A Tasting, Including Pinotage

Chinched Bistro was busy this past Saturday night as the site for the latest tasting event of the local chapter of the Opimian Society. Hosts Dave Conway and Courtney Escott featured an eclectic assortment of wines paired with some of Chinched’s specialties.

We were treated to a magnum of sparkling rosé from Château de Sours, Bordeaux, as a reception wine overlapping with the first course – a sampler of in-house charcuterie. That wine was supplemented with an understated Shiraz from Langhorne Creek in Australia, produced by Shottesbrooke Wines. The two quite different wines showed that you can approach a pairing from more than one direction as both complemented the food in different ways. The red melded with the animal fats, while the crisp rosé cleansed the palate with pleasant red fruit flavours.

The next course was good old Newfoundland cod served with skin on in a rich broth – marvelous flavours! Somewhat surprisingly, the pairing was with a Pinot Noir from the Macon area of Burgundy: Les Terres Rouge. The lean but flavourful style of pinot did work with the flavourful broth, but a comparison with a rich white would also have been interesting.

The main course of perfectly prepared and tender striploin was accompanied by the Warwick Estate, Old Bush Vines, Pinotage from the Stellenbosch district of South Africa – a perfect pairing. Pinotage has been a varietal for almost 100 years after being invented in South Africa as a cross between Cinsaut and Pinot Noir. The combination has proved hardy enough to prosper in that country’s conditions while retaining the rich red fruit characteristics of the pinot. Pinotage has not always had a great reputation as various uncomplimentary flavours have been ascribed to it in the days before the emergence of the country’s modern, export-able wine industry. More recently, with proper vineyard management and modern wine-making techniques, it is capable of producing robust, yet lovely wines, either on its own or in blends, such as the “Cape Blend” of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinotage. The Warwick was an excellent example of what this grape can achieve.

We finished up with a taste of a couple of exceptional ports as matches with a chocolate tart. The highlight had to be the 1977 Quarles Harris vintage port which was quite full in the mouth despite being almost 40 years old, and was packed with ripe red and black fruit flavours. It was a rare treat to have such a well-aged, and fabulous wine.

Over the whole of the event we enjoyed more than seven different wines combined with a four course, high-quality dinner. Such events are a wonderful means to enjoy interesting food and wine pairings and sample wines you might otherwise never get a chance to try.

Some South African vineyards – spectacular settings!

South-Africa-October-2008-006

Stellenbosch and nearby districts

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Wine Listings

There is only one Pinotage on the shelves of the NLC and luckily, The Grinder 2014 (NLC $15.62) is a suitable example of the varietal, and at an attractive price point. This wine showed the same ripe fruit flavours of the Warwick, although not quite so dense and developed. The tannins were a little less supple as well, but do not detract from the enjoyment of this wine. You won’t get a much better choice for BBQ season. Score:14.5/Good.

Quicknotes

• Château de Sours has recently been sold to billionaire Jack Ma, of Alibaba fame.
• The Opimian AGM will be held in Charlottetown, PEI on June 11th.
• Have you purchased a ticket for the NLC’s Bordeaux En Primeur event yet?