Ch Lynch-Moussas 2007

Amongst the classified growths of Bordeaux, Chateau Lynch Moussas is relatively unknown. I remember tasting it once before and I found from searching this blog that it was the 2010 vintage that I tasted three years ago. I had tasted the 2007 vintage the other day and it displayed typical Pauillac character. A deep ruby in colour, the nose was fruity with berry notes accompanied by a certain leafy greenness. Giving an impression of being a smidgeon diluted, the palate was full of plum and black fruit notes, still accompanied by leafiness and some tannins. The back bone was a mix of acid and tannin.

Wine for beef "sashimi"?

Sashimi is normally reserved for raw fish but someone ordered this beef sashimi the other day. Now rare beef is good with young tannic reds, but how about when it is raw, when the juices are not yet flowing. Given that we have raw beef dishes like beef tartare, this is not entirely an irrelevant question. One possibility was given in an earlier blog entry about how well Dom Perignon went with venison seared on the outside but basically raw inside (somewhat like tuna tataki). We had two young clarets from 2011 that evening on hand, Ch Magdelaine and Ch Pontet-Carnet, and both of them matched the dish like a treat. I have great reservations about using condiment when having food with wine. However the Ponzu sauce that is visible in the picture did not mar the matching at all; perhaps its citrus tang is what makes it wine friendly.

El Sentido de La Vida 2012

We tasted this interesting wine from Spain at dinner the other night. A Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, it was an organic Petit Verdot with a smidgeon of Cabernet Sauvignon (10%). Now Petit Verdot is generally a minor player in Bordeaux blend, from the eponymous region or from elsewhere and it is rare to find it being the star of the show. Wine labelling law being what they are, it seems that it is legal to label this wine in the EU as a Petit Verdot varietal.

The wine was a deep ruby with a warm woody fruity acid nose. The palate was off dry with red fruit acid and wood, well supported by an acid woody backbone.

A Chablis Tasting

We went to this tasting at a wine shop the other day. The promotion is for the whole month but not all the shops present all the listed wines for tasting. In the end , there were 6 Chablis wines which were tasted, from village right up to Grand Cru. Being Chablis, they all showed different degrees of acid and minerality, three of the six showed some degree of fishiness on the nose. Four of them showed a hint of astringency, reminiscent of grape skins, but not at all like tannins. The three Premier Crus showed their different characters, and the Grand Cru was rich with a touch of fruit. Who says Chablis was all alike?