An extraordinary culinary experience

I attended a discreet private party last FRI evening organized by Mr Cristian Preotu and Le Manoir, that represented one the most decadent (in the most positive way) culinary and wine-pairing experience I enjoyed so far. The event had Mr Roland Birr as a guest chef that put up a mind blowing 8 hours cooking session called “Grill to Thrill” for almost 12-15 people present at the party. Mr Roland Birr is an international winemaker that produces wines in Languedoc, in Pays de l’Herault, and South Africa, and together with his Swiss company: Vive Group, specialized in events and special activities in the wine business, is touring the world cooking and introducing his wines in a unique pairing experience. Other special events organized by Vive Group are Wine & Spices, Ocean Feast, David & Goliath, Wine meets Chocolate, Meat to Steam. More information can be found here. Another similar event was held by Metro Baneasa on Oct 1st, 2012.

Most of the wines served this evening came from Mr Birr’s properties from France and South Africa: Chateau Capion from pays de l’Herault and Saxenburg in South Africa. On the side we were served for appetizers a very satisfying Champagne Duval Leroy (89/100) that is clean, mineral and full of citrus fruit, with good tension on the palate. I also had an excellent 2004 Deutz Blanc de Blancs Champagne (92/100), delicate and elegant, with plenty of tiny bubbles, hints of vanilla and roasted hazelnuts, long aftertaste and mouth watering acidity.

“Thrill to Grill” was prepared and started 4 h prior to guests arrival when the meat was placed on special barbeque devices brought by Mr Birr so it can be slowly cooked at lower temperature for almost 5-6 hours. Mr Birr’s aim was to prepare authentic food that reminds people of their childhood and the simple things in life. We started the evening with grilled coquelete cut in small pieces and served as finger food. A real treat paired by a fresh rose 2011 Capion Fiona produced by Chateau Capion.

The menu continued with veal carapaccio with fresh marjoram and olive oil produced from the 200 olive trees they have at Saxenburg in South Africa; a hot and spicy salad prepared on a large frying pan with oyster and soy sauce; grilled rack of lamb and the star of the food menu: a huge paella made with prime ingredients: fresh King prawns, chorizzo, baby squid, rabbit, mussels, clams and plenty of other ingredients. I wish I would see similar ingredients used in restaurants that prepare paella.

2011 Chateau Capion Le Colombier (90/100) blanc was served with the veal carapaccio and what a great combination it was. Spending big part of the night outside watching Mr Birr cooking while he was keeping a close eye on the 4 bottles of Colombier to remain untouched, I confess it was a real struggle to touch that wine before the carpaccio was served. I did however manage to have a few sips of the wine as a reward for resisting outside on the cold evening.

2011 Chateau Capion Le Colombier is produced in a limited quantity every year – around 9000 bottles, and is sold based on  allocation to the 58 partners that distribute Capion’s wine all over the world. A blend of Viognier and Roussanne this wine happily combines freshness and creaminess. I enjoyed a lot its pronounced white flowers character, its lemon and pineapple aromas, the mango spiciness on the finish and its freshness.

With Paella, the options of red wines served were more than generous: 2008 Chateau Capion Le Juge (88/100) that comes from 25 years old vines from a plot in one of Languedoc’s Grand Cru’s – Terrasses du Larzac, predominantly Syrah (70%) blended with Grenache and Mourvedre, the wine is serious and is drinking well now. It has structure, soul and a medium long chocolatey finish.

2000 Saxenburg Pinotage Private Collection (91/100) was a superb surprise as the wine shows no signs of aging or being tired. It has a well developed nose, fully open and still on primary (fruity) aromas with beautiful spiciness, structure of smooth and ripe tannins, balanced and a long fresh finish. It is probably the oldest Pinotage I tried so far and I loved it. There was another red wine that I did not get to taste.

To end this Gargantuan dinner, French cheese assortments, chocolate and cigars were served next to a 2000 Graham’s Vintage Port (93/100) that continued to open up in the glass for the rest of the evening. There is abundant richness both on the nose as on the palate for this wine, and it smells and tastes like the chocolate candies filled with dark cherries and rum that I used to eat in my childhood. Long finish, good balance and overall such a great wine. For me, this wine was a very close and personal experience as it had the power to take me back in time and bring back such warm memories.

