I have to admit that when I started writing this blog it was just a way to let friends know about some of the wines I am drinking, what I am enjoying and my suggestions on which wines I think are pretty darn great. When I was contacted by a wine distributor (Philippe Dandurand Wines) I was wholely surprised. When she said she would be happy to drop off some wine for me to sample at my front door, it went from surprise to elation to surprise again! Really, someone wants me to try their wine! Wow~!
When it was suggested that I try two French wines, I was intrigued. Would they be old world, would they be too sophisticated for my self educated palate? They arrived, one red and one white. The red was called FUN and was a Beaujolais by Georges Duboeuf ($13.99 at Fort and Foul Bay Liquor Store) and the white was a Dourthe La Grande Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc ($14.99 at Fort and Foul Bay Liquor Store). I have to say, I was skeptical to begin with. Were these really wines they wanted me to try. Were these just gimmick wines aimed at a particular part of the population? Perhaps it was latent reticence that left me waiting a couple of weeks prior to putting these wines into action. A buddy called on Friday at about 5:00 p.m. and said he wanted to go out for a glass of wine and something to eat. Instead, I said, I have a couple of bottles of wine here, why don’t you join me, I’ll cook and we can chat in my kitchen at the bar!
So over he came. We started with the FUN Beaujolais. We were eating prosciutto, a little French Brie and homemade chicken curry with basmati rice. We both took a little snifter of the wine in our glasses and drew in the aromas. It had a good fruit forward nose to it, with some strawberry and a little plum on the end. On first taste the opening comment was, that it does not fight with your palate, it is an easy to drink wine. There were definite flavours of blackberry, currant, but overwhelmingly there was some strawberry. This was not a huge tannic wine, it was a lighter crisper, fruitier wine with a good finish. It was yummy and I have to say, surprisingly so. Would this be a complex wine to have with a heavy piece of lamb or with prime rib, probably not, though it would do just fine. With curry or spicy food, this is an excellent choice. Who said you cannot have red wine with curry? A good choice for those in your circle who might not be huge red wine fans, but want to be a part of the red wine crowd. I had read some of the online reviews and sure enough it matched up very well.
Next it was onto the white, the Dourthe. The initial nose on this wine is citrus with some good grapefruit and lemon combined. As soon as the wine hits your tongue you can sense the lemon, but not in a puckery bad way. It is almost as if taking in the best part of the rind, no bitterness, just a great lemony scent and flavour. This is a wine you have a sip of, and then feel that compunction to just have to have another sip. It goes down easily and leave a marvelous aftertaste in your mouth. This wine tastes like far more than its sticker price, which usually means a price increase will eventually hit the BC Liquor store, always seems to happen to the good ones. With a good chill on it, the wine is crisp, has little to no aftertaste and just really goes down well.
I will have to check on what my next assignment is from the wine ladies as I am calling them – so far has been nothing but a pleasure. Check these two very different wines out – you will be pleasantly surprised!
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