Saturday Night – Kathy’s Birthday Dinner

This past Saturday, Kathy wanted to celebrate her Birthday with a romantic dinner for two at home.  She had two requests for the night – 1. Middle Lamb Loin from Cumbrae’s as the main course and 2. She wanted to pick the wine for this dish.

 

The Middle Lamb Loin from Cumbrae’s is locally raised lamb and is about the size of a decent sized Beef Tenderloin.  I marinate them in olive oil, Balsamic vinegar and chopped fresh rosemary for about 6 hours before grilling them.  To cook them, get the BBQ up to maximum heat and then sear them on each side for about a minute and half per side, then turn down the BBQ to ¼ heat and cook for 17 minutes at about 350-375.  This will cook them to rare to medium rare.

I did boiled baby potatoes and green beans as the sides and served the lamb with a nice helping of Zippy Sauce on the side. 

Kathy’s choice of wine was a 2003 “The Signature” by Yalumba which is a Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz blend.

The Signature was a dark inky purple colour that was very dense.   The nose on the wine was a rich mix of black cherry, cinnamon, white pepper, dark chocolate, eucalyptus and lead pencil.  Tasting the wine, dark berry (blackberry?), spice, oak and coffee are the main flavours.  Structure-wise the wine came across a touch thin but was very smooth and had a finish that lingered around for a very long time.  The only reason I say it was a bit thin as with the deep colour and the rich powerful nose I was expecting this wine to be a monster and have a huge mouth-feel but it was more of a medium bodied wine.  It was a lovely pairing with the lamb and the potatoes but was a little sharp with the green beans.

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

Here is LCBO information on the wine –

YALUMBA THE SIGNATURE CABERNET SAUVIGNON/SHIRAZ 2006
VINTAGES 528356
750 mL bottle
Price $ 51.95
Made in: South Australia, Australia
By: Negociants International
Release Date: Sep 3, 2011
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Blend - Cabernet/Shiraz
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

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)

*Please note that the 2006 listed is the current release and not the 2003 reviewed here

It looks like the LCBO is pretty much out of stock on the 2006 “The Signature” as they are only listing 4 bottles in the entire province.  If you do come across a bottle of this wine, pick it up as at $52 a bottle this wine is a heck of a value and can compete with wines at twice that price point.

It was a really fun night and I hope my lovely wife enjoyed herself as much as I did.  It is appropriate that this is a wine blog, as like a good wine, my wife gets better with age.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Nach-Rogies – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

The main course as I mentioned earlier was “Nach-Rogies” and I paired this with a 2009 Sterling Napa Valley Merlot.   Kathy and I had this Merlot about a month or so ago when we did a client dinner at our house and it was awesome with Lemon cream pasta with Prosciutto so I wanted Mick and Amy to try it.

 

The nose on the Merlot was faint but aromas of strawberry, green pepper, plum and peat were to be found.  Tasting the wine, cherry and mocha were the main flavours.   It was on the thin side for a Merlot and came across slightly tannic at times but was a very approachable wine.  It was a miss on the pairing however as it got a touch funky at times with all the different flavors that made up the “Nach-Rogies”.  It was very good on its own just not the right pairing as I believe something bigger was needed to work with the food (Rutherford Hill Merlot or Joseph Phelps Merlot probably would have worked better).

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

STERLING MERLOT (V)
VINTAGES 330241
750 mL bottle
Price $ 27.95
Made in: California, USA
By: Diageo Canada Inc.
Release Date: Apr 18, 2012
Style: Full-bodied & Smooth
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Merlot
Sugar Content: 6 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

Description  -  A champion of Napa Merlot, Sterling launched California's first-ever vintage dated bottle in 1969. Now legendary, this silky, succulent wine is bursting with blackberry and cherry flavours. Serve this beauty up with beef empanadas, roast chicken or veal cutlets 

I enjoyed the “Nach-Rogies” but to be honest I think I prefer Perogies or Nachos more on their own than blended together like this. 

 

For dessert I picked up a LaRocca Gooey Caramel and Apple cake which was very good.  It was extremely fresh tasting and was an interesting combination of flavours; I liked it but wouldn’t go out of my way to get another one.

 

Thanks to Mick and Amy for providing the Predator Zinfandel to go with carrot soup. 

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – Nach-Rogies – Part 1

One weekend when Mick and Amy were away, I was about to head out the door and go grocery shopping when Kathy asked me what was for dinner.

"It’s a surprise!" I replied

 

"Ok, but no Perogies!" answered my wife

 

"Sure."

