Food, wine, culture TV - Episode 15: Rhone wines and earthy food

Episode 15: Food, wine, culture TV: Today I’m tasting two wines from the Rhone Valley and I explain why their earthiness goes great with rustic cuisine! A couple guests stop by to taste and say hello!

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WineBloggingWednesday #46: White Rhone Wines with Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20

Each month wine bloggers around the world unite for a virtual wine tasting labeled “Wine Blogging Wednesday.” A particular blog is chosen as the host for the event who then picks a theme and a Wednesday on which the wine blogging community gets together to post their wine and a few tasting notes.

This month our host is Dr. Deb’s of Good Wine Under $20. Her theme which I greatly appreciate is white wines from the Rhone. We’ve been tasting and drinking a good amount of Rhone wines lately, but only 10 or so white wines in the last few months from the Rhone. This was a good reason to open a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc I’ve been waiting anxiously to try. (For more on Chateauneuf, click here!)

The wine I chose is the 2003 Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes (vines pictured below). This wine comes from an established producer who makes good to great wines throughout the Rhone Valley. Recently, Michel Tardieu put out a 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CdP) red wine that has received outstanding ratings and praise, including a score of 96 pts from the Wine Spectator’s James Molesworth (of whom I have great respect as a wine critic). This was my first Tardieu-Laurent white wine, though I’ve had many of his reds across a variety of vintages. I enjoy his style of wine very much finding them consistently hold true to the characteristics of both the fruit and terroir. I do recommend them highly if you enjoy Rhone wines or are looking to expand your palate to Southern France. Read more

Rhone Tasting Report: Including some very good wines from Domaine de la Charbonniere

The Rhone Valley is one of my favorite wine regions in the world. The Northern Rhone is known for producing the best Syrah’s in the world which are spicy, terroir driven and complex. Red wines of the Southern Rhone, including the prized Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines, are comprised of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault. Wines labeled Cotes du Rhone cover both the Northern and Southern Rhone Valley, and are generally wines that didn’t meet criteria for being labeled as a specific designation (which means they cost less and can be much better values!). Wines from the Rhone vary quite a bit from North to South, and appellation to appelation. One thing that remains constant, is the trueness to the terroir that these wines possess. The whites tend to have great minerality and good expressions of the fruits, whereas the red wines generally have good earth/soil characteristic to them, as well as spice and both red and dark fruit notes. (Image of Castle/Vineyard in Chateauneuf was uploaded from Flickr Photo uploaded on Flickr April 28th, 2007 by Fretless88 Creative Commons license).

Below are my tasting notes from a recent Rhone Wine Tasting at the Wine Source. This is part II in the Overview of the Rhone Valley feature I wrote yesterday. Overall, there were some very good wines poured and although not too many great “values” (under $20), there are a lot of good wines for the price if you can afford to pay a bit more. I’ve arranged the wines into categories to show which wines I feel are best for their price.

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Tasting Notes: 7 Chateauneuf’s from 1989 - 2001

Tasting notes from a recent gathering of friends (read more about it here) which featured perfect food pairings for the event!

1989 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau (750 mL) Bottle 1: Decanted 1 hour. Medium-ruby color, a bit dusty. Dark fruits, barnyard, eucalyptus notes on the nose. Less fruit on the palate but some currant and cherry left, good spice notes rolled into the soft tannins. Opened side by site with another 1989 which showed a bit better. My rating: 88 pts

1989 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau (750 mL) Bottle 2: Decanted 1 hour. Second bottle of two. More vibrant ruby color than the other bottle, which translated to a bit more fruit on the nose. Currant, cherry, pepper, and mineral notes. More complex mid-palate and again, spice notes into medium tannins on the finish. A sip of this wine at the end of the night (roughly 5 hour decant) showed it was still evolving and drinking well. My rating: 90 pts

1995 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau (1500 mL): Beautiful deep ruby color with aroma’s of barnyard, cherry, raspberry, leather, earth. Opened up into an incredible wine that might still be considered in it’s youth (from a magnum with great provenance anyways). Lots of dark cherry, herbs, mineral notes and spice all packaged with formidable tannins and a complex finish. The 1995 is the new 2001, this wine thinks it’s in its youth…if you’ve got any left, keep it another 4-5 years or enjoy now with a long decant. My rating: 94 pts

2000 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée (750 mL): Decanted 1+ hour. Deep purple color - aromas of dark cherry, dark berries, herbs. This wine is just waking up, it’s completely alive with lots of red fruits and pepper on the palate - very balanced with velvety tannins. The finish is rich, long and expressive. This has a some years until it peaks. My rating: 93 pts

1998 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Truffière (1500 mL): Medium ruby color, clear edges. Dark raspberry and cherry really stand out on the nose with some evergreen. Candied cherry, licorice and spice with a medium finish. My rating: 90 pts

1998 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale Les Hautes Brusquières (750 mL): Aromas of white pepper, cherry, and a whiff of herbs and perhaps a floral component. Fruits really showing well with thyme standing out somewhere in the mix of it all. Big tannins with good acidity and a long finish. My rating: 92 pts

2001 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape (750 mL): Red fruits, complex flavors with herbs, plum, toffee and spice notes. Lighter in style with a medium body and medium length finish. My rating: 90 pts

2001 Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Felix (2 x 750 mL): Dark cherry, cellar/barnyard nose that gave way to berries, spice and minerals. Rich mouth feel, good structure and balance with solid tannins and a long finish. Really well put-together wine, lovely that will show well for years to come. My rating: 94 pts

10.5 Liters of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Duck, Rabbit, Lamb, Homemade Cheesecake, Great Group of Wine Lovers - Did I get Your Attention?

Saturday, January 26, 2008, the “MD - Cru” met up for one of its “offlines”. The “Cru” is made up of friends, new and old, that have two things in common - they love great food and wine, and they make great company! Kim and I were first lucky enough to meet up with them a first time this past October (see what happened the first time around) but they’ve been doing this for years! After missing at Italian event in November (we were in Italy!) and a Champagne event in December (home for holidays), we were focused on joining in on a tasting of one of our favorite wines - Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

The tasting was held at the beautiful home of one of the “regulars” of the MD - Cru out near Bethesda. The event featured the following food menu of which recipes for some if not all will follow (these people made some OUTSTANDING dishes and I begged and begged for the recipes…hopefully we’re all lucky enough to get them!).

The wines (all Chateauneufs):
2 x 750 ml: 1989 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe La Crau
1 x 1.5 L: 1995 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe La Crau
1 x 1.5 L: 1998 St. Benoit Chateauneuf du Pape Grand Garde
2 x 750 ml: 1998 Bois de Boursan Cuvee de Felix Chateauneuf du Pape
2 x 750 ml: 2000 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reserve
2 x 750 ml: 2001 Domaine de la Charbonniere - Le Hautes Brusquieres
2 x 750 ml: 2001 E. Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape

Others:
Piper Heidsieck NV Champange
Chusclan Les Ribieres Cotes Du Rhone 2001 - OUTSTANDING VALUE, Great wine
Mystery Bottle (seen in Aluminum Foil) Bob Johnson’s Homemade Pear Wine - Great Stag Winery

MENU
H’ordeurves:
Duck served with cucumber, crackers and chives - Brilliant appetizer, simple yet elegant and quite delicious
Melon Wrapped in Prosciutto - Always a crowd pleaser, the Prosciutto was very rich perfectly cured
Marinated Flank Steak - Paging CS (the owner of this recipe) - outstanding texture and flavors
Rabbit - Delicate, well seasoned, with the right amount of gaminess, perfect way to start the night of French wines!

Starters:
Green bean casserole - One of the best green bean casseroles I’ve had, so rich, good textures, lovely
Carrot souffle - Delicate. So delicate, perfectly prepared. Everyone guessed nutmeg, but cinnamon was the star.
Brussel sprouts pancetta - How do you take a vegetable some people dislike and make it to die for? Add pork! I love Brussel sprouts anyways, but this take on them is a real winner.
Potatoes - Cheesy and delicious.

Main Course:
Lamb - Perfectly tender, seasoning was spot on, cooked to perfection - juicy and delicious.
Cassoulet - It’s hard to mess up something that’s ingredients include rabbit, sausage, lamb…beans, I mean, come on…this was incredible.

Dessert:
Cheese cake (homemade with white/dark chocolate) - The crust was so delicate, the body very rich. Outstanding cheesecake.
Cannoli’s and Carinaolies - Vaccaro’s never fails!

Here’s what a plate of this deliciousness looked like:

As far as food and wine pairings go, almost everything was spot on. Anytime you have lamb, duck, or rabbit on the table, a Chateauneuf is a good match. It would be very difficult to pick a wine of the night - they were all very good. The 1995 Vieux Telegraphe was drinking INCREDIBLE, the St. Benoit as well, the Pegau had a lot going on with complex flavors and amazingly silky tannins, and the 2001 Bois de Boursan Cuvee de Felix was outstanding. This wine with a bit more age will be very special and is highly recommended if you can find it. Specific tasting notes will be posted and linked in the next day!

Again thanks to everyone in the group, especially to Mr. & Mrs. J. for hosting this incredible event in their beautiful home- Kim and I really enjoy these off-lines and look forward to many, many more!

TN: 2001 Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape

2001 Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape  ($50):  Bright ruby color with a clear ring on the edge. Lots of wet forest floor, with some alcohol, plum and a raspberry on the nose, as well as some bacon. Medium tannins, lots of acidity early on that subsided a little bit over 2 hours but was still somewhat overbearing.  Medium length finish with a touch of spice.  May be better in another two years.  My rating: 89 pts, OKV (OK value) 

Tasting Notes: Miscellaneous French Wines

Domaine Ehrhart Pinot Auxerrois 2004 - $16: Nice floral nose, notes of minerals and pear with good acidity. My rating: 85 pts

Domaine Marc-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 2005 - $80: Flower notes on the nose with peach, citrus and mineral notes. Complex and elegant, good fruits and spice with a touch of jasmine and honey. Good structure with crisp acidity and refreshing mineral notes. Lingering finish, very good. My rating: 90 pts

Alberto Furque Malbec 2004 - $14: Dark cherry, plum, leather, solid early with rough tannins in the finish that fall off. My rating: 84 pts

Domaine Foret de Michielle, Confidentia Cotes du Rhone Villages - $20: Cane syrup, caramel, light tar, blackberry, plum, medium tannins not perfectly balanced but overall good. My rating: 85 pts

Mas des Bressades, Grenache/Syrah 2006 - $12: Great nose nice fruits, reminiscent of a Touriga Franca based wine. Rolling flavors of plum, red fruits and spice with good tannins and a subtle, but long finish. Great value wine. My rating: 88 pts

Domaine Chauvenet Chopin, Nuits St. Georges, 2004 - $54: Earthy tones, leather, medium tannins, interesting fruits, black cherry, lovely. Bought a few bottles and look forward to trying them in a couple years…should improve with age. My rating: 91 pts

Andre Brunel Chateauneuf du Pape, Les Cailloux, 2004 $45 - 90 pts: Great nose, black cherry, pepper, spice with overall well defined fruits. Balanced with medium tannins that should even out with aging. Lean but lasting finish. My rating: 90 pts