Tonight we dined at Chez Maurice, and totally stoked to do so because Beef Bourguignon was on the menu. I'd never had Beef Bourguignon, but as it was being made by a superior cook (Mlle. Karen)and the recipe calls for 3 cups of Pinot Noir, I knew it would be an instant favourite. And so it was! Karen never disappoints in the kitchen. I suggested we should have our husbands shack up together and she could just move in with me. She's all aboard with that, except I think I'll have to retract my offer. If I lived with Karen I'd be 500 lbs. in no time. Sorry Karen. Unless you want me to be scooter bound, washing myself with a rag on a stick, you'll have to stay put (for now).
Of course the preferred wine with Beef Bourguignon is red Burgundy, and 'le shock' I just happened to have one that travelled home with me from Quebec. I was so tickled, wandering through the SAQ Selection in Montreal, marvelling at the Latours and Margauxs and Rothchilds, amazed at the sheer quantity of fine wine. Average bottle price ran around $250. Le ouch. So when I picked up a bottle of Bouchard Pere & Fils 2006 Premier Cru Pommard, I was tickled to find such a deal--$64.50 on sale for $50! But beware my little kittens, not every deal is all that it's cracked up to be.
Don't you just hate it--HATE IT--when you have real, wiggly, high expectations for a bottle of wine, and it turns out to be a dud? What a let down. I wrote notes directly on the bottle with a sharpie. First sniff: Dead ringer for cherry-kool-aid. Second sniff: Cherries. Tasted of--you guessed it--cherries, but was accompanied with this bitter grapefruit/citrus that was for me, unpleasant. Tangy and fruity, it had none of the lovely underlying spicy pepperiness that I've come to expect from Pinot Noir. A bad bottle, perhaps? I don't know. I just know that next time I'll be more cautious about what the wine store is pushing out the door.
Turning the page, I'm working on a wine bucket list. You know, stuff to try before I die. Do you have any life changing wines that I need to put on my list? Then speak up! Life is short, and I've got lots of drinking to do!
'Til next time,
Barb
