Bordeaux Dinner at Bistro Vue

DiscoverVin hosted a wonderful Bordeaux Wine Dinner in partnership with Bistro Vue in Melbourne on Tuesday 14 August. A selection of our Bordeaux wines were expertly matched to a divine menu prepared by the uber-professional but relaxed and skilled team at Bistro Vue.

Smoked eel and an Oyster. Delightful Amuse Bouche served with Chateau Haut Peyrous Bordeaux Blanc

The first wine: Chateau Haut-Peyrous Peche au Carrelet 2009 was a lovely Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend from the appellation of Graves. The winemaker is Mark Darroze who purchased this property and modernised it, introducing organic production methods in 2008. The Peche au Carrelet refers to the fishing nets used in the nearby Garonne river to catch local crustaceans fish and eels. So this was an inspired match by chef Chris Bonello and sommelier Maurizio Severgnini to serve this wine with a fresh oyster and some smoked eel.

The Haut-Peyrous was continued and served with the first entrée - crispy prawns, warm lettuce and wild garlic. The body/tail of the prawns were separated from the heads which were also fried and so could be popped into the mouth to savour the intensity of flavour! The Haut-Peyrous was a great foil with enough body and acid to stand up to the slight oiliness of this dish.

Next a look at an older right bank wine: Chateau Lanessan 2004 from the Haut-Medoc. This is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It is an interesting producer, held in the same family for seven generations but recently modernising production methods and bringing in young, highly skilled winemaking team to rejuvenate the wines. This one is now drinking beautifully. It still has lots of lovely fruit but the tannins are softening and integrating with the fruit. A classic "claret" style, ready to drink. It matched a delightfully subtle terrine of ox tail - served in thin slices like a carpaccio and served with some cornichons and leaves. Delightful pairing of the older left bank Bordeaux and this dish - a modern twist on a Bistro classic.

We then had a spectacular main course of Flinders Island milk-fed lamb served with beetroot, the leaves of the beetroot and mash. The photos above show a before and after shot of the lamb! The lamb had been cooked sous-vide to maintain its tenderness. Wow! Rich flavours and very tender without  disintegrating into a grey mush. To accompany, 2 younger but very special wines Fleur de Clinet 2008 (Pomerol) and Clés du Pape Clémont 2008 (Pessac-Leognan). Both of these showed the power but restraint of good Bordeaux. They also demonstrated the quality and value for money of the second label wines of these famous producers - Chateau Clinet and Chateau Pape Clémont - usually made from younger vines and designed to be more approachable in their youth. Beautiful fruit, nice tannin and structure but balanced - and approachable now. Another inspired match with the lamb.

Cannelé Cannelé- A deconstructed approach to a Bordeaux classic. Served with Chateau Le Pradey St Croix de Mont, delicious dessert wine.

An then an amazing finale of Cannelé Cannelé - using all the elements of cannele (custard, rum, cinnamon) in a spectacular looking and tasting dessert. Each element had taken considerable time an skill and when reconstructed the whole was a crowd-pleasing triumph. And alongside it Château La Pradey Saint Croix de Mont 2009. This is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, affected by botrytis and lusciously sweet but not cloying on the finish. And then coffee, tea and a cannelé those crisp on the outside, moist and gooey on the inside petits cakes much loved by the Bordelaise. A delightful end to a memorable meal.

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The atmospheric dining room, set up for 30 guests for DiscoverVin's Bordeaux Dinner at Bistro Vue.

The Wines of Bordeaux

Tuesday 14^th August 2012

Amuse bouche

Smoked eel & oyster

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1ère entrée

Crispy prawns, warm lettuce, wild garlic

2009 Château Haut-Peyrous Blanc, Graves

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2ème entrée

Oxtail terrine

2004 Château Lanessan, Haut-Médoc

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Plat principal

Flinders Island milk fed lamb

slow cooked in Claret

2008 Les Clés de Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan

2008 Fleur de Clinet, Pomerol

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Dessert

Cannelé, Cannelé

2008 Château la Pradey, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont

DiscoverVin introduces four wines from Bordeaux Petits Châteaux-Part 2

“Some of Bordeaux's best wine value is to be found at the most conscientious petits châteaux.”  

Jancis Robinson

Four wines from three different vintages, from four producers on the left bank illustrate of the value for money and quality of wine made by conscientious petit châteaux.

DiscoverVin are very pleased to be bringing these high quality boutique wines to Australia at an affordable price: wines from high pedigree sites, owners and makers, sitting just outside the highest vineyards under the 1855 classification but representing great value for money.

1.       Château Senilhac Le Prade, 2009

  Website Price $25.00

The Producer

Chateau Senilhac la Prade is a small producer on 4 hectares east of Saint Seurin de Cadourne in the Haut-Médoc.

