FEBRUARY GUILD EVENT

The February Guild event will be held this evening at Petite Auberge in Druid Hills, showcasing Bordeaux wines from 2006.

Ahhh, Bordeaux.  My first love in the world of Serious Wine - once I had outgrown my earlier Manischewitz-Bali Ha’i-Boone’s Farm tippling habits.  I started experimenting with real wine midway through college and continued my research after moving to Sweat City in 1974.  Burgundy was OK in my book, but Bordeaux was what really rang my vinous chimes.  It still does.  Even today, when there is a plethora of excellent California wines available, the ones made in the style of Bordeaux are the ones I gravitate towards.

Speaker’s Wine:
Château Haut La Péreyre (Entre-Deux-Mers) 2011

First Flight:
Château Cantemerle (Haut-Médoc) 2006**
Château Haut-Batailley (Pauillac) 2006**
Château La Tour-Carnet (Haut-Médoc) 2006**

Pan-seared pheasant quail breast served over a red cabbage, arugula and fresh grape slaw, tossed with a blood orange olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette

Second Flight:
Château Prieuré-Lichine (Margaux) 2006***
Château Beychevelle (Saint-Julien) 2006***
Château Lafon-Rochet (Saint-Estèphe) 2006**

Herb-rubbed pork tenderloin served with shiitake mushrooms and a light cream sauce over potato pancake 

Third Flight:
Château La Lagune (Haut Médoc) 2006**
Château Boyd-Cantenac (Margaux) 2006***
Château Lagrange (Saint-Julien) 2006***

Beef Wellington: Beef tenderloin, ham and mushroom duxelles baked in a puff pastry crust, served with a Bordelaise sauce and grilled asparagus  

Dessert:
Château Rayne-Vigneau 2005 (Sauternes Prémier Cru) - France**

Apple Crème Brulée: Classic Crème Brulée infused with apple essence

Lagniappe:
Château Fombrauge (Saint-Emilion) 2000***

After it’s all over, I will update this post with my usual post-mortem commentary.  Meanwhile, all a-Bordeaux!

Update: The wines were all fairly good... not a clunker in the lot, although there were no real standouts. The Sauternes was a bit thin, but otherwise OK, and it went just fine with the dessert.

The food?  All very well prepared dishes that were carefully selected to act as foils for the various wines.  The beef Wellington was tasty enough despite its crust being a bit soggy, but let’s face it: who the hell actually orders beef Wellington any more?  It’s a stodgy sort of dish, popular in the 1960’s, that attempts to gild the Prime Rib lily.  Then again... Prime Rib!