This past week saw us invited to our friend’s house and the first week where I could taste wine!  Yes, I could not taste wine for three weeks – AHH!!!  Crazy stuff.  But, I picked up a wicked cold and needed some heavy-duty anti-biotic to rid myself of a nasty sinus infection.  Anyway, I am back and I really enjoyed the wines we tasted this past week.

Our friends invited us to their house and as usual the food was awesome!  The dinner started with Moroccan fish that was paired nicely with a fresh green salad, a winter green salad, and humus.  Dinner was some awesome roasted chicken and potatoes, gonde and beans, Chicken/prune/Quince stew (Khoresh-E Morgh-O Alu).  The food was clearly Persian and was absolutely fantastic.

We brought a bottle of Haut Medoc and our hosts had one as well.  It was fun to compare them for a couple of reasons.  The host opened the two bottles at the same time, but they did not air out at the same time because they were different vintages, different varietals, and because the second wine was not poured till later in the evening.  Wine will air out faster when the bottle is emptied just a bit, so that the wine level reaches below the bottle’s shoulder.  This creates the largest possible surface area for wine within a bottle.

The wine paired quite nicely with the main course.  The wine notes follow below.  Many thanks to my friends for a lovely dinner and wonderful company.

2003 Barons Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild, Haut-Medoc – Score: B+
The nose on this garnet colored wine is popping with blackberry, raspberry, cranberry, and oak. The mouth on this, 60% Cabernet / 40% Merlot, full bodied wine is plush with fat tannins that mellow over time along with raspberry, blackberry, and oak. The mid palate starts off very acidic but calms down quickly and melds with oak and integrating tannins. The finish is long with more tannins, spicy oak, acidity, and a touch of leather.

2002 Chateau Malmaison Baronne Nadine de Rothschild, Moulis-en-Medoc Cru – Score: B+
The nose on this ruby colored wine is heavy with cherry, plum, oak, and minerals.  The mouth starts off over tannic, but it smooths out over time, to an almost mouth coating consistency.  It is followed by rich plum and cherry flavors.  The mid palate starts off very acidic, almost astringent,  but the acidity clams down, into a rich and balanced mid palate.  The finish is long with more red fruit, spicy notes, and slight mineral/earthy finish.