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| Pinot Noir, Pork and Mushrooms-Again - 9/9/2008 |
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| Menu
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Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Sauce
Quick Apple Wrap
Crimini Mushroom Tart
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| Wine
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Torii Mor Pinot Noir 2005
A to Z Pinot Noir 2006
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| Comments
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One more time… with the Pinot Noirs from two nights ago and another meal tailor-made for the wine. This time we had savory mushroom tart and grilled pork tenderloin on the menu. Again, we sampled the two wines from Oregon. We sipped, swirled, stared at our glasses… and finally laughed, as we decided we were definitely in the "Pinot Gallery" when it comes to this wine, as we still don't know what all the shouting is about.
Torii Mor from the Willamette Valley region initially had a vaporous aroma that was almost sherry-like, but mellowed a bit as the wine opened up. Very subtle fruit was met with big dry tannins and a fair amount of acidity. Plenty of body and depth, but the very dry nature of the wine virtually wiped out the vague fruits, leaving me wanting to untwist my tongue.
A to Z stated that it was an aristocratic wine at democratic prices. It did seem a somewhat more balanced, but had that funky barnyard aroma that some Pinot Noirs have. However, once you got past the weird fragrances, there were notes of tart cherry, a bit of pepper and a nice oaky vanilla to round out the sampling. Definitely easier on the palate.
The food, in this case, was a tender grilled pork loin, crisply charred with a bright tangy pomegranate sauce. This sauce was rather overwhelming on its own, but perfectly complimented the pork and went surprisingly well with the wine. I had expected it to sour out our rather tarty wines, but they managed to hang in there with the A to Z making the best match. With the pork we had a classic mushroom tart filled with Crimini mushrooms, caramelized onions and nutty parmesan cheese, all held together in a buttery crust. As with the pork, the wine contrasted the food with A to Z again making the best pairing with a small amount of integration of flavors. Torii Mor just stood apart from the whole meal, providing a palate cleanse and a wash down without interacting with the food at all. It's tannins tended to overwhelm the food in some cases and there was little or no fruit to provide harmony.
For dessert we had an apple wrap made from the leftover tart crust. Light, fresh apples and buttery crust almost made a match with the wines. They tasted better together than you would have guessed, with both of them keeping their tannins to themselves.
We might be neophytes in the Pinot Noir category, but both of us prefer a better balance of fruit to make a good match with the food. Both wines were dry, dry, dry, but A to Z with the better balance made the best pairing. Both wines were very changeable and in a rather dry, spare way, were improved when combined with the foods. However, for the price, I would definitely step away from this popular tend and leave those Pinots back in the closet where they used to be.
Ratings are for the A to Z wine.
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