Saturday Night - Return of the Combique

The Blog has been a little quiet recently as our usual Saturday dinners with Mick and Amy haven’t been so usual.  Health matters, schedules and holidays were to blame but on the upside we did get together with Mick and Amy on Saturday with four extra guests as Steve, Melanie, Zdenka and Alex joined us.  The original plan was Mick, Steve and myself were going to hit the drag-strip and spend the afternoon laying down some rubber on the track and then the eight of us were going to get together for a Combique style dinner.  Unfortunately due to the weather the only thing getting laid down on the track was lots of rain water.

 

Normally for a Combique each couple brings an appetizer sized course and a bottle of wine to pair with it.  For this one, as we were supposed to be at the track most of the day, we changed so I would provide the meat for a mixed grill, Mick/Amy and Melanie/Steve were making sides to go with the mixed and Zdenka/Alex were bringing dessert

As the weather cancelled the event and I had free time I made a Blue Cheese and Bacon dip as a starter and we kicked the evening off with this and a bottle of Roederer Champagne (which turned into two bottles as the first went down so well).  I won’t review the Champagne as we have had it a number of times and it is always very good.

The main course was a mixed grill of Beef Tenderloin, Chicken and Wild Boar Sausage which Mick was kind enough to grill on the BBQ.  Mick made a corn and bean salad which was very good and Melanie made cheese stuff potatoes (two types – Blue Cheese and Cheddar) and a tomato and feta salad.  The potatoes were awesome looking and tasted just as good as they looked. 

I opened a bottle of 2005 Decoy as the pairing to go with the main course.  Decoy is a red wine blend (45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot 11% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot.) from California.

Nosing the wine, you will find a nice mix of black licorice, eucalyptus, pine, black berry and black pepper.  Tasting the wine, flavours of raspberry, mint, pepper and green pepper are to be found.  The wine came across as very dry due to the tannin being a little out of balance when drinking it on its own.  Having the wine with the food though is where it really shined; the tannin was toned down thanks to the food and the wine came across as very smooth.  I was impressed that the wine was easily big enough to handle all the different flavours of the main course without an issue and worked as a great pairing for all of those food flavours.  The other thing of note was the finish – big, beautiful and lingered around forever.  All in all, a very solid and nicely crafted red blend.

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

There was no LCBO information on the wine but a quick web search puts it at $29 US per bottle so between $40 and $50 Canadian.  At that price, it is a heck of a wine for the money and I would recommend if you happen to come across some to pick it up.

For Dessert, Alex and Zdenka brought a La Rocca Chocolate Truffle Royale cake which happens to be a favourite of Amy’s.  It was a nice finish to a great evening.

It was great seeing Alex, Zdenka, Melanie and Steve again.  Too much time passes between our get-togethers but it is amazing how quickly we get comfortable around one another as if no time at all has passed. 

Thanks to everyone for making it a great night!

Cheers!
Mark

Saturday Night – Not the usual band of malcontents

This past Saturday we added three more guests to our usual Saturday night dinner with Mick and Amy – Chris and Jan and Sheian.

We didn’t review the wines as we usually do, so this blog is more just a quick recap of the evening.

"Menu for the evening"

"Crab Dip with Crackers"

The starter was Crab Dip and Crackers paired with 2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.  The grapefruit flavour and crispness of the wine made a good contrast to the sweetness of the Crab dip.

"2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc"

"Homemade Croutons with Caesar :)"

  

The second course was Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons paired with 2008 Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay.  We have done this pairing a number of times and it is always a beautiful match.

"Louis Jay-DOT as Mick would say"

"Beef Tenderloin being carved up"

"Port and Shallot Sauce"

"The final plate" 

For the main course I did Beef Tenderloin with Port & Shallot Sauce and Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and a side of Green Beans paired with Joseph Phelps 2003 Insignia.  The 1999 Insignia is the highest rated red wine on the Top 10 Red wines list.  The 2003 Insignia isn’t quite as good as the 1999 but it wasn’t far off.   I would guess that we would have rated in the 91-92 point range; wonderful nose and incredibly smooth taste it wasn’t hard to kill this bottle.  

"2003 Insignia"

"Cork from 2003 Insignia"

"Table shot (from left to right) Mick, Sheian, Chris and Jan... Amy is taking the picture and I'm cooking... so where is my lovely wife?"

"Oh there she is raiding the wine fridge!"

We opened a 2005 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon as the Insignia was gone before we finish the tenderloin.  The Cab paled in comparison to the Insignia but it is a quarter of the price of the Insignia as well.  The Cab was more fruit forward than the Insignia and didn’t have the rich earthiness that the Insignia did but it was a decent pairing with the course.

"Not Insignia"

"Three to Dream dessert by Sheian"

Sheian made her “Three to Dream” Dessert and we paired it with a 2006 Inniskillin Vidal Ice Wine that Chris and Jan brought.  The dessert was quite good and the Ice Wine was a stellar pairing.  I’m usually not a huge Ice Wine fan as I prefer the less expensive and less sweet Late Harvest wines instead, but this Ice wine was very good; the huge sweetness was there but there was big acidity to nicely balance it out.

