February Wine Club - Brunello di Montalcino

Things have been a little slow on the blog recently.  Mick and Amy have been away so there hasn’t been the usual Saturday night dinners to review.  I have also been down with a head cold / sinus thing that has had me leaning more towards whine than wine.

On the upside I did have a Wine Club meeting where we looked at two Italian reds both of which were Brunello di Montalcino.

Here is the LCBO Information -

FATTOI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2006

VINTAGES 33498
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 34.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Fattoi Ofelio & Figli
Release Date: Jan 7, 2012

Tasting Note - There's plenty of power here, with dark fruit flavors reminiscent of black currant and blackberry. Fruity in style, yet with firm, uplifting tannins. Features a long finish of sweet fruit. Best from 2012 through 2025. Score - 92. (Bruce Sanderson, winespectator.com, July 31, 2011)

SAN GIORGIO UGOLFORTE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2005

VINTAGES 212431
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 48.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.1% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Tenuta San Giorgio
Release Date: Jun 11, 2011

Tasting Note - The 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte blossoms from the glass with an expressive bouquet of freshly cut roses, sweet French oak, spices and raspberries. There is a lovely up-front raciness and freshness to the fruit. The wine loses a bit of persistence on the finish, but it is nevertheless beautifully balanced, harmonious and appealing. The Ugolforte is delicious today but also seems to have enough freshness to support cellaring; still it would be a shame to miss it at this stage. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2022. Score - 91. (Antonio Galloni, erobertparker.com, April 2010)

My sinuses were still acting up so I’m not going to do a review of either wine as it wouldn’t be fair to do it.  I did find that both wines leaned towards a earthier/herb like flavour with some light fruit in the background which was interesting as I was expecting more fruit up front.  Not that this was a bad thing, as both wines were very tasty.

I will also add that both wines were very much enjoyed by Wine Club and was surprised at how many members were asking if the LCBO still had stock as both wines are well outside our usual $15-20 price point.  Dorie, a Wine Club member, was nice enough to make a roasted red pepper soup and sliced and toasted baguettes topped with prosciutto, basil and Bocconcini cheese both of which were really good pairings with the wine.

Mick and Amy will be away for next Saturday but will be back after that so I should have some new wine after the following Saturday.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Curried Mussels (and some other dishes and wines) – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For the main course it was Curried Mussels which were paired with a 2008 Selbach Oster Kabinett Riesling.

The nose on the Riesling was green apple, peach, burnt toffee and truffle.  The flavour to the wine was canned Mandarin oranges in syrup with a crisp green apple finish.  It was quite sweet for a Kabinett, almost surprisingly so but good crisp acidity really helped to tone the sweetness down.  The finish on this wine lingered for a minute or so and I found myself drinking it fairly quickly.  It was a very good pairing with the Mussels.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 89, Kathy – 86, Amy – 89, Overall –  88.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

SELBACH-OSTER RIESLING KABINETT 2008

VINTAGES 728543
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine
8.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Mosel, Germany
By: J.&H. Selbach Weinkellerei
Release Date: Apr 30, 2011

Tasting Note ... as delightfully fascinating to sip on its own as it is versatile at table, and that will prove as infectious fifteen or more years from now as it is today. What's more, this remarkable value illustrates the opportunity that so many German wines - and virtually no others on earth - offer of exploring the complex virtues of a great vineyard site at a price most wine lovers can afford to pay most days of the week. Score - 92. (David Schildknecht, erobertparker.com, Feb. 2010)

The Curried Mussels were there usual amazing selves and I had to refrain from licking the bowl.

For dessert Amy picked up two small square cakes, one was an Orange Dream cake and the other was a Chocolate one.  Amy made up the plates by using a small slice of each to make a cake version of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange which was really good.

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting as it was a great night filled with fine food, good wines and great laughs.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Curried Mussels (and some other dishes and wines) – Part 2

The second course was a grilled eggplant dip with toasted pitas.  This was paired with a 2009 Grande Reserve Caves de le Tourangelle Touraine (a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France).

The wine had aromas of kiwi, gooseberry, chalk, honey and some floral aromas in the background.  Tasting the wine you will find a pleasant mix of white grapefruit and gooseberry with an under ripe pineapple flavour on the finish.  For a French Sauvignon Blanc the acidity was softer than I would have expected but it was a nicely balanced wine.  Blind tasting this, I would have guessed it was a South African Sauvignon Blanc and that is not a knock against it as I really like South African Sauvignon Blanc.  The wine was a strong pairing for the rich flavours of eggplant and garlic dip, though this was one of those times where more acidity would have been good to cut through the richness of the food.  This was a very good wine to drink on its own.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 86, Amy – 87, Overall –  87.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

CAVES DE LA TOURANGELLE GRANDE RÉSERVE TOURAINE 2009

VINTAGES 196733
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 14.95
Wine, White Wine
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Loire, France
By: Bougrier
Release Date: Mar 19, 2011

Description - The Touraine region in the Loire Valley is home to some of the world's finest value-priced Sauvignon Blancs. This example demonstrates why. Grass, passion fruit and citrus are classic aromas you will find in these wines. Fresh and lively, it is a great palate refresher or enjoy it with pan-seared scallops with asparagus.

At $15 a bottle this wine is a very good value for a lovely Sauvignon Blanc that works equally well with food or on its own.

The eggplant dip was very good though the garlic needed to be cut back a bit.  Mick said the recipe called for 2 cloves of garlic and he used 4.  I think 3 cloves would be the perfect amount.  I not a huge eggplant fan but really liked this dip and hope it will make another menu appearance on a Saturday night in the future.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Curried Mussels (and some other dishes and wines) – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner and Mick had his amazing Curried Mussels on tap for the night.  There were two other courses and three new wines to try to but after hearing ‘Curried Mussels’ I just ignored the rest of it and sat there with a happy glazed look mumbling ‘Curried Mussels yum’.

The first course was a new recipe which was a mixed green salad with smoked salmon with a ginger/grapefruit dressing.  Mick paired this course with a 2008 Donatien Bahuard Les Grand Mortiers Vouvray which was done in an off-dry style. Pronouncing the name of this wine gets easier with the more of it you have to drink!

The nose on the wine was kind of funky as mushroom, petrol and lilac were the main aromas.  Tasting the wine, it started with a dominate lime taste and finished with a peach flavour.  The structure on the wine was OK as the acidity just managed to off-set the sweetness; a touch less acidity and this wine would be cloying.  It was easy to drink but nothing about it jumped out at me that would make me want to go buy another bottle of it.  It was a good pairing with the salad and that is saying something as the salad had a lot of unique flavours to it.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 84, Mark - 85, Kathy – 84, Amy – 86, Overall –  84.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

DONATIEN BAHUAUD LES GRANDS MORTIERS VOUVRAY 2008

VINTAGES 140889
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.95
Wine, White Wine
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Loire, France
By: Donatien Bahuaud
Release Date: Oct 1, 2011

Tasting Note - Wine Style: White Dry Medium-bodied. Appearance: medium straw. Nose: high toned, quince, vanilla, honey. Taste: medium-bodied, mouth-filling, dry, quince and pear flavours with lively acidity; good length. Score - 4 Stars (out of 5). (Tony Aspler, tonyaspler.com, Oct. 14, 2010)

The new salad recipe was good but not ‘oh my god you have to make this every Saturday good’.  Mick didn’t think the Smoke Salmon added much to it whereas I liked the Salmon but thought that grapefruit in the dressing as well as grapefruit chunks in the salad over-powered it too much.  It was different and fun to try something new.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – More Champagne

This past Saturday night it was my turn to host the usual Saturday night dinner.   I picked up a bottle of 2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Champagne a couple of weeks ago as it was one I hadn’t tried before so I wanted to add it to the menu for the evening.  I debated whether or not to use it with the appetizer or for the main course; as it was fairly pricey $83, I decided to use it with the main course as the feature wine of the night.

I started with Bruschetta and Garlic Bread with Cheese.  It was a bit weird going with two bread based starters but I really was in the mood for Bruschetta but Kathy was having stomach issues with Tomatoes recently and asked me to make Garlic Bread with Cheese so I did both.  I paired this course with a 2003 Beringer’s Knight Valley Merlot.  I have reviewed this wine before so I won’t be reviewing it again - other than to say it was very good pairing with both appetizers.

For the main course I did Veal with capers in a browned butter sauce and a side of fettuccine pasta and paired it with the  Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.

