Keeping it Classy: Château Lagrave-Aubert

So I decided to class it up a bit tonight, wine wise at least, since there's no classing up a lazy Saturday dinner at home. To this end I took a chance on Bordeaux that was on sale at Feldman's.  I was browsing through the wines while waiting for our food to be prepared, and I noticed there were a number of French wines on sale.  It also helped that our friend Yvonne Welther recommended a Bordeaux to go with the order.  Unfortunately, her recommendation was so good they were all out of that particular wine.  Pris and I hadn't had a Bordeaux in quite a while so I picked one out that was on sale for $20.  It wasn't exactly a scientific selection process, but it turned out to be a great choice.

I grabbed a bottle of Château Lagrave-Aubert 2007 Côtes de Castillon.  This is a Bordeaux from the vicinity of St. Emillion in France.  Its made up of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The heavy Merlot foundation came shining through in this wine.  The Côtes de Castillon was smooth, with a rich hearty fruit palate.  The two Cabs provided nice structure with good tannins for a full and slightly dry finish.  As the wine opened up it developed a more complex flavor with a longer and smoother finish. 

This was a great wine.  Yvonne was right about it pairing great with our food.  The Bordeaux paired nicely with steak Pris ordered, as would be expected of this type of wine.  It also paired excellently with the tandoori chicken kabobs I got for myself.  The spice in the chicken and the fruit in the wine offered great counterpoints to one another.  But the best pairing had to be the wine with the herbed labneh, a Lebanese herbed yogurt cheese ball.  My one regret on that was that I only got one to split rather than getting several.  It was another great wine and a great meal on a beautiful Saturday evening.

For more information about Chateau Lagrave-Aubert you can check out their website: http://www.aubert-vignobles.com.  Right now, the wine is on sale at Feldman's for $20, but it usually runs about $30 there.