We opened a bottle of Fruitiere Vinicole d'Arbois Trousseau Rouge 1996 to go with our shoulder of lamb for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately the wine was past its best and was very nearly oxidised; it had a smell of sherry. We didn't pour the wine away as it added some flavour to our roast lamb which was sourced from a Kent farmer's market.
Luckily, I guessed that the wine might be past its best and I had a bottle of red Bordeaux in reserve -2010 Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours which is a Cru Bourgois wine from Blaye. It was absolutely superb and it will keep for several years longer.
http://winejaw.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/world-cup-wine-brazilian-merlot.html.
The Bordeaux went very well with the lamb so our Christmas dinner was rescued.
I was expecting the Arbois to keep longer. The wine was a present. Arbois wines are produced in the Jura mountains in the east of France. The Trousseau black grape is limited to the region.
The Jura is most famous for its Vin de Paille which is a sweet white wine produced from grapes which have been allowed to dry out on straw mats. The process of drying the grapes increases the concentration of sugar in the berries.
The region is also famous for its Vin Jaune which is a dry white wine which has been exposed to a film of yeast sometimes called "Voile" growing on the surface of the wine sherry style. The film of yeast or "Flor" as it is called in Spain adds complexity to the taste as a result of oxidation. Vin Jaune tastes similar to Fino sherry but it is not fortified; it is produced from the white Savagnin grape.
http://www.chateau-bethanie.fr/fruitiere-vinicole-arbois-wines-of-jura-en/wine-of-jura-fruitiere-vinicole-arbois-chateau-bethanie-wines-of-jura.php.
We have a bottle of Arbois white wine made from the Savagnin grape from the 1996 vintage. I think that we had better open it and drink it soon; just in case.
Friday, 23 January 2015
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Carta Roja Gran Reserva 2007 red D.O. Jumilla and Bavette Steak
We drank this wine on Christmas Eve with Bavette Steak. We were looking forward to the wine but we were a little bit disappointed. The wine was of ordinary quality but we were expecting it to be much better given the price - £12 a bottle. The San Isidro estate is renowned for good wine. This wine was a grand reserve wine aged in oak for 2 years. It should have an intense and concentrated red berry flavour. But it had lost its intensity , complexity and concentration: this wine should have aged well for 7 years and should have be fully mature for drinking. It tasted ordinary. Maybe it had not been kept properly and had not aged gracefully.
I am a great believer of reading the reviews of the public they give as good an opinion as the "experts". They are worth reading below. Some of the reviewers rate the wine as 1 star out of 5 but I feel this is a little unfair and the 3 star average rating reflects the real quality of the wine. This particular bottle was of average quality.
It is made primarily of the Monastrelle black grape or the Mourvèdre in France. The Mourvèdre grape is used in blended wines in the south of France to add body to the wine but it is not used as a primary grape in the blend. It suits a hotter climate well. It should have given the Carta Roja lots of flavour and body but this was lacking. Perhaps we just had a bad bottle. It is now being sold at a discount which probably reflects the real quality of this vintage- £7 to £8 a bottle.
http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Carta-Roja-Gran-Reserva-2007/56152011
We were really looking forward to drinking the wine with a Bavette steak. The steak was much better than the wine.
Bavette steak is very popular in France as it is full of flavour and is tastier than most other cuts of steak especially fillet. It is cut from the skirt of the beef and is tougher than sirloin or rump steak and must be eaten rare. If you eat it well done then you ruin it as it becomes almost to tough to cut or chew. This is part of the reason why British people only eat skirt steak in a casserole as most Brits hate rare meat. Well they are missing out; Bavette steak is a real treat and much cheaper than sirloin steak but with much more flavour. You just need to cook it carefully and make sure it is rare: medium-rare will be almost too tough.
http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/beef-bavette-skirt-steak-360g-min
If the wine did not complement the steak too well then my caramelised onions did. It is traditional to eat Bavette with sweet onions. Usually it takes hours to cook caramelised onions but I have got a quick recipe if you don't have time or you have made a spur of the moment decision to eat them with your favourite cut of steak.
Take a medium sized red onion and chop it into strips but not too finely or they will burn. Do not use butter as it can burn as well.
Pour some olive oil into a saucepan and heat it but do not put in too much oil as the onions will fry rather than caramelise.
When the oil is hot but not too hot add the onions and allow them to cook for a while.
Add a couple of teaspoons of Muscovado sugar and stir in and cook until the onion and sugar mix starts to caramelise. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add a couple of shots of Basalmic vinegar to taste and keep stirring.
Make sure you taste the mixture; you can add sweetness to balance the taste if you have added too much vinegar or vice-versa and you can even add more onion to taste.
Now comes the tricky bit as you really need to soften the onions, so add a little water and allow it to boil off. Keep stirring. Make sure the onions do not dry out.
Repeat the water treatment until the onions have softened.
Watch everything carefully and keep stirring and tasting. When the onions have softened and caramelised sufficiently turn off the heat. All this takes 20 minutes or so. Make sure the mixture does not fry as overcooking will ruin it.
Deglaze the onions from the pan with water or wine but with only sufficient to make sure all the juices are removed from the pan.
Now you must get your timing right; do not start cooking the steak until the onions have finished as you risk overdoing the steak. The steak needs some olive oil and ground pepper and salt on the surface to taste. The steak should be allowed to get to room temperature if it has been refrigerated as you do not want the steak to be cold in the middle as you are cooking it rare.
Heat the frying pan well. The aim is to sear the top 4 mm or so of the steak but leave the interior red or bloody even. You must watch what you are doing . Do not attempt any other cooking whilst doing this. If you over cook the steak then you ruin it and there is no going back.
