Chardonnay Said Knock You Out
Saturday night was the Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight, and as usual when there is a big fight on I invite friends over and I make a big meal of some sort. Tonight it was just me, my wife and my friend Jake. Jake is the son of a woman that I was with for three years, years ago. Jake and I were always close and even though until recently he lived in Colorado, we were always in touch. Now that he’s attending NYU I have the opportunity to see him more often.
Even though it was only the three of us, I, as I often do, made enough food for ten. The menu was escarole, bean, and sausage soup, garlic bread with parsley and basil, sauteed brussels sprouts with pistachios, shallots and lemon and the main course of pasta with shrimp in a red, slightly hot sauce.
I was in the rare mood for white. I had been saving a bottle from Glen Ellen in the Sonoma Valley for about a year and I thought it was a good time to open it–being that there was only three of us. Jake and I went to my cellar and pulled the 2007 – B.R. Cohn, Carneros Region, Chardonnay Reserve ($34). As the sauce simmered on the stove top we brought the cold bottle to my wood plank dining table and opened it and poured.
In the glass it was light in color. It caught the light like a lake during a sunset. The nose was wonderful with notes of citrus, apricot and fresh mowed grass. On the tongue it was silky and fine. Notes of tropical fruit, ripe citrus and vanilla. It was both creamy and dry, with a long easy finish. It was like an orchestra preforming in my mouth, and I didn’t want it to end.
We settled into dinner and it was perfect for the meal. We ate until we could eat no more and moved over to the sofa to watch Pacquiao pummel Cotto for twelve rounds. I picked Cotto to win. Luckily I’m better at picking wines than fighters.
Tags: chardonnay, Sonoma, white