This type of event that brings together so much passion for cooking and wines, shared by the small group of people present deserves to be promoted, repeated and repeated again so everyone can sample it at least once. Every wine lover should look up for the next time it happens and do whatever it takes to be on the guests list. The question is not whether one will like it, but how ecstatic will one be after.

P.S. Mr Roland Birr will be back on February 10th to cook for a larger group of doctors at the Parliament’s House.

A winey weekend: Puech Haut, La Rioja Alta and more

I had a weekend full of wines. Started on FRI evening with this 2004 Chateau Puech-Haut Tete de Belier rouge that shows extremely well and reminds of a Chateauneuf du pape.

2004 Chateau Puech-Haut Tete de Belier rouge

Deep dark, red garnet color. A well developed and youthful nose, intense, it has the aromatic profile of a quality Chateauneuf du pape. It shows a freshness that I found in a 2004 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape. The nose has Grenache profile written all over it and is filled with liquorice, garrigue, raspberry and red cherry jam, nutmeg and game. Full in the mouth, ripe, structured and balanced, it has serious consistency and flesh, with a long spicy red fruit jam aftertaste. A wine that stays very well on its feet, showing good freshness, flesh and spark. No hurry to drink it on the short term. 14.5% (91/100)

On SAT evening had dinner with a good friend at La Cantine de Nicolai and had a small bottle of Meursault by Drouhin and an old school 1997 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904. The 2006 Joseph Drouhin Meursault from a 0.375 bottle shows a developed nose, with plenty of butter, roasted almonds and richness.

It is the second time I visit La Cantine de Nicolai after almost 2 years. I remember the first time I was there I was eager to try one of their desserts that looked so good on photos. Unfortunately it was not available on that day. It took me 2 years, but I finally got it.

1997 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904

Uncorked, decanted and left it to breath for 30 mins, which was probably not enough but we were really thirsty. Saturated ruby red color with minor brick on the rim. A well developed nose, intense aromas of dill and orange are dominant on the aromatic profile, and, as the wine opens up, cinnamon, bright red fruits and tobacco come out. A wine with great freshness, fresh acidity, structured, balanced, elegant, and a long finish, spicy and fresh. Everything seems to be in the right place with this wine, and at 15 years old, the wine feels ageless, a plateau where it will probably stay for a very long time. I like the freshness and the complexity of a well aged Old School Rioja. (91/100)

We also had a Champagne Duval Leroy Brut Rose (89/100): clean, fresh, mineral, fine bubbles and so easy to drink at Le Manoir’s wine bar near Ateneu and finished the night with a Dessert Stirbey.

SUN was calm and quite, how else could you spend the first day of cold weather and rain of this winter. Cooked at home some fresh pasta with tomato sauce and shrimps that were highly appreciated by my companion. Also tried a 2011 Ceptura Rose by Davino, a deep rose colored wine that sits very well in its price category and delivers. Even if it shows 14.4% alcohol, the wine is balanced, with intense small red berries aromas and some residual sugar that provides body and consistency to its medium finish. This is a rose suitable for this cold weather.

long awaited dessert at La Cantine de Nicolai

Mondavi and Chapoutier

If it’s MON, chances are you might receive a call and get a new invitation to attend a new session with the very special Wine Club. I used to hate MON, but recently I discovered that I started to look forward to it. A call from this club is synonymous with a successful night out.

So here we are: I got invited once again. I did not know what’s going to be served but the surprises were at least very interesting and provided enough material for constructive discussions. We met at Casa di David and I have to say food was exquisite. Matching the wines with the food was smartly picked so the overall experience was flawless.

