New Year’s Dinner – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

For the main course I did a roasted beef tenderloin with a port and shallot sauce with sides of mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and a side of green beans. To pair with this, I went with a 2000 Chateau Pichon Longueville "Comtesse du Lalande" from Pauillac in Bordeaux France.

 

The nose was big and easy to find with aromas of forest floor, black pepper, green pepper, cedar, raspberry, vanilla and mushroom. Tasting the wine, raspberry and green pepper flavours are the dominate ones with hint of nutmeg and artichoke in the background. The structure of the wine caught me off guard as it was more acidic than tannic and reminded me more of an Italian red than a French red. The tannin was extremely fine and silky and this wine came across super smooth and very drinkable. It was a good pairing with the meal but I’d have preferred something a little more masculine and big bodied vs. subtle/smooth feminine style this was to go with the food. This wine was however a very nicely crafted wine and I’m very glad we tried it.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 92, Mark - 90, Kathy – 92, Amy – 91, Overall – 91.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

CHÂTEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE COMTESSE DE LALANDE 2005

VINTAGES 505875
750 mL bottle
Price $ 215.00
Made in: Bordeaux, France
By: Veyret Latour
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Wine, Red Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Bordeaux
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note - In recent years, Pichon Comtesse has developed an elegance all its own, with great style, smoothing out the real intensity of the wine. This 2005 continues in that tradition, a spice, fruity wine, which has restraint as well as hidden power. Score - 95. (Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, June 2008)

Note this LCBO listing is for the 2005 vintage and not the 2000 reviewed here.

With the 91.25 rating this wine sneaks onto the Zippy Sauce Top Ten Reds and it is a deserving entry. It was very good though to be honest with how stunning the 2005 Cristal was it feels like a bit of letdown. Mind you, if a really good bottle of red isn’t as good as an exceptional bottle of Champagne is my biggest problem with the night, I guess things can’t be too bad. J

Dinner was very good, it has been a while since I have done mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and I had forgotten how good they can be. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and I could have easily taken away the steak knives and replaced them with butter knives as the beef was that tender.

For dessert I picked up a La Rocca Lindt Swiss Chocolate Flan for dessert which was very good. The wine was a good pairing with it (for those of us who still had some left).

 

There is a reason I look forward to this meal all year long and I’m already hoping next New Year’s Eve will get here soon. To all my readers – have a happy and safe 2014.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

 

New Year’s Dinner – Part 1

If there is one meal I look forward to all year long it is our annual New Year’s Eve dinner with Mick and Amy. As this is our big dinner of the year, we go all out and usually have a couple of high-end wines and this year’s dinner was no exception to that rule.

 

The first course was a bacon blue cheese dip with cracker and I paired this with a 2005 Cristal Champagne.

We have tried the 2002 and 2004 Cristal; the 2002 was very good but we loved the 2004 and it currently is the number one spot for Top Sparkling and Dessert wine here. I was curious to see if the 2005 would be more like the 2002 or the beloved 2004.

The first thing I noticed is Cristal has redesigned their packaging as the box now has a nice solid metal clasp holding it closed with 2005 Cristal engraved on it vs. the 2002/2004 packaging which just was a sticker with the year on it that held the box closed. It is a nice improvement as the sticker had a bad habit of peeling away/opening on its own.

The nose on the 2005 Cristal was powerful with easy to find aromas of nutmeg, yeast, gingerbread, frozen strawberries and licorice allsorts. Tasting the wine, green apple and ginger were the two dominate flavours with a lemon zest finish. Initially I found the wine to be delicate but as it opened up it became much more powerful. It was minerally yet it also had a creaminess to it as well. The structure on the wine was beautiful with crisp acidity balanced nicely against the fruit and alcohol. It was a fabulous pairing with the dip as it cut through the rich flavours of the dip with no issues. Truly a stunning wine.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 95, Mark - 94, Kathy – 95, Amy – 94, Overall – 94.5.

