Burgundy tasting and wines with dinner
Burgundy tasting hosted by our local provincial liquor store (LCBO)
wine #1.
Clear straw yellow. Citrusy, green apple, pear, banana nose with no hint of oak. Nice acidity and fruit on the palate with a nice long finish of citrus (especially grapefruit). Great palate cleanser. Cries out for food. With Jarlsberg (swiss-like) cheese is a nice match as it brings out the sweet fruit in the wine. Also nice with triple cream Saint Andre cheese that also tames the acidity to give a more flavorful profile.
wine#2
Light straw yellow. Minerally, melony, and nutty, with a hint of oak and yeast on the nose. Soft melony taste on the midpalate with short to medium finish. Just OK with Jarlsberg cheese. Much better with Saint Andre cheese as this brings out the fruit in the wine.
wine#3
Deep purple red with just a slight fading to cerise on the edge. Very fruity nose of plums, blueberries and sweet fruit with just a hint of caramel. On the palate cherries, caramel, and nice acidity. Short to medium finish.
wine#4
Light ruby red fading to vermillion at the edge. Nice nose of coffee, chocolate, hickory, nutmeg, and spicy fruit. Cherries and red raspberries with bright acidity and mellow tannins on the palate. A nice long fruity finish. Does not like the Jarlsberg cheese but the Saint Andre really matches nicely by enhancing the fruit profile of the wine. WOTN for me. I have 2 in my cellar.
wine#5
Medium ruby to the edge. Shy mushroomy nose with hints almond essence and cherry (nose tended to evolve over the hour or so of the tasting - getting more expressive with time). Nice almonds, cherry, and mushrooms on the palate with drying tannins and acidity weighing on the mid-palate. Medium finish of mostly acidity. Probably needs 2-3 years more of bottle age to reach peak. Jarlsberg tends to tame the tannins and bring out the fruit while the Saint Andre is an even nicer match as it smooths out the wine considerably (high fat effect, probably) and really enhances the fruit.
wine#6
Medium ruby to the edge. Cherries and earthiness strike the nose with clear notes both times. Blast of drying tannins with red raspberries show up on the mid-palate which flows into a nice long acidic fruit finish. Also needs a few years of bottle age to reach peak. Nice with Jarlsberg but great with the Saint Andre cheese. Similar profile enhancements as in number 5. Probably best wine for future drinking.
Wines Revealed:
#1. Domaine Marin (Les Vins Georges Deboeuf) Pouilly-Fuisse 2004 Macon.
#2 La chablisienne chablis ‘Les Vielles Vignes’ 2002
#3 Beaujolais 2005 George DeBoeuf
#4 Cote de Beaune villages, Bouchard Pere & Fils 2004
#5 Bruno Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet Vielles Vignes 2004
#6 Jean-Phillippe Marchand, Fixin les Hervelets 2004 1o Cru
Wines with dinner:
My first Tunisian Pinot Noir
Clear ruby red fading slightly to pink on the edge. Shy nose of cherries and minerals. Nice mid-palate feel of grippy tannins. Cherry fruit and moderate acidity. Short to medium finish of dry tannins with some bitterness going down the sides of the tongue to the back. Nice match with roasted chicken topped with mushroom soup that brings out the sweet fruit in the wine.
Reine Didon Pinot 2003 12.5% abv Grand Cru Tunisia
Finca Flichman Expressions Reserve 2005
Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon 60%/40%
8 months in American and French oak.
Mendoza, Argentina 14.5% abv
Deep purple color with just slight fade to deep purple red at edge. Nice rich nose of cassis, plums, tobacco, and rich oak. Nicely balanced wine that give a full mid-palate impression of rich dark fruit, acidity and fine tannins. The long finish is a fine mix of fruit smooth tannins and mouth-watering acidity.
Great match with grilled t-bone steak (1" thick, with olive oil-herb rub), medium rare. Also good with the Caesar salad.
I really liked this wine both as a sipper and as a food wine. I think it also has the potential to age for 2-3 years.