Plate & Palate 2024 tasting notes

There were 38 wines in the lineup, and I knew beforehand that it would be humanly impossible to taste them all in the half an hour allotted for tasting time.

My strategy was to pick a list of 21 wines beforehand to taste, seven whites and 14 reds, based on my own preference, liking and possible pairings with the food menu. Even this would eventually prove to be too ambitious.

I ended up finishing my list of seven whites and halfway through my list of reds before the food started showing up. I continue to taste the rest of my list of reds while the food was being served, knowing my palate was being affected by the food. In retrospect and doing the maths, I was tasting 14 wines in 30 minutes, a bit over 2 minutes per wine.

I would be the first to admit that I was not giving the wines their due respect. I only wish I have at least another half an hour to do a better job.

Just for interest, here are my best pairing for the dishes

• Peppered Ahi Tuna on crostini with seaweed salad – only one of the Pinot Noirs on this night made for a good pairing for me, the Corofin Pinot Noir ‘Settlement’ from New Zealand. I also found both the Armand Heitz Chardonnay Vin de France, White Bungundy and the red Fenocchio Barolo Classico, from Piedmont, Italy - both did a decent job of pairing this dish.

• Alberta Rib Eye Beef carved onto a Polynesian bun with grainy Dijon mustard – Schwaderer Cabernet Sauvignon from Stellenbosch, South Africa did it for the best pairing for me.

• Maple-glazed, bacon-wrapped chicken skewers – I found the bacon wrapping too dominate and overwhelmed the chicken inside. None of the white wines did it and I ended up pairing with the reds and found the fruitiness of the Les Amis Pinot Noir from Languedoc-Roussillon worked, although I still would not say it was perfect.

• Crab cakes – Both the Laurent et Celine Chablis Vielle Vignes and Domaine du Chalet Pouilly, Pouilly-Fuisse worked, with the Chablis having a slight edge for me

• Wild mushroom and goat cheese strudel – the Fenocchio Barolo Classico with its mushrooms undertone got my vote for a good pairing.

• Canadian-maple pork tenderloin with spicy fruit chutney on the side – the chutney was giving me a lot of trouble here to find a decent pairing. Eventually I gave my vote to the La Villa Real Crianza Cabernet Sauvignon, from La Manch, Spain the vote.

• Alberta beef carpaccio rolls with arugula & asiago cheese – the Tardieu Laurent Guy Louis Cote du Rhone won hands down and was my perfect pairing of the night.

• Peppered cream-cheese strawberries – There was no dessert wine on this night. I ended up with the Malvasia IGT Rubicone Spumonte Dolce, Emilia-Romagna, Italy for a decent pairing.

Phil's tasting notes

The following is a list of some of the wines I tasted during the night

Gotas De Mar Albarino - Riaz Baixas, Spain

Fresh, clean and very pleasant on the palate. Gold in colour, fruity and minerals nose. A very refreshing summer wine. Recommended.

Tardieu Laurent Guy Louis Cote du Rhone 2018 - Cote du Rhone, France

Garnet colour. Nose of cherry, raspberry, and pepper. Nice medium mouth feel. Soft tannins and a longish finish. I really like this wine. I can see myself with this wine for a steak, a BBQ and roast and robust stew. The price is also very decent. Highly recommended.

Jean Vesselle Brut Reserve Champagne - Champagne, France

Golden colour. Nice fizz. Nose of bread, yeast, almond and minerals. Nice acidity, mouth feel and a nice finish. A bargain for a real Champagne!

Armand Heitz Chardonnay - Vin de France

This is an AOC Burgundy, and the maker decided to give it the name of Vin de France. Light gold colour. Nose of stone fruit, mushrooms and minerals. Mouth feel is round and slightly oaky. This wine drinks like a big Burgundy, mimicking a Montrachet. For the price, this is a bargain if you like Montrachet but do not want to pay the money! But if you prefer a lighter, fresher type Burgundy, there were better choices. I, personally like this wine but I would reserve recommendation for others due to its bigness.

