Saturday Night – It’s a sign – Part 2

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The main course was middle Lamb loin from Cumbrae’s with sliced garden tomatoes with feta and basil and green beans with butter and parmesan cheese.  I paired this with a 2004 Adelsheim Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. 

 

The nose on this wine was easy to find with huge aromas of cherry, herbs, mushroom, pine needle, sulfur and cedar.  Tasting the wine, you will find black cherry, raspberry with a hint of mint in the background.  The structure on the wine was phenomenal with acidity, silky tannins and alcohol all being in perfect balance together with a long finish.   The wine was a bit cloudy but didn’t show any bricking around the edges which was surprising considering its age.  It made a wonderful pairing for the lamb but was also very good with the tomato and green bean sides.  I’m not normally a huge pinot fan but this wine was big, complex and there was very little I could find fault with and I was sad when the bottle was empty.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 91, Mark – 92, Kathy – 91, Amy – 92, Overall – 91.5.
Bonus Rating – Chris – 91, Jan – 92.

There was no LCBO listing on the wine which isn’t a shock as I bought this down in NY state years ago.  Doing a quick web search puts the bottle price at $27-32 a bottle.  The 2011 is the current release so that shows it has been a few years since I bought the 2004.  This is one of those bottles that had I known it was going to be this good, I would have bought a case without even thinking about. 

For dessert I picked up mini Angel food cakes and topped them with a fresh berry medley, raspberry coulis and fresh whipped cream.  I really couldn’t resist doing something berry based as they are all in season and so inexpensive at this moment, it would have been a crime not to do this type dessert.  I opened a bottle of Henry of Pelham Late Harvest Riesling to go with the dessert (I have reviewed this before so won’t go into much detail).  The first time we had the 2006 Late Harvest Riesling we rated it a 86; this one certainly tasted better than that but I was disappointed on the nose of the wine as dessert wines usually have an amazing nose and this one was a bit funky so maybe the 86 isn’t too far off the mark.  The berry based dessert was also a good choice as I think we were all pretty full at this point and this lighter styled dessert was a great way to finish up.

 

Even though we didn’t get to go out for dinner, in the end, it worked out for the best as I believe any restaurant out there would have been hard pressed to match the quality of the food and wine of last night’s dinner.  It was great having Chris and Jan added to our usual Saturday night dinners and I am already looking forward to the next time we get together.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – It’s a sign – Part 1

This past Saturday, Kathy and I hosted dinner for Mick, Amy, Chris and Jan.  The initial plan was to go out for dinner but the place we wanted to go for dinner, didn’t have a table for six available.  Kathy and I discussed other restaurants but in the end I decided as our first choice wasn’t available that this was a sign we should eat at home instead.  So as of last Thursday, the plan changed from going out to eat to Kathy and I hosting dinner for six.

 

Now that the ‘where’ question had been answered then the next questions was the ‘what’ as in what are we going to have to for dinner.   Kathy decided that she wanted Lamb as the main course and that worked for me. 

To start the night I did a Breaded Shrimp recipe on the BBQ.  The coating for the shrimp was made up of breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper and was served on a bed of mix peppers that were sliced thin, tossed with olive oil and sea salt and then grilled.  My wine pairing for this dish was a 2011 Catena Alta Chardonnay for Argentina that I’d picked up a few weeks ago. 

 

The nose on the wine was mild for a Chardonnay as you really had to swirl the glass to pick up the aromas of dish soap/lemon Pledge, vanilla, citrus and honeydew melon.  Tasting the wine, it started with a lemon/grapefruit flavour that transitioned to butterscotch on the mid-palate and then finished with a funky medicinal flavour.  The wine was 14% alcohol but the flavour and oak in the wine balanced that out nicely as it didn’t come across as hot.  The shrimp dish helped smooth out the funky medicinal finish and really helped bring out some of lovely flavours to this wine.  I liked pairing but if I had another bottle of this wine I would lean towards pairing this with an Alfredo as this wine was big and bold on the flavours and really would shine against a heavy rich dish like Alfredo.

 

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

 

Here is the LCBO information for the wine –

CATENA ALTA CHARDONNAY 2011
VINTAGES 959973
750 mL bottle
Price $ 39.95
Made in: Mendoza, Argentina
By: Bodega Catena Zapata
Release Date: Jul 20, 2013
Wine, White Wine
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Sugar Content: 5 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Description  -  TASTING DATE: Rich and full-bodied with generous layers of tropical fruit, peach and green apple. Just the right amount of smoke to create a luscious package of complete satisfaction for Chardonnay lovers. Long finish leaves you looking for a top up. Perfect for dinner parties. Food matches: rich seafood pasta dishes, boiled lobster, grilled pork tenderloin. Score: 92 (Natalie MacLean, nataliemaclean.com, June 21, 2012)

 

The breaded shrimp recipe was very good, and I was surprised how good the mix grilled peppers were with it as I really did them more to just add some colour to the plate vs. trying to add another flavour. 

