Wine and Food Adventures

Some weeks ago a very good friend told us that he needed our support: There was no more space left in his wine cellar. So some bottles needed to be destroyed. This is a mission which of course can be fulfilled: We invited ourselves and our friend had to host us. We believe that this was a fair agreement.

The motto of the evening was "Bordeaux red" paired with a barbecue, framed by German white wines for starter and dessert. The following wines were served:

- 2010 Siegbert Bimmerle Sauvignon Blanc (Ortenau, Baden, Germany)
- 2006 Château d'Agassac (Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France)
- 2005 Château Du Beau Vallon (Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France)
- 2004 Château L'Inclassable (Médoc, Bordeaux, France)
- 1991 Château Montrose (Saint Estèphe, Bordeaux, France)
- 1975 Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling Spätlese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany)

Starter
As starter our friend prepared a tuna salad with olives, pineapple and a lemon vinaigrette. Delicious. The pairing with the Bimmerle Sauvignon Blanc was risky, but it worked very well. The wine has a clear corn-like yellow colour and offers fruity aromas of pears and quinces. On the palate the quinces were more present together with kumquats and green apricots. With the tuna salad also the quinces dominated whereas all other parts came together in a very pleasant way with the salad and the vinaigrette. A real nice starter.


The Barbecue
For the barbecue every one of the red Bordeaux was served with a different style of meat. In addition tomato salad, corn-pepper salad, tzatziki and baguette were served.



Turkey cutlet au natural seasoned with olive oil, pepper and salt
The Château d'Agassac was paired with a turkey cutlet. The wine itself offers a deep dark cherry red with ripe cherry aromas and green pepper. Some dark chocolate in the background. Still very young! Morello cherries on the palate with still very present tannins. Very long finish. Excellent. Paired with the turkey cutlet and some tzatziki the wine suddenly became very smooth. The tannins were shifted more to the background.

Shish Kebab
The Château Du Beau Vallon has a cherry red brighter than the d’Agassac with some light rims. The aroma of ripe stewed fruits was restrained. Not very intensive. One taster detected some nettles. On the palate berries dominated. Medium long finish. The pairing with the Shish Kebab was difficult. Directly after a bit of the meat the wine was totally dead. You had to shift the contact point for 15 seconds. Then the nettles were confirmed and the taste was more spicy. The total impression was that the wine was already a little bit over the time.

Thuringian Grilled Sausage
This is a classic German barbecue dish. And it was wonderfully paired by the L’Inclassable. The wine has a dark, deep cherry red and offers Christmas aromas: Cinnamon paired with “hot” raspberries and cherries. Also cherries on the palate; very smooth and well integrated tannins. Wonderful. Absolutely on the top. Together with the sausage the wine offers in addition some spicy notes. Very pleasant.

Grillet Fillet of Pork
Another perfect pairing – although the Montrose made it very easy. Still an incredibly dark and deep cherry red with light rims. Nice balmy and earthy notes. Wet foliage. Still fruit aromas in the background. Surprisingly strong taste. Very spicy with clearly present tertiary aromas. Never-ending finish. Pretty much better than the last bottle I drunk two years ago. Together with the perfectly grilled and beautifully soft filled of pork a true inspiration. Terrific.

Dessert
For the dessert our friend offered us a very delicious Strawberry Tiramisu. To pair this dish is very difficult and we were not really surprised that the Piesporter Michelsberg did not totally fit. But no one cared. The tiramisu was outstanding and the quality of the nearly 40 years old Riesling surprisingly good.


It was not possible to uncork the wine and so we had to press the cork into the bottle. The color was golden amber and the aroma a wild mix of soft petrol, butter caramel and old wax candles. On the palate all these and more were confirmed. Also sherry notes. One of the tasters thought that the wine smelled a little bit like an old cat. In total an inspiring experience.

Then the dinner was finished. For the rest of the evening we simply relaxed on the sofa and drunk the remaining wine. No need to mention that the mission was completed when we left our friend.

Sonoita, Arizona
67% Cabernet Franc; 33% Cabernet Sauvignon
15.1% Alcohol
Tasted 2014-04-21

Cork was broken and had to be partly pressed into the bottle. Decanted with a filter. Garnet red with some copper red rims. Ripe prune aroma paired with cloves; not very intensive, but charming and elegant. Boiled down fruits also on the palate. Some port notes. The high alcohol is still present, but not annoying. The wine is of course already over the top, but still in a (surprisingly) very good condition. I have still two more bottles. Good for me. I believe it will hold this quality for another one or two years.

