Southern Rhône Wine Dinner 14/04/12

It was a saturday night. Spirits & expectations were high. I was bringing in wines to show to a group of my sisters' friends who are wine & food lovers. Two wines was paired with each dish. I am a big fan of 2 wine pairings with a meal to give people a chance to compare two different wines side by side and experiment for themselves which goes better with the food. It gives them a point of reference and also more fun, more drunk. In addition, different elements on the dish can go better with each wine. My sister cooked all the meals.

First Course: Red bell peppers stuffed with couscous and shaved iberico ham.
Wines: 1) Elodíe Balme 2010 Côte du Rhône, grenache syrah carignan 14.5% unfiltered& 2) Elodíe Balme 2010 Côte du Rhône, "Champs libres", Roaix village, Grenache. Mourvèdre 14.5% Both wines cannot be bought in Singapore. Elodie is a young and talented winemaker based in Rasteau.
Wine 1 had aromas of toasted strawberries, roasted capsicum, pepperoni and oregano fading to a more prunish nose. Flavours of dark aniseed with a firm structure. There was bitterness in the  back that faded away eventually. Brilliant with the food.
Wine 2 was meaty and exotic. It smelled of coriander, soya sauce used for steamed fish and then sweet sarsi. Flavours of strawberries, cherries, chestnuts and a nice chalky texture.

Second Course: Pan-roasted Lamb with Ratatouille.
Wines: 3) Le pointu 2007 Chateaunuef-du-Pape, "Cléments", 15% & 4) Domaine les Goubert, 2004 Gigondas, "cuvée Florence" 2004,14.5%
CDP means the pope's new castle and gigondas means the land of joy. Although seperated by a river, both produce wines with the same grapes. The soils are different as Gigondas has more schisty limestone than CDP. Le Pointu is not found in Singapore but Domaine les Goubert is carried here.
Wine 3 had a nose of roasted tomatoes on its stalks and later developed to a honeyed and light confectionary aroma with hints of floral. Flavours of coffee, honey and well integrated acid shines through to a rasin finish.
Wine 4 had a nose of coffee, truffle, and mineral. Its flavours were pronounced and powerful, savoury, meaty, soft, silky tannins, finishing with a big burst of flavours in the end. Some did not find this wine smooth because I did not decant this wine to get rid of the sediments, giving the wine a gritty texture. Note to self: Decant if it is an old wine with sediments. Don't be lazy! I was told wine 3 went better with the Ratatouille and the wine 4 with the lamb.

Third Course: A platter of goat cheese, saint nectar, and beemster with dried apricots and chocolate truffles.
Wines: 5) Domaine Faverot 2005 cotes du luberons, cuvée du général 14% & 6) Clonakilla 2009, Canberra, Shiraz viognier, 14%Domaine Faverot is not available in Singapore. The last wine was not French but Australian using the Northern Rhone style. It is available in Singapore.
Wine 5 was earthy and full of redcurrants. It reminded me of dark chinese herbs and cloves.
Wine 6 had aromas of ginger, oak, rose water, and red candied cherries. The palate had some jasmine characters, white pepper, tints of coffee and cedar. A very long length with an apricot finish. However, I felt the 2008 was better as the wine lasted longer with the oxygen compared to this one. After an hour, it was a skeleton with little flavour but charry oak.

It was good night ending on a high note. Everyone was pleased with the wines and the food. As for me, I enjoyed all the wines except the Clonakilla. It was a letdown because I know it can do better. 2009 was an extremely hot year with heat waves that produced low acid. I suppose that has to be accounted for but with a cool climate like Canberra, it is beneficial for them to give riper grapes aka more flavour. It was expected to be better than 2008! What happened?

*I am sorry that I went over the 5 minutes of promised reading time. But this rule is excluded for events.