Two Noland brothers do Christmas Eve (Long)

2 out of 3 (Bob and James) of the Noland brothers got together for some food and wine on Christmas eve. Unfortunately, brother Tom was off visiting although he was talked about in his absence (brothers do that sort of thing). The chef for the evening was Ruth (Bob's wife) who did a great job. This was not a wine & food matching exercise but more of an experiment with all sorts of different tastes and different wines just to see what happens

There was three wines, all tasted blind. They was a 2000 Chateau Malmaison Bordeaux, a 2001 Domaine du Pegau (thanks JuliaB),and a 2002 Segesio Home Ranch Zinfandel. The food list is much longer starting with three appetizers- turkey pot stickers in a hot and sour sauce, steak rumaki in a bourbon vanilla sauce, and then some grilled dry rubbed lamb chops. We rated each of the wines with each food course. The pot stickers went best with the Zinfandel with the Bordeaux being second and CDP last. The steak rumaki made the CDP sing with the other two wines tied for second. The lamb chops also favored the CDP with the Zin second and and Bordeaux last Next we had potato leek soup as I had some leeks still in the garden. We really did not expect too much of a wine match here with the cream based soup but were somewhat surprised when the Zin stepped up to the challenge. The CDP also liked the soup but the Bordeaux was not willing to play that game. After a nice salad, we moved on to the Entree that was seared duck breast with a pear ginger chutney and wild rice. Now the CDP was hitting on all cylinders and the Zin making a respectable attempt and the Bordeaux saying "I do not think so".

A cheese course finished the wines and confirmed our overall impressions that the CDP and Zin both tied for being the best with food and the Bordeaux was somewhat picky as to what it would go with. We deemed the "experiment" a success and threw some cheesecake at our saturated palates. A great way to spend Christmas eve...

Sorry I could not partake. It sounds like my kind of tasting. Lots of big reds and hearty food. How can you go worng? See my Christmas wine tasting note!

Pegau is hard to beat -- the 2001 is still a baby, no?

The Pegau was young but the fruit is sweet and ripe under firm tannins and acid structure. Best to hold and drink after a few years. I decanted this wine for 3 hours before the "feast" and it remained consistent for the several hours it was open. This wine when first opened had a beautiful nose of red fruits that reminded me of Twining's four red fruits tea. However, after decanting this had morphed into a more plummy/prune/raisin nose with a hint of blue fruit and good dose of menthol and mint. I also picked up some barnyard and spice notes with licorice. Overall well balanced but short on the mineral - meatiness side at this point. This was one of those wines that tasted just like it smelled. I believe this clearly needs more time to get a better palate rating and develop more nuances in the nose, maybe another 3- 7 years?

Sounds like a fabulous wine-dinner experiment, Bob and James.
I have over a case of the 01 Pegau. Started with a few bottles, tried one, bought three, tried another, bought three more, tried another, bought four more. Yup, still very young, but I'm betting it will be the best of the '98 - 01 years. Wonderful stuff.

I sure wish I had bought some It was a fun experiment and the food turned out great and the wines offered lots of surprises (as usual). When I stopped at Pegau in CDP when I was there in September, it was a rare and unique experience. He spoke no English and I spoke very little French but we communicated very well...

[quote="Bob Noland"When I stopped at Pegau in CDP when I was there in September, it was a rare and unique experience. He spoke no English and I spoke very little French but we communicated very well... [/quote]

Bob, did you enquire as to price at the cellar doors for the 2003, also any other vintages? I have some 94, 95, 96, 99, and one 03.

Bob,
I picked up a couple of the 04's at the cellar door along with a 98 Cuvee Laurence. I picked up two of the 03's at a Paris wine shop. The prices were better then here but still not what I would call cheap...

Bob, did you enquire as to price at the cellar doors for the 2003, also any other vintages? I have some 94, 95, 96, 99, and one 03.

We could put together a hell of a vertical some day, Bob. I have 98 - 01.

Bob,
I'm delighted to read that you and James were able to enjoy the Pegau. Since I gave that as a token of my appreciation upon being ordained an honorary Noland Brother, it is especially nice to know that at least two of the Fraternal Order of Noland were there to partake. Nice notes, by the way. I have a couple more of those in the cellar, which is where they will stay for a bit, thanks to your advise.
We will have to make this up to Tom at MoCool 2007. Perhaps that vertical that OW suggested? Once a year is really not often enough...best wishes to you and the family for 2007!.
JuliaB

OW, we definitely need to pursue this as Mo"cool gets closer...maybe June or July. I left them off, but I also have some of the 2001.

[James Roscoe]

I need to get to know these Noland brothers. those are some seriously excellent wines. Any friends of JB's have to have some taste, if not class. I look forward to sharing some vino with you all at a future MoCool!

James, a couple points...the Noland borthers are also friends of mine, and I hope Mo'Cool last long enough for you to attend. Said with the knowledge of your tendency to procrastinate about things Mo'Cool

[James Roscoe]

James, a couple points...the Noland borthers are also friends of mine, and I hope Mo'Cool last long enough for you to attend. Said with the knowledge of your tendency to procrastinate about things Mo'Cool

Yet another reason to get to know them! Yes, I am a classic procrastinator. I do plan to get to Niagracool. MoCool is at a bad time of year for me. We haven't fixed next year's schedule. I am trying to get them to start AFTER Labor Day. That makes traveling at the end of August so much easier.

Julia,
Thanks again for the wine, it made the "experimental" wine & food pairing all the more interesting. However, I would not worry too much about Tom missing the event. The three of us actually got together at Thanksgiving and I put on a Riesling wine & food tasting (mostly for Tom as that is his favorite). I believe he posted notes. Have a great New Year and I agree that the once a year thing is not nearly enough...

Julia,
The three of us actually got together at Thanksgiving and I put on a Riesling wine & food tasting (mostly for Tom as that is his favorite).

Bob,

I did appreciate that tasting, especially the unique food matches you came up with. It was the first white wine tasting the Noland brothers have ever done since we lean heavily to the red wine side of the wine spectrum. We may have to do another white tasting in the future since the riesling tasting was so interesting and different. It seems our white wine tastes tend to be more diverse between us. We tend to agree a lot more on red wine styles we like. Happy New Year!

The Noland brothers having class... Not too sure I would own up to that. Although I did take a break at the last MoCool long enough to walk down to the lake and catch a nice 3 - 3 1/2 pound largemouth bass. Is that considered classy? Of course, there were occasional sips of wine between casts. We would welcome the opportunity to meet you, we have met some truly fabulous people at MoCool (although sometimes they wear some pretty silly T Shirts)

[James Roscoe]

Did I say classy? I just implied you guys have good taste. Heck I'm not looking for classy friends. If you want classy people go over to Wine Therapy!

Thats good, you were scaring me The Noland brothers do know what we like in wine and sometimes even agree with each other