Wineshark Cooking Class - 45. Pasta Bolognese

First we prepare the Bolognese sauce:

Ingredients (to make 2.5 kg sauce)

• Butter - 225g
• Minced beef - 1.2kg
• Pork sausage meat - 350g
• Onions - 500g
• Celery - 150g
• Carrots - 400g
• Extra-virgin olive oil - 150ml
• Tomato puree - 12g
• Tinned chopped tomatoes - 1.6kg
• Sugar - 1 pinch

Procedures:

1. Put a large pan over a medium-high heat, then add the butter and let it melt. Add the beef mince, fry until it has changed colour, then add the sausage meat.

2. Cook for a few more minutes, season with salt and pepper, then cook for 15 minutes longer, stirring frequently until dark golden brown.

3. Finely chop the onions, carrots and celery.

4. Put another pan over a low heat, then pour in the olive oil. Fry the vegetables gently until softened, about 12 minutes.

5. Add the meat to the vegetables and mix everything together well.

6. Add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato puree. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer the sauce for 1.5 hours until the meat is very tender.







Then we prepare the pasta.

Ingredients (for 2):

• Bolognese sauce - 175g
• Water - 1.5 l
• Salt - 3 tsp
• Penne pasta - 180g
• Extra-virgin olive oil - 3 tbsp
• Parmesan cheese, finely grated - 60g

Procedures:

1. Put the bolognese sauce into a large pan over a medium heat.

2. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

3. Bring the water to the boil in a large pan, season with salt, then add the penne.

4. Stir once, then boil the pasta for 8-10 minutes until tender but still firm to the bite.

5. Finely grate the Parmesan cheese.

6. Drain the pasta, tip it back into the pan and stir in the olive oil to prevent it sticking together.

7. Serve the pasta topped with a large spoonful of bolognese sauce.

8. Serve the Parmesan cheese separately for everyone to sparkle their own.

Wineshark Cooking Class - 44. Fillet of Fish On Toast

Ingredients:

• Fish fillet - 3 pieces for each person
• White bread - cut into same sizes of fish fillet
• Egg - 1
• Salt - dashes
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Bread crumbs
• Oil
• Flour
• Tartare sauce

Procedures:

1. Cut the fillet into about 1x0.5 inch size, marinate with salt and white pepper powder.

2. Cut the bread into the same size as fish fillet.

3. Coat the fillet with flour, then dip in egg. Put on top of the bread and then coat with bread crumbs.

4. Deep fry till golden brown.

Clarendon Hills

The philosophy of Claredon Hills is dedication to single vineyard terroir wines. Now under Alex and Adam Bratasiuk, the second generation in the family, Adam is responsible for winemaking while Alex on the direction of the domaine.

Their father, Roman, established the vineyards in 1990, teaching himself the art of winemaking by knocking on the door of a local grower. His ideals are to make wines as naturally as possible, from old vines, using French oak.

In the vineyards, forecasting play a key role in making decision of harvesting, with constant readjustment throughout summer to predict the size of next harvest, as well as micro-managing each parcel on the picking to look for the optimal ripeness and characters.

Roman himself tastes the berries and determined the picking date, all under manual process. After transferring to the cellar, wild yeast is used to ferment the must in open stainless steel tanks, with tasting conducted during the maceration period to adjust temperature and other elements.

The wine is then put in French oak for malolactic fermentation, with typical ageing of 18 months. No fining or filtering is done, and no chemical or agent is applied throughout the process. Even the bottles are sourced from the best manufacturers in France.

The most famous wines arer the single-vineyard Grenaches and Syrahs, with the percentage of new oak ranges from 30% for the Grenaches to 100% for the Syrahs used in flagship Astralis.

I have recently tasted the 1997 Astralis and below is my tasting note:

 

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has deep garnet color, with paler rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of dark plum and dark cherries, pungent spice of black pepper, kernel notes of chocolate, oak notes of smoke, animal notes of leather, herbal notes of black tea, maturity notes of savory. The wine is fully developed.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium tannin which is very smooth and integrated to the wine structure. Medium (+) in alcohol, the wine has medium body and medium intensity on flavors of black fruit such as blackcurrant and plum, oak notes of smoke, animal notes of leather, pungent spice of pepper. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Australian Shiraz with a fairly intense nose showing high degree of complexity, the palate has a silky mouthfeel which is amazing from the varietal, with the high alcohol not showing up because of all-round balance. The length is fairly long too, it is ready to drink now and not intend for further ageing.

 

Chateau Trotte Vieille

Chateau Trotte Vieille is located east of St-Emilion on the limestone plateau, with its name derived from la trotte vieille, an old trotting lady. There was a story of an old lady who trotted to hear the news of Bordeaux when stagecoaches came, which got the estate its name.

