Dinner by Grand Cru with Friends
Tasted September 8, 2017 by JS1056 with 194 views
Introduction
A charity dinner with some friends created by Grand Cru.
Flight 1 - Skillet Seared Sea Scallops w/ warm curried cauliflower broth, crisp arugula, golden raisons and almond granola (1 note)
Very interesting combination. The sweetness of the raisins played off the curry and the crunch of the granola added a great texture.
As I noted the White Port didn't really do it for me, but it really did work with the food.
Reminiscent of sherry which is not my cup of tea. Best I could say is it was interesting. And was a pretty good match with seared scallops with curried cauliflower broth.
Different strokes....
Flight 2 - Salad of Hudson Valley Foie Gras & Hydroponic Frisee w/ Yukon Potato Crutons, speck ham, & Madison peach puree (1 note)
Great combination of flavors and texture. The demi sec was a really nice pairing and the slight sweetness was a good compromise since it was sweet enough to work with the foie gras but not so sweet as to overpower the puree.
Good solid wine.
Flight 3 - Fire Roasted Chilean Sea Bass w/ Hand made egg noodles. kale & tarragon poached Juan Flamme Tomatoes (1 note)
First off, the poached tomatoes were incredible.
The Duckhorn worked. Interestingly, it may have even been a better choice over something like Aubert or other big Chard, since it didn't compete against the tomatoes.
Flight 4 - Mushroom Dusted Veal Loin w/ lemmon & aged gouda risotto, wilted rainbow swiss chard (1 note)
Where the wine complimented the food in the previous courses, this was a case of the food complimenting the wine.
The Barbaresco was the star here, with the veal a perfect foil to the tannins and earthiness. The lemon in the risotto was present but subtle giving some pop to the red fruit, The gouda an inspired choice over traditional parmigiano, meshing wonderfully with the earthiness of the wine.
In a very good place right now. Nicely balanced with grainy tannins, good red fruit. There is an earthiness with tobacco, lead pencil and maybe a little sage.
The finish was medium long in length with the same flavors continuing on.
Closing
All of the wines were solid and the Paitin was more than that. But they all paired extremely well with the food and that is really what you are looking for.
Well done Alysha