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

 

CRISTAL BRUT CHAMPAGNE 2005

VINTAGES 268755

750 mL bottle

Price $ 287.95

Made in: Champagne, France

By: Louis Roederer

Release Date: Aug 31, 2013

Wine, Champagne

12.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Style: Rich & Complex

Varietal: Sparkling

Sugar Content: 11 g/L

Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Tasting Note - Vibrant and mouthwatering, this offers a range of patisserie pear and apple fruit, candied lemon zest, pastry dough and marzipan notes set on a finely detailed texture, which imparts a great deal of finesse. The lasting finish echoes a smoky mineral note. Drink now through 2025. Score - 94. (Alison Napjus, winespectator.com, Nov. 30, 2012)

 

At a 94.5 Overall rating this wine has just become the highest rated wine on Zippy Sauce ever. My rating was the same as the 2004 at 94 points but Mick, Amy and Kathy all bumped their ratings a point higher than the 2004. This wine was amazing; I do flinch at the close to $300 a bottle price point and always wonder whether it is worth it or not. We did crack a bottle of the standard Roederer ($65-70 per bottle) after finishing the Cristal and I really like the Roederer but when you have it after a bottle of the flagship Cristal it is so badly outclassed it is silly. The 2005 Cristal is simply an amazing bottle of wine that is worth every penny of its price point.

 

Click here for Part 2

 

Saturday Night – Choices – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

 

For the main course I decided to do Lemon Prosciutto Pasta as it was something I hadn’t done in a while.   I paired this with a 2004 Chateau Langoa Barton from Saint Julien in Bordeaux.

 

Opening this wine the first thing I noticed was the cork – beautiful dark rich colouring where the wine had soaked in but only at the very top millimeter; it was one of the most perfect corks I have ever seen.  Nosing the wine, aromas of pencil shavings, cherry, almond, burnt oak, cedar and a touch of thyme are to be found.  Tasting the wine cherry and menthol/eucalyptus are the dominate flavours.  The tannin was quite high still on this wine and the fruit was slightly lacking which made the wine come across very dry.  Normally if tannin is high I would suggest aging it but as the fruit is lacking I do not believe that aging more would improve the wine.  It wasn’t a bad pairing with the pasta but this wine would be a much better pairing with a very rare cut of beef.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 88, Mark – 88 Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.5.

 

Here is the LCBO information for the wine –

 

CHÂTEAU LANGOA-BARTON 2009
VINTAGES 201061
750 mL bottle
Price $ 99.85
Made in: Bordeaux, France
By: Anthony Barton
Release Date: Sep 16, 2013
Wine, Red Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot
Sugar Content: 4 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

 

Tasting Note  -  Backward, tannic and beefy, this youthful but formidable 2009 Langoa Barton exhibits a dense ruby/purple color as well as lots of damp earth, underbrush and black currant aromas and flavors, medium to full body, lively acids and, not surprisingly, massive tannins (a characteristic of all the Barton wines). The overall impression is somewhat incongruous, having a certain precociousness in the aromatics, but then clamping down on the taster in the mouth. I recommend waiting 5-7 years before opening a bottle. It should drink well over the following 20-25 years. Score - 90+. (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Feb. 2012)

 

Note – The LCBO listing is for the 2009 vintage and not the 2004 reviewed here.

 

For dessert I picked up a La Rocca Chocolate Cherry Torte.  I really liked this dessert as the cherry filling/flavour was very subtle and didn’t overpower the chocolate side of the equation.  The Chateau Langoa Barton worked really nicely as a pairing with this as well; it was actually better with the dessert than it was with pasta.

As this is my last post before the holidays, I want to wish my 3 or 4 loyal readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Choices – Part 1

I was hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner and prior events of the week ended up dictating my menu for the night.  This past Thursday I had a pot luck lunch at work and did shrimp with seafood sauce; the shrimp all went but I had a large amount of homemade seafood sauce leftover and didn’t want to waste it.  I also bought a bottle of Dawson’s Pear Chili Hot sauce from a friend who knows the people who make it (Here is a link to their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Dawsonshotsauce for more information).

