Tag Archives: Burgundy

COQ AU VIN WITH TWO EXCEPTIONAL FRENCH WINES

Wine Review, , , , ,

Last night, Dorianne and I had dinner at Mary Stec and Richard Clark’s (again). Mary was trying out a recipe for her upcoming Autumn in Tuscany cooking class (sold out), and was also preparing a coq au vin for the main course. Dorianne and I dug into the French area of our cellar and came out with a Burgundy and Bordeaux. Both wines were exceptional.

2014-10-17 18.57.23
Two French Beauties

The appetizer was squash ravioli with balsamic and sage; Mary used won ton instead of pasta. It was a little sweeter than expected, but very good. We began with the Bordeaux, a 2007 Chateau Millens Saint-Emilion Grand Cru that we purchased in Saint-Emilion in 2013. The wine shop where we purchased it, as part of a mixed case, purchases the entire production of this small producer (so you will not be able to find this amazing wine, except at that shop – sorry). The Bordeaux blend, Cabernet and Cabernet Franc, was very well structured, with a nice mix of cherry fruit and minerality on the nose, and hints of cherry, tobacco, and chocolate on the tongue. It finished very well. This wine was not a perfect match for the unexpectedly sweet appetizer, but it was a very good wine. We still have a couple of bottles left, and the wine could use some additional time to age. With the coq au vin, we poured the Burgundy, a 2003 Domaine de la Vougeraie, Nuits St. Georges Les Damodes Premier Cru Pinot Noir. This wine was a Christmas gift from Dorianne a few years ago. It was simply magnificent.

Coq au Vin by Mary Stec with the Domaine de al Vougeraie Burgundy.
Coq au Vin by Mary Stec with the Domaine de al Vougeraie Burgundy.

The nose was very complex, with floral notes of lavender and rose predominating. The wine had a nicely structured mouth-feel, velvety smooth, a bit softer than the Bordeaux, as you might expect. The flavors were berries, floral notes, and just a hint of minerality. This wine also had a great finish – something that I usually do not notice. I was surprised to see that some of the online scores for this wine were only in the high 80’s. I would score it higher. These were special wines pulled out for a special dinner, and not every day wines. That being said, they both delivered a superior experience that you would not find in an everyday wine. For more info on my philosophy of wine, go to the ABOUT section.

SOME UNUSUAL WINES THIS WEEKEND

Wine Review, , , ,

We drank three rather unusual wines this weekend. On Friday, we attended a clambake with three other couples. The event was hosted by Richard Clark, our wine co-op wine maker and his wife, Mary Stec, at their home. In addition to fresh Maine lobsters, mussels, clams (including belly clams), Jonah crab claws, chorizo sausage, etc., etc., there were two very special wines (among several).

Wine - Italian White Label
The 1998 Praepositus Weiss

First, Richard brought a 1998 Abbazia di Novacella (Stiftskellerei Neustift) Weiss Praepositus out of his cellar. That mouthful is actually a northern Italian white wine that obviously from the part of Italy near Switzerland. The 1998 Praepositus Weiss is a white blend – I was unable to find the specific varietals included, although they grow Sylvaner, Grüner Veltliner, Kerner, Pinot Grigio and Müeller Thurgau grapes in the producer’s vienyards. The winery, Abbazia di Novacella, is a monastery.

The wine was very dry and lacked an strong sense of fruit, both on the nose and in the mouth. The color was golden yellow – the wine had aged well, and if anything, it seemed like it could use a few more years in the bottle, even though it was a 1998. Hints of earth and minerality showed. The wine was a good accompaniment to the seafood, and it lasted about ten minutes with four couples present.

Wine - Meursault Label
The 2010 Meursault

The second wine was one that I brought, a 2010 Pierre-Andre Les Cromins Meursault from Burgundy. Dorianne and I purchased the bottle at the winery north of Beaune, when we got lost. The welcoming sign of a chateau with a wine barrel with two bottle sitting atop it caused us to turn off of the road. We had a wonderful time exploring the caves beneath the chateau and tasting some amazing wines. A couple from Australia was there on an around-the-world trip, so we had a nice conversation with them.

The Meursault was, well, delicious. The nose was both fruity (pear, green apple) and herbaceous at the same time. The wine was very smooth and was a perfect accompaniment for those Maine Lobsters.

The next evening, we had to help Mary and Richard polish off all that seafood. Mary decided to make a cioppino – and she made a beautiful one! I scoured my wine cellar (actually located in about 6 places around the house – need to attend to that soon), for something red, Italian, and not too acidic to go with the tomato in the cioppino. I found a bottle of 2009 Marangi Negoramaro that I had purchased a year or so earlier from Wines-Till-Sold-Out. I was curious about the fairly rare Negroamaro varietal.

Wine - Marangi Negroamaro
The 2009 Marangi Negromaro

The wine is very dry, moderately tannic and acidic, herbaceous with hints of leather and dirt on the nose. The taste was more of the earth than the fruit. I went perfectly with the cioppino in my opinion. Dorianne preferred the Pinot Noir from Tolosa in the Edna Valley provided by our host. I recalled that Dorianne had not really liked the wine when I opened the first bottle a while back. She is consistent!

I am not sure if you can find any of these wines easily or at all. I thought I would share the experience, because it is fun to explore and to hear about the unusual.

What unusual wines are you drinking lately?