French Wines - Chardonnay, Viognier, Claret w/dinner

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
RECEPTION:

Grassa Lalande Ctes de Gascogne Chardonnay 2006 -- Floral, fruity bouquet, medium-bodied, slightly sweet, some acidity, balanced, buttery and vanilla flavors. [VERY GOOD]

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DINNER:

Vignobles Boudinaud Grange des Rouquette Marsanne Viognier 2006 -- Nice balance, apricot, honey, white peach hints, slight oak, rich. [VERY GOOD - EXCELLENT]

Served with Gaspacho...



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Chteau Sociando-Mallet 1982 -- Solid ruby, ripe dark fruits, earth, slight pencil lead, some leather, concentration and balance, tannins largely resolved, drinking wonderfully at present. [EXCELLENT]

Served with Beef Tenderloin over White Beans and Jalapeno Jack Cheese with Barbecued Corn Sauce...



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Went back to Vignobles Boudinaud Grange des Rouquette Marsanne Viognier 2006 (see above)

Served with Blueberry Sour Cream Cake...



. . . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Chteau Sociando-Mallet 1982 -- Solid ruby, ripe dark fruits, earth, slight pencil lead, some leather, concentration and balance, tannins largely resolved, drinking wonderfully at present. [EXCELLENT]

Served with Beef Tenderloin over White Beans and Jalapeno Jack Cheese with Barbecued Corn Sauce...
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Nice to hear that this is doing well. I last had it maybe 5-6 years ago. I think mayhap this bottle came from a very cool cellar, as the tannins in my bottle were fully resolved back then. And it looks like your food was rather heavy on tomato. How did the wines do with them?

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton: it looks like your food was rather heavy on tomato. How did the wines do with them?
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Mark, I anticipated this question with respect to the meat course. This is NOT the wine I had slated for this course. I wanted to serve a moderately aged St Joseph.

One of our dinner guests unexpectedly brought the Sociando Mallet '82 already opened and decanted. Thus, my options were suddenly foreclosed. This Claret was lovely...only wish the food pairing had been more fortuitous.

The Viognier went fine with the gazpacho. I find Viogniers to be very versatile companions with various food dishes. It was 104 degrees here yesterday, so the gazpacho and Viognier were a refreshing combo.

The Viognier also matched up well with the dessert course!!

. . . . . . Pete
 
Peter, did you notice the alc% on the viognier? I'm curious because I often find that gazpacho, if it has any zing to it, makes me notice alcohol much more.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman: Peter, did you notice the alc% on the viognier? I'm curious because I often find that gazpacho, if it has any zing to it, makes me notice alcohol much more.
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Jeff, Interesting question and observation...I just now went and checked the bottle.

It says 13% (thereby indicating 11.5% - 14.5%) alcohol. I would imagine the 13% is about right.

Back to your observation, it has never occurred to me that gazpacho might accentuate the alcohol in a wine. What might you attribute this phenomenon to?

. . . . . . . Pete
 
I don't know the mechanism of it. It just seems that spicy food makes me more sensitive to the burning/stinging/vaporous sensations of alcohol. (It's the same reason that people waffle about having wine with Thai or Szechuan food.)
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Chteau Sociando-Mallet 1982 -- Solid ruby, ripe dark fruits, earth, slight pencil lead, some leather, concentration and balance, tannins largely resolved, drinking wonderfully at present. [EXCELLENT]

Served with Beef Tenderloin over White Beans and Jalapeno Jack Cheese with Barbecued Corn Sauce...
Click to expand...

Nice to hear that this is doing well. I last had it maybe 5-6 years ago. I think mayhap this bottle came from a very cool cellar, as the tannins in my bottle were fully resolved back then. And it looks like your food was rather heavy on tomato. How did the wines do with them?

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

ditto, i had that about 4 yrs ago and it was lovely then. wish i had more.
 
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