You can add a little chopped garlic for flavour to taste.
Bavette steak is always served with chips, so of course you have to get the timing right and wait until they are almost done until you start the steak. The steaks should not take long to cook and, I repeat, you must watch what you are doing and concentrate on the steaks only.
We served our steak with gratin grilled tomatoes too, which my wife cooked.
http://www.valais-terroir.ch/en/recette-cuisine/ete/gratinated-tomatoes-with-valais-raclette-cheese-0-6449
I like to season my chips with squeezed lemon juice rather than traditional British malt vinegar. I never use malt vinegar and prefer to eat chips from a chip shop without it. I get the chips home and slice some lemon or use wine vinegar if lemons aren't available.
My caramelised onions were delicious. Usually, I do not eat the onions but cover the steak with them for the flavour and then swish them off with my knife. My wife never eats onions but this time she ate all of my quick caramelised versions - yum yum but a pity about the wine.
PS. here are the slow methods for caramelised onions:
http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/crock-pot-caramelized-onions-slow-and-steady-does-the-trick/
http://www.coupdepouce.com/recettes-cuisine/conseils-pratiques/infos-cuisine/comment-carameliser-les-oignons/a/39000
I am a great believer of reading the reviews of the public they give as good an opinion as the "experts". They are worth reading below. Some of the reviewers rate the wine as 1 star out of 5 but I feel this is a little unfair and the 3 star average rating reflects the real quality of the wine. This particular bottle was of average quality.
It is made primarily of the Monastrelle black grape or the Mourvèdre in France. The Mourvèdre grape is used in blended wines in the south of France to add body to the wine but it is not used as a primary grape in the blend. It suits a hotter climate well. It should have given the Carta Roja lots of flavour and body but this was lacking. Perhaps we just had a bad bottle. It is now being sold at a discount which probably reflects the real quality of this vintage- £7 to £8 a bottle.
http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Carta-Roja-Gran-Reserva-2007/56152011
We were really looking forward to drinking the wine with a Bavette steak. The steak was much better than the wine.
Bavette steak is very popular in France as it is full of flavour and is tastier than most other cuts of steak especially fillet. It is cut from the skirt of the beef and is tougher than sirloin or rump steak and must be eaten rare. If you eat it well done then you ruin it as it becomes almost to tough to cut or chew. This is part of the reason why British people only eat skirt steak in a casserole as most Brits hate rare meat. Well they are missing out; Bavette steak is a real treat and much cheaper than sirloin steak but with much more flavour. You just need to cook it carefully and make sure it is rare: medium-rare will be almost too tough.
http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/beef-bavette-skirt-steak-360g-min
If the wine did not complement the steak too well then my caramelised onions did. It is traditional to eat Bavette with sweet onions. Usually it takes hours to cook caramelised onions but I have got a quick recipe if you don't have time or you have made a spur of the moment decision to eat them with your favourite cut of steak.
Take a medium sized red onion and chop it into strips but not too finely or they will burn. Do not use butter as it can burn as well.
Pour some olive oil into a saucepan and heat it but do not put in too much oil as the onions will fry rather than caramelise.
When the oil is hot but not too hot add the onions and allow them to cook for a while.
Add a couple of teaspoons of Muscovado sugar and stir in and cook until the onion and sugar mix starts to caramelise. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add a couple of shots of Basalmic vinegar to taste and keep stirring.
Make sure you taste the mixture; you can add sweetness to balance the taste if you have added too much vinegar or vice-versa and you can even add more onion to taste.
Now comes the tricky bit as you really need to soften the onions, so add a little water and allow it to boil off. Keep stirring. Make sure the onions do not dry out.
Repeat the water treatment until the onions have softened.
Watch everything carefully and keep stirring and tasting. When the onions have softened and caramelised sufficiently turn off the heat. All this takes 20 minutes or so. Make sure the mixture does not fry as overcooking will ruin it.
Deglaze the onions from the pan with water or wine but with only sufficient to make sure all the juices are removed from the pan.
Now you must get your timing right; do not start cooking the steak until the onions have finished as you risk overdoing the steak. The steak needs some olive oil and ground pepper and salt on the surface to taste. The steak should be allowed to get to room temperature if it has been refrigerated as you do not want the steak to be cold in the middle as you are cooking it rare.
Heat the frying pan well. The aim is to sear the top 4 mm or so of the steak but leave the interior red or bloody even. You must watch what you are doing . Do not attempt any other cooking whilst doing this. If you over cook the steak then you ruin it and there is no going back.
You can add a little chopped garlic for flavour to taste.
Bavette steak is always served with chips, so of course you have to get the timing right and wait until they are almost done until you start the steak. The steaks should not take long to cook and, I repeat, you must watch what you are doing and concentrate on the steaks only.
We served our steak with gratin grilled tomatoes too, which my wife cooked.
http://www.valais-terroir.ch/en/recette-cuisine/ete/gratinated-tomatoes-with-valais-raclette-cheese-0-6449
I like to season my chips with squeezed lemon juice rather than traditional British malt vinegar. I never use malt vinegar and prefer to eat chips from a chip shop without it. I get the chips home and slice some lemon or use wine vinegar if lemons aren't available.
My caramelised onions were delicious. Usually, I do not eat the onions but cover the steak with them for the flavour and then swish them off with my knife. My wife never eats onions but this time she ate all of my quick caramelised versions - yum yum but a pity about the wine.
PS. here are the slow methods for caramelised onions:
http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/crock-pot-caramelized-onions-slow-and-steady-does-the-trick/
http://www.coupdepouce.com/recettes-cuisine/conseils-pratiques/infos-cuisine/comment-carameliser-les-oignons/a/39000
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