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Eight wines... and a seven course dinner for four.
Tasted October 2, 2004 by Tejano with 1,931 views
Introduction
Sometime back at a fund raiser for our local school district's education foundation, I was sold at a live auction, to prepare in my home a multi-course meal, with of course, wine to accompany the dishes served. In planning the menu, I actually picked the wines first, from my cellar based on what I felt was the best window of being ready to drink. With feedback from my guests likes and dislikes, I then put together the menu around the wine...
As I was literally the chief cook and bottle washer, with my wife assisting I was not able to take notes as the eventing progressed, so this is from memory the morning after.
Flight 1 (8 notes)
White - Sparkling
1994 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Brut
89 points
I am not a big champagne guy, but I chose this to welcome my guests for the evening, and it was a hit. Light color, crisp toasty nose with a smooth tropical fruit twang, not sweet but pleasing with that little bite that excites the taste buds. A great start. First of eight wines.
White - Sparkling
1997 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Reserve
90 points
First course of the night...a bruschetta with cold smoked Scottish salmon tartar over baby watercress and creame fraiche touched with minced fresh dill and just a drop of lemon juice, and finally topped with sevruga caviar, yea, the real deal. Great pairing with the champagne blend...a little darker in color, than our previous selection, and much richer with a more creamy elegance that more than balanced and complemented the smokey and rich saltiness of the salmon and caviar. Second of eight wines.
White
1998 Peter Michael Sauvignon Blanc L'Apres-Midi
89 points
Our second course of the evening was a baked coquille pie of baby scallops and shrimp, tied together with a reduction of the seafood juices after flash sauteing, and a duxelle of mushroom and cream, topped with puff paste for a nice little package when baked. The wine was light and muted in color, with a grapefruity citrus nose, and while not a strong presance, there was ample acidity and structure to compliment the sweetness of the scallops. A very pleasant surprise of a wine, and an introduction of how nice a quality sauvignon blanc can be to a few of my quests. Third of eight wines.
White
1999 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard
96 points
My third course was all touch and go as I quickly wilted some spinach in a reduction of chicken stock, onion, and garlic, then pureed that mixture and carefully blended that to a light veloute of, again reduced chicken stock, enriched with heavy cream and then ladled around a mound of lightly sauted gulf crabmeat, tied together with the barest of a beurre blanc sauce...like I said, all touch and timing and it worked. But the star was the wine...oh, my what a wine. I reserve my small Kistler stock for such occassions as this, and have yet to be let down. A rich golden color, and a vibrant nose of stone fruit, a little citrus, maybe passion fruit...you just wanted to keep your nose in the glass. Great balance and a mouth full of flavor that just stays with you. The wine went well with the dish...but after all that work, my guests were more enthralled with the Kistler, no surprise there. Fourth of eight wines.
Red
1998 Martinelli Pinot Noir Martinelli Vineyard
90 points
On the fourth course I pan seared deboned breasts of quail and pheasant to accompany wild greens and balsamic marinated fresh blueberries with a Texas praline pecan garnish...a fun, colorful and vibrant dish. We are now starting to decant, and at first, the nose was almost scary as it was a little musty, but opened up to a pleasant earthiness with dark cherries and spice. Clear and dark ruby in color(lots of sediment left on the side of the bottle after decanting) and a strong personality that gets your attention without a lot of fanfare. Very pleasing and easy drinking. Fifth of eight wines.
Red
2001 Turley Zinfandel Pesenti Vineyard
92 points
Paired with charcoal grilled one and half inch thick porterhouse cut lamb chops and a rosemary reduction sauce, a buttery, creamy puree of yukon gold potatoes and celery root, with roasted grapes to add a great edible garnish.
Oh yea, the wine...sharp dileneated nose with big round berry texture with just a slight herbal quality, served at cellar temperature, so it was not alcohol hot...but a tad spicey hot that blended well with the fruit, and yes it was the fruitiest wine of the night. A great first real zinfandel for a few of my guests. Sixth of eight wines.
Oh yea, the wine...sharp dileneated nose with big round berry texture with just a slight herbal quality, served at cellar temperature, so it was not alcohol hot...but a tad spicey hot that blended well with the fruit, and yes it was the fruitiest wine of the night. A great first real zinfandel for a few of my guests. Sixth of eight wines.
Red
1996 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
92 points
Ok, the sixth course was a little inventive, as I completely trimmed fat, sinew cap and all from a large cut prime strip (NY) sirloin...seasoned, seared, and roasted medium rare, and finished it with a Maytag blue cheese melt.
Cross cut across the top, pie shaped, for a dramatic presentation, accompanied by grilled asparagus, and roasted red and yellow teardop tomatoes. And at this juncture, we brought in the cab...decanted in advance, and in fact served before the course, as we were taking a break around the fire pit outside. Dark, deep purple with a very firm cab like nose of dark fruit...rich plum, black and blueberrys. Strong, but pleasing tannic structure that had a good flow and aftertaste that while not real long, still stayed with you. The guys called it the "bad boy" of the night...that's a compliment. This wine still has a lot of time to evolve. Seventh of eight wines.
Cross cut across the top, pie shaped, for a dramatic presentation, accompanied by grilled asparagus, and roasted red and yellow teardop tomatoes. And at this juncture, we brought in the cab...decanted in advance, and in fact served before the course, as we were taking a break around the fire pit outside. Dark, deep purple with a very firm cab like nose of dark fruit...rich plum, black and blueberrys. Strong, but pleasing tannic structure that had a good flow and aftertaste that while not real long, still stayed with you. The guys called it the "bad boy" of the night...that's a compliment. This wine still has a lot of time to evolve. Seventh of eight wines.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1998 Inniskillin Vidal Icewine Oak Aged
98 points
Last course, with an old fashioned French apple tart made the traditional way with a short paste dough for crust and baked first with the cooked apple mixture added and topped with fresh apples and brushed with apricot preserves, before rebaking...quite a picture. Served with homemade cinnamon ice cream...and fresh ground Jamaican Blue coffee. This sets up the dessert wine that blew us all away, as most said that the wine was a dessert all unto itself. Dark hued and rich gold in color, with a nose of peaches and honey, and a texture that was close to being liquid gold oil. This wine just filled the mouth with a rich sweetness that was on one hand overpowering, but on the other so smooth and pleasing, and all to easy to drink. What a treat to finish the night with, a great wine. The eighth of eight wines.
Closing
The progression of courses and wines worked beautifully, with each wine literally standing on it's own merits and personality to accompany the meal. The only wine that could have used some more time in the cellar would have been the Montelena, no surprise there, but my guests loved it, and that is all that matters. The surprise of the evening for them, or enlightenment if you will, was the '98 Peter Michael Sauvigon Blanc l'Apres-Midi and the '01 Turley Pesenti Zinfandel. Turley's always surprise those who have never had them!! And it would have to be a close tie for the WOTN between the '99 Kistler Vine Hill and the '98 Inniskillin Vidal Oak Aged Ice Wine.