When I received the 2005 Fratelli Recchia Ca’Bertoldi Amarone, I received two other wines from Wine Chateau. I decided that I would put together a wine pairing with each of these the same way I had for the Amarone. I paired the 2010 Bodega Norton Malbec Reserva, the next wine we tried, with a three-course meal: soup, main dish with a side, and then a cheese course.
The wine had a lovely nose – it was must, burnt chocolate, and as Wining Husband said “wet towels” – but in a good way! Upon first tasting, it was smoother than some of the other Malbecs we’ve tried. It was also at the edge of inkiness that Wining Husband can tolerate. The wine was spicy with a kick, and there was a lot of alcohol on the nose with the swirl, as well as unripe raspberry at the beginning and sour cherry at the end of the palate. The wine was very dry, and almost too bitter.
The soup I paired the wine with was a roasted carrot, onion, and Malbec soup with some changes. Rather than using Malbec in the recipe, I used the cheap Cabernet Sauvignon that comes in the 4-pack. We had a ton of carrots from our CSA, so coming up with three pounds of carrots to cut up and roast wasn’t too difficult. I cut the carrots into sticks, and added three onions, thickly sliced, to the cookie sheets (the onions we had were smaller, and I’m glad I added extra. Many of the onions got a little too roasted!). I tossed the veggies in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then put them into the 450 degree oven for 45 minutes. Like I said, they got a bit too roasted, so I think 30 minutes will be perfect next time. When the carrots and onions were looking roasted, I put them into our Dutch oven, where I’d melted 2 tbsp. of butter. I sautéed the vegetables in the butter for a few minutes, and then added half the small bottle of Cabernet. Once the Cab had cooked off for a few minutes, I added a 32 oz. box plus 2 cups of chicken broth to the pot, added two bay leafs, and brought the soup to a boil. Once it reached a boil, I reduced the heat to a simmer, and let it do its thing for 45 minutes while I worked on the side dish. I removed the bay leaves, put it in the blender to puree it, and then garnished each serving with a tablespoon of olive oil drizzled over the top and yogurt.
With the soup, the Malbec was tamed. The soup highlighted the coffee and chocolate flavors in the wine. It really highlighted how dry and tannic the wine was; Wining husband found it a bit bitter on the back-end. In all, it was a decently good pairing.
For the main course, I paired slow cooked pulled pork and a bacon-broccoli salad with the soup. I followed each of those two recipes exactly as written, though I found the pulled pork could have used some salt. It was deliciously spicy, and it brought out the spice in the Bodega Malbec in a wonderful way. It also brought out the paprika flavors in the wine. The broccoli salad brought out a burnt honey and coffee flavor in the wine, and highlighted the creaminess of the wine. This Malbec is bold enough to be out of control, and it needs to be paired with foods that will rein it in. Both the pulled pork and the broccoli salad did that nicely.
Following the main course, we enjoyed three types of cheeses (we found in a three-pack at the grocery store): Iberico, “Tipsy Goat,” and Manchego. The Manchego was the best of these three – it was very nice and smoothed out the Malbec, pulling back the fruit forward flavors to tannin. The “Tipsy Goat” was not a great pairing. Instead, it brought out the wine’s acidity. The Iberico went very well with the wine, smoothing it out and bringing out the fruit flavors.
In all, the 2010 Bodega Norton Malbec Reserva was a decent wine. It was smoother and more finished than many wines we have tried, but I don’t know as I’d go and seek it out even though we liked it pretty well. If I came across it on a menu, and I really wanted a Malbec, and neither Finca el Origen nor Antigal 1 was available, then I’d choose this one.
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