December 2012: Christmas with Seasons at Country Life
Santa Barry in good form
Deck the Halls...
Owners and Front of House team
“Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather
and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know.” – John Keats
The first Wine: Wooing Tree "Blondie" 2012 Blanc de Noir
WINE 1 – on Arrival & with an ‘amuse bouche’
of
pork belly on apple slaw
This unique Blanc de
Noir was made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes, grown on the family owned vineyard
in Cromwell, Central Otago. Ripe hand picked fruit and gentle winemaking have
given a wonderfully balanced wine. The elegant champagne colour resulted from
minimal skin contact prior to a gentle whole bunch press. The juice was
fermented in stainless steel to retain the varietal and fruit characteristics.
The wine shows delightful aromas of peaches and cream, with red berry, stone
fruit and a hint of honey on the palate. Best served slightly chilled.
“It [discovering Finnish] was like
discovering a wine-cellar filled with bottles of amazing wine of a kind and
flavour never tasted before. It quite intoxicated me.” - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Entree: Tuna Tartare Avocado
Lovely blush on the eye
The second wine: Chateau Riotor
Côtes de Provence Rosé: Château Riotor 2010
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WINE 2 – with Entrée of Tuna Tartare
Made from
Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah,and a palate weight to raise
the eyebrows, the Riotor has been astutely constructed. Owned by the artful team
at Château Mont-Redon, at Château Riotor right in the heart of the Cote d’Azur
they make rosé and nothing else, in the process illustrating perfectly how
concentrating on one thing sure does pay off, the wine matured in stainless steel and oak
before being bottled.
Beautiful color, petal of roses, with light pearly shade.
Nose with fine aromatic intensity and nice smooth.
Notes of very ripe small berries, redcurrant and wild starwberry, exotic fruits, lychee, as well as very ripe pears and melon.
Tangy notes of fruit drop, small touch of citrus fruits, pink grape-fruit and kumquat.
Notes of fennel and fresh almond.
They bring to this wine fat, freshness and a nice frankness.
Wines with flavours and notes with fine purity.
Mouth with rich, full, fat start .
Delicate wine with a lot of freshness and nice aromatic smoothness.
Château Riotor is produced by Jean and Henri Abeille, direct descendants of Henri Plantin (their grandfather), founder of Château Mont-Redon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Quality wine-making is in their blood. I was first introduced to this estate by Jerome, the son of Jean. One day at lunch, Jerome told me about his father Jean and his Uncle Henri's Rosé that they produce from a tiny family plot in Provence. He stressed the use of Châteauneuf-du-Pape standards on this estate but reassured me it was classic Provence. Jerome arranged a meeting with his father and uncle at their vineyard. Jerome was not lying, the wine was exceptional!
The 48-hectare estate is located in Var in the eastern region of Provence. Here, Jean and Henri tend to their old vines, planted by their great-great-grandfather. The vineyards, dedicated to Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Vermentino are farmed organically. The vines are protected from the harsh winds of the infamous mistral by tall, 100-year old pine trees surrounding the vineyards. This natural shield allows a qualitative stress for the vines to produce ripe, healthy bunches that are full of flavor and concentration.
Douglas gives his opinion (which proved to be right)
And so does Graham...
Must be time for another wine...
Our Wine Master, Stewart, in top form again
Two Reds, both alike indignity....
The Ransom Syrah, as yet unreleased, which developed very well with the excellent braised rib of beef; and the equally good Napa Valley Dominus 2007. No-one got the American wine.
WINE 3 – with Merlot Braised Beef Rib, cauliflower puree, fresh steamed asparagus with slow roasted vine tomatoes
Ransom 10 K Syrah
A deeply coloured wine with an expansive aroma, a well structured palate and typically rich 100% syrah flavours, it was bottled in 2012 in Matakana, and will certainly cellar for a few years.
$1 from every bottle sold is donated to the Tawharanui Open Sanctuary Society (TOSSI) who run a predator-free sanctuary near this vineyard. The vineyard writes “The K-Syrah labelling tells the story. Each front label features an exquisite painting of a New Zealand native bird - kiwi, kereru, kaka, or korimako, the tamper strip lists 25 New Zealand native birds whose names begin with the 'K', while the back label points out that we can't afford to take a ‘que-sera’ attitude to these birds - many of them are now rare or threatened with extinction”. see the News letter for details on obtaining this unreleased gem.
WINE 3 – with Merlot Braised Beef Rib, cauliflower puree, fresh steamed asparagus with slow roasted vine tomatoes
Ransom 10 K Syrah
A deeply coloured wine with an expansive aroma, a well structured palate and typically rich 100% syrah flavours, it was bottled in 2012 in Matakana, and will certainly cellar for a few years.
$1 from every bottle sold is donated to the Tawharanui Open Sanctuary Society (TOSSI) who run a predator-free sanctuary near this vineyard. The vineyard writes “The K-Syrah labelling tells the story. Each front label features an exquisite painting of a New Zealand native bird - kiwi, kereru, kaka, or korimako, the tamper strip lists 25 New Zealand native birds whose names begin with the 'K', while the back label points out that we can't afford to take a ‘que-sera’ attitude to these birds - many of them are now rare or threatened with extinction”. see the News letter for details on obtaining this unreleased gem.
Conviviality
Good conversation
Michael is the spokesman at their table
And Gehard, at the " head table"
WINE 4 – with Merlot Braised Beef Rib, cauliflower puree, fresh steamed asparagus with slow roasted vine tomatoes
Napanook Dominus Estate 07 Cabernet Sauvignon
Napanook is made solely from grapes grown by Christian Moueix at the historic Napanook Vineyard in Yountville, Napa Valley. The wine is blended from blocks in the vineyard that were carefully selected for their lively fruit, soft tannins and early maturing characteristics.
The 2007 vintage is vibrant and rich, filled with fresh cranberry, incense and floral aromas, round tannins and exceptional energy. Creamy on the palate, the wine is pure, precise and powerful. This vintage is one of the finest produced to date. It is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot
.
WINE 4 – with Merlot Braised Beef Rib, cauliflower puree, fresh steamed asparagus with slow roasted vine tomatoes
Napanook Dominus Estate 07 Cabernet Sauvignon
Christian Moueix
Napanook is made solely from grapes grown by Christian Moueix at the historic Napanook Vineyard in Yountville, Napa Valley. The wine is blended from blocks in the vineyard that were carefully selected for their lively fruit, soft tannins and early maturing characteristics.
Napanook Cellar
.
Tasting at Napanook
This wine is created to be consumed young, and enjoyed with food, but will also age well for more than a decade.
Napanook Vineyards
“Men are like
wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. - Pope John XX111
Enthusiastic enjoyment
Wine number 5 had most of us stumped. It went really well with the traditional Xmas pudding!
Decanting Wine number 6
Only a few could identify the The Chateau La Leche 2012, high in lactic acid...
A delightful unfortified Cabernet dessert wine
Askerne Estate
WINE 5 – with Christmas plum pudding, brandy sauce and custard.
Askerne 09 Dessert Cabernet 16.5% Alc/Vol
The fruit for this wine was grown on the stony, sandy lower terrace of Askerne Vineyard in Hawkes Bay. It was hand harvested, sorted then destemmed and crushed. A short fermentation followed which was stopped by the addition of alcohol. The wine was then aged in older French oak barriques for twelve months.
Spice, plum and red berry fruit characters on the nose combine with chocolate, marshmallow and spicy blackberry flavours on the palate to produce this smooth, slightly earthy dessert wine.
Chef Paul came out of the kitchen to answer some questions and receive the accolades
“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the
better I like it.” – Anonymous
A great evening, once again
