What's a guy to do?
June 09, 2004
Late last Friday afternoon, Renee
called me from the butcher counter at our local Raley's to inform me
she was buying big, thick, on the bone, Angus certified ribeye steaks for
dinner. She also said she was in the mood for a "BIG" red wine and "requested" that I
bring home a "FRUIT BOMB" guaranteed to
satisfy her craving! I mean, what is a
newlywed to do?
When I arrived home about 7pm. I
immediately decanted my selection into a magnum decanter so as to allow for more
surface to oxygen contact. Never hurts to decant a young wine and allow it
some time to open up and reveal its true inner beauty. I usually
decant every wine we drink at home ...whether white or red. I enjoy
observing the full color of a wine as it cascades down the sides of a
beautiful crystal decanter. In this case, the wine was saturated
with a nearly opaque royal purple
color....perfect for a fountain pen. In the meantime, I
marinated these two huge slabs of finely marbled meat in 12 year
old bourbon with a little Worchestshire sauce for over two hours at room
temperature. About tens minutes before grilling, I blotted the
meat dry and applied Renee's special southwestern dry spice rub over
the entire ribeye. Then to obtain a slight crusty char to the
outside of the steaks, I drizzled and spread evenly about half a teaspoon of
Bariani's extra virgin olive oil (our favorite local producer) over both
sides of the meat. Anyway, out to the Jennaire that I had pre-heated
to over 600 degrees.....I was finished grilling in about 10
minutes!
The wine I selected is the 2002 Elyse Rutherford Petite Sirah from Napa
Valley, but would be better described as a Grande Sirah! The
wine is blended with 7% Zinfandel and aged for almost a year in 80% NEW
American oak. The caramel toastiness from
the new "whiskey barrel" oak aging married perfectly with the
bourbon marinade the steaks had sucked up. And the assertive spicy charred
flavors of the rare steak created a "comfort zone" when confronted by
the huge, "over-the-top" concentration of blackberry fruit
jam flavors. Lots of ooohing and aaaahing!
However, the most amazing component of this wine was the underlying firm, but
very long soft tannin structure that give
this wine such a lush texture and make it so wonderfully heady to drink now. I intentionally allowed for
a half filled glass to sit out until Monday morning....when the
evolving scents and taste of baked blackberry pie filling showed
signs of beginning oxidation. This is a good test to measure a wine's
"staying" power. And while I doubt this wine will ever metamorphose
into a wine of complexity or breeding, it will provide
wonderful enjoyment over the next ten years for summertime
grilling or slow cooked bbq, hearty winter stews or even a
cigar!
The winery was selling this 997 case
production for $37 a bottle, but it is now sold out! My
price is $33.50, but I am going to sell it while my supply lasts for $29.58 a bottle. ORDER NOW BY
REPLY EMAIL! ALL ORDER REQUESTS WILL BE CONFIRMED BY INVOICE
# IN THE ORDER RECEIVED. The wine is available
for instore purchase or to sample at the tasting
bar!
HOT new dining tip! If you
are travelling to the Bay Area and passing by Walnut Creek be certain to try the
new bistro and wine bar - Va de Vi at 1511 Mt. Diablo Boulevard -
www.va-de-vi-bistro.com > A very wine focused
restaurant offering "global" small plates and
a diverse selection of wines by the glass for
fun pairings. We ordered and matched wines to five plates
for lunch a few weeks ago and everything was outstanding and
reasonably priced. As good as anything similar we have experienced in
San
Francisco. 342-3411
We are passionate about fine wine! Make us
your personal wine consultant!
Eric Stumpf
The Wine Consultant - Fine Wine Store and
Tasting Bar
8039 Greenback Lane
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
(916) 721-WINE (9463)
View the Archives |
|
