Wine & Cheese Paring #3

 

The Experience:

The Wines:

   

I enjoyed a wine & cheese paring at a wine club in Leesburg, VA over Spring Break with my mother. We got a cheese and charcuterie board that we paired with three different wines: Luis Canes Rosa Valance Viejas, Pago de los Capellanes Tinto Joven, and Thorn-Clarke Single Vineyard Grenache. The cheeses included: Blue DiCapra, Grafton Cheddar, and Melassndinmae Ada Brie.

1) Luis Canas Roja Vlanco Vinas Viejas:

The wine has a vintage year of 2022 and is from Rioja, Spain. It is made up of 85% Macabeo, 10% Malvasia Riojana, and 5% Tempranillo Blanco grapes. Originally, it smelt like slightly cooked white fish. It gives a salty finish on the back end of the throat. There was not much acidity or tannins and went down like thick water.

Blue DiCapra: The cheese tasted like clothes straight out of the dryer without a dryer sheet (very dry). Tannins fill the mouth for a second, but then eventually just tastes like cheese. The cheese definitely overpowers the wine.

Graftin Cheddar: This is the sharpest cheddar cheese I've had to date (something I quite enjoyed). With the wine, I got a full mouth tastes of green apple with heavy tartness. There was not much acidity, but rather a sharp tartness. The cheese and wine evened out nicely.

Melassndinmae Ada Brie: The cheese tastes like cream cheese, yet more fulfilling. I was overwhelmed with tannins, which went away quickly and left only a taste of cheese. The wine and cheese evened out, but not in a great way.

2) Pago de los Capellanes Tinto Joven:

The wine has a vintage year of 2023 and is from Castille and Leon, Spain. It is made entirely from the Tempranillo grape. The wine had a high acidity and was very pungent in the back of the throat. It smelt like cherry alcohol and gave off hints of tobacco.

Blue DiCapra: The cheese mellows out the acidity of the wine and leaves a warm sensation in the back of the throat. They pair well, but I'd say the cheese overpowers the wine just a little bit.

Graftin Cheddar: The cheddar flavor slightly overpowers the wine on the front end; however, on the back end the wine is very pungent and full of tannins. After the cheddar overpowers the wine, the flavors of cherry and tobacco kick in.

Melassndinmae Ada Brie: With this combination, the wine really overpowers the cheese. The wine gave off a strawberry flavor and left a little taste of rubber in the mouth on the back end.

3) Thorn-Clarke Single Vineyard Grenache:

The wine has a vintage year of 2021 and comes from the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It is made up of 85% Macabeo, 10% Malvasia Riojana, and 10% Tempranillo Blanca grapes. It smelt very fruity, like a strawberry, with notes of vanilla. It tastes a little like black pepper with a syrup consistency and a slight hint of rubber.

Blue DiCapra: The cheese definitely overpowers the wine. It makes the wine lose its flavor, but gives a slight spike in tannins. 

Graftin Cheddar: I enjoyed this combination. The wine and cheese stuck to the tongue, making the wine taste like cheesy strawberry.

Melassndinmae Ada Brie: The cheese shuts down the strawberry flavor and makes the wine taste mostly like rubber. I wouldn't say the cheese overpowers the wine since it left a slight sensation of tannins that lingered in the back of the throat.

Tasting - Portillo Malbec

                              Label: Me:

The Wine: Portillo Malbec is made with the Malbec grape. It has a vintage year of 2023 and is crafted in Mendoza, Argentina. The bottle has an ABV of 13% and costs about $36. 

Critic Review: James Suckling gave it a review of 90 points with tastes of black plum fruit, violets, and fresh mushrooms (https://www.palmbay.com/wines/portillo-wines/malbec-2/)

Wine Folly: Page 125 says the Malbec grape has notes of chocolate, raspberry, and red plum. The body is high in the wine wheel with alcohol and tannins in the middle level.

My Review: The wine smelled really good. It combined the smell of pomegranate and strawberry, giving off a sweet sense. The viscosity was really thick, similar to that of chocolate milk. Although tannins being in the middle of the wine wheel on Wine Folly, I'll say that tannins on Portillo hit the back of the throat pretty hard and lingered for a bit. I had the wine with a steak & cheese sub at a restaurant in San Antonio. The wine and steak & cheese did not play out very well, but I definitely enjoyed the wine on its own!

Tasting - Meiomi Pinot Noir

Label: Me:

The Wine: Meiomi Pinot Noir is made with the Pinot Noir grape. It has a vintage year of 2021 and is crafted in Acampo, California. The bottle has an ABV of 13.5% and costs about $51. 

Critic Review: John Rodgers from Honest Wine Reviews says he noted "classic pinot noir flavor with a bit of nutmeg or perhaps allspice." (https://www.honestwinereviews.com/meiomi-pinot-noir-review)

Wine Folly: Page 150 says the Pinot Noir grape has notes of clove and raspberry with high acidity, but low tannins. I definitely noticed the acidity, but didn't get any cherry flavors.

My Review: The wine smelled like a crushed grapefruit with lots of juice spilled out. It goes down really smooth (kind of like thick water) with a thick viscosity. It has a spike of acidity that does not stick around for a while. I tried this wine with a large pretzel (like the ones you would get at a baseball game), where the pretzels overpowered the wine, making it taste like salt.