WBW 22: 2003 Château Haut Roudier, Bordeaux
Say Bordeaux and most people think of grand estates and eye-popping prices. But those images represent a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions of bottles the famous wine region produces each year. In fact, it's not hard to find decent, affordable bottles of Bordeaux, especially as desperate vintners try to combat the declining sales of French wine.
Melissa and I are auditioning wines for a new "house red"—something decent and food-friendly we can afford in reasonable quantities—and we started our quest with the Château Haut Roudier, a basic Bordeaux that Vintage Berkeley sells for $10. What does an audition entail? We ask the wines to sing a little song and read from a script, but we use our instincts to make the final call.
Low alcohol can bias the judges. The 12.5% in this wine helps it pair with a wide variety of foods, but it also qualifies the bottle for the "low-alcohol reds" theme for this round of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the Internet-wide tasting event.
The Roudier's stream of aromas reminds me of my duck confit lessons: There's a lot going on in this wine, but it's hard to pick out individual notes. Sure, I could mention barnyard and cherry and caramel, and add in some green notes, but that wouldn't convey the rush of scents. The flavors confused my palate just as much. Perhaps my nose was off that evening (I often forget where I put it). The good acidity and low tannins contribute to its food-friendliness, but I fear the short finish will disqualify it as we work through other house wine candidates.
We paired the wine with a garlicky roast leg of lamb cooked nice and rare. That's a hard challenge for an everyday wine, and our little Bordeaux couldn't quite muster the body for the job. Still, it should do quite nicely with any number of less robust dishes.
- What Every Boy And Girl Wants
Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift? How about a cool six-week-long UC Berkeley Extension wine course in San Francisco, starting in early April? You might think this is a hard gift to find, but you'd be wrong. Click the link, pull out...
- These Silly Tastings
Numerous people have mentioned yet another wine tasting in which California wines beat out the French. What I keep wondering is not "why do the French keep losing" but "why do this at all?" Napa Cabernets. Bordeaux. Despite some surface...
- Recent Tasting Notes
I'm making an effort to publish tasting notes again, lest you worry that we've become teetotallers. These wines were samples sent to me by wineries or their P.R. reps. I don't promise to review samples here or in a paid article, but I do...
- Wtn: 2001 Syrah, Paschal Winery, Rogue Valley
2001 Syrah, Paschal, Rogue Valley - $23 Every couple years Melissa and I drive to the tiny town of Ashland in southern Oregon to take in some plays with our friends Pavel and Kathleen. Theater is the focus, but now that I'm into wine, I make a habit...
- Wwwbw: 2002 Amaroo Merlot
Lenn Thompson of the cleverly named lenndevours concocted a spin-off of the popular Is My Blog Burning? event held every month in the food blogging community. His brain child is the more cumbersomely named "World Wide Wine Blogging Wednesday", and the...