"2006 Inniskillin Vidal Ice Wine"

"White Chocolate Raspberry Tart by Chris and Jan"

Chris and Jan made a White Chocolate Raspberry Tart paired with Southbrook Framboise which they also provided.  The tart was very good.  I liked the Raspberry based dessert wine though it was a little sharp at times with the dessert.

"Southbrook Framboise"

The evening was a blast and I like to thank everyone for coming. I especially like to thank Chris and Jan for the dessert and the dessert wines and Sheian for her dessert.

Cheers!

Mark

Friday for a change

As we didn’t get together with Mick and Amy last Saturday and this Saturday wasn’t looking like we’d be able to get together either, we all decided to grab a bite on Friday. The four of us hit Montfort’s for dinner.

"Chocolatey Goodness!"

After dinner we decided to visit the grocery store, pick-up a dessert and then head back to Mick and Amy’s for some wine and dessert. The ladies picked out a LaRocca Chocolate Truffle Royale for dessert. Mick and I retired down to his cellar to find a wine to go with it. There is no LCBO information for this wine as Mick picked this up in the US.

"Something different!"

After looking over a number of bottles, we came across a 2000 Newton Claret and settled on it as our choice.

Here is what the Wine Spectator had to say about –

Newton Claret Napa Valley 2000, Rating 87, Price $20.

Well-balanced, with spicy herb, dill, currant and cedar flavors of moderate depth and complexity. Drink now through 2006. 7,300 cases made. –JL

"Sediment"

Uncorking the bottle there was a fair amount of sediment. Mick decanted the bottle and after the dessert was served up poured out glasses for everyone.

Here is the 4 person review of the wine –

2000 Newton Claret Napa Valley

Nose – Mushroom, Green Pepper, Leather, and Berry.

Taste – The wine came across as very vegetal and green, I’m going to guess and say that Cabernet Franc is in this wine at a high percentage. Balance seemed off - high tannin and high heat (even though the alcohol was only 13.9%), low acidity and not much fruit left. The wine struck us as being very French style of wine, but without the nice balance that good French wines have. Looking at the Wine Spectator review, we may have left this wine down a little too long. In spite of the issues above, the wine did go down nicely with the cake and grew on us towards the end.

Ratings – Mick – 84, Mark – 85, Kathy – 86, Amy 83, Overall – 84.5

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Mick decides to “wing” it

It was Mick’s turn to cook this week and he had a number of new goodies on tap for us to try.

"Not your everyday wings!"

The first course Mick dived into his favourite cooking bible known as the “Weber Cookbook” and barbequed chicken wings were the result. I’m used to chicken wings being deep fried and smothered in sauce so BBQ dry wings took some getting used. The meat was flavorful, tender and extremely plentiful for chicken wings.

"This is a Zin?"

Mick was pairing red Zinfandel with 2 of the 3 course so for the first course he poured out two Zins for us to try – a 2005 “Sonoma County” by Seghesio and 2003 “Lodi” by Ravenswood.

"The girl next door"

The Seghesio on its own was a thing of beauty, so deep and rich it almost had Cabernet Sauvignon like qualities. Very nice wine. The Ravenswood Lodi was more like a basic Zinfandel, big fruit and body on nose, large mouth-feel and a touch of sharpness to it. I think the Ravenswood biggest problem was the company it was keeping hanging out with the Seghesio – kind of like the ‘girl next door’ hanging out with a super model; she’s pretty but you don’t notice her with the super model around.

With the chicken wings the Seghesio was the clear winner as well.

These wines were both purchased down in NY state by Mick on our last wine run. The LCBO had neither listed in stock.

The Wine Spectator had this to say about the Segesio –

Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County 2005 – Rating 90, price $20 US (33 CDN)

Jam-packed with ripe cherry and boysenberry fruit and backed up with juicy, zesty flavors and notes of spice, star anise and toasty oak. Has a backbone of ripe tannins. Drink now through 2010. 60,400 cases made. –JL

The Wine Spectator didn’t review the 2003 Ravenswood “Lodi” but they did review other years and the price was $15 US ($25 CDN) for all of them.

"A white blend that is good!"

The next course was a pan-seared Rainbow Trout with a cornmeal crust and a caper butter sauce. For this, Mick picked a Hayman Hill reserved white blend to go with it. The wine was interesting as it had such a strong lemon taste to it that I was wondering if it was made from lemons rather than grapes. This lemon flavour worked great against Trout and the butter sauce and made it a very enjoyable wine. I’m not a huge fan of white blends but this one was really good.

I could find any information on this wine from the LCBO so I’m assuming Mick snagged this baby in the US. The Wine Spectator didn’t have any reviews on this wine either but did have three other Hayman Hill wines listed and they were all around a $14-15 US price point.

"Chipotle goodness"

The main course was an old favourite of everyone’s – Chipotle pork tenderloin on a bed of mixed greens. We were back to the earlier Zinfandels for this dish and a funny thing happen – The Ravenswood was better than Seghesio. Not sure if it was the Chipotle or the mandarins in the salad but something was giving the Seghesio fits with dish. Now the plain ‘girl next door’ Ravenwood, let her hair down, tossed off her glasses and undid a few buttons and now was just darn right sexy!

I do think that the way wine changes with food is one of the coolest things ever. So the next time a wine is so-so with something, try another bottle of it with a different dish and see what happens.

Cheers!

Mark