We had a seafood assortment containing Carpaccio of Dentex, sea-bass, shrimps, octopus and tuna served with a white from Languedoc, pasta with tomatoes and basil with an Australian Shiraz and a juicy magret de canard with a perfectly roasted crunchy skin on the outside with citrus fruit and sweet sauce pairing a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

2010 Chateau Capion Le Colombier Terrasses du Larzac Languedoc

Blend of 65% Viognier and 35% Roussanne. Yellow straw color. A well developed and sweet nose, reminding more of a sweet wine, showing lavish aromas of honey and linden mixed with dried stone fruits. Full, ample and unctuous on the palate, low acidity but still gaining credits by showing richness. Medium plus finish, a bit spicy. (88/100)

The salty flavors of the sea food dish paired extremely well with the sweet aromas of this white wine.

2008 M. Chapoutier Domaine Tournon Lady’s Lane Heathcote-Victoria Shiraz Australia

Decanted and left to breath for almost 2 hours and it still did not open up completely. This is far away from the unpleasant Australian fruit bombs. Deep red color. The nose is well developed and tempered, but showing good complexity and depth. It is ripe but there is more than just fruit behind it. Full bodied, rich and powerful, well balanced, the wine remains velvety on the palate, with sweet ripe tannins that feel completely integrated and flavors of dried figs, liquorice, black pepper, blackberry and bilberry jams. The finish is long with spicy, pure blackberry essence. The wine is big but it is elegant and well contained. 14.5% (90-91/100)

It paired pretty well with the pasta dish.

2008 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley

This one was decanted and left to breath for about 2h and a half. Opaque, deep red-purple color. This is an absolutely amazing wine. It has 15.5% alcohol, but it is perfectly balanced and you wouldn’t guess the high level.

A well developed, intense, elegant and complex nose, it has depth and it shows layers as it opens up. The aromatic profile shows sweet cassis, liquorice, smoke, leather, prunes, bilberry, cedar and sandalwood. Remarkably well structured, balanced, rich and elegant, this full bodied wine displays intense flavors complexity, which makes it rather difficult to describe, but it is the reason why it is a success. It is rich in tannin and from the first sip you can feel it is a manly wine, supple, showing distinguished flavors of prunes, blackberry, cedar and dark chocolate. The finish is long and rich. A wine that is perfectly enjoyable as it is now, but also with tremendous aging potential; it can evolve further and develop even more complexities. 15.5% (93/100)

It matched very well the duck breast’s juiciness, while the sweet sauce brought freshness to this wine.

Have I mentioned I love some MONDAY’s ?

1990 Chateau Beau Sejour Becot & 2000 Mas de Daumas Gassac

It is still a warm autumn in Bucharest, yesterday we had around 20-22 Celsius degrees and it was probably the last weekend this season when we could stay outside in the yard and enjoy a home cooked lunch. As I haven’t had a burger in a while and the topic came into a discussion with a friend this week I decided to prepare my own and invite him over for a complete cooking session.

I lowered the amount of meat I am eating for some time already – and already lost about 5 kilos so, to keep up the same spirit, we prepared a low fat beef and turkey burger greased just with some mild amount of goose fat. We went through the whole process of mincing the meat ourselves and then spiced it up with salt, pepper, sweet dry red bell pepper powder, minced fresh garlic and finely cut red onion, greased with 3 small table spoons of goose fat for almost 2 kilos of meat. The final blend resembled more sausage aromas than a regular burger due to the garlic and red onion.

Prepared a barbecue outside and we grilled the burgers on a low fire for about 15 minutes enough to still preserve some juices on the inside. Used some slices of home baked bread, that you usually find on the country side if you still have relatives there, toasted a little bit on the grill. Put some home pickled cucumbers, onions, ketchup and green salad and: Boy, were they good !! Could not stop only after the third burger was gone in my belly and I was completely full.

During the whole cooking we had a very nice dry Italian sparkling: 2007 Millesimato Contrato, just to warm up the spirits.

The wine pairing was a classic that proved to be a happy choice. Happy in the sense that the wine was so good that it did not actually need any pairing and it simply shinned, just like gold in the mud, by itself. Uncorked the wine and left it to slowly aerate in the bottle for about 1h 30 min.

1990 Chateau Beau Sejour Becot St-Emilion Grand Cru

1990 was a stellar vintage in Bordeaux, it was a combination of both a larger crop and excellent quality. Most of the wines are maturing and a pleasure to drink now, while the Premier Grand Cru’s will still benefit from further aging in the bottle. Chateau Beau Sejour Becot saw a huge increase in quality over the last decade, the 2006 bottling being highly acclaimed by the Decanter tasting panel.

