Randy Johnston
The monthly Wine Knots got together at Bob and Christy Marshall’s house for a great evening of French wine, food and insight of the French regions for wine and champagne. Since Christy was born in France we felt like we were in a library getting information on wine, living conditions and cultures. Bob and Christy made the presentation on a screen, which really made it very enjoyable.
During the presentation we had a great mushroom tart hors d’oeuvres, followed by the tasting of wines for the evening. Bob started by discussing the three wines of Kirkland Gigondas 2015 red blend that are predominately Grenache at 85%, followed by Syrah at 10% and Mouvedre at 5%. This wine comes from the Southern Rhome Valley, which is known to have a very rocky soil compared to more clay in the well-known Bordeaux region. Bob opened the bottles and showed us the proper aerating process before tasting. Swiss cheese and chocolate were included in the tasting to bring out the flavors even more. The blends had lots of power and black fruit and plum with plenty of pepper on the palate and in the aftertaste.
The third bottle was served with a great dinner presentation including a fabulous Beef Bourguignon, mashed potatoes, salad, grape salad, French green beans, French baguettes and finished off with a very tasty desert of French chocolate éclair cake. To top it off Bob and Christy popped the cork on a couple bottles of Champagne in celebration of several wedding anniversaries. The group felt like we had just had a wonderful evening at a five-star French restaurant! As the French would say “bonne nourriture” (great food).