Wine and Cheese Tasting

On Wednesday night my girlfriend and I went to the Black Hen to try three wines and three cheeses. I would have to say I am not much of a try new cheese kind of guy, but I want to try something new. So before I talk about how the cheeses and wines pared together, here are the wines and cheese I tried.

Name: Baron Des Chartrons
Variety: A classic Bordeaux blend of 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Region: Bordeaux
Country: France
Year: 2012
Price: $27
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Baron Des Chartrons is made from Merlot and Charernet Sauvignon and offers roundness, freshness and red fruits aroma. it is best enjoyed with pasta, meat and poultry.
My review: The wine had a very fruity smell and has a nice shortness when you smell it in. The wine is a dry wine with a very small hint of grape but it is still a very nice full tasting wine.

Name: Mureda Tempranillo
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Castilla
Country: Spain
Year: 2014
Price: $28
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Cherry red color with maroon hues. Pleasant fruity aroma with notes of red fruit and a balsamic touch. Well balanced, with sweet and round tannins, full bodied and a long aftertaste.
My review: The wine has a very rich fruity smell. The taste of the wine is a bit fruity and leaves my mouth only a slight bit dry. Over all a good tasting wine.

Name: Wither Hills
Variety: Saurignon Blanc
Region: Marlborough
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2014
Price: $31
Shop/wine critic/winery review: It captures the vibrant herbaceous, grapefruit and gooseberry characters of the region. Superb weight and elegance combine to complete a wine of remarkable fruit intensity and style.
My review: The wine had a very sharp smell, I do not know what but it just did not agree with me. When I first tasted the wine, it had a very pleasant taste, but then for me the taste went sour and I did not like the after taste at all.

Cheese 1: Ile de france, which is a soft ripened brie (France).
Cheese 2: Drunken goat, which is a red wine cured goat cheese (Spain).

Cheese 3: Kikorangi, which is creamy, golden cyrd, and blue viens (New Zeland)

For the tasting, we planed to par the cheese with wines by what country they are from. So  Ile de france with Baron Des Chartrons,  Drunken goat with Mureda Tempranillo, and  Kikorangi with Wither Hills. 

The first cheese and wine I am going to talk about is Ile de france with Baron Des Chartrons. The cheese was very moist and creamy, but the after taste was not the best. It was very tart and I did not like it at all. When I have the cheese with the wine, the wine really brings out the flavor of the cheese and the wine itself. I think the cheese and wine par together very well.

The second cheese and wine is Drunken goat with Mureda Tempranillo. This cheese was my favor out of all three. The cheese has a nice creamy feel to it and a very lovely taste. It tasted almost like cheddar cheese which is why I think I liked it the best. The cheese with the wine helps take the dryness of the wine away, and brings out the cheese flavor a lot better. Also a great paring.

The last cheese and wine I tried was Kikorangi with Wither Hills. The cheese was creamy as well but has a very strong kick and after taste, this cheese was not my favorite it tasted like blur cheese. The wine with the cheese brought out the flavor of both the wine and the cheese. This was the cheese and wine I did not like so, I would not say these where a great par with me. Not my favor.