The current owners became involved with the property in 1949, acquired by Marcel Borie, who subsequently passed to his son-in-law Emile Casteja. Now it is under Societe Borie Manoux, part of a portfolio that also includes Batailley and Lynch-Moussas.

The vineyards cover 10 hectares, having a favorable south-southwest aspect, with clay over limestone bedrock, planted with 50% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc, with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon at 5%. Planting density is 7500 vines per hectare, with the average vine age of about 50 years. A block actually dates back to pre-phylloxera era.

Yields are controlled by single/double Guyot pruning and debudding, with green harvesting during summer, averaging about 33 hl/ha, and 29 hl/ha for the grand vin. Harvest is manual, with the fruit fermented in temperature controlled concrete vats. The wines stay between 3-4 weeks before transferring to barrel for malolactic fermentation and ageing.

The wine will be aged for 18 to 24 months, using 90 to 100% new oak. The grand vin is Chateau Trottevieille, with a second wine La Vieille Dame de Trottevieille. It is ranked a premier grand cru classe in the 2012 classification.

I have recently tasted the 2008 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, it has deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of dark plum, blackberry and dark cherries, oak notes of cedar, pungent spice of licorice, sweet spice of cloves, kernel notes of coffee, hints of maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium tannin which is silky and integrated to the structure, showing nice finesse. Medium in alcohol, the wine has medium body and medium intensity on flavors of black fruit such as plum and blackberry, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of espresso, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality St-Emilion with a fairly intense nose showing good complexity, with different characters all harmonized, the wine has a well-balanced palate, showing fair concentration and a finesse on its silky and integrated tannin. Finishing with a good length, the wine is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Chateau Canon

Chateau Canon was originated from a small vineyard planted around the Church of St-Martin, by Jean Bies in the early 18^th century, and was known as Clos St-Martin then. In 1760 Bies sold the 13-hectare vineyard to Jacques Kanon, who expanded the estate by purchasing several neighboring vineyards, and also constructed a manor house.

Kanon subsequently sold the estate to Raymond Fontemoing, a local negociant, whose family already owned a property in Fronsac named Chateau Canon, so they marketed the new acquisition as St-Martin. Around 1853 the property was renamed Chateau Canon, perhaps to honor its previous owner, or perhaps reverting to the name following the sale by the Fontemoing family.

The estate changed hands several times afterwards, before going to Andre Fournier in 1919. The family did much good work at the estate, including the installation of new wooden fermentation vats. However, there were many difficulties too and ultimately the family decided to sell, which then came to the Wertheimer brothers.

The Wertheimer brothers Alain and Gerard, who owned Chanel, acquired Chateau Canon in 1996. During that time the estate was a dilapidated property, requiring major investment to renovate. John Kolasa, already proven in the revitalization of the other property of the brothers, Rauzan-Segla, came to lead the rescue of Canon.

 

The investment included the replanting of the whole vineyards, which is still going on today because the appellation regulations requiring this to be undertaken in stages. Due to the limited supply of grapes because of replanting, with approval from INAO, Canon started to incorporate the fruit from the nearby Cure-Bon, acquired in 2000, to the property.

In 2011 the neighboring Chateau Matras was acquired too, adding another 12 hectares to the mix. It was believed that once the Canon vineyards are mature, the Matras vineyards would be channeled into the second wine Clos Canon. Other investments by Chanel included rebuilding the cellars, installation of a gravity fed system and new stainless steel fermentation vessels.

The investments paid off with the wine being ranked as premier grand cru classe (class B) in the 1996 classification. The vineyards are located to the west of St-Emilion, with the addition of Cure-Bon and Matras expanding to about 34 hectares now. The soil is largely limestone, with 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, with low average vine age because of the replanting.

There is leaf thinning and green harvesting, before the ripe fruit is hand-harvested into small crates, to a sorting table and destemmed, before a second sorting. The fruit are then gravity fed into the temperature controlled stainless steel vats, with elevage for between 14 to 18 months in barrel, of which 50% to 80% are new.

Racking is done every three months, with the wine fined with egg white but not filtered. The grand vin is Chateau Canon, with the rejected fruit going to the second wine Clos de Canon. There are about 6000 to 7000 cases produced with about equal split between the two.

I have recently tasted the 2007 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, it has deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of plum and blackberry, red fruit of raspberries, oak notes of cedar, sweet spice of cloves, maturity notes of cigar, mineral notes of peat. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium tannin which is velvety and smooth. Having medium (+) alcohol and medium body, it is showing medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and plum, red fruit of redcurrant, oak note of cedar, maturity notes of cigarbox and some sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality St-Emilion with typical plummy style, the wine has a fairly intense nose of good complexity, with the palate of balance and showing nice right bank characters with a higher than expected alcohol, which is a bit surprising given the poor vintage. With a decent finish, the wine is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.