Dec 1/2009 Dinner

Little Slide show of the Dinner, used the guests plates made it easier for me then lugging plates

Started them off with an Amuse of Rissotto, made with Sablefish Stock very light fish flavour as they need to get ready for the seafood coming up

Wine

Blue Mountain Vineyards

N/v Sparkling Brut, méthode traditionnelle, Okanagan Falls

Scallop

Qualicum Bay Scallops, Sunchoke Puree, Pickled Golden Beets, Garlic Gastrique

Sable & Lamb

Blis Bourbon Aged Maple Syrup Glazed Sable, Pulled ‘Chorizo’ Lamb, Braised Puy Lentils, Wilted Watercress

Foie Gras Two-Way

Sous-Vide/Torched and Mousse Foie Gras, Almond Cookie, Tangy Quince Puree infused with Sauternes

Also Added a picture of the lamb before I confited it, very unpretty

Slow to Post - BC vs WA? Wines

Have not posted in a while finding it hard to write, I am just not a writer, heck in high school I was a C average student in English, and A/B student in Math. Started this blog to practice my writing skillz, yeah with a Zed, not a Zee.

That being said Had a mini wine tasting at my place with two people from Seattle, one moving up here we had 8 wines. 4BC wines and 4Washington state. Made a Interesting Night made some oxtail 'Roulade' [Pulled Oxtail with a little star anise, Butter, onion/garlic, Banyuls Vinegar, Wrapped in Cured Sherry Aged Beef]

The best part of having 8 wines between 3 people. Left over wine they both took home two bottles, and left me with 4. Must say Washington Wines have lots of acidity, needs time in bottle plus decanting. and have that Northern Rhone Quality of being less over the top.
The Two BC Reds I bought were excellent drinking now, and last for a couple years. But hands down fantastic drinking now

Poplar Grove Merlot 2004
95% Merlot, 5% Malbec
My last bottle of this Really Showing Well now, If only I could buy some more of these. The Wild Sage/Eucalyptus nose has mellowed A LOT which is good.
A: Big sweet Rich fruit little Rubber, and something we couldn't put on nose on
T: Drinking now beautifully, good fruit, not your normal Merlot, acidity is good all in all thumbs up


Blue Mountain Stripe Label Pinot Noir 06
What can you really say about this wine in that its awesome, its on the bigger side, very earthy, the fruit is toned down nicely balanced creamy/round smooth. A must try

Tantalus 07 Riesling
Petrol going on
Day 2
A: Little Tropical, Rubber
T: Lemon Juice, Round Quick Finish

Paradise Ranch Late Harvest 2005
Chardonnay 70% Riesling 30%
I haven't had this Paradise Ranch before I've had there ice wine the all Riesling one. The Chardonnay does give it that roundness a nose I couldn't pin down, I was going with Flinty but it wasn't really. Riesling gives it a little acidity balance. Good if you want a nice round mouth feeling Late Harvest
DAY 2
A: Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup. No Doubt about it, and my friend picked it up too
T: same as Aroma but lighter

DeLille Cellars, Chaleur Estate Blanc 2007
68% Sauv Blanc, 32% Semillon
I loved this wine, round smooth, melon and tropical fruits. I could drink this all the time. Better then Chardonnay. It is a big wine, held it own to Oxtail Roulade I made

Doyenne 2005 Aix
50% Cabernet Sauvignon 48% Syrah 2% Mourvèdre
A: Sweet perfume, then I found later in the evening Potato Chip nose really interesting.
T: Warm Feeling, Good acidity wish I could of tried this the next day

Trust 07 Syrah Day 2 notes
A: Pepper, Cherry Cola, Big Warm Nose
T: Red fruit good "sweetness", lots of acidity

St Michelle Ethos Late Harvest Riesling 2005
This is why I like Dessert Wines the Acidity just rips through this like no tomorrow so good and balanced
Day 2
A: Celery, Petrol
T: Tropical, Grape Bubble Gum [those cubed one from 10years ago] Good Acidity, Petrolly

2006 Blue Mountain Pinot Noir Stripe Label - Review

Bottle 2 out of 12, Decided to open this with dinner as my wine fridge is getting low on wines and for dinner there was some Chicken, Fresh Made Pesto (Garlic, Basil were from the farmers market mmmm and didn't have any nuts so I had to grab some of the harder nuts from the Costco Mixed Nut Container Sitting in the Cupboard) Roasted Potatoes (also from the farmers market, water levels were high). Pinot Noir would make a good match and I wanted to take some notes and see how it is doing.

And it is doing just fine, tasty, good acidity,

The Stats:
Blue Mountain Vineyards
2006 Pinot Noir Stripe Label [aka Reserve]
13.5% Alc
Okanagan Falls, BC, Canada


The Eye:
Colour is Purple Red, A Dark Pinot Noir, but can still see your fingers

The Nose:
Day1: Fruit + Rubber
Day2: Eathy, Sweet Cherry hint of Smoke

The Mouth:
Day1: Good fruit coming through on the red fruit side, little spice, really nice acidity, some tannins there, light body definitly a food wine, the fruit popped out even more with the Pesto
Day2: Earthy, Bright Acidity, Medium Body a Bitter Cranberry Skin action little aeration in the mouth brings out some sweetness very nice


Overall/Reflection:
Score: 90 A really well made wine, and that acidity just makes it so nice with food. Some people might be bother by acidity but hey this is a Cool Climate Pinot Noir its what ya get. Tasty tho

THE 100-POINT RATING SCALE (Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate describes this in more detail.)
• Extraordinary (96-100 points)
• Outstanding (90-95)
• Very Good to Excellent (85-89)
• Good (80-84)
• Average (75-79)
• Below average (70-74)
• Avoid (50-70)

Blue Mountain Pinot Noir STRIPE LABEL 2006!

Blue Mountain Vineyards, Considered a Cult Winery of the Okanagan. They make a really mean NV Sparkling Love it. I just recently joined their mailing list, and they had a release for their vintage bubbly and it was sold out within 24hrs. You can not go wrong with that. So I decided from that point once the Pinot Noir Stripe label was released Im buying a case no matter what.

Why The Pinot Noir your asking and not their stripe Chardonnay or Pinot Gris? First of all the Stripe Label is there top label. Ok that being said I've heard a lot of good, and have tried their regular Pinot Noir and its good.

The Stats:
Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Ltd.
Pinot Noir 2006 Reserve [Stripe Label]
13.5% Alc
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan
100% Pinot Noir [17-22 yr/old vines]
yielding 45-50 hl/ha [2.8ton/acre aprox~]
750 Cases Produced for Mailing List and Local Restaurants (Already Sold out on website)
11 Months Maloactic Fermentation In Oak (Doesn't say if new or old)
$38.50 (Mailing List) more like 40-50 at private store 70-90 restaurant

The Look:
Pale Red Colour, Looking like a pinot noir, and they say on their wine makers notes that it was on skin for 15-20 days.

The Nose:
On the Nose you definitely get that old world gamey/fungal action hint of raspberries. but more leaning towards the game/fungal action.

The Taste:
In the mouth smooth but not silky but smooth, The Acid is at a good level that you know will go with food, The first taste is of Dried Sour Cherries, that sweetness you get from dried fruits. The opens up into more fruit of regular cherries and less sour-cherry brand.

Overall/Reflection:
I was much pleased with this wine, I received the tasting notes first and was concerned about 11months in Oak without knowing if they were new or old. Definitely don't get any over oakiness. Not Overly Complex but coming from a young wine region this is definitely one of the best Pinots from Okanagan I have tried to date. I like this, and if your into supporting the Okanagan Wine Region this is one you need to find and try.