Screw Off!

On August 10, 1889 an Englishman called Dan Rylands patented the screw cap. It took nearly 120 years, but the invention is finally gaining respect in the wine world, particularly in Australia and New Zealand. This is one instance, at least to me, where it’s good to get screwed. No dicking around with a corkscrew and cutter, and on the off chance there’s wine left in the bottle it’s a simple matter to close the bottle for polishing off the next day.

D’Arenberg, one of my favorite wineries across the board, has made the move to screw caps on most of their bottlings. Although not on their “Icon” wines: The Dead Arm, The Coppermine Road and The Ironstone Pressings. As serious, world-class wines I guess they‘re compelled to keep with the tradition of the cork, besides which these wines are meant to lay down and the cork is an important tool to verify that the wine has been properly stored.

I had the happy occasion to break open a 2004 Dead Arm last night (thanks Benamatt), as a complement to some massively thick rib eyes. This wine is, in a word, outrageous. Rich, deep, regal purple, with a massive nose of spicy blueberry. Robert Palmer raved about this wine, but he described it as tannic. I don’t know when he reviewed it, but a mere 3 years after bottling – as young as you’d ever want to drink it – the tannins subsided significantly. The texture was like liquid velvet. The taste was a complex blend of mocha, vanilla, blackberry and maybe even a bit of chocolate. Unlike some other D’Arenberg Shiraz, this wine was not at all peppery. Maybe a bit of earth or tobacco, but the general impression is a juicy smoothness that just tastes and feels soothing. A superb wine, and a perfect match to the ribeyes.

Not cheap at around $60, but I’m tempted to call it a bargain because it’s that good. They didn't screw around with this one.

Walking the Plank

From countless hours of observation he knew his preys habits all too well, and so he laid in wait knowing it was only a matter of time. Sure enough, after only the briefest of waits, his quarry was snared. Quickly, and without remorse, he untangled the net; a few sharp blows from a rock and brief flurry of expert blade work, and the bloody act was done. The body was gutted and splayed out on an alder wood litter, and all that was left was to build a fire to finish the deed.

The story of a grotesque murder? No – a Northwestern American Indian dinner party with planked salmon as the featured entre. An easy meal for them and easier for us us because we don’t have to catch and gut the salmon. And really hard to screw up and so most excellent for a large group gathering where the inevitable distractions of the cook can turn a nice piece of fish into trash in 3 minutes. A well soaked plank protects the fish from drying out even if overcooked by a fair bit, and if it is there’s even some upside in more woodsy flavor. Painting the fish with Dijon adds an extra layer of protection; sprinkle it with brown sugar to get a nice crust which you can deepen up with a closely watched 2 minutes under the broiler if desired. Extra bonus: the fish is on its own serving platter/cutting board that you can throw out when you’re done.

The down side is for a large group you need to serve something else since there are too many fish phobic eaters out there. My solution is to grill thick NY strips and then slap the salmon on the grill while the steaks rest.

Although its a classic pairing I stay away from the Pinot Noir with salmon because I’m a stereotyping bastard who believes PN is too often overpriced and hit or miss. I’ve had more bad bottles of Pinot Noir than probably all other wines put together. It wouldn’t hold up to the steak anyway, so you’d have to serve 2 reds at a time plus a white. The solution: merlot, or a medium bodied, low tannin cabernet. Bonus: medium bodied and low tannin should also mean cheap.

There’s no going wrong with good NZ SB as an aperitif that can segue into dinner; these wines are amazingly versatile and everyone seems to love them. We served both Crossings (my take on that is a few entries down) and the 06 Kim Crawford which is a really nice wine; a bit more fruit and less grass than the Crossings, Nobilo, and a lot of other NZ SBs. Still plenty of acidity, a bit steely, and enough different flavors to complement a huge range of food. A good bargain, and I think this one turns up in supermarkets and if so it’s a great last minute pickup.

I had a gifted bottle of 2004 Estancia Cab on hand which I figured would meet the criteria of medium bodied and low tannin. Bingo. It was all that, and also very fruity; a bit sweeter than I’d have imagined, but not at all cloying. It had a nice discernable oak flavor that was still subtle enough that it matched up with the cedar in the salmon. In fact, this was one of the most serendipitous pairings I can remember. It was pretty much dead on perfect with the salmon and was a credible enough match for the steak although you could do far better there. I’m thinking this is a supermarket wine also; I’d buy it for planked salmon and it would make a good generic red pour that would match up well with lots of food.

To go just with the steaks (coffee rubbed) I opened a 2004 Footbolt and my last bottle of ’03 Marambro Creek. No surprises here at all; both wines were thick, jammy, spicy and meaty. The coffee notes of the Footbolt were a great complement to the subtle coffee of the steak. The Marambro was, as I recall, a $11 bottle that really improved over the last couple of years and was definitely a bargain. I’d happily scarf some up again if it was available, but at $15 at Costco the Footbolt is a happy alternative that probably will also benefit from a touch more time.

