Dinner with Rick-- Dinner One with Four Bottles. Score: Wine: 1; Eric, Pris & Company: 0

A couple weeks ago Pris and I headed to Houston.  This was a perfect time to get away, and enjoy all the great epicurean opportunities Houston had to offer.  The only problem was where to start with so many options and so little time. 

My brother Rick and I began discussing dining options earlier in the week.  After narrowing down our options, we decided on a place called Mockingbird Bistro.  It was a great choice and an amazing meal.  There were raspberry vinaigrette salads, lamb sweetbreads in a cream sauce, beef carpaccio, a great steak and salmon, and amazing pork chops.  In fact, probably one of the best pork chops I've ever had. But, this blog is more about the wine than the food.

We started off the evening with a bottle of Albert Mann 2009 Pinot Blanc.  I figured the white wine would go well with the lighter fair of the appetizers and salads.  That and it was hot outside, so the white would be more refreshing. 

The Albert Mann had a great floral nose to start, with subtle musky undertones.  What followed was a crisp and slightly citrusy flavor that flowed easily across the palate.  The Pinot Blanc was well balanced and a perfect start to the meal.  This was a good wine, one I'll definitely be on the lookout for at the store. 

We also ordered a 2007 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes Du Rhone at the same time we ordered the white wine.  Pris remembered this particular wine since we still had an empty bottle at home, and it is on her wish list.  In our experience, Cotes Du Rhone's can be hit or miss, fortunately this one was a hit.  The Coudeoulet de Beaucastel was flavorful, full-bodied and also was a perfect compliment to the first portion of the meal. Going back over my almost illegible notes shows that this wine held spicy notes on the palate with a full  fruit finish.  Dark fruit abounded in this blend of Granache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah. This was a rich wine that contrasted well with the lighter appetizers.

To go with dinner we selected a slightly more robust wine since Rick and I were have the pork chops and Pris was getting a steak.  Rick's girlfriend Shannon had salmon and more of the Pinot Blanc with her meal.  To complement the heavier fair we chose a 2007 Bell Napa Valley Merlot.  This was a great full bodied Merlot that had a rich flavor.  The mix of grapes played well with a full fruit palate that contained strong dark cherry flavors.  The wine was slightly dry with soft finish of supple tannins.  Again, this is a wine I'll be looking for when I head out to look for wine.

I'm not sure where to find the Albert Mann, the Coudoulet de Beaucastel, or the Bell here in the Valley.  I haven't really had a chance to look for them yet, but I will do an update if I find it.  That said, the Albert Mann Pinot Blanc can be found online for about $10 a bottle.  For more information on this wine you can check out the vintner's website: http://www.albertmann.com/site/Home-page-79.html.  The Coudoulet de Beaucastel goes for around $20 a bottle.  For more info you can visit their website: http://www.beaucastel.com/index.php?langue=en&page=vins.  The Bell Merlot runs about $22 online and you can find more about the wine at: http://www.bellwine.com/wines/.

**During the course of discussing the need to write this belated post, I kept mentioning that we had 2 bottles of a red wine at this dinner, while Eric insisted that we had only had the Bell Merlot. It was not until I finished reviewing what Eric had written that I reminded him yet again of the Cotes du Rhone we polished off at the dinner. This was our first wine. The Bell was the second red wine of the night. I told Eric I had ordered a Cotes Du Rhone that was from our personal collection and that I knew we liked and had before. Sure enough, when I grabbed the empty bottle sitting on our shelf, Eric remembered that we had indeed polished off a Cotes Du Rhone. Score one for the wine kicking our butt. It isn't often one can say you polished off 4 bottles of wine in one sitting. **