A great and ripe duo - Morgan wines
1998 Morgan Winery Chardonnay Reserve (89/100)
Monterey County, California
14.2 % Alcohol
Clear and deep golden yellow. Aromas of acacia honey, some resin and a little bit of toffee which are all confirmed on the palate. Some sweetness at the beginning followed by typical wood notes in the surprisingly long finish. A wine for cold winter evenings in front of a chimney.
Of course the wine is already over the top but still in good condition. Indeed I would serve it a little bit colder as usual for Chardonnay.
In my opinion a wonderful partner for a nice pâté.
1996 Morgan Winery Pinot Noir Reserve Unfiltered (90/100)
Monterey County, California
13.2 % Alcohol
I took the wine directly from the storage - upright position - and poured two ounces. So a little bit cold at the beginning. Clear garnet red colour with some lighter rims. Still fruit aromas from strawberries present, but mainly a nice touch of red roses. Surprisingly fresh, no oxidized tones visible. In the mouth very fruity, gentle and round. Still fresh. Extremely balanced. Long finish with the typical light bitterness at the end. Great!
For me this Pinot is a wonderful partner for soft-ripened cheese. Perhaps a Mt. Townsend Creamery Trailhead?
It is difficult to say how long this wine will hold the tremendous quality it offers at the moment. 5 years, 10 years, more? If you can get a bottle simply buy and try it!
The nice thing using the Coravin is the fact that the food pairing ideas can be verified at a later time with the same quality of the wine. No sooner said than done: For the Chardonnay I bought two styles of fine liver pâté - one with cowberries, one with white mushrooms. As partner for the Pinot I selected - because of the lack of the availability of the recommendation (:-)) - a Delice d'Argental (double cream cheese from the Burgundy) and an aromatic Bavaria blu (German soft-ripened cheese with blue mold).
Especially the pairing pâté - Chardonnay was a fantastic experience. Together with the cowberry pâté the wine suddenly offered tones of tropical fruits, especially pineapple. Also with the mushroom pâté similar tones were present, but with a little spicy note. In both cases the wood notes were totally gone.
The Pinot did it differently with the two cheese varieties. The already tasted characteristics were nearly unchanged but the cheese aromatics were wonderfully enriched by the Pinot's fruit tones.
In total the recommendations made on the assumptions during the tasting were confirmed. Both wines are not "easy drinkers". So simply opening the bottles for a nice evening should be avoided. My recommendation is to serve these wonderful ripe wines to dedicated dishes in the context of a festive dinner. I am sure the participants will be surprised and excited.