Listen to your elders

The headliner last night was Sons of Eden Romulus, 2003, a wine that Ben was told compared favorably to D'Arenberg The Deadarm - a very bold statement. Wines of that caliber are worth planning a meal around. A big Aussie Shiraz like that would typically call for simply grilled lamb or other red meat. Although assertive shiraz's are also great with classic BBQ'd ribs - but with a pedigreed wine most experts would recommend against highly seasoned foods like ribs to avoid masking the nuances. I agree, but that's no excuse not to try it. So I made both. After decanting we polished off a bottle of Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad while letting the Romulus open up - as always it was superb, with the dryness, toast and creaminess of vintage champagne at a fraction of the cost.

The Romulus was deep, intense and peppery with a raspberry nose. The ribs - simply rubbed, smoked and very lightly sauced with COTS Baby Rays - did it no justice at all. It was enjoyable, and you could feel the weight and structure, but the sweetness and spiciness of the ribs just flattened out. With the grilled rack of lamb (rubbed with rosemary and garlic) it was a whole different wine. Incense and current flavors became apparent, and the wine was much more balanced. Even after an hour of decanting this wine was still closed and the extra time in the glass really helped. It will certainly benefit greatly from a few years of aging.

Since excess is important to me I also stuffed a chicken with herbed goat cheese and smoked it, and for this I quizzed my trusted adviser JP at the wine shop who suggested a white Chateauneuf-du-Pape or a Sauvignon Blanc because he thought the chicken would overpower a rich wine - better to go with a crisper complement. But I had a buttery chardonnay in mind, and the 2004 Sbradgia Gamble Estate caught my eye.

This is an incredible wine, with unique flavors that has Ben and I struggling to come up with a description. I'd say honey, tropical fruit and watermelon, with just a hint of oak. It had incredible structure with a syrupy consistency that fortunately belied the balanced fruitiness. Really a great wine. However, the chicken did the wine absolutely no justice. Zippo. With the chicken the wine was B-Flat; with a piece of buttered Gruyere bread it was sublime.

The bottle of 2005 Brunel Les Cailloix Chateauneuf-du-Pape JP recommended sits in the fridge - I'm certain it would have been perfect with the bird.

Moral of the story: sometimes you really should listen to your elders.

Fork You, Part 2

 

So this is what the Pasta with Vidalia Onion Sauce looks like as a finished product, at least if you choose to serve in a a cheesy chartreuse melamine bowl. Which you'd do if you were bringing it to a pool where glass isn't allowed.

This time I used 1/2 Chevre, 1/2 crumbled Feta. Better than the original - the saltiness of the Feta is a nice addition.

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc (06), always a great deal, is a perfect complement to the pasta. There's enough fruitiness - kiwi maybe - to play off the sweetness of the vidalias without getting cloying, and the mineral and sweet pea undertones of the wine go great with the thyme, parsley, and the veggy notes of the onion. This is one of the great wine bargains out there IMHO - a standard bearer for NZ SB, like Cloudy Bay, but at less than half the price. For both of these wines, 03 was a stellar year which the last 2 bottlings didn't quite live up to. However, the 06 Crossings might well (haven't tried the 06 Cloudy Bay yet).

A Curveball

Why didn't we do hot dogs and beer last night? Cause Phil always brings great wines from his cellar that hot dogs wouldn't do justice to. So what does he turn up with? The 2 wines on the left - Trader Joes specials. Cause his cellar's already packed.

The Contadino Pino Grigio was OK; generic white wine with no remarkable qualities one way or the other. The Cantina Zaccagnini was awful. Sort of like red water with a crappy aftertaste. The Pinossimo, some gifted wine from my grab bag rack, was marginally acceptable as an apertif.

To go with the ribs we grabbed my last bottle of '02 Shotfire. God that's great wine. Inky, complex, chocolaty, lots of blackberry and pepper, just fabulous. And it's all gone. Sniff.

The 2004 Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz was fine. Jammy cherry with a real spiciness and peppery finish. As I recall about a $20 bottle and if so it's a solid deal.

The ribs were smoked baby backs, with a finishing sauce. On a scale of 1 to 10, these were an 11. The sauce was a new one and it was a home run - concept was a basic sweet BBQ sauce with the addition of 2 of the things I think best complement pork: peanuts and black beans. This is so good I'm not even sure I want to share it. But I will cause I'm that kind of guy.

Peanut Butter Black Bean BBQ Sauce

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons fermented black beans
½ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Colemans mustard powder
2 jalapenos, chopped fine
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup red wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper