White Bordeaux, 2007 Tour de Monestier

Friday night so fish for dinner? We had rainbow trout, which has recently been available at Fresh Market. This time I just sauteed it with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. we also had some leftover barley with sweet peppers and roasted veggies. The wine was a French white bordeaux 2007 Tour de Montestier from Chateau Monestier La Tour. I'm not a big white wine person, but this was really good. The nose was fresh and hinted at a little sweetness. It smelled of cut grass, a little vegetal smell (maybe of green peas?), some pear and apricot and a little citrus. Tasting was not sweet, but dry with pleasant acidity and a strong minerality, especially on the finish. It had a very nice body, coating the mouth nicely. The taste was citric, light grapefruit, and a little green apple and the mineral, chalky flavor. Along with the chalkiness I also got a little bit of a walnut taste on the finish. Overall, a very well balanced and fairly complex wine. Very nice with the fish, but even better with the parmesan cheese which we nibbled on later. I think it would be a good choice with any creamy white sauce, especially one with sharp flavors. This wine was $12 at Bob's. It was rated 88 by Wine Spectator.

Lately I've been seeking out some dry whites with a little more character. I feel that so many of the white wines on the market now are similar in style. Many are somewhat sweet and very fruity. This makes a pleasant sipping wine, but not necessarily a good food wine. My goal is a winerack that contains something for almost any menu. Actually, this reminded me of the vino verde we had a week or so back, but his wine had much more body and could hold up to heavier sauces and foods.

I forgot to mention that white Bordeaux is typically a blend of sauvignon blanc, semillion, and muscadelle grapes. This explains the mix of flavors and smells i was picking up in this wine.