Hello everyone!! I hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving! My older son was back in town and we had a really lovely dinner with just the four of us, myself, my husband Al, and our two grown boys. I served erbazzone with swiss chard as an appetizer. It had a flakey crust and a filling of chard, cheese and eggs. Then we had butterflied game hens with mushrooms and a little cheese over a "nest" of sauteed potatoes. We had cherry tomatoes warmed in butter and herbs, sauteed green beans with a little shallot, and some purchased cranberry-orange relish. We started with 2008 Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon state. Then we opened the 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Pinot Noir from Argentina, and finally we had the 2008 Riviere du Chene Monde Vin de Glace (ice wine) from our recent trip to Canada.
The 2008 Erath Pinot Noir was a nice pairing for the little birds. The birds were very moist and savory having been marinated in wine, olive oil, and seasonings, then browned on each side under a broiler, then covered with gruyere cheese and roasted in a pan filled with a 1/4 inch of white wine. Mushrooms are added half-way through the roasting step. Of course, the birds are basted multiple times while they are roasting. So, back to our wine. This was a dish that could hold up to a fairly robust wine. The Erath pinot noir was very good with it. It had a nice garnet color with a touch of brick red at the edge of the glass ( unusual in such a young vintage). It had aromas of raspberry and strawberry, with floral notes and a touch of the mulchiness often found in pinot noir. The flavors were true to the palate and it had a nice silkiness to it that complimented the richness of the food. It had a pleasant lingering finish. This wine is about $20 at McScrooges, but is available at Total Wine in Atlanta for $15.
The 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Pinot Noir was also very good. This is one of my favorite pinots for sipping. Al and I differ in our opinions on this wine. Al says it is a nice enough wine, but it doesn't taste like a pinot noir. I have to agree, but I like it anyway. This is a pinot that is not to be confused with a burgundy. It is very new world. I don't know if it's because of the use of oak barrels, the approach of the winemaker, or if it really is all due to terroir. It really is very full bodied for a pinot noir. When it was first opened there was a lot of oak on the nose. This dissipated with a little time in the glass. It had a deeper color than the Erath. It was a deep, dark garnet. It was more aromatic than the Erath with aromas of raspberry, cherry, some oakey vanilla and a little spiciness (sweet spice more than pepper). It was nice and velvety on the palate with a lingering finish of cherry and spice. It's unusual for a pinot, but I really like this wine. This was about $18 to $20 at Ashes, and it is also available at Total Wine in Atlanta for $20.
Pinot noir is an interesting varietal, much like chianti in Italy. There is an incredible range of expression for this grape. Before last night, I had 4 very different pinot noirs in my wine rack. They can be very light and delicate in the traditional Burgundian style with aromas of strawberries and flowers and light in body. These wines often are fairly complex with hints of mulch or "barnyard" especially as they age. Pinots can also be fairly robust, as is this Luigi Bosca, with bigger fruit and more oak than the Burgundian style pinots. I think it's fascinating how one varietal can express all this. Also pinots are good companions to a wide variety of foods. They are an excellent choice when the food is too much for a white (or you just don't want to drink a white). A light pinot can be easily substituted for a rose. Really, it's just a matter of matching the weight of the pinot to the weight of the food, especially for fish and chicken dishes without too much hot spice. The burgundian pinots are especially food friendly and pair well with almost any fish or fowl. The more robust pinots pair well with dishes that won't quite take a heavier red, but mostly, I enjoy these as sipping wines. The heavier pinots would compare well with a lighter Cotes du Rhone wine, and could be used in their stead. There may be more pinot reviews this fall. It's a varietal worth exploring over time.
Finally, we had the 2008 Monde Ice Wine with our apple and cranberry tart. My younger son, never having had a dessert wine, kept commenting over and over about how sweet it was! Yes, that's the idea. Also, the alcohol content was low in this wine, only %10. I believe this is also typical of ice wines. When we purchased this wine, I thought it was sold as half or whole bottles and we bought a half bottle. Later, I noticed that it wasn't a half bottle at all, but was only 200 ml. So, in the future, I'll be checking the size of those little "half bottles". I don't know if this is something new, or just something I never noticed before. Anyway, we were just looking for a little sip of something sweet with the pie, so everything worked out well. It had a lovely honey color in the glass. It had aromas of honey, apricot, pear and a little floral component. The flavor profile was similar with pear, apple, apricot, honey and touch of sweet spice. It had a luscious, creamy silkiness, and a lingering finish. It was very good with the apple tart, somehow the pairing made both the pie and the wine taste even better. I love it when that happens! I try to have nice pairings every time, but once in awhile, it really is just magical! This wine was $30 or $35 at the winery in Canada. I haven't found it here, yet.
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