Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Bordeaux and Beet Soup on Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve, time for some Christmas Eve Borscht!

The menu was nearly identical to last year's Christmas Eve celebration so I was inclined to Pinot Noir, but I had a problem - we had eight adults for dinner. With a cellar of nearly 500 bottles you would think that this was no problem at all. Unfortunately, I have a healthy collection of nearly everything - singles and doubles of nearly every grape and region from around the world - but very few runs of three or more (most of which are not yet ready) -- PANIC!

So, my love of quirky wine bites me in the behind...certainly no Pinot Noir to serve this thirsty crowd, but a search of my cellar unearthed four bottles of the 2003 Chateau Reysson Reserve, a Cru Bourgeois from the Haut-Medoc. The notes are nearly identical to 18 months ago, but it was even softer and more elegant - a lovely and relatively inexpensive Bordeaux at its peak.

This wine got me to thinking about the 2003 Bordeaux vintage...more soon.

4 comments:

David said...

now the Bordeaux sounds good, but beets are one of the few vegetables I don't care for much. hope you had a good Christmas.

Joe said...

For a foodie I find your distaste of beets a disappointment! :) Had a great Christmas, thanks - hope you enjoyed your holidays as well. Cheers!

Marcus said...

There's an essay on an NYT blog that says the culture of beets is so different between America and Australia that Americans routinely hate them and Aussies always love them. Joe, for us Canadians, maybe the affinity for beets depends on how they are prepared because there's a multitude of ways to spoil a beet. Your beet dish looks good!

But on to the reason I wanted to comment: You know my love/hate relationship with venerable Bordeaux reds... well, I really LOVE the 03 Dom. de Courteillac (only a Bordeaux Superieur AC but fantastic for $21). It's on the menu tonight and I'm currently looking for something to back it up and make way for the Mas La Plana from Torres (also 03).

Joe said...

Hi Marcus - I suspect my love of beets is a product of my upbringing, and this special soup was (and continues to be) prepared only once per year. On the subject of Bordeaux, I just wrote up some comments on the 2003 vintage. Never had that Mas La Plana, been meaning to try it - how did it go?