Notes from a dinner with French wines

[wondersofwine]

In honor of the Monet in Normandy exhibit at NC Museum of Art, Raleigh, Zely & Ritz Restaurant had a wine dinner last night with French wines. Mr. Roland Herrmann from Roederer was the guest speaker. Roederer is known for its Champagne but has branched out into other wines as well.
We started with 2005 Domaine Ott, Les Domaniers de Puit Mouret, Cotes du Provence, a blush or rose wine from Mourvedre and Grenache. It was a soft wine with some rose petal and cranberry notes but not very exciting.

With a delicious prawn, fennel, black apple salad (prawns grown in a local pond in Orange County, NC) we had a 2002 Marc Bredif Vouvray. Unlike many Vouvrays, this one sees 6 months of sur lie aging and, thankfully, uses only stainless steel. Others at my table were more thrilled with this wine than I was, but it was pleasant. As many of you already know (but some may not), Vouvray is from the Chenin Blanc grape.

My favorite wine of the evening was the 2004 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer, Fleur from Alsace served with sauteed frog's legs deglazed with local honey, root vegetables and lemon sauce. (My first frog's legs--not bad, especially with the sauce) The Gewurz put out a big, powerful bouquet with a slight spiciness that I like in Gewurztraminer but don't always find. It was made with very little residual sugar but came across to one diner as sweet because of the fruit. I signed up to purchase two bottles ($25 each) to be picked up later.

Pheasant with Oregon Chanterelle and Shitake mushrooms and organic baby fingerling potatoes with mushroom sauce was a good match for the 2003 Chateau de Pez, St. Estephe from Bordeaux. I believe Mr. Hermann said that this had 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 44% Merlot. Whether due to the hot 2003 season in Europe or the percentage of Merlot, it was not a harsh or tannic wine. It was my second favorite of the evening after the Gewurztraminer.

I could only eat about half of the next entree of antelope or elk medallions with creamy risotto. Served with this course was a 2003 Napanook Bordeaux Style Cabernet Sauvigon from Napa Valley. This vintage contained no Merlot--91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, and 1% Malbec. This is from the Yountville area and is owned by Christian Moueix, the owner of Chateau Petrus. Dominus Estate is from the winery now called Napanook. This wine was also very well matched with the meat but will probably improve with some extra age.

Dessert was a citrus brioche bread pudding with small scoop of ginger and apple ice cream. Loved the dessert. Served with Roederer Champagne Brut, 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Chardonnay. Sur lie aging for 3 years (requirement is 15 months.) Rated 98 out of 100 by a French council (?)

Roederer is the largest privately owned Champagne house (most of the big Champagne firms are owned by corporations, not families). They own 80% of the vineyards whose grapes go into the house Champagne unlike other Champagne houses which buy from many vineyards.