  

 

So with these two sauces I decided to start with fried shrimp as the starter.  To make things even more interesting I also added a lemon garlic aioli sauce so we’d have 3 different sauces on the side for people to try.  As we had a lot of different flavours happening here I wanted something big enough to handle all the different flavours as my wine pairing and decided to go with a sparkling wine.  I went with a bottle of 2007 Henry of Pelham Cuvee Catherine Blanc de Blanc “Carte Blanche” as my pairing.

The nose was a nice mix of yeast, citrus, wood smoke and floral notes that you didn’t have to work too hard to find.  Tasting the wine, flavours of grapefruit and lime were the dominate flavours with a hint of smoke and it finished with a mandarin orange flavour.  The wine starts very big on the tongue but thins out towards the finish.  The acidity was a touch softer than I would like on a sparkling wine but not by much.  I haven’t had a lot of Canadian Sparkling wines and will say this one impressed me as I have French Champagne’s that weren’t as good as this was.  I’m also not saying here that I’m dumping all my Champagnes down the drain but it was certainly competitive against the big boys and I will be looking forward to trying the 2008 vintage next year.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 89, Mark – 89 Kathy – 87, Amy – 88, Overall – 88.25.
Here is the LCBO information on the wine –
HENRY OF PELHAM CUVÉE CATHARINE ESTATE BLANC DE BLANC "CARTE BLANCHE"
VINTAGES 315200
750 mL bottle
Price $ 44.95
This is a VQA wine
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Henry Of Pelham Family Est. Winery
Release Date: N/A
Wine, Sparkling Wine, White
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Style: Rich & Complex
Varietal: Sparkling
Sugar Content: 7 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

At $45 a bottle it is a touch pricy but not outrageously so as the Roederer is close to $70 a bottle and while the Roederer is a better wine saving $25 a bottle does make the Henry of Pelham more attractive. 

All three sauces were fun with the shrimp; the Lemon Garlic Aioli was my favourite as it probably was the best pairing for the wine.  The Dawson’s Pear Chile was very good but it was punishingly hot at times.  Going forward with the Dawson’s Pear Chile I will treat it like it is a concentrate and probably add equal parts mayo or sour cream to it to cut it; that said it did have a terrific flavour to it.  My homemade seafood sauce was probably my least favourite as the wine got a touch funky with it at times.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – All new stuff – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

 

The main course was BBQ’d pork sliders with caramelized onions.  Mick paired this with a 2010 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

 

The nose on the wine was a mix of stewed prunes, chocolate, raisins, green pepper, petrol and marzipan.  Tasting the wine, you will find flavours of black cherry, green pepper and vanilla.  Structure-wise is where this wine breaks down as the acidity was low and the flavours tasted like the grapes were seriously over-ripe; the wine was closer to an Amarone than a Shiraz blend.  It did work as a decent pairing for the food but I found myself looking for a bit more bite to the wine and feel that a pure Shiraz would have been a much better pairing.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 86, Mark – 84 Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

DOMAINE DU VIEUX LAZARET CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2010
VINTAGES 983650
750 mL bottle
Price $ 35.95
Made in: Rhône, France
By: Jérôme Quiot
Release Date: Oct 26, 2013
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Style: Full-bodied & Smooth
Varietal: Grenache Blend
Sugar Content: 5 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note  -  Not surprisingly, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape (Domaine du Vieux Lazaret) possesses more power, concentration and substance. Dense black raspberry, garrigue, licorice and floral notes are found in this pure, impressively full-bodied 2010 along with lots of fat, glycerin, flesh and succulence. Enjoy this beauty over the next 10-15 years. Score - 90. (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Oct. 2012)

 

Not often I find myself disagreeing with Robert Parker but quite frankly he can take his 90 rating and shove it.  Also, as the acidity was already soft, I can only imagine what 10-15 years of aging would do to this wine.  On the other hand, that aging might tone down the over-ripe fruit so maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to sit this one down for a few years.

