WTN: Tom eats Merlot Crow
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:51 pm
OK, I admit it, I over reacted in my first TN of this wine. Cathedral Cellars Merlot, 2001, Coastal Region, South Africa
My apologies to Miles.
Nice deep garnet with a reddish purple edge. Oak, earth and berry notes on the nose. This time the flavors of red raspberries and nicely integrated smoky oak on the palate with a medium long smooth acidic finish. Good balance except for a bit more oak than I like, but not bad. Nice match with roasted pork tenderloin and Herbs de Provence Chicken. Not bad as a sipper, either.
Food match appears to be a critical element in evaluating this wine. I am now convinced that the horrible finish the first time I tasted this wine was due to the strong taste of generous amounts of grated parmesan on the pasta sauce. I have since had some other bitter tannin reactions in wine when combined with parmesan and tomato sauce. This cheese seems to have the ability to create a new taste when combined with certain wines.
Has anyone else had reaction to wine in Parmesan?
The interesting thing is that grated paremesan in Caesar Salad does not have the same effect when I have wine with it. Different mix of tastes, I guess. I also think that there may have been an interaction of parmesan with the pasta sauce in combination with the wine.
My apologies to Miles.
Nice deep garnet with a reddish purple edge. Oak, earth and berry notes on the nose. This time the flavors of red raspberries and nicely integrated smoky oak on the palate with a medium long smooth acidic finish. Good balance except for a bit more oak than I like, but not bad. Nice match with roasted pork tenderloin and Herbs de Provence Chicken. Not bad as a sipper, either.
Food match appears to be a critical element in evaluating this wine. I am now convinced that the horrible finish the first time I tasted this wine was due to the strong taste of generous amounts of grated parmesan on the pasta sauce. I have since had some other bitter tannin reactions in wine when combined with parmesan and tomato sauce. This cheese seems to have the ability to create a new taste when combined with certain wines.
Has anyone else had reaction to wine in Parmesan?
The interesting thing is that grated paremesan in Caesar Salad does not have the same effect when I have wine with it. Different mix of tastes, I guess. I also think that there may have been an interaction of parmesan with the pasta sauce in combination with the wine.