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| Interior of The Palisades Restaurant |
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| The Menu |
The evening's Latin American Menu Included:
Marinated Flank Steak with Chimmichuri Sauce
Beef Empinadas
Argentinian Potato Salad (...mashed potatoes?)
1. This Pinot Gris had a perfumey, floral, nose with hints of
crisp pear. On the palate, I was very surprised by this Pinot
Gris, as it appeared to have more similarities to a Sauvignon
Blanc or even a Chardonnay. I greatly enjoyed this very light
and delicate spring/summer wine with it's notes of peach,
pear, and apple. A very smooth and delicate balance, this is
perhaps one of my favorite whites that I have tasted all
semester. An extremely balanced wine that offered a warm
smoothness in the floral hints, but also something fresh and
fruity on the palate. When paired with the dinner, I felt
like this white served well as a palate cleanser between the
different dishes, and could be a fantastic apertif.
Meet the wines (from left to right):
1. Pulenta: Pinot Gris 2011
The Pinot Gris shows a great white-flower intensity (roses and
jasmine), along with white peaches. On the palate, it is
fresh and persistent, with acidity and a lengthy finish.
2. Arido: Malbec 2010
Intense ruby color. Delicate red fruit and violet aromas
interact with classic Malbec spiciness. Soft and round in the
mouth with balanced acidity and sweet tannins.
3. Tilia: Bornarda 2009
On the nose, there is a ripe red fruit with hints of violet
and anise. In the mouth, there are juicy raspberry and cherry
fruit flavors alongside notes of black pepper. The finish is
soft and round with velvety tannins. The wine rests for nine
months in French and American Oak, before another six in the
bottle.
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The Wines |
crisp pear. On the palate, I was very surprised by this Pinot
Gris, as it appeared to have more similarities to a Sauvignon
Blanc or even a Chardonnay. I greatly enjoyed this very light
and delicate spring/summer wine with it's notes of peach,
pear, and apple. A very smooth and delicate balance, this is
perhaps one of my favorite whites that I have tasted all
semester. An extremely balanced wine that offered a warm
smoothness in the floral hints, but also something fresh and
fruity on the palate. When paired with the dinner, I felt
like this white served well as a palate cleanser between the
different dishes, and could be a fantastic apertif.
2. The Arido is a thicker, full-bodied, chewy, black-red wine.
An interesting contrast to the lightness of the first wine in
the line up, I was intrigued by this darker, bolder, wine.
With hints of Black Pepper and spice on the nose, I could
immediately tell that this red was meant to be paired with a
"red meat and potatoes" type dinner. On the palate, I could
detect hints of plum and spice, but with an interesting
oaky/buttery sensation towards the end-palate. When paired
with the dinner's steak and empanada, I began to detect notes
of cranberry. I found that the dinner's heaviness brought out
the wine's fruity undertones, making them a superb pair.
3. I found the Tilia Wine to share many of the spicy
characteristics of the Arido. The color of this wine was
noticeably more brown and muted compared to the Arido's bright
red ruby color. On the nose, I detected heavy leather and
oaky notes, with not much of anything else. On the palate, I
tasted more floral than fruity notes, with leathery/oaky notes
towards the end palate. I found this red to be particularly
single-noted and boring. Definitely not up to the same par as
the first two wines, and not my favorite with this dinner
pairing.
All in all, this wine dinner was a very pleasant experience. I was very impressed by the Palisade's interesting and unique food and wine pairing. I would definitely love to come back later in the semester to sample another wine-dinner.
