A few times a year we get a supply of striped bass from Long Island NY in this area and one of those times was this past week. It ranks with halibut and cod as one of my favorite white fleshed fish. It a little tougher than halibut and cod with a texture more like tender lobster tail. The flavor is wonderful. It's shone above with local tomatoes and basil and local sweet corn cut off the cob and mixed with red onion and basil and dressed with cider vinegar and olive oil.
The fish was seasoned with salt and pepper then seared quickly in a pan and then oven roasted for ten minutes. The sauce is a mixture of concentrated orange juice, champagne vinegar, saffron, salt, white pepper and butter all blended together over low heat and then allowed to mellow for a couple hours.
The 2009 was a blend of 79% Viognier and 21% Roussanne and that is really near the sweet spot for me. The years where the percentage of Roussanne is much higher are good, but they are not as good as the ones with the near 3:1 ratio.
The wine was in full bloom just a couple minutes after the cork came out. Great color and a nose of melon, pears, green grapes, orange peel and spice. The texture of this wine was great, it wasn't too viscous. The flavors were ideal with the orange juice and a pure delight with the saffron.
The wine also matched well with the corn and basil. Great length to the finish which ended with enough acid to clear the palate for the next bite of food. Excellent wine and a completely delicious meal.
And there was enough bass left over for a second night when I changed the flavorings entirely.
2009 Kinkead Ridge Ohio River Valley Viognier Roussanne. 14.2% alcohol and $17.
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