Mouton Cadet Bordeaux 2008 (Baron Philippe de Rothchild)

I always look for a good value and this wine is just that.  Bordeaux is usually synonymous with astronomical wine prices and big bold reds. Well this one is a little different, at $10 a bottle it makes a stand that balanced, palatable wine does not have to cost an arm and a leg.  This wine is a red blend (Merlot 65% Cabernet Sauvignon 20% and Cabernet Franc 15%) of very traditional grape varietals of the Bordeaux region.  It's a very well balanced wine with notes of cherries and hint of smoke.  I  made a Rib Eye steak on the grill to go with this wine.  Any sort of red meat would do with this wine, but don't over season the steak.  Let the meat and the wine talk to each other and enjoy the conversation.    You should be able to find this wine at your local BevMo, which makes it a very accessible wine.

As always if you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to contact me at:

anoseforwineblog@gmail.com 

Wine Dinner Review - McKinley's Grille Table to Farm Dinner

(My apologies on the photos.  I don't have a lot of practice taking good pictures with my iPhone yet.)

Introduction.
In my constant search for great wine adventures close to where I live, I stumbled upon an interesting wine dinner.  At first glance it looked like a very normal six course meal with pairings with the food sounding wonderful and the wines looking very good. Then I went to make a reservation and was informed that we would be meeting by the restaurant and shuttle to their farm. A Farm? In the heart of Pomona?  Well now I was intrigued and very excited.

So the day had come and we made our way to the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel the site of McKinley's Grille, and sure enough there was a check in at the lobby, some free bubbly, and  a wait to board the shuttle to the farm. (The "we" being my wife and I)  When a few more guests attending the dinner had arrived we climbed into a van and were heading out to a farm.  I was prepared for a long journey into the hills and countryside of the San Gabriel Valley, but it ended up being a short ride through the gates of the Fairplex and right up to a small area right on the Fairgrounds.  Now being one who annualy makes a pilgramage to the L.A. County Fair I thought I had seen every nook and crany of the grounds, yet this plot of land had eluded me these many years.  It was a small garden-esque farm bursting with fresh fruit and veg, a pleasant sight to counter the urban sprawl.  We grabbed a refill  of the Korbel and were of to explore.

We wandered the grounds for a bit taking in the beauty and the freshness of all the plants. (In doing this I kicked one of the mason jars containing a candle onto my wife's foot, getting wax all over her good shoes.) At the end of trail was an opening where the table set up and food prep area was.  The two long tables set up nicely and accross from that was the beef being cooked over an open fire.  The cookout gave off a smell that reminded me of the food vendors from the Fair which here was very appropriate.

After most of the guest had arrived we jockeyed for possition at the table not wanting to be left to sit at opposite ends of the table.  We were fortunate to pick seats close to John Solomon General Manager at Liquorama Fine Wines & Spirits . He introduced the wines and was a wealth of wine information.  The dinner then commenced course by course and it was a wonderful experience.

Wild Albecore Sashimi, green farm tomato wasabi - Marquis De La Tour, Brut, N.V.

This was a nice, light and fresh start to the meal.  Melt in your mouth tuna sashimi and the fresh green tomatoes made this a perfect starter.  It was just enough to get the dinner started.  This dish was coupled with the Marquis De La Tour, a sparkling wine from the Loire Valley in France. The wine contained 50% Chenin Blanc, 25% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Chardonnay.  It was nice to have had the Korbel first, because it gave me a chance to notice the clean crisp taste of the Marquis De La Tour.  It matched up well with the light, freshness of the starting dish.

Maryland Soft Shell Crab Spring Roll, cucumber mint yogurt - Attitude, Rosé, Loire, France 2009

The second course was a spring roll with crab and  greens fresh from the farm.  An issue I had with this dish was that the star was not the crab, but the greens.  They were fragrant and pretty much overpowered the crab.  Conversely the wine pairing was absolutely spot on.  It was coupled with Attitude Rosé once again from the Loire Valley in France.  The wine had many floral hints and brought out the natural flavors of the greens.

