1995 Cinq Cepages

[mrdutton]

Set the bottle upright three days ago. Decanted it about a half-hour before service and chilled it in the frige down to about 65.

Menu:

Dry aged prime filet mignons - medium rare - started on the stove top in the grill pan and finished in a fast oven. (With a crust from a dry rub that is my approximation of Emeril's "Bam".) (The beef comes from Lobels in NYC.)

Yukon gold garlic mashers (boiled in chicken stock) hand mashed with butter and cream; chunky bits of potato remaining.

Sauce Bernaise for topping the beef and the mashers. Sauce finished with fresh lemon juice just before service.

Medley of seasonal veggies including green beans, carrots, peas and corn lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and lightly buttered.

Dark ruby red wine with no hints of a brown edge on the glass. Good dark cherry fruit on the nose along with hints of chocolate and something spicy/herbaceous that I didn't quite catch. Nice smooth mouthfeel with a nice balance of acid and tannin; it felt comfortable to hold it on the palate and enjoy it for a while before swallowing. I could certainly taste the cherries, hints of chocolate along with the herbs and the tannin when I drank this wine. The finish was long; from swallow to loss of flavor took about 35 to 40 seconds. Alcohol present, for sure, but this wine has not hot to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wine with my meal; it went well with the beef, the potatoes and with the veggies.

My wife sipped at hers; she is a fan of lighter wines and just does not like CS, even when blended with other wines. But, she did admit that it was a okay match with the beef when she tried a bite of steak and followed it with a sip of wine.

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 09-02-2002).]