Cork Poppers: The Taste of Bordeaux

Sure, I love the malbecs and the pinot grigios. A nice Chianti is always good. But if I had to choose one "group" of wines to have those and only those for the rest of my life, it would be those from Bordeaux.

 

This region in France is noted for its fine wines, both reds and whites -- and they were the featured wine at our September Cork Poppers gathering.

First, the whites, and the first of those was Montieur Touton 2013 Sauvignon, using 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc grapes from Bordeaux and offered by Dick and Cheryl. When tasted the words heard were "Yum!" and "Oooh!" It was very cold and crisp. Rick noticed a strong grapefruit flavor. I found it very "clean" tasting and smelling and Cheryl said "This is the best wine so far. (Generally, that's Barb's line!)

Roger said he was going to get this while Dick added he served it first because he felt the second wine, another white from Roger, would be better. That question was up for debate. And at $11, the price was clearly right!

So, it was time to see if Dick was correct in his assessment of Roger's offering -- Chauteau de Fontenille 2012, a blend of sauvignon blanc, sauvigon gris, muscadet and semillon grapes.

I think we all found it a little sweeter than the first. I found it as heavier and not as light -- I preferred the first. Rick, on the other hand, preferred this one. "You could use this as a pillow," he said. "It's feathery." Other comments included "It's stronger but softer" and suggestions that it would be good with cut-up fruit or fish. It's possible I liked this less because it was served a bit warmer than the 53-57 degrees recommended. At $14.99, it's still a good buy. If you prefer a lighter taste, I'd recommend the first, a richer taste, this one.

For the first time since we started individually bringing wine to Cork Poppers, we had a duplicate from both Barb and from Anne and Clayton. It was Chateau La Lauzette 2010, a combination of Cabernet and Merlot. This is a Haut Medoc wine from the Medoc region of Bordeaux. and a Cru Bourgeois wine. They aren't in the top group of Bordeaux heavy hitters like Margaux or Mouton-Rothschild, but nonetheless delicious.

Clayton called it "One of my favorites," while Barb noted it was sharper on the tongue and suggested "You have to have something with this -- cheese or bread." To which Clayton replied, "Or another bottle!" At $25 (Clayton paid $20 on sale), it was a very good buy.

I was up next with Chateau de Trousse, Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux AOC 2010. This red blend combined merlot and Cabernet sauvignon grapes and was from the Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux region. This was dry, very mellow and with good legs (the drips down the side of the glass when you swirl it). Rick noticed that it had a lot of tannins, which he liked and said "This is the best I've had today by far." At $12.99 it is an excellent buy and would be wonderful for sipping, dining or used in a recipe.

(Barb said the highlight of my presentation was, after handing out my two-sided description of the wine and region and introducing the wine, said "You folks know how to read, whatever!" Well, I wasn't going to read the whole thing to them!)

Pat wrapped up the tasting with Beau Mayne Bordeaux 2011, a combination of Merlot and Cabernet sauvignon grapes -- the same as in the wine I brought -- but with a different balance. This affected the flavor. This wine came from old vines (vinable) and I felt was in the same league as the others, definitely dryer than Barb and Anne/Clayton's wines. Barb said it was very good and Clayton offered he would be "happy to drink the whole bottle by myself." Rick replied, "Not the whole bottle -- after the third glass I'd be really sorry." Pat acknowledged that "In my opinion, it's not very good." This one cost $14.99.

We must have gone through four pounds of cheese during this tasting! The cheeses were outstanding, including a triple cream Carabanzola, Loyn Wide Cheddar, Abbeydale yellow with rye and Comte were delicious!

While Meredith was getting the stew started the rest of us set out on the Grand River for a boat ride with Captain Roger.

The river rides never disappoint. A heron was on view and it was a gorgeous day. Perfect for a cruise!

We saw the earliest bits of autumn and celebrated the beginning of fall -- even if it isn't official!

And of course everyone was having a glorious time!



Then it was time for dinner. Frogmore stew and a dazzling salad!



Fortunately, there were a few of Rick's baguettes left from the tasting!

It was beautiful sitting at Meredith's fall table. Our takeaway was a jar of homemade salsa!

And of course, dessert was delish -- summer berries over sponge cake with apricot sauce and whipped cream.

We wrapped up the day with a birthday celebration and a grand toast to hostess Meredith who that week learned that she was officially in remission from her cancer!

What's not to love -- time with the Girls of the Grape (below) and Men of the Vine, a wonderful afternoon with Rick and a boat ride and dinner to die for!



That I'd enjoy any day of the week!

I'll be linking this post with Paulita's Dreaming of France project this week. Come back here once she gets the link up for this week's posts to find fun posts from other bloggers about France.