We pulled the cork about an hour before dinner and splashed out enough wine to give it some breathing room. Beautiful color in the glass and a nose of blackberries, dark cherries, cinnamon, cardamon, vanilla and a bit of earth. We put the wine aside without tasting it and returned to it later when the third course of the meal hit the table.
The Corison was paired with a filet mignon of beef, seared and then pan roasted. While the filet rested we made a pan sauce of a splash of the wine, beef stock, blackberry jam, blackberry vinegar, Dijon mustard and fresh blackberries. The sauce was finished with a few swirls of butter. The side dish was a rendition of neeps and tatties, or potatoes and turnips. The vegetables were cooked separately, riced, combined with some chopped spring onions, milk and butter and then roasted in a loaf pan while the beef cooked.
The nose on the wine had virtually blossomed by this time and the blackberries and cherries were joined by some currants. They were definitely singing some harmony. The dark cherry flavors dominated on the palate but had some strong support in the mixture of baking spices that were in the original nose. There was an earthiness to the wine that appealed to me. The tannins here were smooth and integrated and almost Burgundian in their mouth feel. This wine was not in your face or over the top in any way. It was refined, graceful, mellow and classy. There was no pretension in the glass and the wine made no attempt to be more than it was. It was elegant.
The cherry and blackberry flavors married perfectly with beef and the sauce while the neeps and tatties brought out the earthiness and perhaps a bit of mint in the wine. It would be hard to imagine a better pairing. Wonderful wine and there is a glass remaining for this evening.
13.6% alcohol and $70
1 comment:
Thank you for the wonderful feedback and tasting notes - make a point to stop by the winery next time you are in Napa!
Cheers,
Tracy Sweeney, General Manager
Corison Winery
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