Wine School–Bordeaux Reds, September 24, 2013

Theme:

This was our first "premium" wine class.  We decided to taste higher priced wines every third wine class, in order to expand our repertoire.  We love finding great value wines, but, in order to truly be able to discuss a broad range of wines, we decided that increasing our budget every so often, would be better for our readers (and for us!)  So, I thought red Bordeaux wines would be the perfect fit for our inaugural premium wine class.

The Wines:

Château Teyssier Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2009

• Color:  Purple with a hint of brown.
• Nose:  The earthiness is quite apparent on the nose, like wet, fallen leaves. A bit of cassis as it opens up.
• Mouth:  The tannins really pop in this wine. Definitely more acidity in this wine verses California Cabs that we are familiar with drinking. Wine was a bit young and tight. Would recommend opening well in advance and decanting. Definitely a wine better enjoyed with food.
• Price $38

 Château Tauzinat L’Hermitage 2009

• Color:  Brick red with brown undertones
• Nose:  Another earthy nose with tobacco and a hint of pepper. There is a lot going on with this nose!
• Mouth:  Pepper on the long finish with more subtle tannins than the first wine. The body is a bit lighter as well.
• Price:  $39.99

Château Brown 2009

• Color:  Deep, inky purple
• Nose:  More fruit on this nose with definite dark berries. Not as much earthiness, but a smokiness definitely present.
• Mouth:  Full mouth with acidity on a long finish. Definitely the most red fruit on the palate of the evening.
• Price: $40.00

Overall conclusion:  We all really enjoyed the wines this evening. It was difficult to pick an overall favorite, but we all agree we enjoyed the wine much more when paired with the food. Definitely wines that benefit from opening early and decanting.

The Pairings:

Cheeses

• Camembert:  This was an excellent pairing with all three of the wines. It really opened up the first wine and tempered the tannins. Fruit flavors of the wines really came through with this pairing. The favorite cheese and wine pairing of the evening!
• Triple Cream:  This cheese paired best with the Tauzinat wine and was quite enjoyable! Again the fruit of the wine shone through when paired with the first two wines. This cheese only missed the mark for us with Château Brown.
• Havarti Dill: We all love this cheese and were hesitant to see how this pairing worked out. It went well with the Château Teyssier but had difficulty standing up to the next two wines.
• Cranberry and Brie Phyllo Wraps:  We all found this pairing to be delicious when paired with the first two wines of the evening. The cranberries and wine compliment each other nicely. Mary Jo enjoyed the wraps with the third wine as well, although Lisa and Beth were not as impressed with the pairing.

Main Course

• Beef Stew with Wine Reduction:  As expected, a very nice match. It really “popped” the fruit in the Château Tauzinat. Would make a great winter meal!

Chocolates

• Chocolate Covered Raspberries:  Excellent pairing with the first two wines, and not bad with the Château Brown.
• Lindt 70% Dark Chocolate:  Best chocolate pairing of the evening. We all loved this match with all three wines!

Conclusion:

Beth: Thanks Mary Jo for another great class. We haven’t explored French wines much, so this Bordeaux class was a great way to expand our knowledge of the region. I enjoyed all three of the wines and can’t possibly pick a favorite. The best surprise for me of the evening was the Camembert paired with these wines. This is not a favorite cheese of mine, I tend to enjoy hard cheeses better, but the cheese completely changed for me when paired with all three wines! I may be a fan of Camembert before you know it. Thanks Mary Jo for wonderful food, wine, and friendship!
Lisa:  Enjoying really nice wine is always fun with friends!  And French wines are very different from one to the other.  Picking a favorite was a little tough because they are so different.  However, I may have leaned toward the Chateau Brown, possibly for the reason the Camembert was best with that one and the dark chocolate really brought out the fruit in it too.  The stew was definitly a winner with all three!  Can't wait for the next "premium" wine class.
Mary Jo:  I thought the idea of the premium wine class worked out really well!  The host (me for this class) still did all the pairing, education and wine picks, but we shared the cost of the wine - allowing us to increase our budget.  All three wines were delicious, and were each better with different pairings.  I, like Beth, am unable to pick a favorite.  I really enjoyed the Camembert with each of the wines , it really opened up the wines and tempered the tannins.  I felt the stew was really great with each, as well, really causing the flavor to "pop" with the Chateau Tauzinat L'Hermitage.  The Havarti Dill, as much as I love this cheese, was just okay with the wines.  This was a really interesting class and it was nice to explore the French wines!  As always, great friends, great food, great wine!