 

"And no Nachos!" insisted Kathy

 

"Whatever." I replied

 

"And no combining the two!"

 

At that point the light went on and I suddenly thought – "Nach-Rogies!" (I swear when I thought of that term I could hear Angels’ singing and a bright heavenly light shined down on me). At the time I was actually going to pick-up steaks so Perogies and Nachos were the furthest thing from my mind but I kept thinking about "Nach-Rogies" and decided that I had to try them. 

 

This past Saturday night it was my turn to cook so "Nach-Rogies" were going to be the main course. I started the night however with Carrot soup with fire-roasted chilies as this was a Mick and Amy request. Mick did chicken wings about a month ago for him and Amy and cracked a bottle of 2011 Predator Old Vine Zinfandel. He liked it with wings but thought it would be an awesome pairing with my carrot soup recipe.

The nose on the Predator Zinfandel was powerful and complex with aromas of cherry, cedar, black pepper, tar, vanilla and coffee. It was easily one of the more enjoyable noses I have ever experienced with a Zinfandel. Tasting the wine, blackberry and cinnamon were the dominate flavours but it finished with more of a dried cranberry flavour. I found the body was a bit thin for a Zinfandel and I felt I could have used a bit more body to it. It was a good pairing with the carrot soup but I think the Rosenblum and Seghesio Zinfandels made a better pairing in the past.

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

PREDATOR OLD VINE ZINFANDEL 2011

VINTAGES 219485

750 mL bottle
Price $ 18.95
Made in: California, USA
By: Rutherford Wine Company
Release Date: Jan 5, 2013
Wine, Red Wine
15.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Zinfandel
Sugar Content: 14 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

Description - Winner of a Silver Medal at the 2012 New York World Wine and Spirit Competition.

Tasting Note - Tremendous crowd-pleasing Zin with aromas of plum, pine boughs, sour cherry and hickory smoke. Dry to slightly off-dry, this flavourful wine is a must-have for your pizza, burgers, or sausage night. No pretensions, just a good, rich, honest, fun-food wine. (VINTAGES panel, Nov. 2012)

At $19 a bottle it was very tempting to raise my rating to a 90 as it is very hard to find such a well-crafted Zinfandel at that price point. The Seghesio is still my favourite but it is usually in the $24-30 range vs. the sub $20 that the Predator is in. Do yourself a favour, pick and bottle up and give it a try as this was a very good wine.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – House bound

Mick and Amy have missed the last two Saturday night dinners as they were in Jamaica for vacation.  So I was looking forward to getting together with them for this past Saturday.  It was supposed to be my turn to host but unfortunately Amy broke her ankle in Jamaica and didn’t want to attempt to walk/limp/crawl home drunk at the end of the night.  We decided to make things simple and just ordered in some Sushi at Mick and Amy’s house.

 

As we were having Sushi that meant it was time for a sparkling wine to pair with this and I had a new one for us to try – 2009 Cathedral Cellars Brut from South Africa.

While we were waiting for the Sushi to be delivered, Mick decided to augment our Sushi dinner with some fresh oysters so we cracked the wine early to go with them.

The nose on the wine was mild with rose/perfume, yeast and wet hay aromas.  Tasting the wine, pink grapefruit was the dominate flavour with a touch of tangerine in the background.  Structure-wise the wine had good acidity and a decent finish but was a kind of simple.  It was a very good pairing with the oysters and decent with the Sushi.  All in all not a bad sparkling wine but nothing about it will really jump out at you.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 85, Mark - 87, Kathy – 82, Amy – 85, Overall – 84.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

CATHEDRAL CELLAR BRUT 2009
VINTAGES 296426
750 mL bottle
Price $ 16.95
Made in: South Africa
By: KWV
Release Date: Nov 10, 2012
Wine, Sparkling Wine, White
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Sparkling White
Sugar Content: 7 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

Tasting Note - Charming 2009 from refreshing, lemony chardonnay with enriching 11% pinot noir. Fine, creamy mousse; properly brut. Potential to grow. Score - 4 Stars (out of 5). (Angela Lloyd, Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2012)

I do believe my wife was being a little critical with her 82 rating but she doesn’t take price into account for her rating whereas I do.  This wine is solid enough to justify its $17 price point and I feel the 87 rating I gave it was right on the money but I can’t argue with Mick and Amy’s 85 ratings either.

It was good to have Mick and Amy back for our usual Saturday night dinner.  Amy might be switched to a walking cast this week.  That would be good as then she’ll be able to make it back and forth to our house and I can host this upcoming weekend’s Saturday night dinner and I have a new dish I been wanting to try out.

Cheers!

Mark