I have to be honest - I haven't watched much of the Olympics this year. The late viewing and poor selection of events just didn't add up for me. I mean, really, how much curling can you watch in the wee hours?
But the BBC pulled through for me with men's ice hockey (shame they couldn't have shown the women's hockey, too!). And we were lined up properly last night for the gold medal match between the USA and Canada with a big tray of nachos with guacamole and, in true patriotic spirit, our last bottle of Roederer Estate's Quartet from Majestic.
The wine, as always, was impeccable. Our team's performance, unfortunately, was not, and the Canadians took home a well-deserved gold medal. It left me wondering if the Canadians make any decent sparkling wines, something I'll have to look into!
Showing posts with label roederer estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roederer estate. Show all posts
Monday, 1 March 2010
Monday, 15 February 2010
A Two-Bottle Weekend
We had a lot of stuff to do around the house this weekend and we also had a couple of bottles of bubbly in the fridge, so we weren't shy with it.
After a full day of chores on Saturday, I made an easy dinner of Thai green curry which we served with one of our favourites - the Quartet from Roeder Estate, which I had purchased as part of our mixed case from Majestic. Compared to the other wines we've been drinking lately, the Quartet was a little sweeter than I had remembered on first opening, but this was nicely balanced by the curry. As always, this one didn't disappoint.
I had ordered some groceries to be delivered from Ocado on Saturday evening, and to get my order up to the minimum I had added in a bottle of Castillo Perelada Cava Reserva. It's been a while since I've had a good cava - while I freely drink them in Spain, I always worry about how sweet they're going to be when I see them in the UK so tend to avoid them here. This particular cava is a blend of macabeo, xarel-lo, and parellada grapes, the first two of which I quite enjoy as still wines, so I thought I'd give this cava a go.
We opened it as we were unwinding at the end of the day on Sunday. It tasted a bit like a lemon drop candy - slightly lemon-tart but also slightly sweet on the finish - not great but I could live with it. What was more disappointing were the bubbles, which started strong but had no staying power, so my glass was flat before I finished it. At less than £10 for a bottle it was a good experiment and it reminded me to be more adventurous when it comes to buying cava.
After a full day of chores on Saturday, I made an easy dinner of Thai green curry which we served with one of our favourites - the Quartet from Roeder Estate, which I had purchased as part of our mixed case from Majestic. Compared to the other wines we've been drinking lately, the Quartet was a little sweeter than I had remembered on first opening, but this was nicely balanced by the curry. As always, this one didn't disappoint.
I had ordered some groceries to be delivered from Ocado on Saturday evening, and to get my order up to the minimum I had added in a bottle of Castillo Perelada Cava Reserva. It's been a while since I've had a good cava - while I freely drink them in Spain, I always worry about how sweet they're going to be when I see them in the UK so tend to avoid them here. This particular cava is a blend of macabeo, xarel-lo, and parellada grapes, the first two of which I quite enjoy as still wines, so I thought I'd give this cava a go.
We opened it as we were unwinding at the end of the day on Sunday. It tasted a bit like a lemon drop candy - slightly lemon-tart but also slightly sweet on the finish - not great but I could live with it. What was more disappointing were the bubbles, which started strong but had no staying power, so my glass was flat before I finished it. At less than £10 for a bottle it was a good experiment and it reminded me to be more adventurous when it comes to buying cava.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Lazy Days of Summer
I have to admit - I've been slacking. Not in drinking bubbly, of course, but in writing about it. Two bottles have gone unreported in June:
We had a friend from the US visiting, and although he's more of a pub-goer while he's here, in his honor we popped open our last bottle of Quartet to celebrate his last days with us. It seemed fitting to drink an American bubbly with an American friend.
About a week later, we drank one of our 2004 bottles of Maison Lenique. No special reason - the weather was nice and we were cooking a meal outdoors, and it just seemed to deserve some bubbles.
We had a friend from the US visiting, and although he's more of a pub-goer while he's here, in his honor we popped open our last bottle of Quartet to celebrate his last days with us. It seemed fitting to drink an American bubbly with an American friend.
About a week later, we drank one of our 2004 bottles of Maison Lenique. No special reason - the weather was nice and we were cooking a meal outdoors, and it just seemed to deserve some bubbles.
Monday, 1 June 2009
Quartet for Two
My husband had a very brief holiday this weekend. To get him into a more relaxed state of mind when he arrived home on Thursday evening, we opened a bottle of Quartet from the Roederer Estate, a wine we had drunk before and really enjoyed. It was a warm, sunny evening, and we sipped it while we grilled some pork chops, which we ate with mustard mash and grilled, fresh English asparagus.
We still really like this wine. This time around, though, it had a sweetness we didn't remember. We couldn't decide if we had missed it the first time around, or perhaps if this producer isn't consistent from batch to batch. I'm leaning toward the latter, as I tend not to like sweet bubbles, and think I would have caught the sweetness the first time around. We have another bottle in the house, part of our cache from Majestic Wine, so we'll see if the sweetness re-appears in that one.
We still really like this wine. This time around, though, it had a sweetness we didn't remember. We couldn't decide if we had missed it the first time around, or perhaps if this producer isn't consistent from batch to batch. I'm leaning toward the latter, as I tend not to like sweet bubbles, and think I would have caught the sweetness the first time around. We have another bottle in the house, part of our cache from Majestic Wine, so we'll see if the sweetness re-appears in that one.
Monday, 13 April 2009
Staycation 3
Today we had some friends over for nibbles in the garden at lunchtime, and since three out of the four of us are from the US, we popped open an American bubbly - Quartet from the Roederer Estate. Along with our usual selection of meat and cheese, our friend made a warm, Indian-spiced potato salad, and we thought that the 70% chardonnay, 30% pinot noir blend of the wine would stand up to the flavours. We were right.
First, I have to say that my friend's potato salad was amazing - great bursts of flavour set against the creaminess of the potatoes, with a gentle heat from the chili that didn't overwhelm us. The wine was a great match, with big apple and pear fruit flavours balanced against a creamy yeastiness that lingered in my mouth. It was nice to find a sparkling wine that didn't shrink from a bit of spice.
It would be nice to see more American bubbles on the market here in the UK, as I've had several very good ones in the last few years. I don't understand why they're so hard to find here...
First, I have to say that my friend's potato salad was amazing - great bursts of flavour set against the creaminess of the potatoes, with a gentle heat from the chili that didn't overwhelm us. The wine was a great match, with big apple and pear fruit flavours balanced against a creamy yeastiness that lingered in my mouth. It was nice to find a sparkling wine that didn't shrink from a bit of spice.
It would be nice to see more American bubbles on the market here in the UK, as I've had several very good ones in the last few years. I don't understand why they're so hard to find here...
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