Wines of the Week (sort of)

Hello, everybody, and welcome again to Cèpage et Cuisine, Mary’s and Brian’s wine and food blog.  Today, we’re describing a couple of wines, the next installment of our unofficial wine(s) of the week.  These two wines are readily available, good values, and are versatile with food.

Sauvignon Blanc is hugely popular as an easy, not-too-expensive white wine.  Not usually complex, its racy acidity, citrus, and herbal grassiness make it an ideal wine for summer.  It is not summertime, obviously, but Mary and I have shellfish or flaky white fish such as tilapia, halibut, sea bass or something similar a couple of times a week.  Sauvignon Blanc is a terrific pairing for everyday cooking with light seafood or poultry.

Like many varietals, Sauvignon Blanc yields to the hand of the winemaker and is influenced by location.  In my experience, there are predictable flavor profile differences between, say, New Zealand, California, and the Loire Valley of France.  As long as it is not too gussied up with oak, I really prefer California Sauvignon Blanc.  It is not too fancy, but has just what I mentioned above…good acidity for food friendliness and delicious citrus and herbal aromas and flavors.

St. Supéry Vineyards and Winery is in the heart of Napa Valley, right on Highway 29 in Rutherford.  They specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.  What I especially like about their style of this varietal is that it is completely oak-free.  It is fermented and stored in stainless steel tanks until bottling, so the consumer is getting the grape in all its glory.  Here are my notes on this wine.

St. Supéry Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2008.  This is not a highly complex or ponderous wine.  It is just delicious with a plate of light fare, such as the paneed tilapia over lentils and carrots we enjoyed.  It is classic in its nose and palate of Sauvignon Blanc with white grapefruit and lemon citrus, grassy herbaceousness, and mineral notes.  The palate shows tangy, clean acidity on a light-bodied frame with the same citrus, herb, and perhaps a little bit of tropical fruit such as kiwi or lime citrus.  This particular version had a softness or roundness that makes me think it had a little neutral oak treatment, but the St. Supéry technical information at their website says it was all stainless steel.  It was beautifully balanced, modestly complex, with medium length.  It is an excellent example of a high quality California Sauvignon Blanc, a little different from other regions that produce this wine, and that's as it should be.  13.9% alcohol.  We paid $18 for this wine at Briarwood Wines in Jackson.  It is widely available.

The next wine is from a region that might not be familiar to many wine drinkers.  Cahors is an appellation in southwest France, southeast of Bordeaux.  The principal red grape of Cahors is Malbec.  Nowadays, we often associate Malbec with Argentina, but Malbec is actually one of the five traditional Bordeaux red grapes, the others being Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.  As is often the case when contrasting New World and Old World wines, the Malbec of Argentina is big, juicy, often quite ripe, and high in alcohol when contrasted with Malbec from Cahors.  It is a powerful and intensely dark wine, to be sure, but it retains balance and a degree of elegance in Cahors.  It is all a matter of preference, but personally, I prefer the restraint, balance, and food friendliness of this version of Malbec.  I think this wine would pair nicely with a wide variety of food.  We paired it with grilled chops with tomato bruschetta topping, garlic spinach, and garden peas (called crowder peas here in the South…Mary’s not wild about them).  A small plat du fromage of sliced Manchego from Spain for dessert was delightful with the wine.

By coincidence, a wonderful video that presents the wine, the food, the geography, and culture of Cahors has been posted to a terrific website on wine, Grape Radio.  Go to http://www.graperadio.com/ to view The Scent of Black.  I think you will find it interesting and enjoyable. 

This particular producer includes a dollop of Merlot to add fleshiness and complexity.  Here are my notes on the wine.

Clos la Coutale Cahors 2008.  This turned out to be delightful and a good value.  My brother brought a bottle to a family gathering last Labor Day and I remember being impressed by it.  I had seen it at Briarwood and kept thinking I should try it, but hadn't gotten around to it.  With decanting in the glass for a bit over half an hour, it evolved quickly from mostly briary fruit and licorice to also reveal a sort of underbrush character, perhaps sage and thyme, perhaps flowers, not sure.  The palate showed medium body, smooth texture, and good acidity, nicely balanced and was very approachable, even in its youth.  Bright red cherry, red and dark berries, the same herbal characteristics were all present.  Balanced, moderately complex, medium in length, a delicious wine we both enjoyed and will drink again.  80% Malbec, 20% Merlot, 13.0% alcohol.  We paid $19 at Briarwood Wines in Jackson.  Considering my brother in Chattanooga brought it to our Labor Day event and I also saw it here in Jackson, it must be readily available.

That’s our post for today.  We hope it is interesting to you.  Check back for more posts at Cèpage et Cuisine.

Cheers!

Brian♥Mary