Grandma has a hard time pronouncing mesclun, so it turned out there was just some greens with the smoked salmon, no hallucinogens. Flashing lights and desert sunsets will be saved for future occasion.
The wines were pretty good anyway.
With cheeses, olives, smoked salmon and other assorted nibbles we drank two bottles, the 2009 Domaine du Moulin Cheverny Les Ardilles which is a combination of Gamay and Pinot Noir. It smelled like it had more Gamay in the mix, with spicy sweet red fruit, but I think it is mostly Pinot Noir. It was pleasant, tart and refreshing. Good if not earth shattering. I really liked the 2009 Cazin Cour-Cheverny Vendanges Manuelles. This was the regular, non demi sec version. It was very crisp, minerally, some stone fruit and Granny Smith Apple. I think this bottle does well in warmer years. It may be a little fruit forward for some of the pleasure haters around here, but it was a perfect aperitif wine for me, and a hit with the non geeks.
Dinner was more salmon, a big Chinook my nephew caught around the mouth the Columbia river.
With the salmon there was a vegetable lasagna, kale, some roasted root veggies, and home made bread. The 2010 Huët Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu was delicious and went well with everything. It was open and generous, well defined and not too big boned. I really like the 2010 version of this. The 2001 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses Ile des Vergelesses was better with the lasagna then the salmon. It was nice in a kind of a straight down the middle way. It was expressive with red berried fruit and a little iron like minerals and fine grained tannin. Not too complex, this might need more time to get there.
For dessert there was a gingerbread bundt cake that was a good match with a sweet wine from Sardinia, the 2007 Tenute Dettori Moscadeddu. It is made from late harvest Moscato grapes. This had all the usual Moscato exuberance, dark yellow to brown color, sweet but not too cloying. A little VA in the nose, nothing really detracting. Exotic and delicious. My favorite Dettori so far out of a small sampling.
Grandma enjoying her 78th birthday.
The wines were pretty good anyway.
With cheeses, olives, smoked salmon and other assorted nibbles we drank two bottles, the 2009 Domaine du Moulin Cheverny Les Ardilles which is a combination of Gamay and Pinot Noir. It smelled like it had more Gamay in the mix, with spicy sweet red fruit, but I think it is mostly Pinot Noir. It was pleasant, tart and refreshing. Good if not earth shattering. I really liked the 2009 Cazin Cour-Cheverny Vendanges Manuelles. This was the regular, non demi sec version. It was very crisp, minerally, some stone fruit and Granny Smith Apple. I think this bottle does well in warmer years. It may be a little fruit forward for some of the pleasure haters around here, but it was a perfect aperitif wine for me, and a hit with the non geeks.
Dinner was more salmon, a big Chinook my nephew caught around the mouth the Columbia river.
For dessert there was a gingerbread bundt cake that was a good match with a sweet wine from Sardinia, the 2007 Tenute Dettori Moscadeddu. It is made from late harvest Moscato grapes. This had all the usual Moscato exuberance, dark yellow to brown color, sweet but not too cloying. A little VA in the nose, nothing really detracting. Exotic and delicious. My favorite Dettori so far out of a small sampling.
Grandma enjoying her 78th birthday.
