WTN - Tempier, Richter, Beaucastel, Barrossa Valley, Etc.

NORTHERN FANATICS FALL MENU - (07/11/2009)

The nice Fall weather continues, so I thought I'd put together a bit of a Fall menu for kipper and his wife. He also brought all the wine I had stored in his cellar for a few months today - nice to see what I have here again! I just had brought a couple of cases of wine up from down south, and I was running out.

I made a spinach, goat cheese, red onion, red pear/asian pear and roasted pumpkin seed salad. I paired this with the Tempier rose - nice match.

A carrot and ginger soup with butternut squach and sweet potatos was next, and paited this with the Richter. Another nice match, if I do say so myself.

Next up was halibut with a creamy caper sauce. I served this with a butternet squash risotto and steamed broccoli. Before this was served we had the Black Pepper shiraz, and with the meal we has the Beaucastel blanc - yum!

With a pumpkin pie for dessert, we had the Coteau du Layon - outstanding!

I didn't take notes on any of the wines, as I was too busy cooking, but here's some vague rememberences.

• 2006 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé - France, Provence, Bandol
  Hazy notes. The 2006 Tempier Rose was a lovely rose, with lots of watermelon being the main feature on the palate to me. Nice long finish, and very dry. (B+/A-)
  
• 1999 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Hazy notes. This wine was in a great place. Some petrol was evident, but there were still lots of fruit and minerels too. Very smooth and silky on the palate, with lovely balance, showing it's 10 years very well. Great with the carrot/squash soup. (A-)
  
• 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  The 2001 Chateaux du Beaucastel Blanc was an outstanding wine with an incredible weight on the palate. It's a white that definitley drinks like a red, in terms of the power. Lovely flavours here too, and nice secondary notes from the age, this was a real stunner of a wine. Very nice with the halibut, too. (A)
  
• 1998 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E & E Black Pepper - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  The 1998 Barossa Valley Estates Black Pepper Shiraz was also nicely mellowed, and had an amazing texture and weight to the medium bodied palate. The only negative was the dill note from the American oak - I'm not a big fan. Still, a very nice wine. (B+/A-)
• 1998 Château de Montguéret Coteaux du Layon Petit St Louis - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon
  This was an incredible dessert wine that paired with the pumpkin pie really well. Lots of tropical fruits with that unmistakable chenin funk (wet wool, minerals) and a long, perfectly sweet finish. I really loved this wine. (A)

Kipper also opened a 1997 Ridge Geyserville that we were really looking forward to, but it just didn't want to open. It started out very green, and slowly started to open up, but there just wasn't time to wait for it - it should be great the next day?

Some really nice wines here, and they all paired well with the menu!

That is an incredibly salubrious lineup of wines, dude!

And thanks for the watermelon call on the Tempier Rose'. I often find that in Tempier myself, and it's one of the more charming features...but it's watermelon that goes into the slightly tart/sweet/sour range. Good stuff. Shame it's so expensive nowadays. But thank goodness more and more Provencal roses are coming in now to take up some of the slack.

Yes, some nice wines that were all drinking well (except the 'bonus' Geyserville).

I didn't have any time to make any notes, bu the watermelon note definitely was the most prominant on the Tempier. I enjoyed it very much, but as you say, Hoke, thankfully there are lots of other southern France roses to try that are a lot less expensive. I love a good rose - after visiting the south of France and getting used to drinking roses every summer day, it's hard no to fall in love with the wine style and the way it can pair with a wide range of foods, even those that are hard to pair (e.g.,salads). Why not a rose on a nice Fall day in BC, too?!?