Celebrated my mid-twenties birthday and figured I finally make a Berserker account and join the community! My deep interest in wine is quite new so bare with me with the tasting notes.
Started off with a white Rhone blend from California from Bonny Doon paired with a serrano ham wrapped in basil leaves, melon, and topped with a barrel aged black current balsamic vinegar.
The 2017 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Blanc, was rich in body while having the acidity to be refreshing. If I were to describe this wine with one word I would use “salt”… not the most appetizing term, but this really reminded me of saline with notes of peach and with the richness similar to a village-level white burgundy.
Forgot to snap a picture during the dinner, so I found this one I took when I got the bottle
I have really come to enjoy red Rioja with the acidity, age on release (especially grand reserva’s) and American oak (when not too heavy). I keep seeing the tastings done with Lopez De Heredia from other members and figured that I should really try this traditional and highly regarded producer. As such I opened a bottle of 2010 Lopez De Heredia vina Tondonia Reserva. This bottle was paired with a homemade steak stroganoff and fresh egg pasta I made from scratch.
At first there was very little on the nose even after 30 mins of a decant, maybe just a whiff of dried cheery and some oak. I then double decanted the wine and waited another 2 hours, the bouquet was bigger but still not extremely noticeable. After the decant and the waiting, the mouth feel was high acid, grippy tannins, and a long finish. The palate (which I thought was more developed relative to the aroma) consisted of dried cherries, dry rose petals, with a hint of oak and a lot of structure. As I am writing this, I wonder if I just opened the bottle way too early and it was just extremely closed? I read several cellar tracker notes and it seems that I experienced something completely different. Hopefully the remaining bottles I have will be better after a decade or two… However, the big structure of the wine and high acid did go well with the rich stroganoff.
For dessert, I decided to try a young sauternes (first time for a young one). In the past I was lucky to taste some aged sauternes and was not exactly sure what I would be expecting when they are young… I have now come to realize that I really love sauternes both young and aged!
The 2017 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes was wonderful with cheese cake. The nose was complex (almost too much for me to decipher), with notes of orange peels, orange marmalade, and even faint aromas of apricots. The palate was very similar to the nose with extreme power but finesse at the very long finish with great acidity to balance out the sweetness. When trying to compare the old Sauternes to this young bottle, I feel that the older ones definitely have more apricot and honey notes.
Overall, I thought this was a great night with good food, company, and of course wine!
Cheers!
