I've received today some information about Bordeaux primeur 2009. Apparently, Robert Parker comments:
"I have bever tasted such powerful and concentrated Medocs. First and most importantly, for soe Medocs and Graves, 2009 may turn out to be the finest vinatge i have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux. From top to bottom, 2009 is not as consistent as 2005, but the peaks pf quality in 2009 may turn out to be historic. The vintage displays many of the characteristics of such creamy-textured, opulent, fat, succulent years as 1959, 1982, 1990 and some of the northern Medocs of 2003. Yet, the 2009s also have structure, freshness, acid levels as well as vibrancy and precision of such cooler years as 1986, 1996 and 2000. In that sense, this is the glory of the 2009s. For as big and rich as well as high in alcohol as they are, they are also remarkably delicate, fresh and pure. This paradox, albeit a wonderful one, is unprecedented in the three plus decades i have been tasting Bordeaux barrel samples. This is a magical vintage!"
Doesn't this sound promising! I checked the 2009 En Primeur prices we can get in NZ. Well, this is real food for thoughts. Imagine that in NZ to drink something of reasonnable quality and specifically reasonnable complexity, you have to buy at NZ$30 (approx. 15euros) and when you want something nice you spend between NZ$40 and $50 (20-25 euros) - without being crazy. Prices for NZ wines are just high, and not less high on the own NZ market. With the global financial crisis prices have dropped, and you can now find simple wines (never any default but never any complexity)under NZ$10 (5 euros), which was not really the case few years ago - but this is derived from and entails another subject.
So i just looked at what i could buy for the same average amount spent on NZ wines. And this is quite amazing to see that even En Primeur from overseas, with taxes, extra packaging, freight etc., i could buy some cru classe (Chateau Carbonnieux in Pessac Leognan), some cru bourgeois (Sociando Mallet in Haut Medoc, Chateau Carbonnieux in Moulis, Chateau Potensac in Medoc), some 2nd wine (Carmes de Rieussec in Sauternes, Demoiselle de Sociando Mallet), some Grand cru classe (Chateau de Camensac in Haut Medoc) etc etc. the list is really long. i agree, it's not because the wines are classified that they are good, but i happened to have tasted the above, and i like them and find good qualities to them - Bordeaux that are not hugely expensive but deliver special and specific qualities.
Maybe that's the thing, the list is really long and you're spoilt for choice, and the wineries have to compete without being cheap. And in NZ at NZ$40-50, you are not spoilt for choice and although you sometimes find this complex and surprising wine, it is not that commun. Do you always find complexity and surprising wines in Bordeaux (for example) for that price? Well no, but it does happen quite a bit, and consumers are ready to pay that much but they expect complexity. The wines have to deliver for the price - fair enough, isn't it?
So i'm not saying NZ wines are not complex, i'm saying the price is high for the complexity you get compared to wines from elsewhere - here the example was Bordeaux (En primeur - yes), but it is full of wines from other regions/countries that deliver better quality-complexity- surprise effect for money than NZ wines.
And if we think of low prices, the difference is even bigger. You can actually find little beauties under 7 euros (NZ$14) in european wines. The great thing with NZ wines is that even cheap (and some producers from Europe would even think that i'm talking nonsense as they consider 7 euros isn't cheap at all), there are really rarely winemaking defaults. The wines are always clean. So that's nice for cheap and cheerful; but for cheap and valuable, a bit of complexity or at least of character is essential... much more difficult in NZ Wines, if not impossible!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Fish and wine trial matches...
I've 'cooked' some hapuku fish yesterday with the idea of trying it in its raw flavour and try to find wine matches with different varieties. So I simply steamed the hapuku.
Well after trying the oaked chardonnay, which was too rich and round and with too loud aromas not matching the freshness of the fish, i tried some unoaked chardonnay. Rather more interesting of course, nice acidity and citrus aromas were this time accompanying the fish. Sauvignon blanc was a nice match too, but i must say it was a quite restrained style, not the fruit focused NZ sauvignon type, so the minerality was going pretty well with the fish. Little trial this time, i had only these 3 bottles under my hands.
Well, after finishing my little experience, i just stopped and decided to have a simple beer, just a classic lager (i know!...). ... Best match!... I was just finishing my last bite of hapuku, and I started my beer. Freshness of the beer, fresh aromas, something quite nice actually revealed the iodine of the fish and combined to enhance a nice sort of smokey flavour. But no more fish to try that again... Damn!
Another great surprise! But now i can't wait to try again, and this time i'll add spices to the fish - still steamed but with the objective to check on spices as well. And beer will be in the game! Step by step in the experiences, I add flavours and then textures, and then both. It is a game of patience indeed, but every step teaches something new. More results to come...