The nose on the Champagne was a pleasant mix of green apple, vanilla, peach and roses.  Tasting the Champagne for the first time you’ll find big creamy start to it with an interesting bite in the mid-palate with a dry lingering finish.  When we initially tried it, the flavours were a lime-vanilla flavour but as it opened up that morphed to a mango flavour and later in the night there was a light butterscotch flavour to it.  It was a very good wine on its own but lost a bit with the food at times and made a good but not great pairing.  Mick really liked the character of this wine, its complexity and how distinct it was and I’d have to agree with him on this.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 91, Mark - 90, Kathy – 90, Amy – 90, Overall – 90.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

VEUVE CLICQUOT PONSARDIN BRUT CHAMPAGNE

VINTAGES 508614
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 88.95
Wine, Champagne
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Champagne, France
By: Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin S.A.
Release Date: N/A

Please note – I picked it up for $83 as it was on special for $5 off.

For dessert I picked up some Vanilla Slices as they looked great and were something I hadn’t had in a long time.

It was a fun night and I got to try yet another Champagne.  I’m really enjoying discovering each of these sparkling wines with their unique styles and how they work with different foods and will be keeping an eye out for new ones to try.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Raising the Bar – Part 2

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The main course was Beef Tenderloin braised in red wine with a side of Gorgonzola polenta.  This dish was paired with a 2008 De Marino Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile.

The nose caught me off guard as plum was the main aroma I was detecting with tobacco, blackberry, black pepper and green pepper in the background.  The plum aroma was odd as I usually associate that with Merlot and not Cab.  Tasting the wine you’ll find flavours of black cherry, blackberry and cocoa.  The structure was a bit off for a Cab as the acidity was good but there was very little tannin there which gave the wine a thin mouth-feel.  It was easy drinking and it was a very good pairing with the meal but I kept feeling like this was a Merlot or a Carmenere vs. a Cab.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 87, Mark - 86, Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 86.75.

I couldn’t find a LCBO listing for this wine but a quick web search puts this in the $15-20 price point.  This wine is a decent value at that price and if the LCBO brings in the 2009/2010, I would be tempted to pick up a bottle.

The main course was very good, the flavour to the beef tenderloin was exceptional and it was cooked to a perfect medium rare.

For dessert, Jan did a Banoffee pie which is a caramel and banana based cream pie.  I’m not a huge dessert fan but this was very yummy and a nice ending to the night.

I would like to thank Jan and Chris for the amazing food and for hosting the dinner.  I joked at the end of the night that the bar, from their efforts and Mick’s new dishes, is getting set too high and that when I host next time that I will be doing frozen chicken fingers as the starter and Kraft Mac and Cheese as the main course to set the bar back to a much lower standard.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Raising the Bar – Part 1

Chris and Jan were hosting this Saturday’s dinner at their place.  They had a couple of new wines for us to try and some wonderful new dishes.  I wasn’t going to blog  this as I’m usually not comfortable reviewing wines outside of my house and Mick and Amy’s but the first wine was so good that I felt I had to write about it.

Orecchiette pasta with mixed greens and goat’s cheese was the first course.  This was paired with a 2006 Dr. Hermann Erdner Treppchen Spätlese Riesling.

The nose on the Riesling had a strong petrol aroma with a mix of peach, honey and lychee in the background.  The flavours to the wine were huge green apple with hints of orange and lychee.  As this was a Spätlese, there was quite a bit of sweetness to it.   The sweetness was a bit of a problem; there was enough acidity to the wine to keep it from being cloying but it was close to being too sweet.  The savory tone of the pasta salad wasn’t quite right for this wine as a pairing; it was decent but a Kabinett would have been a better pairing.  This Riesling paired with a poached pear salad or an apple walnut salad or any salad with some fruit in it would be a perfect match.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 89, Kathy – 88, Amy – 89, Overall – 88.5.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

DR. HERMANN ERDNER TREPPCHEN RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2006

VINTAGES 181917
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.95
Wine, White Wine
9.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : M
Made in: Mosel, Germany
By: Weingut Dr. Hermann
Release Date: Nov 26, 2011

Tasting Note - A seamless white from start to finish. Lime, vanilla cream, peach and slate notes hold court as this stays fresh and balanced. It's very tasty now and ends with a nice snap of mouthwatering acidity. Drink now through 2020. Score - 92. (Bruce Sanderson, winespectator.com, Dec. 15, 2008)

The pasta salad recipe was very good.  I liked the contrast of the warm pasta with the mixed greens and the sundried tomatoes.  The timing of this recipe was good, as it was a lovely starter for cool weather we get this time of year.

Click here for Part 2