65% grenache – 15% syrah – 20% carignan
France has benefited from some near perfect grape growing weather this past decade and the 2009 Rhones are of no exemption, an excellent growing season that we can all benefit from.
The easiest year I've ever seen," said Éric Texier, a small Beaujolais-based négociant who produces both Southern and Northern Rhône wines. "You could harvest early with bright acidities and very good phenolic ripeness, or harvest late and get huge concentration, alcohol levels and dark as hell wines."
When searching for value wines paired with surprisingly impressive flavors I am constantly drawn to wines from the Rhone Valley. The amount of quality wine that one finds can be overwhelming. The 2009 Domaine Les Grands Bois CDR Trois Soers is definently one of these wines that over-perform for its price point. Domaine les Grands Bois has deep roots in the Rhone Valley; it has been a family operated grower since 1929, and had its first estate bottling in 1997. They make a number of different wines; including Les Trois Soeurs from 60+ year old vines.
The flavors that initially come through are: dark fig and plum paired with some serious toasty notes. It has some beautiful aromas of crushed black berry and spice. The herbaceous and earth rounds out the finish with just a touch of anise. Well textured tannins and some good acidity, all of these attributes really make it an excellent wine to be paired with a number of different foods. Including: Lamb, Veal, Mushrooms, and game.
Fall is that time of the year when we all start craving comfort foods and one of my all-time favorite comfort foods is risotto. It is a generally easy dish to make, as long as you can pay attention to the pot.
Ingredients:
8oz Crimini Mushrooms
8oz Shiitake Mushrooms
½ Spanish Onion
1 ½ C of Arborio Rice
1 C Parmesan Cheese
4-6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1qt of mushroom stock (can be bought)
Begin by cooking the mushrooms in a mixture of butter and oil on medium heat, season well with salt and pepper, do not overcrowd the pan, cook them in three to four batches. Place them aside. Mince the onion and add some more oil and add to the pan. Cook until the onion has just begun to caramelize. Deglaze the pan with the stock and empty the pan into another pot and keep hot.
Add some more oil to the pan and add the Rice, cook for 1 min in the oil and ladle in 1 cup of Stock. Continue to add the stock 1 cup at a time until the rice is al dente. Remove from the heat and add the reserved cooked mushrooms, the parmesan salt and pepper to taste, and finish with some butter. The rice should be fluid, if needed add additional stock.
