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.
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
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