Chateau La Bourree Castillon 2009 Cotes de Bordeaux

A goodie. The story of this wine, according to the wine merchant at the English Market, is that the vintner grows the grapes for it on his property but part of his property falls outside the D.O.C. zone for one of grape varieties, so the wine costs half what it would if he just made it from the grapes on the D.O.C. side of the estate.

CSA Meals

The first two weeks of our CSA shares have yielded some of the most spectacular dinners we've had. The freshness of the vegetables, biodynamically grown a two hour drive from where we live, is unsurpassed. Additionally, we've been getting fresh, local, pastured eggs and chickens from the local farmer's market. And, all the fresh herbs we are using are from our container garden on the patio. I may earn my Alice Waters badge yet! Here's an attempt to recall the last several days in food...

Zucchini, spring onion and garlic scapes sautee with spaghetti
Beet salad with orange vineagrette

Stir fry of yellow squash, broccoli and spinach over brown rice

Carrot-ginger soup
Scallion-black sesame crepes stuffed with sauteed spinach

Spinach and feta omelets

Curried cauliflower-apple soup
Radish-chives-shaved parmesan salad (from the Cookbook Local Flavors, something magical happened in this dish that made me love radishes)
A colorful salad of lettuce (not sure of the variety), capers, yellow and red tiny tomatoes, and beets with a Meyer lemon vineagrette.
This with a bottle of Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from Casablanca Valley, Chile (A chipper juice that rounded out the salads nicely. J wasn't the biggest fan of it, but it vastly exceeded my expectations considering I got it at Jewel!) and a baguette.

Zucchini bread

Radiatorre pasta with sauteed, grated zucchini and J's pesto. (J's pesto is from the bag of basil we received from our CSA share this week in addition to basil from our patio that needed to be cut back. I'm not sure the proportions of everything, but it's nutfree and contains parmesan and pecorino romano cheeses.)

A red and a white

A couple of picks from Binny's that were better than expected...

2008 Tamellini Soave

and my favorite Abruzzo red so far..

2007 Masciarelli Montepulciano

Sesame Cole Slaw

This is colorful and flavorful and proved a nice complement to some sauteed turbot and a light carrot-ginger soup. A perfect dinner for one of the first warm days of the year-- mid 70's and humid. Went well with a chilled Riesling. In spite of the marketing, I decided to try the Kung Fu Girl Riesling and it was a good sipper.

2 small heads of cabbage, napa and red (thinly sliced it was about 5 cups)
1/4 c sesame oil
1/2 c sunflower oil
1/2 c rice vinegar
2 T black sesame seeds
1 T red pepper flakes
1 1/2 T minced fresh ginger
1/3 c chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving to ensure that all the flavors have a chance to come together.

2007 La Posta, ‘Estala Armando Vineyard’ Bonarda, Mendoza, Argentina

This had a little more character than your Malbecs to my palate, and it was a spectacular sipper with Humboldt Fog ripened goat cheese.

Wine & Cheese

A current favorite evening nibble--

Meinklang Burgundenland & a goat gouda

A Season for Drinking

lots of notable wines have crossed our table in the last few weeks.

Chateau Haut Peyruguet 2008 is my favorite white Bordeaux yet

Saracco Moscato D'Asti 2009 was delicious with Jeff's marzipan birthday cake

Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone 2007 was a nice, nice red for all ocassions

I don't usually like straight-up Pinot Noirs (too boomy) but Meinklang's Pinot is much more subtle and balanced, earthy and jammy.

Mas de Gougonnier Reserve du Mas 2004 les Baux de Provence was one of Jeff's favorites to date

And, I think we may have had this one before, but in case it hasn't been previously noted, a solild Gewurztraminer from Oregon: Montinore Estate 2007.

Cheers! Happy 2010!

A new favorite white

2008 Falanghina Ocone Taburno

Room temp is better on this one than chilled. Italian whites always hit me with a lot of sparkle up front and then make a quick getaway, but this one has a body that lingers with real beefy minerality.

From the wine librarian:
"Falanghina is one of Italy's most prized ancient varieties. Its name derives from the Latin word for the stake that supports the vine, which suggests that it originated at a point so early in viticultural history that staking a vine was a new technology, perhaps reserved for special grapes. It is now widely grown in Campagnia, a region well known for its mineral-rich volcanic soils. (Taburno is in the province of Benevento in the Campagnia region.)" -Importer; Certified Biodynamic

J's dinner for 4

J did a bangup job replicating the chicken with summer fruits we had at Ambrosia, a slow food restaurant in Valletta, Malta. I told him to write down what he did, or at least remember it, and hopefully I'll be able to return here and post it. All I can say is it involved a sauce of cherries, plums and marsala wine. We enjoyed it with some roasted potatoes and carrots and a nice Sicilian red, Nero D'Avola, Vendemmia 2007.

Dessert was also astonishing. Spiced figs via The Silver Spoon cookbook, with a dash of creme fraiche at the table. This is one sexy dessert! This was complimented by a Sori' Gramella 207 Moscasto d'Asti.

