Tom & Tami's French and California Extravaganza

Tasted Monday, June 16, 2014 by brigcampbell with 555 views

Introduction

Tom and Tami put a lot of effort into organizing this dinner. The pairings with the food were perfect. I goofed and didn't take pictures for the first part of the dinner, I know, my bad. I really found this dinner educational because I'm starting to develop my understanding of white burgundies although I have a long way to go. I can't pronounce most of the wines so pointing and grunting seems to work for now.

image

Flight 1 - WARM PEAR & BRIE CROSTINI AND WARM DATES WITH GORGONZOLA & PROSCIUTTO (1 Note)

Dates stuffed with cheese and then wrapped in pork. Hello! The warm pear pieces paired nicely with the champagne.

Flight 2 - VICHYSSOISE WITH WHIPPED SAFFRON CREAM (3 Notes)

The most beautiful dish of the tasting. Really need a picture to do this justice. I'm afraid to know what's in this because it looked like a stick of melted butter. Yummy.

  • 2009 Copain Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone

    Blind. Correctly guessed CA.

    Light yellow color. Nose of ripe pear and a little sweet note. Palate is pear but lighter than the nose would indicate. Medium acidity and a caramel flavor which hints of cali. Nice and clean ending though. Solid wine but didn't move me compared to some others.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2008 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Blind. Incorrectly guessed CA but as I played with it the acid really starts to show beautifully. I knew I was probably wrong and looked at Frank who said "love the acid in this wine". Damn it! I knew it was French but I always stick with what I first write down. Lesson learned, don't write it on paper if you're not sure. To really drive the point home, it was revealed as the bottle I brought! Son of a... Good news is lots of people enjoyed the wine, whew.

    Medium gold color. Nose was initially muted. Pear and lemon flavors with a touch of creme brûlée. Good balance. Finish is tart lemon rind and mouth watering. Very good wine.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2007 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ-Canet

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Blind. Guessed French. Golden yellow and quite brilliant in the glass. Nose is distinctly citrus fruit. Palate shows more red apple and light citrus. Gentle fruit profile. Finish hints of sandalwood and an excellent balance. Another winner.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 3 - ASPARAGUS, LEEK AND LEMON ZEST RICOTTA CREPE STACK WITH BROWN BUTTER SAUCE (3 Notes)

Who says you can't pair asparagus! Delicious!

  • 2011 Sandhi Wines Chardonnay Bentrock

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Blind. Incorrectly guessed French but the table was mixed on this one and rightfully so as it seems to have attributes of both. FMIII was adamant this was CA.

    Good color with aromas of caramel and some oak. While it's not overwhelming, it does lead me in the direction of California. Medium plus acid drives the backbone of this wine with lemon and noticeable lime presence, cool. Chablis with oak? OK then it's French, wrong. I really enjoyed this wine but I just looked at the price, ouch.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Domaine

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Blind. Guessed California. Interesting wine as FMIII and I dissected the components. There's a savory aspect to this wine, spicy wood notes and cayenne pepper. Fruit was yellow pear and we debated whether it was 7-Up or more Sprite like. This wine was not refreshing and seemed over done. That's what had me leaning towards California.

    When this was revealed I thought FMIII was going to cry, his wine world and cellar was just turned upside down. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat brought to you by blind tasting.

    Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2012 Poe Wines Chardonnay Ferrington Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    Blind. Guessed California. Bummer, light TCA and it was my bottle. Interestingly it looked like it stripped the color from the wine. Too bad because I really like this vintage and it would have held it's own in the line up. I'm not marking this as flawed since there will be multiple tasting notes for the single bottle.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 4 - SMOKED TROUT, FENNEL, CITRUS, AND MARCONA ALMOND SALAD WITH ORANGE & FENNEL FROND VINAIGRETTE (3 Notes)

The smoke aromas from the trout was intense and seemed to be a big crowd pleaser.

image

Flight 5 - ROASTED 1/2 CORNISH HEN WITH DILL & LEMON CHARRED CAULIFLOWER AND GRILLED BROCCOLINI (2 Notes)

How did these all turn out perfectly browned. Looked fake.

image

  • 2011 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Blind. Guessed California. Very solid effort here, note taking quality began to diminish with this flight but good balance, lean for California, and oak poking out as it warmed up.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2011 Liquid Farm Chardonnay Four

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Blind. Guess California. Looking at it I thought we might of stumbled upon a smoked burg but a whiff quickly sends your olfactory in overdrive. Big wine, light butterscotch, baked pear, baking spice, and lemon. Long finish and mouths coating. The ladies loved this wine where I'm into the leaner side of things now.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 6 - LEMON AND LAVENDER MERINGUE WITH FRESH CREAM & RASPBERRIES (3 Notes)

image

Closing

Thanks to everyone for a terrific evening.

×
×