Well after trying the oaked chardonnay, which was too rich and round and with too loud aromas not matching the freshness of the fish, i tried some unoaked chardonnay. Rather more interesting of course, nice acidity and citrus aromas were this time accompanying the fish. Sauvignon blanc was a nice match too, but i must say it was a quite restrained style, not the fruit focused NZ sauvignon type, so the minerality was going pretty well with the fish. Little trial this time, i had only these 3 bottles under my hands.
Well, after finishing my little experience, i just stopped and decided to have a simple beer, just a classic lager (i know!...). ... Best match!... I was just finishing my last bite of hapuku, and I started my beer. Freshness of the beer, fresh aromas, something quite nice actually revealed the iodine of the fish and combined to enhance a nice sort of smokey flavour. But no more fish to try that again... Damn!
Another great surprise! But now i can't wait to try again, and this time i'll add spices to the fish - still steamed but with the objective to check on spices as well. And beer will be in the game! Step by step in the experiences, I add flavours and then textures, and then both. It is a game of patience indeed, but every step teaches something new. More results to come...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Isn't this complete nonsense?
Imagine you are given the choice to have for diner a home dish of fresh tuna balls cooked in a fresh tomato sauce, the whole lot cooked with pinenuts, lemon zest, flat parsley etc. or a visit to Mc Donald (no need or me to describe the menu there). What do you choose?
My flatmates went for Mc Donald. Nowhere does this make sense to me. The mell was lovely, the dish fresh and healthy but not a boring salad, no something a little bit elaborated althoug classic... And they are not in their 20's (whih is not particularly an excuse, but which would be a little more understandable), no they are rather is their 50's, quite foodie and love a nice beer or a nice wine.
You could say, sometimes you can't be bothered cooking... well in that case they only had to put their feet under the table. No i suppose they wanted to eat something unhealthy, fat and to feel lazy. Total nonsense to me!
To prove the dish was not at all repulsive, check these... So would you have gone for Mc Donald too?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wine ... Food, a love I nurture
Haven't been writing for a while on this blog... Thinking about it, i believe that i haven't had much fantastic wine experience this year in fact. Sad, indeed! Again, if i look deep in my memory, only food memories come up...
I actually had my best food experience so far in a restaurant in San Francisco US. it was fantastic from the beginning to the end, i promised myself i would write an email to the chef, but didn't... Anyway, fresh seafood, like you dream of! first experience of sea urchin, simply cooked, with few alguas, a drop of mayonnaise (sounds very basic, but no it was not!) - yes, mayonnaise sounds weird, but it was quite amazing. First, the urchin was extra fresh, the iodine of the urchin was very present, the mayonnaise was just bringing that touch of sweetness and great balance to the whole. then i had a bouillabaisse, when i saw it coming, came also disappointment because it was not at all the traditional french dish i was expecting. But finally, absolutely no regret - i must also say that the waiter told me in advance it wouldn't be the french thing - again the fish and seafood were so perfectly cooked and the flavours simple ans sophisticated at the same time. The clams were not quite crunchy, not quite too cooked, they were tender and had kept all their flavours, and so were the schrimps, and the fish. the whole secret of that whole meal was in the freshness of the seafood, and the respect of the original flavours of each of the seafood/fish and this by cooking every piece in perfect timing. It was also fantastic because all the dishes were outstanding, not only one thing, but the whole food experience! Gosh, i wish this restaurant was down my road! www.swellsf.com
What else, great herring in Belgium... it doesn't sound very appealing, but the flavours were this time around very strong and delicate at the same time. fresh herring with white wine, fresh onions and herbs, lemon. The herring was actually raw or more precisely soaked in a brine, nice balance between the strength of the flavours, the acidity of the wine and lemon - the onions were nicely bringing zing and opposite crunchy texture to the quite fat herring. Quite a delicate fish in fact - but still, it was lucky i didn't have anyone to kiss afterwards!
Aah, and there was also the bugtail in Brisbane Australia, to die for. Bugtail is apparently the
speciality of Queensland, it is a kind of freshwater lobster or crayfish. So the bugtail was cooked in a pan with garlic, and it came on a freshly made ravioli of spinach and ricotta, on a creamy broth with peas. Amazing combination of delicate flavours, none overwhelming the other, and the combination of textures...! The soft of the ravioli pasta, the tender although firm of the bugtail really did work well together. The filling of the ravioli was quite small actually, and that was good because it delievered the texture of the pasta perfectly and just added few more flavours to enjoy, but the soft thin pasta was the centre point gathering all the other elements.