 

As there was some time to kill between the first and second course, I opened a bottle of KJ Chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve (a nice simple $20 California Chardonnay).  The KJ Chardonnay is fun as its bursts with pineapple flavours and has been a cellar staple of mine for years.  The KJ really showed how simple it was a wine vs. Catena Alta and how much the Catena Alta had going on with it.  I’m not so keen on the $40 price point on the Catena Alta but I did enjoy trying it and will probably pick up next year’s vintage just to see how it is.

 

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Saturday Night – Putting a little spark into dinner – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

The main course was grilled Beef Tenderloin with a brandy, cream and shallot sauce and I did a corn, cherry tomato and potato side to go with it. I figured the sauce with the brandy in it would be fairly rich and was leaning towards something French to pair with it. When Mick and Amy arrived I grabbed the four 2003 left bank (More Cabernet Sauvignon based than right bank which is more Merlot based) Bordeaux I had on the rack and we pick a 2003 Chateau Haut-Bages Averous from Pauillac as our pairing.

 

The nose on the wine was an interesting mix of cassis, pencil shavings, marshmallow, vanilla and cherry Lifesaver candy. Tasting the wine flavours of red currant, vanilla and smoke were to be found. The wine was very subtle and feminine in structure with silky smooth tannin and fresh acidity working nicely together with a long lingering finish. I’m am usually more of a fan of big huge masculine Cabs but there was something wonderfully enticing about this wine that made you want to just keep coming back to it. It was an amazing pairing with beef Tenderloin and the brandy cream sauce and worked nicely with the vegetable side as well though not quite as well as with the beef. It was also very good on its own which was a bit of a surprise as I really find Cabernet Sauvignon to be a food wine and I am usually not a big fan of it on its own.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 91, Mark – 92, Kathy – 90, Amy – 90, Overall – 90.75.

 

There was no LCBO for this wine which isn’t a shock as I purchased this down it the US a number of years ago and believe the price was around $65 US a bottle. Current pricing on the web has it listed around $85 US a bottle.
 

The 90.75 overall rating puts this wine just short of making Top Ten Red list which is a shame as I feel this wine certainly deserves to be there. If I could find more I’d happily take a bottle or two of it. I will add however that this wine is drinking perfectly right now and it will probably be great for the next couple of years but I think after that you’d be pushing it.

To finish up the night, we had scones, Devonshire cream and strawberry jam. After the first two courses I’m glad I went with a somewhat lighter dessert as everyone was stuff to the gills at this point.

The brandy, cream and shallot sauce was really good. The fun part about this recipe is at one point in the cooking process you ignite the brandy in pan which certainly added a flare to the evening. This is a sauce I will be making again as it was a real winner. I guess my Halibut failure had an upside after all.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Putting a little spark into dinner – Part 1

It was my turn to host this past Saturday night’s dinner and to be honest I have been in a bit of a rut cooking-wise lately. I was looking to do something different and decided to do Halibut in a chili lime butter sauce. As this was a new recipe, I decided to do a test run on Friday and try it out – long story short I would give it a 3 out 10, the sauce was ok and the Halibut that I’d picked up wasn’t the nicest piece of fish I’d ever had. Since the test run was a failure, I went another route and Kathy and I went through some recipe books and found a recipe for grilled Beef Tenderloin with a brandy, cream and shallot sauce that looked interesting. The main course settled we kicked around ideas for a starter and decided on an Anti-Pasto starter.

 

For my Anti-Pasto I needed a wine that would pair well with bruschetta, salami, cheese, pickle and olive tray and roasted red pepper dip. My first though when having this many different things to pair with was a California Merlot which would have been a safe bet but after looking over the wine rack I choose to go with a 2011 Ben Marco Malbec instead. 

After we tried the 2009 Ben Marco Malbec (http://zippysauce.blogspot.ca/2013/04/saturday-night-ups-and-downs-part-2.html) I went looking for more. The LCBO didn’t have any stock but Profile Wine Group (http://www.profilewinegroup.com/) did, well sort of. Mick had the 2009 on his rack for a while so Profile had the 2011 instead of the 2009. I wasn’t sure but the sales representative was sure I would like it and after chatting for a bit I ordered a case of the 2011. Mick and Amy bought 3 of the 12 bottles but hadn’t tried theirs yet so I thought it would be fun to try it together.

The nose on the 2011 Ben Marco was big and easy to find with aromas of cherry, green pepper, eucalyptus, cedar and truffle with strawberry and pine needle notes in the background. Tasting the wine, dark berry and dark chocolate flavours dominated the wine with a hint of vanilla peeking through at times. The structure on the wine was great as it came across very smooth as the balance of acidity, tannin and alcohol was in perfect harmony. The nice thing about this wine is it was just as great with the food as it was on its own. It wasn’t quite as good as 2009 was but I have no doubt that after a few years of cellaring that it will be.

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

There is no LCBO listing for this wine but if you want a case, you can get one via Profile Wine Group. The price was $21 a bottle. The people at Profile Wine Group were great to deal with and they will happily send your case to your nearest LCBO for you to pick from there.
 

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