2014 Game Dinner: Cousino Macul Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon `10 $11.99

It has been a rough winter - cold, dark and filled with snow.  What helps me get through the seemingly endless final weeks of winter? Counting the days until the Stockbridge Sportsman's Club Game Dinner, a fundraiser that shares the bounty of the year with neighbors and brings over 200 of us all together: writers, hunters, teachers, students, healthcare activists, carpenters, tradesmen, civil servants, business owners and a transplanted Fijian. The one demographic NOT represented at the dinner was vegetarians. This was my second year attending the annual Game Dinner, and I hope that I'll be able to write about for years to come.

The dinner had a special wine pairing, a French Rhone (reviewed last year) Chapelle St Arnoux Cotes du Ventoux, and the Chilean Cousino Macul Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon `10 above left.  There was a full cash bar for those who wanted beer, soda, juice or mixed drinks.

The fire in the member built fireplace added a glow to the room, and mounted trophies on the walls were a reminder of where our dinner came from.  This is a gathering of old and new friends sharing in the harvest, talking about the season and celebrating by raising a glass, swapping hunting stories, and online recipes while discussing schools, orchestra practice, writing groups and honeymoons. (public vs private, 9 hours practicing with 15 mins for lunch!, topics focusing on women, a B&B in Newport RI  - a fishing trip in guise of a honeymoon)

Dinner was presented in three buffet courses:

Appetizers: Smoked Trout Pâté, Smoked Pheasant, Wild Boar Meatballs with pineapple habenero sauce, Country Venison Pâté, Mini Bear Wellington with horseradish sauce, Squirrel & Rabbit Ragu, and Moose Sausage Sliders.

Main Courses: Smoked Salmon Cakes with Mango Sauce, Panko Crusted Cod and Pollack with Lemon Pepper and White Wine,  Moose and Elk Stroganoff over egg noodles, Venison Chili, Moose & Mushroom Stew, Polenta, Venison Meatloaf with a mushroom demi-glace, Grilled Moose, Smoked Bear with a Memphis Rub, Smoked Venison, Wild Fiddleheads and Winter Squash.

Dessert: Fruit cobbler, homemade fudge, and local Barrington Roasting Company Coffee.

Everything was local.  The club is set back in the Berkshire Mountain woods where generations of animals and hunters have co-existed.  The fiddleheads were harvested from a local riverbank.  Two Italian sisters made the delicious, creamy polenta, that highlighted the moose and mushroom stew.  The club's vice president made the Country Venison Pâté with pistachios, and he and his wife donated the Japanese Kabocha & Butternut squash from their garden too.

With two professional chefs in the kitchen, the Club's Peter de la Grande and David Pullano, this dinner is a meat loving foodie event.

At our table, between sips of the jammy, complex Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, as oohed and ahhd over the Venison Stew, Marc Fadding, the club VP and cook of both the Stew and Venison Pâté told us a he tweaked am online recipe for venison stew by adding red-wine and a rich, fresh venison stock he learned to make under the tutelage of Chef Gerhard Schmid. It was delicious, and the lean flavorful stew paired beautifully with the dark fruit layers of the Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.

The real pairing highlights of the evening was the Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile's Maipo Valley with both the appetizer Moose Sausage Slider, and the main course Moose and Elk Stroganoff over egg noodles.   At 14% ETO, this Cabernet Sauvignon was well balanced, added a fruity taste to balance the meat, and was a perfect match to the sweetness in both the slider bun, and the stroganoff noodles. What a delicious meal.

I'm counting the days until next year....

Sassy Bitch Pinot Noir `10 $10.99 *(*)

I went home to Maine for a post-Christmas visit, and low and behold there were two bottles of Sassy Bitch sitting ready for Sunday Dinner.  They were gifts.  YOU KNOW why they were gifts.  Sassy Bitch is purchased for the label and the laughter.  We did laugh, the four Sassy Bitches around the table.  What can I say, I was raised by a line of strong women, and the next generation is improving on that strength.

Why is this wine like a Sassy Bitch?  Because it is fun to look at, talk about and be around for a while.  But just like that sassy bitch at a party, it has a bitter undertone and is really hard to take.  It is rough, has some acid, not very well balanced, is just a bit too sassy, and a bit alcoholic at 14% ETOH.  This Sassy Bitch is not going to age well. She is already a smoky old hag, and she was born in 2010.  YIKES. (I have a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon waiting in the wine rack - We'll uncork her when we need a laugh)

Their website is full of sass, but no production notes.  It is hard to take this Chilean wine seriously, it is a Pinot Noir novelty item.  It was worth the $10.99 in laughter, but after the first sip, we drank something else with dinner. Just like the stereotype it portrays, this wine has its place.  But it isn't relationship material.

I'll leave you with the vintage and the nouveau
Sassy Bitches in my life.
One has aged gracefully, a `30 Premiers Crus Bordeaux.  
The other is a `93 New World red with a lot of potential.
I love them both. 
Their Sass is well balanced with depth of character,
clarity and a finish that makes my soul glow.