I have a good memory of Wine & Food match... In Sancerre France, i tried for the first time a Reuilly AOC, which is made out of sauvignon blanc. i thought, all right, nice savvy, i had a good goat cheese salad, and was forced to have dessert (work lunch, i had to be polite and nicely accompany my guests). I first ordered an apple tart, but there was none left, so my choice went to creme brulee, but there was only liquorice creme brulee. So there it was, i had a liquorice creme brulee with a glass of Reuilly sauvignon blanc. Amazing! Once again, on its own, both the creme and the wine were good, but you wouldn't lose your sleep on it. But together, a complete harmony! The minerality of the sauvignon and the citrus flavours were totally completing the liquorice flavours, and the difference between the onctuous creme brulee and the zingy sauvignon was just not clashing at all! The liquorice was actually lifting the creme brulee to the freshness of the wine. I should try this with NZ sauvignon and see if it works... good thing with the Reuilly was that it doesn't have too much fruit, but more minerality and floral aromas, so it's more on the gentle side of sauvignon, compared to a Sancerre on flint that would be more strict, or an NZ that would be more explosive. Anyway, it's worth trying!
There are other moments i enjoyed wine or food this year, but specifically for the moments or company, not particularly the wine in itself or the food for itself. More about why i didn't write at all about wine this year later on...
I actually had my best food experience so far in a restaurant in San Francisco US. it was fantastic from the beginning to the end, i promised myself i would write an email to the chef, but didn't... Anyway, fresh seafood, like you dream of! first experience of sea urchin, simply cooked, with few alguas, a drop of mayonnaise (sounds very basic, but no it was not!) - yes, mayonnaise sounds weird, but it was quite amazing. First, the urchin was extra fresh, the iodine of the urchin was very present, the mayonnaise was just bringing that touch of sweetness and great balance to the whole. then i had a bouillabaisse, when i saw it coming, came also disappointment because it was not at all the traditional french dish i was expecting. But finally, absolutely no regret - i must also say that the waiter told me in advance it wouldn't be the french thing - again the fish and seafood were so perfectly cooked and the flavours simple ans sophisticated at the same time. The clams were not quite crunchy, not quite too cooked, they were tender and had kept all their flavours, and so were the schrimps, and the fish. the whole secret of that whole meal was in the freshness of the seafood, and the respect of the original flavours of each of the seafood/fish and this by cooking every piece in perfect timing. It was also fantastic because all the dishes were outstanding, not only one thing, but the whole food experience! Gosh, i wish this restaurant was down my road! www.swellsf.com
What else, great herring in Belgium... it doesn't sound very appealing, but the flavours were this time around very strong and delicate at the same time. fresh herring with white wine, fresh onions and herbs, lemon. The herring was actually raw or more precisely soaked in a brine, nice balance between the strength of the flavours, the acidity of the wine and lemon - the onions were nicely bringing zing and opposite crunchy texture to the quite fat herring. Quite a delicate fish in fact - but still, it was lucky i didn't have anyone to kiss afterwards!
Aah, and there was also the bugtail in Brisbane Australia, to die for. Bugtail is apparently the
speciality of Queensland, it is a kind of freshwater lobster or crayfish. So the bugtail was cooked in a pan with garlic, and it came on a freshly made ravioli of spinach and ricotta, on a creamy broth with peas. Amazing combination of delicate flavours, none overwhelming the other, and the combination of textures...! The soft of the ravioli pasta, the tender although firm of the bugtail really did work well together. The filling of the ravioli was quite small actually, and that was good because it delievered the texture of the pasta perfectly and just added few more flavours to enjoy, but the soft thin pasta was the centre point gathering all the other elements.I have a good memory of Wine & Food match... In Sancerre France, i tried for the first time a Reuilly AOC, which is made out of sauvignon blanc. i thought, all right, nice savvy, i had a good goat cheese salad, and was forced to have dessert (work lunch, i had to be polite and nicely accompany my guests). I first ordered an apple tart, but there was none left, so my choice went to creme brulee, but there was only liquorice creme brulee. So there it was, i had a liquorice creme brulee with a glass of Reuilly sauvignon blanc. Amazing! Once again, on its own, both the creme and the wine were good, but you wouldn't lose your sleep on it. But together, a complete harmony! The minerality of the sauvignon and the citrus flavours were totally completing the liquorice flavours, and the difference between the onctuous creme brulee and the zingy sauvignon was just not clashing at all! The liquorice was actually lifting the creme brulee to the freshness of the wine. I should try this with NZ sauvignon and see if it works... good thing with the Reuilly was that it doesn't have too much fruit, but more minerality and floral aromas, so it's more on the gentle side of sauvignon, compared to a Sancerre on flint that would be more strict, or an NZ that would be more explosive. Anyway, it's worth trying!
There are other moments i enjoyed wine or food this year, but specifically for the moments or company, not particularly the wine in itself or the food for itself. More about why i didn't write at all about wine this year later on...
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