How to pair this wine? This afternoon we had some salmon on the barbecue and we planned to pair with a nice Cline Viognier. I opened this bottle in addition only to taste how the wine was evolved since my last tasting nearly a year ago. What a surprise. The wine harmonised excellently with the salmon and became very smooth on the palate together with the fish prepared with olive oil, salt, pepper and some lemon juice. Incredible! I didn't expect that.

Sonoma County, California
13.9% Alcohol
Tasted 2014-04-20

Nice and clear yellow green. Wonderful fruity aromas of apricot, peaches and apples. On the palate clearly the apple aromas dominate (Granny Smith?) paired with tones of lemon. Wonderful. Very refreshing. The finish is surprisingly long.

My last visit at the Hawley tasting room was nearly 18 months ago. It was a remarkable tasting tour on the Healdsburg square where we were looking for good Viogniers. We started at La Crema where we were directed to Thumbprint after the tasting. At Thumbprint we were directed to Hawley - of course after the tasting:-). All three Viogniers were very good. At the end I took the La Crema and the Hawley with me back to Germany. Today my wife and I emptied the bottle from Hawley. The wine improved dramatically in these nearly two years. Absolutely on the top. It will hold for another one or two years. For me one of the best Viogniers I drunk so far.

Sorry for you US guys, but this wine is a fantastic partner for white asparagus. Did I already mention the German's relationship to asparagus... Another fabulous pairing: Lobster in an absolutely traditional way.

And how did we pair it? The accompanying dish was Koreshte Reevas, a persian stew with lamb and rhubarb. The lamb (we used lamb fillets) is seared with onions and cilantro, then left to simmer with some stock, enriched with parsley and mint leaves, seared in butter, and finally the finely chopped rhubarb. Yummy.

Napa Valley, California
Alcohol 14 %
Tasted 2014-04-19

First impression not very positive: The cork was broken; some spirity aromas came from the bottle. Already gone? I decided to decant for an hour or so. Good decision. After an hour the spirity tone was nearly gone.

Red with brown tones and light red rims. Aromas of forest floor with wet foliage paired with ripe blackberries which are also present on the palate. Much better than the first impression promises. Long finish.

The wine is already over the top but still very well drinkable. I believe it will hold this quality for another two or three years. A classic with lamb chops.

Worth to mention: The winemaker of Jarvis is the very prominent Dimitri Tschelistcheff - son of the Napa Valley icon Andre Tschelistcheff. Dimitri Tschelistcheff was already in charge for the 1996 Cab.

Paso Robles, California
14.5% Alcohol
63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot
Tasted 2014-04-12

Dark cherry red color with light rims. The wine offers earthy notes with blackberries and dark blueberries. Little bit like tea with fruits on the palate. Very pleasant. Long finish. This wine is no blockbuster but very elegant.

Justin Vineyards advertise on their website that the ISOSCELES represents the prime focus of the vineyard as a “left bank” Bordeaux style blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Of course the blend is chosen in that way but luckywise (for me) the style of the ISOSCELES is different. The elegance of a "Left Bank Bordeaux" is present, but the characteristic is not so aggressive. And this is exactly what I like when drinking this wine. Fabulous.

Definitely a wine for reflection. Not really a need to pair with food. But if you are looking for a worthy partner check out some médaillons of pork fillet or rib eye with some dark berry aromated gravy. Absolutely on the top and will hold this for another five years.

In Germany it is still possible to get this extraordinary wine at California Wines (http://www.californiawines.de). So if you are looking for a wine for the special moment. Here it is.

I'm a lucky guy. I have some very good friends living in Frankfurt - let's call them Mr J and Mrs J. Mr J is one of the best wine connoisseurs and experts I met in my life, Mrs J is a real master chef. And the best: Two or three times a year they invite me for a very special kind of dinner. As I said: I'm a real lucky guy.

This time the menu was the following one:
- Amuse-gueule: Small crab salat with anchovy filets
- Starter: Warm goat's curd wrapped in bacon presented on salad with wild herbs together with a vinaigrette prepared with olive oil and balsamico of La Vialla
- Entrée: Beef tenderloin covered with ground pork and South Tyrol bacon paired with linguine and a sauce of carrots, onions and leek. The vegetables were reduced in port, then some wine was added, they were left simmering for another 90 minutes, after that puréed.
- Cheese plate (Taleggio, Morbier, Mimolette) with figs, grapes and fig mustard
- Chocolate cake

The idea was to taste six different red wines from the US in three flights. Of course the interaction of the wines was mainly examined in relation to starter, entrée and the cheese:

1st Fligth:
- 1997 Girard Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley
- 1997 Seavey Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley

2nd Flight:
- 2004 Saxum Broken Stones Syrah from Paso Robles
- 2004 Pax Castelli Knight Ranch Syrah from the Russian River Valley

3rd Flight:
- 2008 Dominus from Napa Valley
- 2010 Hall Wines Cabernet Sauvignon "Kathryn Hall" from Napa Valley



Both wines of the first flight were really good examples of the outstanding 1997 vintage. The Girard has a nice dark cherry red with some lighten rims and offers earthy notes paired with stewed fruits of cherry. These cherry notes were also present on the palate. Very long finish. Really good. Totally different the Seavey. Dark purple with notes of tobacco and forest floor. Also on the palate. A typical Bordeaux-style cab from the Napa Valley. Later on the evening the wine became better and better. After a certain while cassis notes came to the foreground. Very pleasant.

Then the second flight. I was very curious about it because the Syrah grape has become one of my favourites over the last two years. And I would drink the first Saxum of my life! And indeed both wines were very, very good, but the Broken Stones was a revelation for me. Very deep purple color; nearly opaque. Pure black cherries - also on the palate - with perfectly integrated alcohol. Outstanding. Syrah at its best. Different the Pax. Also purple and very dark but with some light cherry red rims. Manifold aromas: Cassis, tobacco, some earthy notes and something we needed a while to identify: Broom (Mrs J was the winner). The Pax is a little bit more violent than the Saxum. Decant it! Both wines had a very long finish. Life is good.

Tough challenge for the third flight. The level was already very high. The Kathryn Hall - my small present for the tasting - had a special history. The Js and I visited Hall Wines last year - the Js in spring and me in autumn due to their recommendation. I imported the wine only for a tasting with the Js. Funny thing: During the J's visit the wine was not yet bottled. So both had not tasted it so far. The wine offers a very dark purple color with lots of glints. In the aroma essential oils with a lot of dark berries. Very fat and velvety. Of course pretty much too young, but already a killer. Amazing. Mr. J wanted to give this wine the right counterpart. Very successfully. The 2008 Dominus was nearly black. Lots of black fruits, menthol and cassis. A beast of a wine. Still brutal because of of its youth but nevertheless tender and cajoling. I drank already the 99 vintage. This one is more bordeaux-like and I expect a very long life for this outstanding masterpiece.

Summary: It is definitely a gift to participate a tasting with wines of this level. But now more about the food pairing. Well, Mrs J prepared the perfect menu for this blockbuster team. All of this harmonised wonderfully with the goat's curd and the beef tenderloin - but all of them in a different way. My favourites:

- Goat's curd with the Seavey: Wonderful partner of the wild herbs with the vinaigrette
- Beef tenderloin: Definitely the Pax. Explosive aromas together with a bite of the tenderloin, the ground pork and the bacon

The favourite of the evening besides the wonderful menu? Perhaps the Saxum. A very bad boy. If you once start to drink you can't stop.



But what about the Chocolate cake? Mr J offered the next surprise of the evening: A 2002 Mr. K "The Nobleman"! Salmon color, very clear with a lot of glints. This Chardonnay offers a wonderful mix of apricot, petrol and turps aromas - in an absolutely positive way! On the palate dried fruits and sulfur apricots. Honey in the super-long finish. "Honey gliding down the throat". Still young and fresh. This half bottle was finished very, very soon. Bad thing.

I have to mention that I slept very well that night. Thanks to my friends Mrs J and Mr J. An unforgettable dinner.

Manduria, Apulia, Italy
14% Alcohol
Tasted 2014-04-03

A very good friend has a nice shop in Wurmberg near Pforzheim (Baden-Wuerttemberg) where he offers mainly whisky but also other specialities including wine. The wines he has on stock are mostly from the lower price level. During my last visit we discussed the idea to taste in intervals some of his wines. We both want to see how these wines will be ranked in the list of my favourite wines. I have to mention that usually I buy whisky, chocolates and fruit spread at his shop but not the wines.

For this first experience I bought his most expensive wine: A Primitivo di Manduria from Terre di Campo Sasso for 8.90 € (12.20 $). Terre di Campo Sasso is a joint project of some oenologists with vintners from Apulia and Sicily.

The wine has a dark cherry red colour with some lighter rims. The bouquet offers some balmy notes paired with blackberries but also earthy notes. On the palate at the beginning the balmy notes and the blackberries are also present (fancy combination) but with more air the blackberries become dominant. Surprisingly long finish. A real bargain!

The wine is on the top and should be drunk now. Perhaps it can be held one year more. Pair it with spicy meat dishes.

By the way: The name of my friend's shop is "Johann's Gschmacksach" (http://johanns-gschmacksach.de/).