 

For dessert, Amy picked up a mint chocolate cake… if chocolate cake and After Eight dinner mints had a torrid night of passion, this cake would be their love child.  As I like both chocolate cake and After Eight dinner mints, this was a very good thing as the cake was quite yummy.

 

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for all his work in producing three very good dishes.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – All new stuff – Part 2

The second course was Smoked Salmon Blintzes and these were paired with a 2010 Stonehedge Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay.

 

The nose was a mix of burnt caramel, toasted oak and hazelnut.  Tasting the wine oak, marshmallow and kiwi fruit are the main flavours.  The structure was off as the acidity was low and the wine came across a bit sloppy, add in high levels of oak and this certainly wasn’t a wine that blew me away; or as Mick aptly put it “Chateau 2 by 4”.  It spite of the faults it was surprising good pairing with Smoke Salmon Blintzes probably as it was big enough to keep up with the richness and flavours of the dish.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 86, Mark – 86 Kathy – 86, Amy – 87, Overall – 86.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

STONEHEDGE RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2010

VINTAGES 311548
750 mL bottle
Price $ 14.75
Made in: California, USA
By: Stonehedge Winery
Release Date: Jan 19, 2013
Wine, White Wine
13.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Sugar Content: 19 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

 

Tasting Note -  A great crowd-pleasing, full-flavoured Napa Chardonnay featuring aromas of tropical fruit (coconut, pineapple and banana), cream and woodsmoke. Very fruity and robust with a nice, balanced finish. Enjoy with crab legs or pan-seared sea scallops. (VINTAGES panel, July 2012)

 

This wine at $15 isn’t a bad value as long as it is used right.  This is not a wine I would like to sit around and drink on its own but you pair this with a rich dish like pasta in Alfredo sauce or a big butter garlic sauce and you’ll probably have no issue finishing the bottle.

 

Click here for Part 3

 

Saturday Night – All new stuff – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner and they had three new dishes and wines for us to try.

 

The first course was a grilled Calabrese type of dish and it was a paired with a 2010 Ocone Taburno Falanghina Flora. 

The nose on the wine had a lot going on with aromas of frosting, grass, barnyard, daisies, curry powder and wet stone.  Some of those aromas developed more as the wine warmed up.  Tasting the wine you find an interesting mix of tangerine, grapefruit and honeydew melon.  The structure on the wine was different as it was very lively with its acidity but there was also a slight oiliness to it as well.  The best way I can describe it is if you mixed Symphony (a hybrid wine from California) and a bottle of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc you’d be pretty close to this wine.  It did make a really good pairing with the grilled Calabrese.

 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 88, Mark – 88 Kathy – 87, Amy – 86, Overall – 87.25.

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

 

OCONE FLORA FALANGHINA 2010
VINTAGES 326694
750 mL bottle
Price $ 16.95
Made in: Campania, Italy
By: Ocone Agricola Del Monte Srl
Release Date: Jun 8, 2013
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Style: Full-bodied & Rich
Varietal: Falanghina
Sugar Content: 6 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: D - Dry

 

Tasting Note  -  The 2010 Falanghina Flora shows even greater aromatic depth and richness than the Coda di Volpe. The Flora seems to float across the palate with layers of white stone fruits, mint, sage and flowers. It is a textured, compelling Falanghina, and I don't use those words lightly. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014. Score - 89. (Antonio Galloni, erobertparker.com, June 2011)

 

I had to giggle as written on my notes from Mick was “Best Falanghina we’ve ever had!” which is true as it is only Falanghina we’ve ever had.

 

Click here for Part 2