjoyed a Kabinett Riesling this good in a long while.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 88, Mark - 91, Kathy – 86, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.25.

 

Here is the LCBO information for this wine -

 

MAX FERD. RICHTER WEHLENER SONNENUHR RIESLING KABINETT 2009

VINTAGES 998120
750 mL bottle
Price $ 19.95
Made in: Mosel, Germany
By: Weingut Gunderloch
Release Date: Sep 29, 2012
Wine, White Wine
8.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 50 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: M - Medium

 

Tasting Note - More perfumed than the Brauneberger Juffer, a little more exotic but also a note of ginger spice. Rich, ripe citrus verging towards apricot - so much fruit in the middle that it seems almost soft even though there is plenty of balancing, bracing acidity and an underlying minerality. Drink 2011-2015. Score - 17 (out of 20). (Julia Harding, MW, jancisrobinson.com, Aug. 18, 2010)

 

The Curried Mussels were wonderful as always.

 

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Decoy for Dinner – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner and Mick had three new wines and two new dishes for us to try.

 

The first course was Chicken Croquettes which was a brand new recipe from Mick’s 50 Shades of Chicken cookbook.  He paired these with a 2009 La Chablisienne Chablis 1er Cru Montmains.

The nose caught me off guard as it was surprisingly tropical with aromas of pineapple, mango, peach and vanilla ice cream which is something I expect more from a California Chardonnay than a French Chablis.  Tasting the wine, it was certainly more what you’d expect from a Chablis; crisp and fresh with lime and grapefruit notes running the length of the wine.  The structure was interesting as it starts very big and bold but then disappears quickly with a clean short finish.  It was a very good pairing with the Chicken Croquettes and this is a wine I feel that would work with a lot of different foods as it was very food friendly.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 90, Mark - 88, Kathy – 89, Amy – 89, Overall – 89.25.

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

 

LA CHABLISIENNE VIEILLES VIGNES CHABLIS (V)
VINTAGES 215525
750 mL bottle
Price $ 25.95
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: La Chablisienne C/O Bcb Export
Release Date: Apr 18, 2012
Wine, White Wine
12.6% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Sugar Content: 2 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Description - Old vines (vieilles vignes) produce less fruit, so the wines are more concentrated and flavourful. This classic, steely, unoaked Chablis features aromas of sweet apple, mineral and citrus. Delicious with grilled sole and other white fish, as well as oysters on the half shell.

 

* Note, pretty sure this isn’t the right one but it was the only listing I could find on the LCBO website that was La Chablisienne and in the $24-25 price point Mick said he paid for this.

 

The Chicken Croquettes were pretty good but they were a little bland.  I mentioned this to Mick and said they would be awesome with some Chipotle Mayo and Mick replied that he had some in the fridge.  We all tried them with the mayo and wow were they good with just that little bit of kick added.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – I’m in the mood for bubbles – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

The second bottle of sparkling for the night was a 2007 Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blanc.

 

The nose on this wine was much prettier than the first with vanilla, rose and perfume aromas.  Tasting the wine, you find a pear, beer/hoppy and nutmeg flavours running the length of the wine.  It was much creamier than the Laborie as well.  There was a lot happening with this wine with its big mouth-feel and its long lingering finish.  It was a bit too much on its own but made a great pairing with the Sushi.  Even more impressive was as it warmed up, it got even better on the taste and the nose became more powerful as well.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 87, Mark - 88, Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 86.50.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

GRAHAM BECK PREMIER CUVÉE BLANC DE BLANCS BRUT 2007
VINTAGES 907568
750 mL bottle
Price $ 24.95
Made in: Robertson, South Africa
By: Graham Beck Wines
Release Date: Mar 31, 2012
Wine, Sparkling Wine, Other Sparkling Wine
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sparkling (Methode Champenoise)
Sugar Content: 10 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note  - Impressive as ever, 2007 unfolds ripe apple and citrus fruit. Rich leesy brioche underscores class. All borne on a fine, delicate mousse. Score - 4 1/2 Stars (out of 5). (Greg de Bruyn, Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2011)

We finished the night with a Reese’s Ice Cream cake from Dairy Queen which was quite good.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – I’m in the mood for bubbles – Part 1

I bought two South African sparkling wines a few months back when I picked up a number of French Champagnes.  The Champagnes are long gone and have been reviewed here on Zippy Sauce already but since then every time I went into the fridge, these two South African sparklers were staring at me.  I decided it was time for them to go.  So this past Saturday night, Mick and Amy were by for dinner and these two wines got opened to pair with the Sushi we ordered in.

 

I will review the 2009 Laborie Brut Sparkling wine first and then will review the 2007 Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blanc Sparkling wine in part 2.

The nose was easy to find on Laborie with aromas of Macintosh apple, yeast and wet cardboard.  Tasting the wine, the dominate flavour was lime with lime zest with hints of apple and nut in the background.  The wine was very crisp and refreshing but one dimensional.  Everyone preferred this wine on its own as it got a touch sharp/funky when paired with the Sushi.  The other flaw was the more this wine warmed up, the less appealing it got.  On the other hand, for $15 a bottle it was going down very nicely before the food arrived.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 86, Mark - 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

LABORIE BRUT SPARKLING WINE 2009
VINTAGES 280115
750 mL bottle
Price $ 14.70
Made in: Western Cape, South Africa
By: KWV
Release Date: Jun 23, 2012
Wine, Sparkling Wine, White
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sparkling White
Sugar Content: 8 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

Description - This is made in the time-honoured traditional method of sparkling wine, which was perfected in Champagne and is called Cap Classique in South Africa.
Tasting Note - Notes of graham cracker, orchard fruit and mineral on the nose. Quite dry with a medium body and plenty of acidity to balance the ripe fruit. The aromas replay nicely on the palate. This is a well-balanced, refreshing style of sparkling wine with a tasty, balanced finish. (VINTAGES panel, April 2012)

Click here for Part 2