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Plates & Palette's 2023 tasting notes

Phil Lo

Updated: Sep 19, 2024


Tis is a very enjoyable event. It is not humanly possible to taste 35 wines in the short time prior to dinner. My strategy going into it was to find wines knowing the dishes coming (but have not physically tasted any of them) and using traditional pairing suggestions.


For example, I was looking for Pinot Noir for the tuna dish, Cabernet Sauvignon blend for the beef dishes, white wines for the crab cake and chicken dish before the arrival of the food. Then using memory for the tasting notes to pair with a small number of wines which I pre-conceive will pair well to find the best pairing.


As a result, I have tasting notes for only 15 wines and I am sharing them here with people who wants to order wines but have not attended the event.


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

  • Peppered Ahi Tuna on crostini with seaweed salad – Iris Pinot Noir

  • Alberta Rib Eye Beef carved onto a Polynesian bun with grainy Dijon mustard – Tombacco Biferno DOC Rosso Reserva

  • Maple-glazed, bacon-wrapped chicken skewers - Chateau Des Toutes white - Bordeaux, France

  • Crab cakes - Chateau Des Toutes white - Bordeaux, France

  • Wild mushroom and goat cheese strudel - Nicolas Idiart Sauvignon Blanc - Loire Valley, France

  • Canadian-maple pork tenderloin with spicy fruit chutney on the side - Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier - California, USA

  • Alberta beef carpaccio rolls with arugula & asiago cheese - Chateau Piney St Emilion Grand Cru - Bordeaux, France

  • Peppered cream-cheese strawberries - El Picoteo Organic Rosé -Almansa, Spain.


Phil’s tasting notes

722810 Babich Black Label Sauvignon Blanc - Marlborough, New Zealand

Chuck full of tropical fruit, nice round mouth feel, long finish. Highly recommended. Sould pair well with crab cake but not in this case as the crab cake was breaded and deep fried, kind of covering up the natural sweetness of the crab. You can’t go wrong with our discounted price.


746997 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier - California, USA

This wine paired very well with the chicken dish. In my mind, this will go well with white-meat fish as well. Good value for the price too.


864913 Alias Pinot Noir - California, USA

You don’t find good Pinot Noir at this price very often. This wine also pair well with the chicken dish if you prefer a red wine.


800682 Beronia Tempranillo - Rioja, Spain

This is a very competent red. I tried it with the beef dishes and it went well. But it was not the perfect pairing I was looking for. But again, at this price it is good value.


777816 Iris Pinot Noir - Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

This is one of the few wines I would recommend from this evening. This wine paired well with tuna, the pork tenderloin, dishes. It was very well received even by itself. It drinks like an expensive Burgundy without the price. Highly recommended.


811985 Reva Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC - Piedmont, Italy

This is a lighter body Nebbiolo. It drinks like a Pinot Noir. But it is a surprisingly good food wine. It did not make perfect paring in with any of the dishes but it came out matching with almost all the dishes. I can see myself enjoying a pasta dish, or a beef or lamb dish with this wine.


866627 Chateau Des Toutes white - Bordeaux, France

This is a white Bordeaux. It is a good shellfish wine. It pairs quite well with the crab cake. (If the crab cake was not breaded and deep fried, I would imagine it would be a perfect pairing.) Highly recommended.


854617 Beauregard Hautes Cotes De Beaune - Burgundy, France

I never thought I can find a real Burgundy for less than $30. Lots of red cherries and other red fruit. Soft tannins. Nice mouthfeel. A bit short on the finish. A very good food wine. Good value.


842612 Chateau Piney St Emilion Grand Cru - Bordeaux, France

This is a beautiful Bordeaux Grand Cru at almost free pricing. I cannot believe this is possible. Perfect pairing for me for the beef carpaccio dish. Highly recommended and load up if you like Bordeaux. This is a vintage 2020 wine


846372 Nicolas Idiart Sauvignon Blanc - Loire Valley, France

This is a beautiful white from Loire Valley. Nice round mouthfeel. Longish finish. This is the old world stye as contrasting to the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc earlier in this writeup. I f you like the old world style from Sincerre. This is the wine for you. Highly recommended.


863617 Les Amis Chardonnay - Languedoc-Roussillon, France

This is a Chardonnay which tries to mimic a white burgundy. Nice mouth feel. Longish finish and competently made but without the price. I like it but it unfortunately did not make prefect pairing in any of the dishes. Recommended.


834748 Les Amis Pinot Noir - Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Another fine wine from Languedoc-Roussillon. They make value but yet competent wines. You can’t find anything which tastes this good at this price. Recommended.


 882874 Leo Steen Mendo Pinot Noir - Anderson Valley, California, USA

Another nice Pinot Noir from this agency. Slightly bigger wine than the Languedoc Pinot above. Also higher in price. It comes down to your preference to the style.


818574 Tombaccco Biferno DOC Rosso Reserva - Birerno (Molise), Italy

This is a surprise find. Very competently made. Well balanced. A bigger wine and yet very enjoyable. Nice soft tannins, red and black fruit with a longish finish. I can see myself enjoying this with a beef Florentine. Recommended.


888772 Lotus Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles, California

A nice California Cab. Middle of the road style. Soft tannins, medium body. A bit short on the finish.

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