February Wine of the Month

As expected wine of the month for February goes to one of the wonderful reds we had at the Tongham Tapas Fiesta – The Camins del Priorat 2008. This wine by Alvaro Palacious, one of the best and most well known wine makers in Priorat, was a great hit at our February Spanish wine tasting. It has great power and lovely flavours and I think very good value at around £15. The primary grape is Carignan, known locally as Carinena or Salmso which is not normally a great grape but does well when there are low yields such as in Priorat. The wine also contains Grenacha, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. You can buy this wine in-line at Berry Brothers and Rudd and Waitrose.

My favourite wine of the month but not currently available in the UK was an absolutely stunning Sancerre white. The 2007 La Cote des Monts Damnes Sancerre by Henri Bourgeois was zesty and wonderfully minerally. It had life and really sung to me! It had citrus but none of the less desirable flavours one gets in some Sauvignon Blanc. Worth looking out for this wine if in the region – I purchased mine in Sancerre back in 2008 and wish I had some more. You can find various years available in various countries on Wine Searcher if you look.

A third wine of note was a really nice non vintage champagne we had as an aperitif when visiting Tom Aikens restaurant in Chelsea. I had never had an Henriot Champagne before and really loved it; will probably do a report on this restaurant visit and the wines we had in a future blog. Suffice for now to say that it was an evening of total excess.

Coincidence of the month was having a Chilean Gewurtztraminer two nights in a row after never had one in my life before. Both were very pleasant but the star was the Aresti Estate 2006 Old Vines Gwurtztraminer – it paired some Thai food very well. I think I may have bought this at Waitrose because of a Jancis Robinson recommendation as I also did with the Priorat – well done Jancis!

Talking of Jancis Robinson, do get involved in her Wine Relief this month, which is part of Red Nose Day. We may be organising something – watch this space.

A Dab Hand at cooking……..Dab!

I thoroughly approve of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Big Fish Fight and have been waiting for some of our less popular fish to start appearing in our supermarkets as a result of the campaign. This weekend I found some dab in Tescos and thought we need to reward Tescos for putting this on their counter and bought four of them.

When I got home I went on Hugh’s site and quickly found out how to cook dab. Hugh’s recipe is basically a fish finger sandwich using dab. Very nice but not what I was looking for. So here on this blog are some further ideas that I tried successfully but using the same method for cooking the dab. I have also come up with some wine pairings that worked well. However, first we must prepare the fish – use on the day of purchase as dab is best fresh.

Filleting a Dab and making a fish stock
I was surprised how easy it was to fillet dab having never filleted a flat fish before, although I do remember filleting a load of sprats one evening which are even smaller. One essential item of equipment is a good fish filleting knife – visit your local kitchen shop or go on-line. I also found a good strong pair of kitchen scissors helpful.

Step 1 – remove the head and tail and fins. I used the scissors for this.

Step 2 – With the dark side of the fish upwards, cut along the length of the backbone to the bone. Then remove your first fillet by starting at the backbone and gradually lifting the flesh off the bone by sliding the knife flat against the ad end at bone. I found it easier to start slight towards the head end. Repeat for the other fillet on this side and then turn over and repeat for the white skinned side of the fish. You should end up with four small fillets for each dab. Leave the skin on as it will crisp up nicely.
Step 3 – Reserve the bones, head etc for the stock.
Step 4 – Season some plain flour with salt and pepper and dust each fillet with the seasoned flour. Put in the fridge until ready to use.
Step 5 – Add the reserve bones and head to a small saucepan and add a small onion or shallot a chopped carrot and some celery. Fill the saucepan with water and add a few sprigs of herbs like thyme. Bring to a simmer and continue slowly simmering for twenty minutes but no longer. Reserve for use in a risotto or use to make a sauce.

Recipe 1 - Dab and Caper Salad
This is a healthy starter. Allow 1 dab per person and about 30 grams of small salad leave.

Step 1 – Make a salad dressing using some olive oil, whole grain mustard and lemon juice. Chop a few capers into this and add some seasoning.
Step 2 – Wash the salad leaves and drain and arrange on a plate.
Step 3 – In a frying pan, bring some sunflower oil up to a reasonable heat. Put each fillet in skin side down and cook for a maximum of two minutes until the skin is crispy. Quickly turn over and then after 30 seconds remove from the plan and pat dry on kitchen paper.
Step 4 – Dress the salad and then place the fish on top and serve.

Recipe 2 – Dab, Pea and Lemon Risotto
This is a main course that makes good use of the fish stock we have just made.

Step 1 – Chop a shallot and stalk of celery and lightly fry in some olive oil to soften without colouring. Then add the Arborio rice and cook for a few minutes.
Step 2 – Gradually stir in the stock and stir in the normal way you would make a risotto.
Step 3 – Towards the end of the cooking, add in the peas and the juice of one lemon and some lemon zest and seasoning. At the very end add some butter and let rest while you cook the fish.
Step 4 – Cook the dab as in the previous recipe.
Step 5 – Serve the risotto with the fish on top.

Wine Pairings
With the salad we had a Montagny which is a reasonably priced Burgundy Chardonnay white. Ours was a nice acidic wine that matched well with the fish and the salad dressing.
With the risotto we had a lovely Henri Bourgeois Sancerre.

TonghamTaster’s French Wine Tasting Course – week 9 Loire Sauvignon Blanc Whites

The 12 month on-line course to help you learn about French wines - Top tips on how to get value when buying them - Reasonably priced up-to-date recommendations of what to buy and try in the UK - Bringing you the best of Tongham Village Hall wine tastings.

