Out with the old, in with the new? Life's just not that easy! We popped the cork on an 11 year old Aussie (that's an old new world) and a much younger Italian (a new old world*) and put them to a food challenge. We had these bad boys duke it out over juicy lamb chops, indian-spiced cauliflower mash, and some brilliantly zingy red-wine braised peppers. [Thanks, Devon! You're welcome, mouth.]
Our "down under" homeboy for the night was Torbreck's 2001 The Steading, a rather sexy-sophisticated GSM (Grenache, Mataró---another name for our beloved Mourvèdre---and Shiraz) which hails from the scorching Barossa Valley of South Australia. Boom! Subtle earthy complexities and lush tannins balanced impeccably with every inch of my plate. Felsina's 2009 Chianti Classico was next up to bat. At first, his manly-yet-romantic self needed a lot of breathing room (in fact, ended up tasting best day 2), but when he finally opened up we totally hit it off. While he held his head high in the lamb battle, he just couldn't beat the experience and finesse of our aged Aussie. All in all, wine + food were a match made in heaven, and both our wines brought their herbaceous, gritty, down-to-earth A-game to do the lamb justice.
Do we have time for a glamour shot?!
*Quick Terms: "Old World"---wines of France, Spain, & Italy. "New World"---everything else.
No comments:
Post a Comment