Various wines from the last week.

1999 Noceto Sangiovese: Can't say that Sangiovese is my first thought for
Californian grapes but this is okay. Light, bright crimson with a nose
that shouts Chianti. Cherries and slightly spicy oak come through as you
taste with soft tannins. Picked this up reduced from £15.50 to £10,
pretty good for its reduced price but would struggle compared to most of
the £15 Chianti's I've tried.

2000 De Bortoli Noble One: Had a vague reason to celebrate and this was in
the fridge so went for it. Rich orangy gold, fading to colourless at the
rim. Slightly subdued nose (maybe a tad cold) with maybe some orange peel
and botrytis. Well rounded in the mouth obviously sweet but the balance
was excellent so nothing overpowered, excellent now and I'm sure will stay
that way for a while.

1998 Burrton Napa Cabernet: I don't buy much US wine as it often seems to
be slightly overpriced here but this was written up as being a steal and
it's not bad for £12. Was opened as a substitute for a corked bottle and
initially very tannic but decanting and swirl calmed it down a bit. Dry
blackcurranty nose, very full in the mouth with some oak, tobbaco and
fruit. I'd say this had some time ahead of it but not bad now.


Then at the weekly tasting for one of the local merchants (Veritas for
any who happen to be in Cambridge, UK) sketchy notes as I was chatting:

1999 Simonsig Wood matured Sauvigon Blanc: wood wasn't that obvious except
possibly on the nose which seemed a little dirty, palate was middle of the
road not the really minerally SB of Sancerre nor the citrus explosion of
NZ but still quite nice and not bad value at £7.

1998 Buitenverwachting Meifort: (glad I've got a list to copy names from!)
a Bordeaux style blend, nose was quite promising oak and cab. sauv traits,
unfortunately it was rather thin and uninteresting to taste. £6.49 but
even at that price nothing to get excited by.

1995 Hedges Red Mountain Reserve: Don't think I've had a Washington
Cabernet before, and while this was okay I wasn't rushing to buy it.
Extremely dark, everything else about it was a bit schizophrenic (or maybe
my tastebuds were) since I alternated between "quite nice, slightly rich"
and "okay but missing something" probably one to try before you buy
especially at £15. Would rate the Burrton as rather better.

1999 Masi Costasera Amarone: I've like the few amarone's I've had before
but this didn't do it for me, lots of prunes and raisins, slightly to
burnt, might have been open to long or just need more time to come round.
£22.50.

1999 Masi Grandarella: my pick of the evening, really rich and smooth this
was more what I expect from the amarone (apparently its made via double
fermitation in part with the used amarone grapes). Pretty good and priced
about right at £17. My only problem with wines like this is what would I
serve with them.

Regards

Ian

>1999 Masi Grandarella: my pick of the evening, really rich and smooth this
>was more what I expect from the amarone My only problem with wines like this
is what would I
>serve with them.

CHEESE!!!!!!

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 02:03:47 +0000, Bill Spohn wrote:

>>1999 Masi Grandarella: my pick of the evening, really rich and smooth
>>this was more what I expect from the amarone My only problem with wines
>>like this
> is what would I
>>serve with them.
>
> CHEESE!!!!!!

That's true, cheese would probably work (and as you suggest does seem a
bit obvious now you've said it). I guess similar types to Port, stilton
and friends? Not an area I've explored much (one of many!).

That was obviously far too easy, so a harder problem for you, what about
for the non cheese eater in my life? (I'm trying to convert her but with
very little luck so far.)

Regards

Ian

>That was obviously far too easy, so a harder problem for you, what about
>for the non cheese eater in my life? (I'm trying to convert her but with
>very little luck so far.)

The recioto syle of wine work fairly well with good winter fare.

We are having a bottle of the 2000 Grandarella tonight with an oxtail stew, for
instance.

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 07:36:09 +0000, "Ian Glover" >
wrote:

>That was obviously far too easy, so a harder problem for you, what about
>for the non cheese eater in my life? (I'm trying to convert her but with
>very little luck so far.)

Not sure amarone styles need any food at all. They're great for just
drinking.

Maybe see you at Veritas sometime. You're not going on Thursday by
any chance?

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

Salut/Hi Bill Spohn,

le/on 21 Feb 2004 14:23:06 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

>>That was obviously far too easy, so a harder problem for you, what about
>>for the non cheese eater in my life? (I'm trying to convert her but with
>>very little luck so far.)
>
>The recioto syle of wine work fairly well with good winter fare.
>
>We are having a bottle of the 2000 Grandarella tonight with an oxtail stew, for
>instance.

Yup, that's just the sort of thing I'd look to. There are some pretty full
flavoured beef daubes (wine based stews) with orange peel and olives that
would go fine. There's also this catalan speciality which I think would be
wonderful with a recioto style wine. Called Boles (bolas) de picoulat, it's
glorified meatballs in gravy and ought to be made with fresh/frozen/bottled
cepes, but might work with reconstituted dried ones, though I'd be tempted
to use less (even after reconstituting) as their flavour is very pronounced
(cepes are more commonly known in some parts of the US as porcini). The
meats can be ground/minced. Pork blade is lean pork from the shoulder.

----- Now You're Cooking! v5.62 [Meal-Master Export Format]

Title: Boles De Picoulat
Categories: beef, casseroles, french, main dish, pork
Yield: 4 servings

250 g finely chopped lean beef
500 g finely chopped pork blade
6 cloves garlic
8 tb finely chopped parsley
2 eggs
2 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper
6 tb flour
4 tb olive oil (to fry)

------------------------------------SAUCE-----------------------------------
125 g pork belly, diced
50 g diced jambon cru
1 onion, finely chopped
1 lg tomato, chopped
1 red chilli
250 g pitted green olives
1 nutmeg, salt, pepper
170 g parcoooked cèpes, jar
350 ml red wine

Method

Crush the garlic cloves lightly, then chop with the parsley. Place in large
mixing bowl with the meats. Beat the eggs lightly and add to the bowl; mix
well, using your hands, and shape into oval meatballs, the size of a small
egg. Roll these in flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil in a
fireproof casserole, wide enough to take the meatballs in a single layer
(ideally). Brown meatballs on all sides over moderately high heat, turning
frequently.

While they are cooking, cut the pork belly (or bacon) and raw ham into
small dice. Chop the onion finely and the tomato roughly. When the
meatballs are browned, (don't overdo this, they have yet to be cooked
through), remove them from the oil and keep hot on kitchen towels, covered
with foil.

Add the diced pork belly or bacon to the oil left after frying, and brown
lightly all over. Sprinkle in a little more flour to absorb some of the
fat, add the onion and cook until lightly browned; stir in wine, and
continue stirring as the sauce comes to the boil. Boil a couple of minutes
to eliminate alcohol. Season with pepper and a little salt, stir in the
tomato, the sliced chilli, nutmeg, olives, diced ham and optional cÅ*pes.
Finally add the meatballs - the liquid should half cover them, but add
water or a little more wine if necessary.

Simmer gently 45 minutes, turning the meatballs after the first 20 minutes
cooking.

-----


--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website