Seeing as beef prices are currently experiencing a rather
precipitous rise in price, Pris and I are trying to enjoy as much beef while we
can. A couple of weeks ago I finally got
around to cooking a dish I've been I've been wanting to for some time: bacon
wrapped wine braised brisket. To go with
this fine meal Pris selected a 2006 Franciscan Merlot that we've had since
before moving to In a prior post, I touted a Franciscan Cab as a great wine that was consistently good across the different vintages. It was great to find out that this was equally true for Franciscan's Merlot. The usual plum and cherry aromas were present and it appeared as though the wine would probably be a fairly standard Merlot, but that estimation changed once the wine hit the palate. The cellaring definitely agreed with this Napa Merlot. While it was as juicy and jammy as any Merlot out there, the aging mellowed this wine sublimely. Full dark fruit slid effortlessly over the palate, grounded by mild herbal notes. Incredibly mild tannins allowed for a mild and slightly sweet finish.
This wine paired superbly with the wine braised
brisket. The brisket was braised with a
nice helping of garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and fennel. The sweet anise in the fennel was a great
compliment to the sweet fruit in the wine. The salty and savory bacon and
brisket were countered very well by the same fruit.
I'm not sure where we bought the 2006 Franciscan Merlot, or
whether or not anyone will carry that particular vintage. However, you can get Franciscan wines at
H.E.B., Jones Liqour, Feldmans, and pretty much anywhere decent wine is
sold. Generally the Merlot runs a dollar
or two less than its Cab counterpart, and you can find it for around $18 a
bottle. You can find out more about
Franciscan and their wines at: http://www.franciscan.com
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