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.

 

Click here for Part 2