“Why is there so much wine left at the end of my money?” – Milan Maximovich, RIP
It was a nice run, this past 6 month tour of mostly cheap wines. As the last post of its type, I put links to the previous wine posts at the bottom of the page along with the list of wines on each of those posts. This was always in the plans, but especially helps fill out this post, shorter otherwise than the others.
Home after a hard day of failure and dismay, I didn’t feel like cooking with any imagination. We had a bottle of Shiraz Rosé and I paired it up with crap we had lying around: bell peppers which I stuffed with, essentially, meat loaves of beef, rice, cheddar, garlic, and green onions, then stewed in tomatoes and some rich beef broth.
Later in the week, things improved and we had some chicken breasts on salads with a very tarry Retsina. I usually don’t go for the pine resin wines unless I’m cooking something gamey and Greek and this was really an unfair pairing but the vinaigrette levelled the playing field a little.
Several days of wines I know we’ve shared with you passed then we were dry and I picked up a couple of nice ribeyes at Brian’s and a superb Côtes du Rhône at the market. This one had a bit more character and mineral tones than most of the CdR’s we have been experimenting with (approaching a mid-range Chateauneuf du Pape in depth and linger). I’ll get a case of this, soon.
The pizza dough I made for an early dinner leaked some of the topping juices and the stone slab I put in the oven for a baking surface cracked in half. I think I need to go to a cemetery monument place and just get a polished slab of marble to replace it, but it will take some research…this one was supposed to be much more robust. Speaking of robust, this is actually a pretty good box wine especially with spicy fare:
I returned from my work trip to Bremen (where I mostly had good wines quite cheaply in the carafe, reviewed as much as they might be, in one of the Bremen posts) to find no wine in the house so Saturday I replenished the stocks with 6 new bottles. We also are losing our butcher for 4 weeks as he and his wife are off for a cruise in the Med; we stocked up on yummy morsels and I had a wee cooking fest using some of the overly salted bacon (cured there) as pancetta to flavour (along with garlic) some wilted spinach and watercress:
The main attraction, though, was the standing rib roast; this was seared for twenty minutes at 225 deg C then cooked to an internal ‘rare’ temperature in an oven reduced to 150 C. Left to rest for the 25 minutes the potatoes (coated with goose fat) needed to roast to perfection, everything was lovely entirely as it was BEFORE we corked the bottle of grenache/syrah/carignan with the heavy blackberry flavours. The beef cut with the dull side of a fork, the potatoes were fluffy inside but crusty without, and the greens were bitter, salty, and ever-so-slightly metallic (like they should be). The wine stood its ground, too: heavy in the mouth, complimentary to the still bleeding beef, and complementary to the mild spices in the veg while as complex in the fore- as the after-taste.
Like most of the wines (with rare exceptions) this one was inexpensive-to-cheap but turned out to be a successful choice for the simple meals I prepare around the house. A very nice way to end this series of posts!
