Neither rain nor snow, nor hail or sleet could ultimately keep eleven avid winetasters from enjoying a holiday meal paired with a range of Bordeaux wines!  We did have to reschedule due to a raging snow storm but it was worth the wait!

We started with sparkling wine with our finger food appetizers.  We sampled 5 bordeaux wines, 4 from the right bank that were predominantly merlot grape blended with cabernet sauvignon and 1 from the left bank which was predominantly cabernet sauvignon blended with merlot.  Prices ranged from $18.95 to $43.95 and vintages ranged from 2009 to 2012.  A Late Bottled Vintage Port rounded out the dessert course.

All the non-sparkling wines were allowed to breathe at least 2 hours before serving.

You can follow the detail below but in a nutshell the results were the 2009 and 2010 bordeaux were preferred probably because they had had more cellar time. There were some wonderful examples among the younger wines but they need more time in order to fully appreciate them.  My tasting notes are telling me to buy the preferred and still lay them down for a few more years.

Preferred Overall -  Ch Larose Perganson  2009 Haut Medoc (365783 $36.95) 

Tied for 2nd place - Ch Siaurac Laland de Pomerol 2010 (309831  $43.95) and  Ch Pipeau 2012 St. Emilion (302018 $37.95)

3rd place - Chateau du  Bois Chantant 2012  (421206 $18.95)

Appetizer course

Everyone was greeted with a glass of bubbly. Appetizers were a selection of rustic breads, sausage and hummus.

The Wolfberger Cremant D'alsace Brut (460832  $18.95) is lively, clean, light  sparkling, well worth the money.  This wine was dry enough that it actually benefited from a bit of food with it.  Salty chips would pair well.

The Angel's Gate 2008 Pinot Noir Rosé  Archangel (203034 $25.00) was a beautiful deep salmon color, a little off-dry with a very fine fizz and stone fruits on the palate.  This was a lovely sipper on its own.

Preferences on the choice of sparkling split based on personal taste.  The Crémant was drier, higher acid and worked well with food.  The Pinot Noir Rosé was sweeter, fruitier and didn't need any food to soften it.

Soup Course

We sampled 2 entry level bordeaux with this course. Both would benefit from a few more years of cellaring.  Sampled on their own the acids and tannins were a bit overwhelming but both of those issues were tamed by the Cream of Mushroom soup. Enjoyment of both improved immensely with the food.

Chateau Maquin Saint George 2012  (468371 $19.95) 

The nose on this was leathery with a touch of mustiness, eventually giving way to raspberry notes. There was a touch of greeness on the palate with medium tannins and a short finish.

and

Chateau du  Bois Chantant 2012  (421206 $18.95) Preferred

There was a bit of smoke and graphite on the nose of this one, in a good way! Acid and tannins still obvious on the palate but countered by a pleasant leather and smokiness. Full bodied and given a couple more years of cellaring a fantastic value.

Salad Course

We served a simple green salad with 'pickled' red onion and a vinaigrette. The salad was light and refreshing in itself but did not have the weight to stand up to the wines.  So we defaulted to consuming the salad and then happily gave our attention to sampling the wines!

Ch Pipeau 2012 St. Emilion (302018 $37.95)

This had a lovely leathery smoky nose.  Its youth was evident in the still firm tannins. Would benefit from more cellar time and a stronger food pairing like beef or cheeses.

Ch Siaurac Laland de Pomerol 2010 (309831  $43.95)

This had an amazing nose of black licorice giving way to a hint of mint. Smokey and smooth on the palate. A very nice well balanced wine.  (This was my personal favourite!)

Main Course

We saved the left bank cabernet sauvignon driven bordeaux to go with the meat course.  We served Tourtière Maison  and roasted root vegetables similar to Root Vegetable Timbales with Brown Sage Butter.

Ch Larose Perganson  2009 Haut Medoc (365783 $36.95)

The nose on this was surprisingly 'uneventful' but it was beautiful on the  palate. It is a lovely, smooth,  full bodied wine. The finish is long and complex.

Dessert

The last course was a Gluten Free Chocolate Cake. This was perfect to pair with the full bodied port below.

Pocas Jr. Late Bottled Vintage Port 2009 (642058 $25.98) (Recommended)

This is a very high alcohol port so there is a initial touch of burning on the nose and palate. However the fig and fruit that comes through is very pleasant. A wonderful after supper sipper!