INTRODUCTION
Sauvignon Blanc is one of the top grape varieties in the world because of the wines produced with this varietal in the Loire Valley. This week we cover these great wines which are still amongst the best, despite the efforts of New Zealand and others to topple them.

Tongham Taster in Sancerre 2008

LOCALITY
The upper Loire, sometimes called Le Berry or the Central Vineyrads, around Vierzon and Sancerre produces the most famous Sauvignon Blanc wines of the Loire. Vierzon has the reputation of being one of the ugliest towns in France but Sancerre is one of those beautiful hilltop towns they seem to have everywhere in France. This area is also famous for goats cheese such as Chavignol, so no surprise that this is one of the top food pairings with this wine. The area of Touraine near Tours also produces some good value Sauvignon Blanc wines.


The vineyards and town of Sancerre

VARIETALS
The grape we are covering this week is just the Sauvignon Blanc varietal, apart from a few notes about the roses from the area which are produced from red grapes. Sauvignon Blanc produces a direct, easy to appreciate style of wine that is always dry– hence its popularity.

THE WINES
There is really just one main style of Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire; a very dry, fruity white without any oak. The world famous AOCs producing this style are of course Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. These two wines are produced almost opposite each other on each side of the Loire. The latter is not to be confused with Pouilly Fuisse which is a wine produced from Chardonnay grapes from relatively nearby Macon in Burgundy. The Sancerres of Pouilly Fume can be the greatest expressions of Sauvignon Blanc in the world when from a top producer in a good year. One of the joys of tasting Sancerre in the region is to discover that they do not all taste the same and experiencing the subtly different tastes that come from thev slightly different soils – different combinations of clay and limestone and different amounts of flint. Over the years I have grown to love the wines from Alphonse Mellot, Serge Laporte, Didier Dagueneau and may others. The best are wonderfully complex but still refreshing. I first visited Sancerre in 1981 and have been back many times over the years.

The other AOCS in the upper Loire that produce this style of Sauvignon Blanc wine are Menetou Salon which is next door to Sancerre to the west, plus Quincy and Reuilly which are even further west clustered just south of Vierzon. Their wines are often good value but expect to pay high prices for good Menetou Salon producers like Domaine Philippe Gilbert or Henri Pelle. Over the years I have grown vary fond of the wines from Quincy with their often vary grapefruity taste.

Way to the west of Sancerre, in the middle Loire, is the AOC of Touraine and this area also produces some good value Sauvignon Blanc but with a subtly different taste due to the terroir. I would have to admit that I tend to be disappointed in them but suspect that is just me.

Inside the winery of Domaine Philippe Gilbert

A more unusual style of Sauvignon Blanc that some producers have experimented with is an oaked style. Examples are Domaine Philippe Gilbert’s Les Renardieres wines in Menetou Salon and Alphonse Mellots Cuvee Edmond in Sancerre. If you are a serious wine drinker, you really should try these and I have seen both available in the UK over the years.

Although nothing to do with Sauvignon Blanc I wish to mention the Roses of the region. I tend to think that Pinot Noir can produce some of the best Roses in the world and although some of the Sancerre Roses can be disappointing, the rose from Domaine Philippe Gilbert in Menetou can be really excellent. I also enjoy the Gris de Gris that Valerie Renaudat produces in Reuilly. It is a Vin Gris (something which we would call a blush wine) from Pinot Gris grapes and again is rather pleasant.

Sancerre Town Square

THE TASTE
Loire Sauvignon Blanc wines tend to have a dry, crisp taste with notes of gooseberry, citrus, grass and even cats pee! There is often also a distint flinty minerally taste that comes from the terroir.

TOP TIPS
• The wines of Menetou Salon, Quincy and Reuilly can be good value alternatives to Sancerre and Pouilly Fume.
• Look out for one of the oaked Sauvignon Blancs if you want to impress a wine buff!
• Don’t buy cheap Sancerre or Pouilly Fume, ie under £12 a bottle – it is almost always a disappointment.

HOMEWORK
For your homework this week you need to buy and try any Loire Sauvignon Blanc. You might want to try one of my recommendations below:

Waitrose – Domaine Naudet 2008, Sancerre – about £13.

The hilltip town of Sancerre, August 2003

Or if feeling flush, Waitrose - Domaine Henry Pellé, Clos des Blanchais 2007 Menetou-Salon – about £16.
or Sainsburys – Alphonse Mellot La Moussierre, Sancerre, about £16.
Or if on a budget – Majestic, La Grille Touraine Sauvignon 2009 Paul Buisse, about £7. Majestic always have an interesting selection of more expensive Loire whites so you might wish to try some of theirs such as the Domaune Vacheron at about £17
You might also consider a trip down to Les Caves des Pyrenes in Guildord to see their selection. It normally includes Henri Pelle from Menetou.

A good reference guide

FOOD PAIRINGS
The Loire Sauvignon Blancs make a great aperitif wine for drinking on their own. After a hard day I like nothing better than a glass of good Sancerre, Pouilly or Menetou. Very refreshing!
The classic food pairing is goats cheese.
Other food pairings would include sea food and fish but don’t stop there, try chicken dishes such as lemon chicken or chicken Marengo as well.

COMING SOON
Next week we move on to the Languedoc-Roussillon area of Southern France and some of its great value red wines.

If you missed the early weeks of this course, it is not too late to catch up. Just click on the French Wine Course link at the top of this page.