TNs--evening with Tim--Muga Rose, 14 Kutch McDougall, 12 Bedrock Heritage, 09 Rayne Vigneau

Tran and I popped over to Tim Burnett’s house for a casual Wednesday night dinner. Tim made simple but delicious salmon steaks for us and we added salad and “donut couture” from Von’s here in Toronto.

I don’t remember the vintage of the Muga Rose but assume it was current. Nothing bad but nothing exceptional here, it has requisite tartness and freshness to be enjoyed on a warm summer’s evening, but nothing makes you want to buy more.

2014 Kutch McDougall PN

I gave this about 7 hours’ Audouzing and that still appears to not have been enough. Right now, the nose outpaces the palate—enticing herbs and cherry/berry combination there, but to taste it remains very robust and structured—so much so that I do wonder whether the fruit will fully catch up to bring into balance. No matter what, leave yours alone, for at least 3 years. I happily have 3 more bottles to track evolution here. No question about strong bones—just am anxious to see what that turns into.

2012 Bedrock Heritage Red

Pretty opposite here, solid blast of blue and purple fruit in the nuzzie is replicated on the palate with plums, sweet boysenberry and blueberry all having a say. It’s lost no energy at all for being 7 years old. Plush, but in an enough-controlled way, I did like this bottle too.

2009 Chateau Rayne-Vigneau

Had not had this iteration yet, thanks to Tran for the bring. Popped and poured, which is not my usual with any Sauternes. This is clearly still a youngling, but it does have the exuberant character of this vintage. Botrytis is still present, but an accent to the luscious scents and tastes of mango, apricot, citrus and pineapple. Plenty going on here and, for me, richer than the normal house style.

Haere Ra,

Mike

Bah! This deficient report does absolutely no justice to the very fine evening of food and wine at our American expat compatriot’s humble abode! It falls yet again upon my weary shoulders to provide the photojournalistic truth in the same manner that J. Jonah Jameson reports the truth on Spider-Man.

The first wine choice was fun as Tim gave me a Sophie’s Choice decision between the Muga 2018 Rioja Rosado and the Pearl Morissette 2017 Irreverence. The latter is a cuvée of Ontario Riesling, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer while the former is blend of 60 % Garnacha, 30% Viura and 10% Tempranillo. Against my own better judgement, I went with the Rosado despite being far, far too manly to drink pink wine. Turned out to be a good choice on this warm August evening.

MUGA 2018 RIOJA ROSADO – Light salmon pink in the glass. White cranberry fruit on the nose. White cranberry and watermelon on the palate with slight tannic grip and slight phenolics. A perfectly good Rosé for a warm evening.

KUTCH 2014 MCDOUGALL RANCH PINOT NOIR – Strong and sweet red fruit nose with high heat and pencil lead/cedar. Dry raspberry fruit flavor, strong tannin, a touch penolics, sweet and supple tannins. This is super smooth on the palate and right now it’s all about structure. This is going to age very well. Was absolutely superb with the salmon as it smoothed out even more on the texture.

INTERMEZZE – GIN AND TONIC: Tim had earlier offered me a gin and tonic cocktail but I wasn’t up for a full cocktail before wine and dinner. Besides, I am far too manly to drink girly cocktails. However, because I was really curious to try, at this stage I mixed myself a very small 1/4 glass of G & T . I’m not a gin guy at all, but once mixed with the tonic syrup and club soda it made for a great drink. Any further cocktail exploration this summer will be with Brandy Old Fashioneds and Sidecars. Baby steps, Berserkers, baby steps.

Tim got to play Sophie’s Choice next with his own red selections, the Bedrock 2012 Heritage Zinfandel blend and the Patricia Green Cellars 2013 Pinot Noir. He went with the Bedrock.

BEDROCK 2012 HERITAGE – 55% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, and the rest being a whackload of other cofermented red grapes. This is a really rich wine. Loads of strawberry and ripe plum flavors, sweet tannins and a smooth texture. Also really good with the salmon.

CHATEAU DE RAYNE VIGNEAU 2009 SAUTERNES – My dessert wine contrib was the Chateau de Rayne Vigneau 2009 Sauternes. Every report on the 09 vintage says they are ripe and powerful and full of botrytis and complexity and this proved to be absolutely correct. Rich smoke and vanilla on the nose; candied lemon, caramel, buckwheat honey and vanilla custard flavors intertwine into a heady and long sweet finish. I was literally still tasting my last sip as we were driving back home in Mike’s car. It was almost too rich, Tim noted it needed air and poured it out of the dessert wine copita into his regular wine glass and gave it a swirl. I had fortunately used my regular wine glass from teh start. Mike called this both exuberant and lucious. Great way to finish and fun match for the upscale doughnuts.

For dinner, we started off with pretzel chips and assorted cheeses, including an aged Wisconsin cheddar transported directly from Wisconsin itself by Tim as well as a baked Brie and some green grapes.


For dinner, Tim marinated some fresh salmon with soy, horeseradish and mustard and then did an indirect grill in a tin foil basket. Now, the normal rule of thumb is that red wine and salmon are a complete no-no as a match unless you actually enjoy a strange metallic taste in your mouth. However, the umami-rich marinade complemented and softened the sweet salmon flesh to render this a non-issue. Further, it went stunningly well with both the Kutch and the Bedrock making them even smoother on the palate. Impressive match.

At this point during the meal, Tim showed us a neat trick to give a red wine a soft chill without diluting it. He rubbed an ice cube on the outside of the glass bowl.

I made some panzanella salad with orange balsamic dressing to go with the fish. Not a good match with the reds IMHO but that wasn’t the point of it. It was more to balance the meal nutritionally and clean out the palate between the fish and the wine.

For dessert, Michael brought some upscale gourmet donuts from Von Doughnuts. The Sangria doughnut turned out to be the best one, besting even the Créme Brulée, Macaroon, Caramel Salt ‘n’ Pepa and Triple Chocolate doughnuts in a major upset.

Great to get together during a school night for some food and drink. Until the next gathering!