Last night, a few of us got together at Villa Dixon to celebrate Earl and Diane's launch of their new online cookbook of the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas. All the recipes from last night came from this cookbook and are from the best chefs in the great Lone Star State. Although I am friends with Earl and Diane, I feel comfortable saying that cooking from this cookbook is going to be fun for cooks of all proficiency levels. If you feel like you'd like to check the cookbook out, just go to:
http://winefoodcooking.keepercollection.com/content/display/page/home
It's a subscription service, but I suspect many of you will find it interesting and worthwhile.
At dinner, there was also another fellow blogger who writes about food. To make this post more entertaining, here's the link to his post for pictures of the food and detailed notes on the meal. Enjoy.
http://www.alcoholian.com/?p=1573
With Maytag Blue Cheese Potato Chips
- 2007 Bisson Prosecco Colli Trevigiani IGT - Italy, Veneto, Colli Trevigiani IGT
Best prosecco I've ever had. Surprisingly lean and structured, although still simple in nature and not something to contemplate over. Yeasty flavor with some white bubblegum. Good match with food, but maybe a touch high in residual sugar for me...a drier sparkler would have cut the blue cheese slightly better, I think. - 1989 Kerpen Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Poor match for bluecheese. Competed too much with it. Great wine by itself though. Classic petrol/fuel, peaches, and jasmine flowers with nice cut, zingy acidity. Liked it, just not with the food. AP Nr. 2576 562 990.
With Smoked Duck Diablos with Red Chili Glaze
- 2002 Domaine Fourrier Vougeot 1er Cru Les Petits Vougeots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vougeot 1er Cru
Awesome bottle of wine and one of the best food pairings of the night. Seemed young with some ground coffee, pepper, dark fruit, and plum. Spice on the palate along with tree bark, moss, and some orange peel. Solid structure and acidity that should allow for many more years of aging. - 1997 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
A disappointment. Thin on the fruit, very advanced appearance. Rusty orange color, very cloudy opacity. High toned, high acid, very earthy with pine forest floor flavors and aromas. Fruit was thin and nearly gone. Not obviously flawed though. OK wine at best and needs to be consumed now.
Roasted Butternut Squash & Chorizo Soup with Crawfish Croutons
- 2002 Maison Bertrand Ambroise Ladoix 1er Cru Les Gréchons - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Ladoix 1er Cru
Lovely wine. Very stony, minerally, and chalky. Gunflint and blossoms and some subtle citrus, apple, and bosc pear. Not a hint of oak and reminded me more of Chablis than anything else. Was a touch too subtle for the soup course, but nice nevertheless. - 2007 Soc. Coop. Vitivinícola Arousana SCG Rías Baixas Paco & Lola - Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas
Great match for the soup. Fresh fruit and cut grass flavors with a more intense and full bodied experience than the other two whites served side by side. Great everyday drinking white. Just under $20 per bottle at the local Costco. Recommended. - 1995 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Le L D'Or - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
As always, very reliable. High acidity with green melon flavors and salty/briny finish. Proverbial sea breeze in a glass. Good match for food.
With Diver Scallop Carpaccio
- 2003 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Ashley's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills
Good wine. Not extremely heavy on the oak, but more oak than I typically would indulge on. The nose is very un-like any Chardonnay I've ever smelled or unlike any California white I've ever smelled. Better on the palate than the nose with some intense, dense Chardonnay fruit with a touch of honey, caramel, and a shot of minerality. - 2002 Kistler Chardonnay Cuvée Cathleen - USA, California, Sonoma County
Classic RRV Chardonnay with tell-tale buttery flavors and aromas. By far the most suave white wine in the lineup and it's oily texture goes down incredibly easy. Has an interesting amber and brown sugar element. Despite all the softness of texture, it retains just enough acidity to remain captivating. Finishes strong and gives you something to think about. Probbaly a wine I'd like to sit down with and stew over for a few hours. - 1998 Mathern Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
Sensational pairing with the diver scallop. Layered with apple, candlewax, and grapey flavors, the acidity of this wine cut through the buttery texture of the scallop beautifully. AP Nr. 7750 043 1799.
Braised Pork with Cardamom, Serrano Peppers & Sweet Potatoes
- 1979 Château Figeac - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Great bottle. Exactly what I expected with old-school St. Emilion truffle, animale, and blackberry, and mocha. Finished great and was a good match to the food. Definitely in a great drinking window right now. - 2001 Bodega Abel Mendoza Rioja Jarrarte - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
Excellent wine and another amazing food and wine match. The fact that its spice and structure was more noticeable than in the Figeac, turned it into the better wine for this particular food it was served with. Full bodied with ample structure and great freshness and a little dustiness. Somewhere between more tradtional and more international style, but delicious either way.
The Chicken & Pancetta Cacciatore
- 1999 Feudi di San Gregorio Taurasi Riserva Piano Di Montevergine - Italy, Campania, Taurasi
Dark and brooding. Brawny and in typical funk style for this winery. Has some undergrowth and dried herb flavors lurking behind the wall of blackberry and black currant fruit and tannins. A bit wild and untamed. Only OK as a food match, as the chicken would have fared better with a more subtle set of flavors in my opinion, but it was still enjoyable. - 1990 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
I've had many CdPs and many older ones, too...but never one like this. Popped and poured, this was dark as night and tasted like Northern Rhone Syrah to me. I have no idea what the cepage is, but the Syrah component must have been huge. A part of me is so confused about tasting this that I am at least tempted to think it could have been a fake. Don't get me wrong...this was a very, very good bottle, but it just wasn't identifiable as CdP. I am suspect, but it was good nonetheless.
Caramel Filled Brownies
- 1995 Araujo Estate Syrah Eisele Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Still a baby, really. Big, big black fruit with some cedar notes and licorice. Very well made wine, but a touch too much for my taste. Lacks some of the elegance the Chapoutier had. That being said, it was a magical pairing with the rich brownies. - 1995 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
This is Syrah the way I love to drink it. Obviously cool climate, this has a cool feel to the palate with silky texture and loads of dark fruit and ample acidity. Structured to go many more years in the cellar, but certainly no shame to drink now. Great way to end the evening.
Thanks to Earl and Diane for the hospitality and the fantastic food, and thanks to the rest of the crew for making it a memorable evening.