The 1990 has a beautiful deep ruby red color with no signs of being tired. From the first moment you uncork the wine the fruit manifests its presence grandly – for a wine at the age of 22, and the bouquet seduces you. The nose is well developed, really intense, maturing and exhibits refreshing aromas of fully ripe red and yellow apples (the same aromas you get after you peel off the apples), sea weed – saline aroma, smoke, a layer of black currant and cassis, black cherry, coffee, tobacco and tea leaves. Medium to full bodied, the texture is seamless, the tannins perfectly blended, the acidity is top notch and together with the left over tannins create a structure that will keep this wine on tip top conditions for longer time. The flavors of coffee in different levels of roasting and preparation mixed with delicate sweet fruit produce a very pleasant sensation on the palate. The finish is long, fresh, showing the same delicate red fruit and coffee flavors. This is a very nice wine, maturing, but still young, preserving the fruit very well and a great testament that older Bordeaux can be sometimes dead gorgeous and you do not have to pay big money for it. 12.5% (92/100 for the wine and 93/100 for the over all experience)

We had another wine after the 1990 Bordeaux and I initially intended to mention it in a separate post, but I believe it is worth mentioning here just to make parallels with the older red.

2000 Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge Vin de Pays de l’Herault

This is another great classic of the Languedoc and a pioneer for quality driven wines. I already tasted a 1998 Mas de Daumas Gassac that I enjoyed a lot in the recent past. This is a typical 80% Cabernet Sauvignon blend, the rest being other 8 different grape varieties. The wine was not decanted, and perhaps that was not the best move, and did not breath more than 30 min. When the wine is good the sipping happens at a quicker pace.

The 2000 vintage was excellent almost everywhere in France. The color is dark red, almost garnet and, again, young and missing any signs of age. The bouquet is well developed, intense, young and still developing. The initial nose exhibits an unusual, but nice aroma, of freshly baked and just taken from the oven Christmas cake, a sensation of warm dough crust mixed with hints of vanilla and ripe cherries. As it aerates, it shows more Cab Sauv typicality, with black currant, hot minerals, dry red bell peppers, spices, but overall it remains a classic wine. Fuller body in the mouth, the tannins show more nerve and grip, well structured, balanced, with plenty of fruit, black tea, spices, always following a classic style. The finish is slightly shorter than the 1990 Beau Sejour Becot, but still medium plus long, with assertive tannins. There is a tremendous aging potential for this wine, it will probably need at least 3-4 more years for the tannins to loosen up that grip. However, the wine is very good already. It will easily match the present age of the 1990 Beau Sejour Becot. (90-91/100)

Both wines have a lot of sediment, so be careful when you pour the last drops. This was both a great academic exercise and a fully rewarding drinking experience. It was a good Sunday.

2000 Domaine de Ravanes Les Gravieres du Taurou Grande Reserve

Coming from the Languedoc region, the 1999 Gravieres du Taurou, a Merlot based wine, stole the show in a blind tasting in 2004 by scoring higher than a Petrus 1999. Les Gravieres du Taurou 2000 is a blend of Merlot and Petit Verdot with a small part of Cabernet Sauvignon.

2000 Domaine de Ravanes Les Gravieres du Taurou Grande Reserve

Had the wine from a Magnum. Uncorked the wine, decanted and left it to breath for almost 2 h. From the get go the wine shows an intense, rich and layered bouquet. It exhibit, initially, a slightly metallic flavor on the palate on the first pour, but after almost 2 h in the decanter, the wine loses any unpleasant odors and shows beautiful ripe blue and red fruits, vanilla (even at this age), game, spices and tobacco. Really dense, structured and well balanced (14.5% alc), it has a healthy backbone of ripe tannins, great richness on the palate and an ample mouth feel. The finish is long, spicy and lingering. There is no rush to uncork this wine – at least not from a Magnum, as the wine has a long life ahead and more room for evolution. This is a big wine that impresses not based on elegance, but more by being powerful and balanced at the same time. (92/100)