Representing white wines was the 2010 Reserve Chardonnay (not yet released).
The reds were represented by the 2009 Cab Franc (not yet released).
Each one promised to be well made; full of unique flavors, but the ultimate question was which would pair better with our dinner?
In the spirit of keeping the competition fair, we opened both bottles an hour before the meal was ready to give them a chance to open up, and we poured the glasses together. Our tasting notes came before the meal, and then we picked our winner.
Our dinner consisted of fresh made sage and rosemary pasta from Smith Meadows, an orange cream sauce with crispy prosciutto on top. On the side we had blanched green beans in a fresh tomato garlic sauce. The end result is pictured below.
The 2010 Sunset Hill Reserve Chardonnay had notes of vanilla and smelled of sugar and butter on the nose. The wine displayed good chardonnay fruit characteristics, some nice acid, and medium bodied smooth finish. You would hardly know this was done on French oak.
The 2009 Sunset Hill Cab Franc had a strong herb and green pepper nose. It was a dry yet lush wine with a tomato marinara feel in the mouth with soft tannins. For you purists it should be known that this wine contains varying amounts Petit Verdot (my personal favorite single varietal), Merlot, and Tannat. Although still young, this wine doesn’t resemble at all a typical Virginia Cab Franc. It will be interesting to see what a little time in the bottle will do for it.
Now for the real question…Drum roll please…the winner of the white vs. red wine pairing completion is…A Draw…Ironically each wine was well suited for a different part of dinner. The orange flavor and creaminess of the pasta paired very well with the Chardonnay; it even brought out more the acidic finish which added complexity to the Chardonnay. Meanwhile, the Cab Franc balanced well with the garlic tomato sauce on the green beans. It cut through the garlic on the beans and brought out more earth tones to the Cab Franc. So in the end, I guess it wasn’t much of a competition, and just an evening of enjoying good VA Wine. As a bonus, it made the time waiting out the rain of Irene go by faster.
