WTN: A 2000 Bordeaux X 2 with dinner + icewine

It is Easter weekend and we are having some themed meals matched with wine.

Tonight we had grilled lamb steaks (cut from a leg of lamb) that were marinated in the bordeaux wine described below and sprinkled with herbs de provence.

Deep purple red wine. Peppery plum nose of cassis with overtones of leather, oak, and blackberries. Nicely balanced with velvety tannins, cleansing acidity, and black fruit on the midpalate. Medium length finish with dark fruit (especially blackberry) and a tantalizing tannic bite at the back of the tongue.

Excellent match with grilled lamb steaks drizzled with a thickened wine sauce made from the marinade. Great melding of flavors with the acidity of the wine picking up the herbs and the fruit in the sauce and taming the fat of the lamb. Nice complex layers of flavor in the mouth that even my wife really lilked enough to comment on how good they tasted.

Wine: Chateau La Cardonne Cru Bourgeois 2000 Medoc 13% abv unfiltered, 50% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc. Good solid food friendly wine.

Easter Sunday Dinner

Garnet red wine. Cassis, plum and a hint of rosemary on the nose. Relatively balanced (just a bit heavy on the acidity) wine with smooth tannins, black fruit, herbs and a prevalent acidity on the the midpalate. Medium to long finish of acidic red fruit, especially slightly unripe strawberries and sour cherries. This bottle was much better than the last time I tasted one (I bought 3) about 2 years ago, when I thought I was drinking an acid bomb. Must of been in its dumb phase.

Definitely old world style wine that needs food as it is quite acidic. Good match with cassoulet but even better match with fresh spinach sauteed with garlic and feta chesse. The wine and cheese just meld together really well. I liked this wine as did my wife, but it it not quite as good as the Cardonne.

Wine: Chateau Roquetaillade la Grange, Graves, 2000, 12.5% abv. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot, 13% cabernet franc.

Dessert wine

Rich caramel yellow colored wine. Untuous nose of honey, lemon and roses. Luxurious midpalate feel of thick honey flavored tangerines and nice balancing acidity. Lingering finish of tropical fruit (especially pineapple) and acidic sweetness.

Excellent match with lemon squares.

Wine: Crown Bench Estates, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Vidal Icewine 1999 10.5% abv.

Wine: Chateau La Cardonne Cru Bourgeois 2000 Medoc 13% abv unfiltered, 50% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc. Good solid food friendly wine.

Gosh, Tom, thanks for bringing one of my favorite wines to life in the Universe. Living in Canada, you probably paid a lot more for 2000 La Cardonne than I did. It cost me only $15 per bottle (I bought more than a case of them), and I consider it one of the best values I know about in the entire world. It is a true Bordeaux, and 2000 is of course a fabulous year for Bordeaux.

Lamb, Easter, 2000 Bordeaux, it doesn't get much better. I wonder what Jesus would have thought about 2000 Bordeaux. Of course, he might very well know and be laughing now, if he brought it to us and watches a bloke like moi ask such a callow question.

It would be his personality, I think, to be laughing. He once brought some very good wine to a wedding and, when it was running out, hid it so that some of it would remain for the long night of celebration to follow. When his friends lamented the wine’s disappearance, Jesus didn’t have the heart to deceive those who cared any longer and brought the wine back out for everybody to enjoy. Mischievously, though, so that he didn’t have to take the heat for his little deception, he pretended to turn a bucket of water into the wine, like an illusionist might do. It was dark and everybody was in the glow and distracted with having fun, so it was a very easy slight of hand to accomplish. He was a little embarrassed but impressed by how much everybody stood in awe of the trick and conjured several more such illusions over time as he wandered through a festive time on earth, for the most part. Thank God everything came out alright for him in the end. He deserved it.

Covert

Hi Covert,

Glad to bring one of your favorite wines to life. I was really impressed with the food friendliness of this wine and, to me, this is a critical character of the wine. I like your comments on what Jesus would have thought. He uses so many wine and vine metaphors in his descriptions of faith that grape vines and wine are just integral to his concepts of how God and people are bound together in faith. And you are right, lamb, 2000 bordeaux and Easter, it doesn't get any better than this.