February 6, 2014 Middle Eastern Dinner Party at the Baker’s Lamb Kabobs, Eggplant tapa, Tzatziki, Salad, honeyed carrots, Greek Baked potatoes, and Pear Cake

February 6, 2014 Middle Eastern Dinner  Party at the Baker’s  Lamb Kabobs, Eggplant tapa, Tzatziki, Salad, honeyed carrots, Greek Baked potatoes, and Pear Cake

We were invited to Crystal and Doug Baker’s house for dinner. We had discussed drinking our older wines, so I took a bottle of 1994 Fetzer Vineyard’s Valley oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, that had been given to me in the 90’s by an appreciative restaurateur for the review I did of their restaurant.

I had some sediment but Crystal decanted it.  After it sat for about ½ hour, the tannins and fruit came into exquisite balance.  It tasted clean and light.

After sitting in their living room for a few minutes Janice and Tom La Fontaine joined us.  We all talked and sipped the lovely Cabernet Sauvignon and ate a very interesting appetizer: thinly sliced eggplant brushed with olive oil, smeared with lavender honey, sprinkled with manchego cheese and baked.  It was sweet, but pleasant.

After we finished the bottle of 1994 Fetzer Valley Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, we moved into the dinette beside the kitchen and the dining room that sat six comfortably for dinner.  Doug and Crystal had opened a bottle of2009 Chateau Bourdicotte Bordeaux Superieur that seemed to have a lot of Merlot in it.

Here is some information on Bordeaux Superieur, which is an interesting appellation.

Bordeaux Superieur Wine

Bordeaux Superieur is an appellation which covers the whole of the Bordeaux region, from Verdon-sur-Mer at the north-western tip of the Medoc to Sainte-Foy, 80 miles (130km) to the east.

A St Emilion vineyard in Bordeaux
© Wikimedia/davitydave

Rather than being a sub-category of the generic Bordeaux appellation, Bordeaux Superieur is a title in its own right, specifically covering both red and white wines. The reds have a slightly higher alcoholic content than standard Bordeaux, are aged for longer in oak barrels (12 months minimum) and are produced from older vines. The whites are distinguished from standard white Bordeaux by their higher residual sugar levels, which make the wines anything from semi-sweet to liquoreux.

Bordeaux Superieur wines are produced from the classic Bordelais grape varieties. The reds are made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot (proportions vary according to vineyard locations), and generally tend to be a little richer and more complex than regular Bordeaux. They also, theoretically, offer better ageing potential, but this can be down to the winemaking. The whites are produced from Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Semillon and Muscadelle. They also tend to be a little more complex, due to the slightly lower maximum yields dictated by the Superieur production conditions.

About a quarter of the vineyard coverage dedicated to AOC Bordeaux wine production is given over to Bordeaux Superieur. It is spread across the region, with a bias towards the areas north of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol where more location-specific appellations are not in force.

Dinner included a platter with a couple dozen lamb kebobs, seasoned with cinnamon, cumin, and several other Middle Eastern spices.  There was a bowl of Tzatziki, a large bowl of Middle Eastern salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, olives, etc. dressed with a rather vinegary vinaigrette.  There were honey flavored carrots, and a long skinny plate of Greek Roasted potatoes,  

We ate and talked and drank the Bordeaux.  The lamb was tender and delicious, yet deceptively pungent with spices, so I dipped each bite into the Tzatziki to balance and subdue the spices. The tzatziki was my favorite because it was made absolutely perfectly with very fresh dill, slivered green onio, good yogurt and olive oil.

Crystal mentioned that they had sourced some of the ingredients at the Istanbul Market, which I think is our best Middle Eastern Grocery Store.

Finally after a lovely dinner Crystal went to the kitchen and cut slices of fresh pear cake and served each with a dollop of whipped cream and we continued to sip wine and eat Italian Pear Cake.  There were sliced pears on both the top and bottom of the cake.  The ones on the bottom were soft and ones on the bottom were hardened to chewy.  The cake was a mildly firm and not too sweet white cake.  I could have been in on the veranda of an Italian villa next to a pear orchard.  It was a lovely cake.

I am glad to be the recipient of the benefit of Crystal’s recent retirement from her career as an escrow officer for a title company and Doug and Crystal’s ongoing improvements to the lovely old house they bought in our neighborhood and to be able to count them and Janice and Tom among our friends.

Bon Appétit