Friday night was pizza with Berbera. A fabulous wine. Already wrote about that.
Saturday night was little filet mignon steaks, garlic mashed potatoes, and slow cooked onions with my first real Bordeaux. The Bordeaux was Chateau de L'Estang 2005, about $15 at Bob's. Now I know what all the fuss over Bordeaux is all about. It was a big red, at least for me. It was very aromatic, with a great nose which was pretty oaky, but balanced with dark fruit, licorice, and a mulch/forest scent. It was full bodied in the mouth with fairly intense blackberry, dark cherry, and blueberry flavors balanced with good acidity and firm tannins. On the finish I picked up some chocolate. It was more complex and a little bigger than the California cabernets I've had. I figure if this is what a $15 Bordeaux is like, no wonder people collect the big house Bordeaux wines. I'm planning on keeping a bottle of this (or another affordable Bordeaux) in the winerack. To me this is a great wine with steak, but a bit much for drinking by itself. It wants a strong flavored food to balance it. Not loads of alcohol at 13.5%, which just goes to show that big wines don't necessarily need high alcohol content.
Sunday was chicken with olives, zucchini, and a barley dish with roasted red peppers, onions and tomato and the 2006 Monte Antico super tuscan. A very nice meal. This is a great "go to" wine for me. Last fall it was listed in the Wine Spectator's 100 best wines of the year. It listed number 61 and was only about $15. I've recently seen this for as little as $11 a bottle. It showed up everywhere (in Knoxville at least) probably because there 70,000 cases produced. Monte Antico is also listed in Robert Parker's Wine Bargains book and is noted for consistently producing quality wines at affordable prices. This wine is not a complex or as big as the bordeaux, but is very pleasant and easier to drink. Also easier to pair with food. the nose is not as big as the Bordeaux, lots of cherry and oak, with vanilla. At first I tasted loads of dark cherry, bright acidity and somewhat weak tannins. It was a little weak on the mid palate. But it opened over 45 minutes or so and the flavors mellowed and blended. It rounded out became much better. The tannins actually seemed to become stronger, maybe because the cherry mellowed out as it opened. Overall, this is a great wine for the price. I often choose this wine when I think a white will be overpowered by the food and I don't want a really lightweight red. This was great with the heavily seasoned chicken and vegetable dishes.
Monday night was ribs (what else?), corn on the cob, and slow cooked onions left over from the steak dinner. We had a small glass of box white wine with dinner and later a little glass of 2003 Chateau d'Arche Grand Cru Sauterne. This producer is actually listed Larousse Encyclopedia of wine. Ok, I've been really looking forward to trying this. I picked up a half bottle at Bob's a few weeks ago for about $30. I've read so much about how wonderful Sauternes are. Sunshine in a glass. Poetry has been written about Sauternes. It's hard for the actual experience to live up to all that press. I'm still trying to decide if I like it. It has that funny smell that Rieslings often have. It does have a glorious golden color and a rich syrupy mouth feel with a pleasantly sweet lingering finish. It tastes nicely sweet with apricot, apple, and pear flavors, and maybe a little cinnamon or nutmeg mixed in. I also definitely get the taste of yellow raisins. But it also has the odd Riesling smell in the taste as well and it's a bit of a turn-off. Maybe I should try another producer? I'd have to get another good buy. Yquem runs about $125 per half bottle in a newly released vintage. These wines can age for 50 years or more. If you've never had Sauterne and you have had dandelion wine, the two are similar but the Sauternes is definitely the heavier of the two.
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