Spiced Figs:

1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground coriander
2 cloves
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 c superfine sugar
rind of one orange, thinly pared and cut into strips
12 ripe figs

Put the spices, sugar and orange rind in a pan, add 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the figs and simmer for 5 minutes more. Do not let the syrup boil. remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Drain the figs, reserving the syrup, and put them in a dish. Bring the syrup back to a boil and cook over medium heat until reduced by half, then pour it over the figs. Let cool completely.

Meinklang

We have enjoyed Meinklang Gruner Veltliner on a few occasions, and now we have tried the 2008 burgenland white as well. This is a biodynamic winemaker and I can taste the vibrancy of the landscape in both of these wines. The burgenland white is 5-% Gruner Veltliner, 40% Welschriesling, and 10% Muskat grapes.

2006 Domaine Filliatreau, Château Fouquet, Saumur

2006 Domaine Filliatreau, Château Fouquet, Saumur, Loire Valley, France

Dean had this one open in the store and I tasted it along with the flight of other things. I was struck by how extraordinary it was compared to the others, and since J wasn't with me, I bought the bottle so we could both study it further. I love earthiness and a good cab franc, but it turns out that something about this bottle struck us both as very challenging. It was a little too assertive on the earthiness and the subtleties of minerality that I usually enjoy were hard for my (brutish, unsophisticated) palate to discern. It was better with food, I believe it was a tomato, garlic, spinach, zucchini pasta primavera that toned it down a bit.

Profile of the wine from a retailer on the web:
"We’re pleased to welcome the exemplary portfolio of the Domaine Filliatreau, one of the truly great names in the Saumur region of the Loire Valley. The Château Fouquet is a sixteen-acre estate on clay and limestone soils near the hallowed town of Brézé. Employing strict organic methods, the father and son team of Paul and Fredrik Filliatreau have captured the essence of Cabernet Franc as expressed in this special terroir. Opaque plum-ruby in the glass, the Château Fouquet casts deep aromas of red currants and pungent clay and limestone soil. Plump and velvety on the attack, the Château Fouquet Saumur tightens mid-palate with fine tannins, crunchy acidity and a lashing of classic Saumur soil. Long, plummy and chocolaty on the finish, the wine is overwhelmingly drinkable and a versatile pair for fresh chèvres, braised pork dishes, grilled burgers and a myriad of vegetarian dishes, especially those employing tomatoes, potatoes, roasted red peppers and grilled eggplant. Enjoy now and over the next three years."

Some Yummy Wines

2007 Nicole Chanrion Domaine de la Voute des Crozes our favorite Beaujolais yet, thanks to a good recommendation from Dean.

Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorees Beaujolais L'Ancien

And one of our souveniers from Santorini, a very crisp white
2008 Santorini Assyrtiko

Park Grill

Discovered a new Gruner today-- this Kurt Angerer "Spies" Gruner Veltliner from Kamptal, Austria. Went nicely with PG's hummus appetizer which is dolled up with cumin, sweet peppers and olives; and later with a smoked salmon club sandwich. Must find this one on my next trip to a proper wine shop. Can't wait to sip it again.

Chateau Guiraud-Cheval-Blanc 2006

A dark horse of a little Bordeaux that was more appealing days 2 and 3 after opening and with a bowl of oil-cured olives.

Yummy Reisling

2007 Ayler Kupp Rielsing Spatlese

Enjoyed this Reisling with the Two Peas Curry mentioned below. A delicious match! Sweet and light. Well balanced.

M. Chapoutier 2007 Belleruche Cotes-du-Rhone

A Grenache Noir and Syrah blend. I'm the biggest straight-up Syrah fan, but this blend offered a full-yet-subdued jammy flavor with a good body. Paired nicely with a spinach salad with goat cheese, strawberries and balsamic vinaegrette.

Some Recent Wines

2006 Pares Balta Penedes Calcari
Jeff loves the Helvetica label, but I recall it was a pretty snappy sweet Spanish white

2007 Rayun Syrah, Rapel, Chile
I'm not the biggest Srah fan, but this one was earthy and understated

2007 Domaine de la Madone Beaujolais
A little sassier than my absolute favorite Gamay (Roches Blanche), but still a good sipper

2006 Brooks Reisling, Willamette Valley, OR
Crisp, slightly sweet, it played nicely with a Crab Rangoon

2007 Clos Roche Blanche Gamay T ouraine

This is the wine we've been looking for. The wine of our dreams. Light, mineraly, bashful even. Santa, please bring me a case for Xmas!

St. Vincent 2006 Muscadet.

And the wine that was enjoyed with the lentil ragout...

St. Vincent 2006 Muscadet.

I've been on a Muscadet kick lately. This one is the boggiest yet. That's a compliment. I like the peaty, stoney flavor of this grape and this bottle shows that off nicely.

Clos de la Fine 2007

Domaine des Herbauges
Muscadet Cotes de Grandlieu Sur Lie

A good drinker on its own, didn't do anything special with a roast chicken and salad, but then drunk with some sugar cookies from our favorite place (no average sugar cookie) it was sublime. Something about Muscadet and butter... what is it?