Anerican Wines with Food

[bills]

Notes from a wine dinner at a local restaurant.

With ahi tuna served rare on cucumber salads with blood orange vinaigrette:

Blue Mountain Brut Rosé – a BC bubbly that was quite presentable, showing some colour with fine mousse, perhaps a very slight bit of RS but balanced by good acidity.

With carpaccio of marinated portobello mushrooms with roasted garlic aioli:

2001 Zefina ‘Serience’ Grenache Syrah Mourvedre (Columbia Valley – this Washington state Rhone clone had a full cocoa and vanilla nose – lots of oak, but had decent fruit and was overall pleasant drinking for the non-quercophobes. Fool you into thinking you were drinking a Chateauneuf….uh, no.

With halibut cheeks with basil pesto:

2004 Seven Hills Viognier – I hadn’t tasted this producer’s whites before although I have had quite a few of their reeds over the years. Located in the Columbia Valley, they make good cabs and merlots but have been expanding their repertoire to include this iwne, Malbec, and a number of whites and blends. The Viognier had a vanilla lemon nose, perhaps a hint of honeysuckle, and was soft and clean. I prefer the crisper versions made by people like La Frenz in BC.

With mussels and chanterelles with frites:

2003 Dom. Drouhin ‘Arthur’ Chardonnay (Willamette Valley) - one knew instantly that this was NOT your average American Chard. – it hadn’t been marinated in oak! Buttery nose, with nuts and a bit of peach/citrus, fairly full in the mouth with good length. Rather Burgundian, as no doubt intended.

2000 Dom. Serene Evansted Reserve Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley) – interesting contrast – you could tell instantly that this was NOT a red Burgundy. Nice dark cherry nose, sweet and long, drinking well now with the tannins resolved.

With roasted pheasant breast on chevre and pine nut risotto topped with seared foie gras:

2002 Dominus Napanook – a very nice almost Bordeaux style of nose with chocolate and cherries, fairly big in the mouth with a fair bit if extract, middle length and a slight astringence at the end, but also the characteristic American sweetness. Very nise.

With duck ravioli:

2002 Signorello Seta – this sem-sauv blend presented as always – fairly Bordeaux in style, less oak than the 03, good acidity. Competent but not exciting.

With espresso and cocoa crusted venison loin with sour cherry reduction:

2000 J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet – as always, this wine was sweet fruit up front, and little tannin present. Forward, big and friendly like a happy puppy.

With sablefish with maple roasted garlic cream and butternut squash gnocchi:

2000 J. Lohr Arroyo Vista Chardonnay (Arroyo Seco) – (I think that was the vintage) – showing some age in the nose, in a good way, with some interesting appley things happening behind the oak. A big typical oaky Cal-chard with good acidity.

With cheese:

Bonterra Estate Organic Muscat – not bad varietal nose, and moderate residual sugar, but for me the wine came off as middle of the road without the charm of a lighter Moscato d’Asti, and without the interest of a slightly sweeter dessert Muscat. To each his own.