Concha y Toro Casillero Del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon `09 $9.99 (not TJ's) (*)

We talked about whether or not I would review this wine.  I've been criticized for not posting many bad reviews (well, one star reviews, some of my reviews are classic in how badly written they are... I almost named this blog "Drunken Wine Reviews").   I'll admit that I have hated wines and NOT written a review about them; but in this case, I want to write about this wine. I made it through a couple of glasses -  it was drinkable. I was simply disappointed, and here is why:

The marketing and the bottling are great, super slick, fun and a conversation starter  - second only to Fat Bastard Wine IMHO.  The details are so professional - from the devil emblem on the bottle to the super fancy website.  All those bells and whistles, and the pour was a heavy Cabernet from Chile that had a seriously sour finish. The body of a good Cabernet was there, it had depth and a dried fruit aroma, but the finish was sour, like biting into a not quite ripe grape.  We couldn't even think of a way to "fix" this wine.  It was relegated to the vinegar barrel in the basement.  I was seduced by the devil on the package and the flames in the flash video and I was disappointed. Read into that what you will, but I had high hopes - hey it may make some really good vinegar - it was well on its way.

If they had taken just a fraction of their marketing budget and put it into better grapes, I think that they could have hit this wine out of the park (it is Spring, and I am hauling out the baseball metaphors).

Dinner was good.  We had fun cooking it.  Pan roasted new potatoes, sauteed kale and  Beef Brisket Braised with Onions From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan (I LOVE that Marcella comments on the recipe in the post that I linked to above).

Here is our dinner as it sat on the stove waiting to be plated....

Palin Syrah `06, (not TJ's) $16.99 ***

A very good Syrah from the Limarí Valley of Chile, that has either experienced a boost* in sales or a drop in sales due to the name (which  pre-dates the 2008 presidential election). Palin has polarized the public who have politicize plonk. (now say that three times fast!)

*For their own reasons, JPH & S. bought a lot of this wine.  It is good wine.  Solid, flavorful, just a hint of spice.  Kind of smooth.  Researching the wine and where it comes from is difficult because of all the political ranting about the name.  Ranting really does just muddy the water now, doesn't it?

We dusted off a bottle, then had it with Filet Mignon and tagliatelle with mushroom  cream sauce. Of course we played with the name, but we never lost fact of what we were drinking.  Good, clean, basic plonk.  Organic (bonafides come from the IMO Swiss authority). This is a classy Syrah from a varietal that can range from rough and tumble Shiraz from Australia, to this organic, highbrow small producer Chilean Syrah.  There is room for all versions in my life.

After Aeration:  We tried pouring it through the nuance, but the cutting aeration just agitated it and made it rougher and bitter.  (Are you listening Katie Couric?) It is better left in the bottle and then poured into your glass.  We need winemakers in this world, just like we need public servants in office.  Sometimes, when you agitate them and make sport of tearing them apart, it simply tarnishes the profession, leaving us guided by the slick and mass produced. We need individuality, we need true diversity, we need small producers, and we need wines like Palin Syrah.

Two days later... this wine needs to be enjoyed when fresh. Just like it didn't stand up to aeration, it does not sit bottled up very well at all.  The bitterness is the front and the back end.  I did what worked best for it after being opened for two days, I recycled my glass to the vinegar barrel.  A few months of fermenting and it will be a delicious salad dressing.

And so, I'll leave you with the other versatile Palin,
not quite as organic, but spicy ...

Panilonco Carmenere `07 Reserve $4.99 ***

Red wine at 9:30 on a Saturday morning is not a red flag, it is just a sign that I have some cooking to do. I can't believe that I am starting a review before I've finished my coffee. But there it is. I am making some Turkey Chili for an off-shore boat trip and today is the only time that I'll be able to get it cooked and into the freezer. I grabbed a sip after I poured some into the chili.

First thoughts - good plonk for $4.99. This is a perfectly acceptable "Wednesday Night" wine. I just read an article about one of the major producers of TJ's Wines  - Bronco, and he spoke about Wednesday night wines v. Sunday wines. I am definitely a Wednesday night wine person.

The Carmenere is a light, slightly acid wine. It cleans the palate, and isn't overpowering. I am pairing it with lamb sausage for lunch today.

It took a lot of sips between us to make adequate comparisons pre and post vinturi. There is something a bit off about this wine. It is not a stand alone drink. The vinturi smooths it out, but then the off taste is more prevalent. I'd just drink it straight, and serve it with a spicy/fatty food. It went well with the Gorgonzola, and then with the Sausage. Even though the wine is kind of fruity - sour cherry notes, it is just a basic table red that no one should hate, but no one should go running out to buy. A "Wednesday Night Wine" served on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Lunch Menu:
Candied Walnut Gorgonzola Salad
Merguez Couscous
Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Limoncello

Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ****$9.00

Sunday Afternoon/Early Dinner

This is the most expensive wine that I have bought so far at TJ's. I have high expectations for this afternoon.

I opened it while cooking. First sip smooth and mellow. I had stored it in the pantry, and it was a bit cooler than red should be, but the coolness mellowed it. As it sat in my glass, the taste changed slightly. Slight oak, you can taste the alcohol. This clean sharpness goes well with the pasta. The richness of the sausage and Parmesan are balanced well with this Cabernet.

In my ever evolving quest to develop pasta sauces without using tomatoes, I have to say that this meal is a hit. (although I forgot fresh parsley)

Salad: Mesclun, mandarin,walnuts, balsamic and gorgonzola
Main: Pasta with a sauce of Sage, Sausage and Butternut Squash. (Thank you Marcella Hazan Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)
Dessert: Pot de Creme au Chocolat