Had a rare relaxing night with virtually nothing on the calendar and since it was #Wine Wednesday, I decided to open a new release and match it to some appropriate food.
The 2009 Chappellet “Signature” Cabernet is in the simplest terms, an outstanding Cabernet that you must try. It is deep, dark, rich purple in the glass with a lighter purple hue at the rim. The aromas are classic Napa Valley Cabernet: plum, blackberry jam, Christmas Cake, and black licorice. In the mouth, the wine carries loads of massive ripe fruit with blackberry, spice, licorice and coffee. Dusty minerals join in the chewy ripe tannin finish. Acids balance and refresh the palate leaving you wanting another sip. Years back, this wine cost about $28 and then slowly crept up to $45. Recently, it’s slipped back to about $38 and at the current price, I might suggest that it’s (gasp) underpriced. A wow wine for sure. 95 points. About $40.
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| 2009 Chappellet “Signature” Cabernet Sauvignon |
With this, I decided to make Pork Scallopine Piccante. This dish is so simple, it literally cooks in minutes. In fact, make the accompanying potatoes first! What you need:
1 pound thin sliced pork cutlets
1 fresh tomato, diced small
2 cloves fresh garlic sliced
10-15 leaves fresh baby spinach
1 pat butter
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper
Saute the garlic in the butter and olive for about a minute. Once fragrant, add the scallopine and saute 30 seconds – turn over and then add the tomatoes, spinach and pepper flakes. Saute about 2 minutes more. Done! Here’s what they look like.
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| Pork Scallopine Piccante |
As a side, I made Garlicky Potatoes with Bacon. This side dish has so much flavor and may have worked better with the Chappellet than the pork! What you need:
1 package (16oz.) baby yukon gold potatoes
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 strips bacon, sliced with meat scissors
Saute the garlic and bacon for about a minute and then add the potatoes. On a medium low flame, allow to saute slowly until brown. Takes about 15 minutes. Here’s what you get.
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| Pan Roasted Bacon & Garlic Potatoes |
Ciao!
John,
I'm not much of a chef but I think that even I could pull off the pork dish. It looks great!
John, beautiful review, and I think this wine might be available here, but I'll have to double-check, and since June is 15% of American wines (I think) I'll be saving my $40; 2009, not too young?
Nick,
If you can slice garlic and chop a tomato, you can make this! The only keys are having really nice tomatoes. If they're not good, used plain, diced canned. Otherwise, they can ruin the dish. The other key is not overcooking the meat. These were about 1/8" thick. If you overdo it, they'll be tough.
Thanks for commenting and reading my blog.
Cheers,
John
Dennis,
Too young? It definitely IS young, but everything was in balance. I wasn't left feeling as though searing tannins had just assaulted my taste buds. A wine put together this well can definitely sit for up to 10 years without breaking a sweat I think. But as someone once said, if lovin' this wine now is wrong, then I don't wanna be right! 🙂
Happy Friday,
J