Pickerel, Sea-Bass and a Douro Branco!

I have been studying Portugal for quite a while now as a result of the wonderful selection downtown. I find the Douro whites a tad more exotic than my S France preferences but was intrigued to find a good match for my fish buy from the local farmers market. Some research seemed to indicate a richer white would work so I pulled a CARM from the cellar.

WTN: `07 Douro Branco Reserva, Casa Agricola Roboredo Madeira.

13% alc, good natural cork, $23 Cdn. Opened one hour, serve at just above room temperature. A Crasto white I had served in the past too chilled revealed very little true character.
Grapes include Codega, Rabigato. I think this might be organic, not sure.

Food. Pan-fried Pickerel fillets in a parsley butter sauce.
Oven-roasted Sea-Bass steak with a ginger, fennel seed crust.

Color. Medium to deep lemon.

Nose. Some floral and herbal waxy tones. Some passion fruit, citrus, hint of creamyness. Nose did not evolve much after 2 hours.

Palate. Full-bodied with a creamy long finish, white stone fruits. Noted some small bubbles on base of my glass. Anastasia thought "some exotic fruit here..clean...dried herbs". Mineral element here, red-skinned apple and hint of oak seemed to work better with the pickerel. I found the sea-bass was way too moist for complete enjoyment, where was this fish from?
A very enjoyable wine from the Douro but not the greatest of food-wine matchups. Maybe choose some different fish next time?

WTN: `07 Douro Branco Reserva, Casa Agricola Roboredo Madeira.

13% alc, good natural cork, $23 Cdn. Opened one hour, serve at just above room temperature. A Crasto white I had served in the past too chilled revealed very little true character.
Grapes include Codega, Rabigato. I think this might be organic, not sure.

Food. Pan-fried Pickerel fillets in a parsley butter sauce.
Oven-roasted Sea-Bass steak with a ginger, fennel seed crust.

Color. Medium to deep lemon.

Nose. Some floral and herbal waxy tones. Some passion fruit, citrus, hint of creamyness. Nose did not evolve much after 2 hours.

Palate. Full-bodied with a creamy long finish, white stone fruits. Noted some small bubbles on base of my glass. Anastasia thought "some exotic fruit here..clean...dried herbs". Mineral element here, red-skinned apple and hint of oak seemed to work better with the pickerel. I found the sea-bass was way too moist for complete enjoyment, where was this fish from?
A very enjoyable wine from the Douro but not the greatest of food-wine matchups. Maybe choose some different fish next time?

Bob, I have never had this wine, (nor for that matter) many Douro whites at all) however, I can't help but gather from your report that it may have been a tad deficient in acidity. (was that the case?) Also, I wonder about the ginger and fennel seed in the sea bass. I can't imagine the wine not matchig the pickerel though.

Hi Bob H. Thanks for the interest in my post....the acidity was just OK but masked by all the flavors going on there. The seasoning on the sea-bass was restrained, in fact thought it could have used more! I was not keen on that piece of fish at all.
A friend of mine thought a Riesling from Austria might have been a better match with the pickerel

Bob, have you seen Julia and Julie? Just back, really enjoyed it. Go see how many wines you recognise by the displayed labels!

I see that the `08 vintage has arrived so will open one asap.
Tonite, I tasted the `08 Crasto White. It has a nice crispness about it and some good acidity. Hint of green olive on the finish is a nice touch. Will post later of course.

Bob, I am envious of the stream of interesting Portuguese wines which come your way. Our local supermarket has some quite nice QPR<€10 offerings but the more up-market and enterprising importer who used to give tastings at Rob seems to have disappeared from circulation.

Mmm, fresh pickerel - you can't beat just caught pickerel...

WTN: `08 Crasto White, Douro.

These whites can mostly be drunk on release and go well with shrimp, mussels etc. Braised pork tenderloin worked too in this case. Citrus floral nose plus apple and some minerally tones. Crisp dry on the palate, zippy, nice fruit balance. Has a green olive edge which I found in the CARM and Portal too.

******Thanks Tim for your comment, you need to find a store that has a Portuguese owner!!