Wine Dinner blog #1

My friends and I started our wine dinner at the Wine Lab by looking over the flight list to see what would pair well with the dinner we had already chosen. We spoke with our server Julia to get any recommendations she had based on our food and how much we roughly wanted to spend. We finally chose the "Region of Focus - Bordeaux" flight. This was $16, and included the following wines: Les Hayts de Lagarde Blanc '20, Chevalier du Grand Robert '18, and Ch. Graves de Rabion '18. The wines were from Entre Deux Mers, Haut Medoc, and Saint Emilion respectively

Below is a picture of the wine flights placed out in order, from right to left, by our server Julia. 

The first wine I had was the Les Hauts de Lagarde Blanc 2020. We started with white wine, as white is always consumed before red to not ruin your flavor profile. The white wine was paired with baked brie. The brie had hints of honey and sweetness that melted away the acidity of the white wine. The wine was bold in flavor and more on the dry side, with more acidity on the nose. However, because we paired the white with a brie it allowed the cheese to really melt away any initial acidity and brought the fruity notes forward. The wine had notes of apple juice immediately, followed by notes of citrus and minerality in the aftertaste. There was a small taste of hay and straw. My friends said they had buttery hints; however, I did not pick up on these. 

After we finished our appetizer of baked brie, our main dishes came out and I moved on to my second wine. the second wine. The second wine was a Chevalier du Grand Robert 2018. This wine was paired with the turkey melt sandwich I had with a side of sour cream and onion potato chips. This pairing was excellent as the body of the red wine was brought out by the depth of the smoked turkey. The red was very bold in flavor and had a noticeable body. I swirled this red and cupped my hand on the glass to warm it up. After swirling the legs of the red were visible, hinting further to the body of this red. Furthermore, this red was very dry. I was not expecting this but it allowed for the flavor of the sandwich to further show through. 

Overall the appetizer, main, and side dish paired well with the wines in the flight. In hindsight, I do wish I had chosen a more meaty dish such as a Ruben that would have brought out the depth and body of the two reds further. The baked brie and the white paired exceptionally well. The last dish I had was a warmed cookie and I paired it with the Ch. Graves de Rabion 2018. 

This last wine had a very strong rich tannic structure that was mouth-drying. This red was much drier than the previous one. The rabion had hints of black cherry and fruity flavors such as cherry. There was an aftertaste of chocolate and allspice. This darker and sweeter aftertaste paired excellently with the chocolate chip cookie. The cookie allowed me to fight through the initial bite to the wine and really enjoy the sweet aftertaste. 

Overall the dinner was a success. Looking back on it, I do wish I would have chosen a meatier main dish so that I could have brought more flavors out for the Chevalier du Grand Robert. Other than that the appetizer and white, and the dessert and red paired excellently. All told, I had an appetizer, main dish, side dish, and dessert: baked brie, Chipotle turkey sandwich, sour cream and onion chips, and a baked cookie. I had three wines as part of a flight: Les Hayts de Lagarde Blanc '20, Chevalier du Grand Robert '18, and Ch. Graves de Rabion '18.