Saturday, September 23, 2006

Matching Ribs, Part 2

A depressing, rain-soaked, Saturday night - at least we had some nice wines! For tonight's ribs, I returned to my comfort zone with a pinot noir, using one of the last Burgundies in my cellar. However, I opened a Bordeaux as a backup due to my horrendous misadventures in buying wines from Burgundy - you can never be too sure...

Tonight's wines:

1999 Maurice Ecard Savigny-les-Beaune "Les Narbontons" (Bourgogne)
2000 Chateau Carsin Cuvee Noir (Bordeaux)

The "Narbontons" was very nice, my best Burgundy experience in a long time. VERY strawberry on the nose, with some citrus, oak, mushroom and leather, perhaps a touch minerally? And it tasted very nice as well - light to medium bodied with firm tannins and fresh acidity, very glycerin-smooth on the tongue, tart but very enjoyable. Seemed to have some life left, but not for too much longer. A great match for food and ribs, a great Burgundy.
Score: 16/20. Cost: C$45

The Carsin was also an enjoyable wine, but less interesting than the last. Nice aromas of raspberry, hay, strong vanilla, and perhaps some nuts? Not as heavily oaked as other Bordeaux, allowing the fruit to come out, but not very complex. On the palate, medium bodied with nice fruit, this was very quaffable. Ready to drink now and probably not getting any better. Also a nice match for food.
Score: 15/20. Cost: C$34

Overall, Pinot Noir and ribs remain a favourite pairing of mine, and M. Ecard has rekindled my interest in Burgundy.

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