Local White Sea Bass, roasted beets, sorrel - Laetitia Estate, Arroyo Grande Valley, Chardonnay 2008

I love Sea Bass.  Its a great rich fish that is absolutely wonderful and every time I have a chance to try some, I do.  This Sea Bass was served with some roasted beets and sorrel (once again grown from the farm).  This dish was served with a Laeditia Estate Chardonnay which is oak aged.  The taste had notes of melon and tropical fruit with the distinct richness of an oaked Chardonnay.  So I taste the dish, then the wine, then back to the dish, and back and forth many times I came upon a surprising conclusion; the pairing didn't work. I think that the sea bass on its own would have gone up well with the rich wine, but when matched up with the sweetness of the beets it seemed to fall apart.  What i may have done is still used a Chardonnay, but one of the un-oaked variety a little lighter and able to handle the beets.  This dish also signaled the first of the family style "take some and pass it down" dishes that we would be having for the rest of our dinner.

Organic Rabbit Confit, heirloom carrots, un-ripe muscat grape chutney - Sonoma Cutrer, Pinot Noir, Russian River, 2007

Yes, that is correct, rabbit served with carrots.  I don't think you could get a more naturaly well matched dish.  Think about it; if Elmer Fudd actually caught Bugs Bunny he would be serving him with carrots. In all seriousness this was a wonderful plate rich rabbit confit, fresh roasted heirloom carrots, and the surprisingly well placed tartness of the un-ripe muscat grape chutney.  This all came with the light, fruity taste of Pinot Noir.  This Pinot was made by Sonoma-Crutrer with grapes from the Russia River.  This was a good pairing  the flavors working well with each other.

Prime Beef Hanging Tender, oxtail fig stew - Trefethen, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley 2006

Now to the meat that was just being cooked on the open fire, and boy was it good.  Tender with a nice flavorful char on it gave in that backyard cook out feel.  The oxtail stew was made with figs which gave some sweetness to the protien heavy course we were having.  Of course what would one pair this beefy dish? The meat lovers favorite wine.  This is a very safe pairing which no one would disagree worked well.  I would have liked to have seen an outside the box pairing maybe with something from Italy, Spain, or Argentina.

Mini Local Cherry Tart Tatin, vanilla bean ice cream, cherry bourbon syrup - Inniskillin, Ice Wine (Risling), Niagara Peninsula, Canada, 2007

We have come to the sweet end of our culinary experience. This was a great dessert which married the flavors of sweet.  It also showed off two textures of the cherry's;  soft in the tart tatin, crisp and fresh in the syrup.  The ice wine was a great touch with its syrupy sweetness and aromas of rasins along with other dried fruit.

I think this was a wonderful experience and a great dinner.  The wine pairings for the most part might have been a little safe, but except for the sea bass they worked very well.  I will be looking forward to attending another of this Table to Wine Dinners.  It is wonderful to have wine adventures like this just around the corner.

Cheers

Best of the Wine Web - Rosé reviews.

I have recently come to the realization that I don't have the resources (yet) to try all the wines that I would like to try. So I have come up with a solution, I will occasionally give out a list of links to other reviews or articles about wines related to the wines I am writing about currently. This month I have decided to feature Rosé.  So here are some things I have found.  If you have others please leave a comment and post the links.

Dr. Vino - http://www.drvino.com/2011/05/31/memorial-day-summer-drinking-season/

San Francisco Chronicle - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/27/FD2G1JKR37.DTL&type=wine

Formaggio Kitchen's Cheese Blog - http://blog.formaggiokitchen.com/2011/06/02/brose-defining-rose-wine-in-2011/

Snooth - http://www.snooth.com/articles/commentary/rose-reviewer-round-up/?utm_campaign=3453&utm_medium=email&utm_source=all&utm_content=7488

I'm sure there is more and I can and will update the list.  Let me know your favorite summer Rosé

Cheers

Sumertime is here - Rosé reviews.

So we have closed in on summer time here in Southern California, and whats more perfect than sitting  outside at the end of the day with a glass of wine.  The question always is what wine is great for the hotter climates.  One choice is a nice Rosé.  Usually pink in color with a more subtle flavor than a full red, tends to be easy to drink for most palates.

I was able to pick out two Rosés to try and was quite impressed:

The first was Simi 2007 Roseto Sonoma County. 97% Syrah 3% Viongnier.  Had  a lot of depth for a lighter wine and was still refreshing. Has a very fruity bouquet and a nice deep pink color.  This wine would be great for a summer night and some turkey burgers and a side of  cilantro potato salad.


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The second wine we tried  was Chateau de Campuget Costieres de Nimes Tradition Rose 2009. 70% Syrah 30% Grenache Noir  This wine had a lighter pink color and was a bit more acidic than the Simi. Still a nice refreshing Rosé, with a floral bouquet and hints of red fruit in its taste.  Perfect for some nice grilled salmon and fresh mixed baby greens.



What is nice is that these wines come through in the $10-$15 range which is very affordable and great value for money.

Let me know if there is a wine you think i should check out.

Return, Semler 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Saddle Rock-Malibu

So I make my return to the blogging world, because of a wine from a winery that is just a few hours away from my house.  Malibu.

Now I know many are thinking beaches, piers, and overpriced housing.  Yet tucked away in the hills is a wonderful place called Malibu Family Wines.  We discovered this winery by complete chance when we stumbled upon a Groupon offer to visit the winery for tasting flights and a free bottle.  So my wife and I made the venture taking along my cousin and his wife for a taste of these wines.  The flights were wonderful and the I truly enjoyed the quality of the wines.  The wine that i finally chose as the bottle I would take home was the 2005 Cab.  At the time I was enamored by the complexity and  boldness of the wine. So if this happened a few months ago, why didn't I write about it then?  Mostly because life had taken over for a bit.

I'm sure the next question that will be asked is why now are you writing about this wine?  Well last Friday we took to a night out to our favorite local wine bar The Parlour and on their Cab flight, there it was the 2005 Semler.  Well I took that first sip and remembered exactly why I picked that one to take home with me.  The aroma took me back to Malibu and  the taste took me back to that very first sip from the tasting flight.

If you are looking for great local Cabernet Sauvignon look no further than Semler. 2005 being on of the best of the vintages but all of the years have a lot of character.

Where have you been Mr. Wine?

It has been a good while since my last post, and my apologies go out to my loyal and casual readers.  I just want everyone to know I have not given up.  I plan to come up with some good finds and some good content coming up in the future.  So this will only be a short hiatus and there will be a new, wine related post coming soon.

Thank you to all

Cheers

Napa Rose.

There are very few restaurants in life that have the ability to absolutely impress time and time again.  With a seasonally changing menu and an ever changing Prix fixe menu called the "The Vintners Table", the Napa Rose shows that impressive style of fresh and elegant cuisine that makes one say: "What will the come up with next?" Truly a classic in Souther California, I suggest that everyone make it a point to go at least once.

Just imagine 4 star quality service and at the Disney touch and one gets probably the most unforgeable dinning experience.  The knowledge of the staff is unquestionably superb and the the food is masterpiece of cuisine.  Of course, staying with the theme of this blog, they have a wine list that would make a novice wine lover fall off their chair.  Everything from $2,500  Bordeaux's to $30 bottles of great California wines populate this seemingly endless wine list.

The one great adventure of this resturant is "The Vintners Table", a  4 course prix fixe menu with the offer of wine pairings for each course.  This experience comes at a price, but be assured that it is well worth every penny.  The menu changes constantly so what we had a few nights ago might not be there again.  We have made the pilgrimage about a hadfull of times, and each new experience left us with the feeling of wanting to get back there ass soon as possible.

I hope everyone will go and share their experience with my on what i think is one of the finest restaurants in the Southern California area

The First Bordeaux. Château Lanessan 2005

Flying in blind is a difficult thing when it comes to wine.  I could do all the reading about appellations, the AOC, and other strange conventions and it still wouldn't bring me closer to understanding a Bordeaux.  So how does one pick a wine when on is still in a state of confusion over the whole concept.  Well one could walk into the wine store pick a region that sounds nice,  see a good price, and notice that the wine has a 90+ rating from a respected wine publication. So what does one come up with; the Château Lanessan 2005 Haut- Medoc.

I will be honest about this wine, it is everything it advertised.  A beautiful mellow red with some good complexity.  Very bold flavors and smooth tannins.  It shows what a little age does to a quality wine makes it a very pleasant experience.

I did wish that I could have also pick up the Bordeaux glasses from Reidel but couldn't quite aford them yet.  So keep watching for my experiment. Does a Bordeaux truly taste better in the Bordeaux glass? (Yes i know its been done before, but i just want to see for myself).

Wine Journey: Introduction.

From the humble beginnings of my blog, I have noticed my posts have lacked a focus that was it's original intent.  I am an armature in the wine world, only having tasted a few wines.  How am I to understand an rate wines if I haven't had the experience than many others have had?  How can I presume my opinion on wine is accurate with out trying a little wine from everywhere in the world? How do I go about trying wines from all around the world?  The answer is simple: Have a Focus.

My future posts will be a chronicle of my journey around the world.  Of course monetary constraints prohibit me from doing a lot of actual travel, I will make it mostly a virtual trip through the glory of wine.  It is said that good wines bring one the flavors and ideas of the regions that they are produced.  I hope to taste the essence of these wines and share what I discover.  It will be a long journey, but it will hopefully enlighten me on what is out there in wine. Maybe I will find some new favorites, maybe I will have the opportunity to try some of the finest wines every created, maybe I will only be able to afford the table wine genre from each region.  One fact that is certain, I will be drinking wine. 

I have decided to start the journey in a country that is synonymous with wine.  A country were the idea of fine wine became an undying legacy.  France.  I will be exploring the country by regions starting with one of the most famous; Bordeaux. 

Wine world here I come.  

Tuesday Night/Meatloaf Night ft. 2009 Lunacy Merlot

Continuing with a journey through some staff favorites from Barclay's Wine.  Even though the movie Sideways destroyed Merlot for many I decided not to blindly follow the ravings of an indie movie and try the Merlot.

This is a good, non assuming wine, that goes well with meat.  Rich fruit flavors dominate with a hint of spice.  Smooth, mild tannins and a fair finish.  This is excatcly what it says it is a good Merlot, and at less than $16 its a good value. 82pts

Best of the Wine Web: A "Cool" Tasting

I realize I can't fit the entire wine world into this little blog, so every now and again I will be bringing you the best of wine on the web.  This ongoing series will feture winery websites, articles, and videos from around the world of wine.

Now this first one is just plain fun. Check out this video of a wine tasting in Helsinki. (WARNING: There is some strong language.) : A "Cool" Tasting

Black Rock White Blend 2008

The First Wine of the New Year


So here we are again. Myself at home relaxing after a long day, and i decided to have the first wine of the new year.  I peered into our slowly dissipating wine closet, and found a wine from South Africa.  In my adventurous spirit I decided to give it a try.  The wine is a blend 55% Chenin Blanc 33% Chardonnay 11% Clairette Blanche 1% Viognier.  Most of the taste seems to be dominated by mineral flavor, which in small doses can be pleasant in wine but maybe to overpowering in this wine without making it undrinkable.  Not a bad wine, but might work better as part of a meal (for me fish with a cream sauce).

The Perils of Blind Ordering Wine


A lot of the wine that I have been trying recently has come from an order of a mixed case of 12 wines.  These were listed as staff favorites.  The wines themselves have not been bad, but the one thing i notice is that this set is totally random.  The wines are not tailored to my tastes or my interests.  Its a great starting point to learning about wines and regions I may not know about, but somethings might be better learned at local wine shop tastings.

My goal now is to partake of many of these tastings over the next year, and bring all my discoveries here to this blog.

A Brand New Year

The rush of the holiday's is finally over and I can now rededicate myself to this blog.  I want to wish my readers a Happy New Year.  I have made some blog resolutions, the main one being I will write about every single wine I taste this year, keep a more updated log of the wines I like, I will add a link to other wine blogs i read and hopefully a lot more.

I hope that everyone will stick with me this year as I take my first true years journey through the world of wine.