June wines in this posting were:
Ryan Shiraz Rose
Kourtaki Retsina of Attica
Perrin Nature Cotes du Rhone
Fab Cab Cabernet-Shiraz
Languedoc Grenache Syrah Carignan
Entire list, some redundant (118 bottles here, plus 20-25 duplicates and a lot of carafes in restaurants):
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The Horse of Parnassus, or Wine January 2012:
Heidsieck Monopole
Marselan
Cellier des Princes Cotes du Rhone Villages
Hardy’s Shiraz
Barbera d’Asti
Piccini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Montoya Brut Cava
Gran Conti
Berberana Rioja
Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc
Piccini Memoro
Calloway Crossing Cabernet/Shiraz
Marques de Carano
Promenade Cotes du Rhone
Tesco Simply Chianti
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“Or, any other reason why”: Wine February 2012:
Tesco Simply Shiraz (box)
Chateau La Rose Videau 2006
Camplazens Marselan
Jacktone Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon
Long Country Merlot
Marques de Amba
Faustino Rivero
Le Preare Valpolicella
Torretta di Mondelli Pinot Grigio
La Casita Shiraz
Colpasso Nero d’Avola
Lagunilla Rioja
Chateau Poujeaux Moulis en Medoc (1999)
Gran Artizan Syrah
Wines from France Cab Sav
Stork’s Landing Pinot Noir Shiraz
Wines from France Chard
Mondelli Chianti
Graham Beck Railroad Red
Stowell’s Shiraz Mataro
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“I cook with wine…” Wine March 2012 A:
First Cape Cabernet Sauvignon
Mondelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Le Parimoine Côtes du Rhône Villages
Sainsbury’s Côtes du Rhône
Blossom Hill Shiraz Grenache
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Two dramatic features: Wine March 2012 B :
Palastri Primitivo
Stone Road Shiraz Grenache
Claret from Aldi
Sainsbury’s Cabernet Sauvignon
La Patrie Cahors Malbec
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Contemptible Scoundrels, or Wines March 2012 Part C:
Linoti Pinot Grigio
Famiglia Terraccio Chianti
Monte Nobile Squinzano Riserva
McGuigan Grenache Shiraz Mourvedere
Unico Brindisi Riserva
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Living partners: Wine March 2012 part D:
Prestige de Calvet Bordeaux
Palais des Anciens Cotes du Roussillon Villages
Gigondas from Tesco
Piccini Memoro
Wines from France Cobieres
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The affordable bottles: Wine March 2012 part E (and into April):
Chateau de l’Estang Cotes de Castillon
Villa Taurini Barbero
Famiglia Terraccio Chianti Riserva
Blaxland Shiraz
Zalze Shiraz Mouvedre Viognier
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Wise guy, eh?: Wine, April Part A:
Namaqua Shiraz
Leopard’s Leap CabSav-Merlot
Hardy’s Cab Sav
Ancora Sangiovese at Fratellos
McWilliam’s Markview Shiraz
Bergerac CabSav-Merlot
Ocean’s Edge Pinot Noir
La Métropole Red
Vinedos Barrihuelo Rioja
Les Epillets Macon Rouge
La Châsse Chardonnay
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Days of laughter and running: Wine April Part B:
Roc de Lussac Saint Emilion with seared steaks
WfF Cotes du Rhone with curry-esque spag-bol
Tierra Antica Cabernet Sauvignon at the Dragon Castle, London
Rosso Sanleo at La Dolce Vita, London
Vini d’Autore Montepulciano d’Abruzzo at Bizarro Italian, London
Piccini Chianti Riserva
Pone Veneto and Shyraz (cooking only…foul)
Marques de Carano Gran Seleccion
La Chasse Cotes du Rhone.
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Ideas, things, and…Wine for May Part 1:
Rey de Copas La Mancha
Rio Vida Airen Sauvignon Blanc
Rib Shack Red
Battlefield Sauvignon Blanc
Battlefield Cab Sav
McGuigan Cab Sav
Milford Point Sauvignon Blanc
Moondarra Shiraz
Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages
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Getting a taste for it — Wines for May Part 2:
Tesco Finest Chianti Riserva
Ravens Wood Zinfindel
Voor Paardeberg Roussanne
La Pradera Monastrell
Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico
McWilliams Chardonnay
Mondelli Chianti
Inycon Grillo
Mundella Shiraz
Sainsbury’s Marzemino
Prestige de Calvet Bordeaux
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Improving with age: Wine May Part 3:
Sainsbury’s Cava
Marchais Merlot
Lindeman’s Cabernet
Antichi Borghi Chianti
Sierra Salinas
Rawnsley Chardonnay
And, a host of anonymous house wines, a liter at a time.
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Say, ‘yes,’ to: Wine June Part 1 :
Terres de Galets Cotes du Rhone
Tesco Ryan Shiraz Rose
Garland Crest Grenache Rose
Calloway Crossing Shiraz Rose
Isla Negra Cabernet Sauvignon Rose
Bodega Monte Real Malbec Shiraz
Reserve de Bonpas Cotes du Rhone
Blaxland Shiraz
Tesco Simply Rose
Wines from France Bordeaux Superieur
Edizione Sette Otto Nove Pinot Grigio
Sainsbury’s Montepulciano