Elody Roy Maranges Le Goty - Burgundy, France

Cherry red colour. Fruity nose and fruity on the palate, but not very varietal correct.

Corofin Pinot Noir ‘Settlement’ - Marlborough, New Zealand

Dark ruby colour. Nose of cherry, raspberry and hints of earth. Fruity on the palate with red fruit and hints of black fruit in the back. Soft tannins. Nice mouthfeel and a decent finish. This is the only varietal correct Pinot Noir of the night.

Barge Cote du Rhone Loch Ness - Rhone, France

Garnet colour. Nose of cherry, pepper and other red fruit. Firm tannins, medium mouthfeel. A bit short on the finish.

Fenocchio Barolo Classico 2019 - Piedmont, Italy

Bright red garnet. Floral nose with red and black fruit and mushrooms undertone. Well balance between the fruit and tannins. Nice round mouthfeel and a nice medium long finish. This is my other favourite red wine of the night. This wine will age for a long time in your cellar and should be saved for a special occasion. With our FOV special discount for the event, this is quite a bargain for a good Barolo. Highly recommended.

Terrescure Refenero IGT - Tuscany, Italy

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. A decent but very fruity IGT. To me, it lacks structures.

Domaine du Chalet Pouilly - Pouilly-Fuisse, France

Nice golden colour. Very nice and beautiful nose. All the elements you would be looking for in a white Burgundy, especially from a Pouilly-Fuisse are present. I cannot believe the price with our discount. Load Up! Recommended.

Ken Forrester The FMC 2022 - Stellenbosh, South Africa

Pale yellow colour. Nice fresh nose but with sufficient weight on the palate for a good mouthfeel. Decent finish. It was voted as one of the two or three top Chenin Blanc in the world. Recommended.

Truchard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, USA

Garnet colour. Nose of black and red fruit. Soft tannins. Nice round mouthfeel. Medium finish.

Rust en Vrede Cabernet Sauvignon - Stellenbosch, South Africa

Garnet colour. Nose of red and black fruit, with hints of mushrooms and cocoa. Nice soft tannins. Nice round mouthfeel and a medium finish. Very decent cab. I enjoy this wine. Recommended.

Domaine Du Beauregard Bourgogne Blanc Les Anges - Burgundy, France

Light gold colour. Clean, refreshing nose of almond and stone fruit. This is in contrast to the Armand Heitz Vin de France mentioned earlier, which was made to be a bigger, heavier white Burgundy. This one is more delicate. Almost no detection of oak here although the write up said it has been in short contact with 3-year old oak barrel.

Schwaderer Cabernet Sauvignon - Maipo Valley, Chile

Dark, purple colour, almost inky. Nice black and red fruit nose with mushrooms, chocolate and coffee. Firm but softening tannins balanced with a nice round mouthfeel. Longish finish. This is the best Cab of the night to me. Highly recommended.

Laurent et Celine Chablis Vielle Vignes - Chablis, France

Light gold colour. Nose of almond, peaches and other stone fruit. Minerals too. Nice round mouthfeel. Nice acidity balanced for a medium finish. A very good shellfish wine. I really like this, especially with the price. This is bargain White Burgundy at this price. Load Up! Recommended.

Les Amis Pinot Noir - Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Ruby colour. Nose of cherry, raspberry and other red fruit. I remember tasting this wine last year with an earlier vintage. This year, it comes across as a bit too fruity and not balanced with enough structure.

La Villa Real Crianza Cabernet Sauvignon - La Manch, Spain

Red ruby colour. Nose of red and black fruit, white pepper with a hint of vegetablness. Very soft tannins. A nice fruity red with not enough structure.

Huella de Syrah - Valencia, Spain

Dark red ruby colour. Nose of black pepper. Big on the palate. A bit aggressive with its acidity. A bit short on the finish.