TN: Assorted - Loire, Mosel, Napa, Rhone, Bordeaux, Napa

[Ramon_NYC]

Cassoulet dinner wines with Ronnie, Ren and Irene
01/14/2012

Ren and Irene will be moving back home, to the Bay Area, after living in NYC during the last 3 years. They're not hard core wine geeks, but always seem to come up with fun eclectic mix of wines during our no-theme wine dinners that we've done over the years. We will look forward to getting together at some point in either of the coasts.

For this dinner, I attempted to make a cassoulet using D'Artagnan's recipe and kit that included the Tarbais beans, 6 duck confit, Ventreche, Duck and Armagnac sausages and French garlic sausages. Using Marina's heavy Le Creuset casserole to cook with, I got some positive comments from the guests on my first cassoulet attempt and am encouraged to go for my second attempt at some future point.


The whites:

2010 Marc Olivier 'Les Gras Moutons' Muscadet Sevre et Maine (Loire Valley)
An easy, relaxing Muscadet with soft steely notes in a light bodied frame. Citrus abounds in a nice balanced manner. Not the most complex, but I'll be looking out for this come warmer weather. B

2010 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett (Mosel)
My take on what a classic-styled young kabinett would be. Mineral with the deft touch of residual sugar that accomplishes 2 things: refreshes the sensation and enlivens the taste buds for our appetizers of Portuguese sausages (thanks to Ron) and our salad dish of mixed greens with light Balsamic vinaigrette dressing. High in acidity, the Riesling can likely benefit with a few more cellar years, but was drinking adequately well for tonight. B+

The Reds

1989 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CdP)
Purplish with hues of magenta near the rim. The cork slid out in one piece with only the bottom half showing soaked. The VA on the nose not as pronounced as a Beaucastel or a Clos des Papes from the same vintage showed recently, and this one was classically complemented by garrique, leather and some fresh meat. With resolved tannin, the nicely layered red and blue berries were very pleasant to the taste buds and the wine married well with the cassoulet. I have a last bottle which I hope can replicate this one and which I plan to drink in 2 years time. A very nice mature CdP. A-

2002 Viader Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa)
I only can recall having tasted a Viader when I used to live in the Bay Area in the late 90s. I wished now that I had made more effort to drink more wines by this producer. This bottle showed how lean, tightly muscled and not over-the-top California cabernet can be pleasurable. There were good ripe fruit, but not dominating the good balance. Good length. My thanks to Ren. B+

1996 La Granja Nuestra Denora de Remelluri Rioja (La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja)
I had wanted to try a tempranillo-based wine with cassoulet and I happen to have a Remelluri, one of my preferred Rioja producers, handy. With plenty of ripe and juicy dark fruit, this medium-bodied wine just about tilted to the traditional side of the Rioja style. The nose was quite complex with wood, leather and baked confection. A nice food wine, but imho would be better with a hearty Callos a la Madrilena. If I had more, I'd be drinking up sooner rather than later. B+

2004 St. Exupery Elu Napa Valley Red Meritage (Napa)
A rich modern style with heavy dose of ripe sweet fruit. The bottle that expressed its alcohol level more than the others did tonight. Just a bit too much of a wine for my style. C

1979 Ch. La Lagune, Haut Medoc (Bordeaux)
I wanted to try and end on a more positive wine note, and so I decided to pull this bottle. With cork sliding out without any issue and a quick sniff showing the telltale aged Bordeaux bouquet of leather, cigar and some herb, this Cabernet-heavy Medoc was more like the solid reliable friend that nicely-anchored the lineup of wines we had. Subtle but ripe fruit with a slight green vegetable note that I like and fully resolved tannin, balanced out this fine medium-bodied effort. Nothing spectacular, but simply presented itself as the cool, calm, winding-down, relaxing wine. B+