Appellation

Haut Médoc

The Wine

Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (10%)

Grapes are machine harvested and made using traditional Medoc winemaking methods in a modern winery.  The wine is aged in oak barrels for 12 months.

Cellaring potential

Well balanced with layers of fruits and tannins so will develop over many years.

Our Tasting notes

 Dark colour, a bouquet full of freshly picked berries from the forest, tobacco notes, mid dense structure and a long finish.  The layers of tannins give the wine good ageing potential.

So many good Médocs to choose from the 2009 vintage but this was a standout value-for-money wine, in a large line-up.

2.           Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie, 2006

    Website Price $39.99

The Producer

Benedicte and Gregoire Hubau made their first vintage in the Bordeaux commune of Fronsac at Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie in 1988. They have worked with influential Bordeaux based oenologist Michel Rolland to make wines with finesse, elegance and balance. Their philosophy is

“To make a fine wine one needs beautiful grapes, clean and ripe, grown in a vineyard in touch with its "terroir".

Appellation

Canon-Fronsac

Possessing similar soil and climate to Saint Émilion and Pomerol a few kilometers across the Dordogne River to the east, Canon-Fronsac has a picturesque landscape made up of woodland and hills. It also has a rich history reaching back hundreds of years, when the area was much favored by French nobility. Canon-Fronsac is encompassed by the wider Fronsac appellation.

The Wine

70% Merlot (70%) Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) Cabernet Franc (10%)

France’s prestigious Guide Gault-Milau gave the 2006 vintage 15/20 and a “good value for money” rating.

Cellaring Potential

Drinking well but will keep for several years (2012-2020)

Our Tasting Notes

Lovely purple colour. Red fruit and plums on the nose. Palate is soft, round in the mouth with minerals and fine chalky tannins. Great balance and length. Delicious, classy Merlot!

When we were in Bordeaux for Vinexpo 2011, this wine was being served at Bar à Vin run by the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel du vin de Bordeaux) or local Vignerons association. From the many hundreds of wines available this wine was being served on their short wine list, which is updated on a regular basis.

3.    ChâteauHaut Vigneau, 2009

Website Price $38.00

The Producer

Situated in the commune of Martillac, this 20-hectare property once belonged to Baron de Montesquieu. Today, Mr. Eric Perrin owns the estate

and has set up a vast land clearing and plantation programme in the 1980s, rejuvenating the vineyard from the ground up.

The Appellation

The appellation of Pessac-Leognan was created in 1987 from the section of the Graves district south of Bordeaux city. Some of the vineyards are surrounded by the development of the Bordeaux suburbs. Pessac and Leognan, the key towns in the appellation form part of the suburban sprawl, with vineyards next to houses and industrial estates.

Graves means gravel and Bordeaux’s reputation as a great wine region has been built on the gravel.

The red wines of Pessac-Leognan have a rich and flamboyant style, developing deep and spicy flavours with age. 

The Wine

Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (30%)

Cellaring Potential

Can be enjoyed now but will keep for many years (2012-2025)

Our Tasting notes

A wine with very pleasing aromas of black fruits (blackberries, black currant), red fruits (raspberries) and with subtle roasted notes (grilled and smoky). Good fruit weight and fine gravel tannins giving it a lovely mouth feel. Hints of minerals and chocolate.

 Typifies the silky tannins, minerals and structure of the wines of Pessac-Leognan.

4.       Clos de Quatre Vents, 2007

  Website Price $110.00

The Producer

Clos des Quatre Vents is a tiny 1.2 hectare plot planted with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The proprietor is Luc Thienpont, former owner of Château Labégorce-Zédé. The estate produces 6000 bottles/500 cases from a vineyard planted with very old vines with an average age of 80 years old. 

Quatre vents means ”four winds”.  The passage of the four winds across this elevated vineyard throughout the year ensures a fresh and healthy crop each vintage, and this purity is translated through careful harvesting and vinification into a wine of real elegance backed by restrained power.

Appellation

Margaux

The vineyard is situated on a plateau at the entrance to the town of Margaux, surrounded by Cru Classé vineyards.

The Wine

Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (40%),Petit Verdot (5%)

This wine was made by Jacques Boissenot, wine consultant to four of the five First Growths of the Médoc, and named Winemaker of the Decade in 2010 by the Chinese Bordeaux Guide to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the publication.

Grapes were picked by hand, fermented in cement tanks with malolactic fermentation in new oak, followed by ageing in new French oak for 18-20 months.

Cellaring potential

 A wine that will achieve full maturity a decade from the vintage, but which enjoys such balance that it can be enjoyed in its youth.

Our Tasting notes

Brilliant dark garnet/purple colour.  A very savoury nose with red fruits and some meaty tones.  The palate is soft and rounded with complex layers of red fruits (raspberry, strawberry etc.), fine tannins, very long and well balanced.  We wrote down sexy when we first tried it!  Very approachable - an amazing wine.