Onda restaurant with Wines of Rhône

Wine and food pairings at Onda restaurant with wines from Rhône. Food and the matching in Norwegian, tasting notes of the wines in English as usual. The food and wine pairings was meant more as a suggestion and in some cases experimental as for example a white Vacqueyras is normally not the first wine that springs to mind with king crab, nor is Hermitage and dessert.

New rating of drinkability

***** The bottle will empty before you know it

**** The bottle is likely to empty

*** The bottle may empty, at least with food

** Unlikely to be emptied

* You will not finish more than a glass, if you are a human. 

The French Ambassador to Norway stopped by

2010 Saint Jean du Barroux Ventoux L'Argile:

Ruby. Fruity, rich, dark berries, anise, intense of cherries. Freshish acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, ripe but also leaner body and texture, dry finish, good length. 85 ***

Viltterrine med søte tyttebær og salat

Elegant terrine, nyanserte smaker og flott balanse, tyttebærcolissen gjorde matchen noe fruktigere og mer elegant med liten mengde, vinen ble mindre tør i avslutningen, men vinen ble slankere des mer man tilførte, og etterhvert tørrere i finish. 

2012 Domaine Maby Tavel Prima Donna Rosé:

Pale garnet. Light and fruity nose, fresh. Freshish aciditu, sligjt spritz, easy, fruity, light, quite elegant, good length. Ever so slightly sweet. 82 ****

2010 Monterius Vacqueyras Mineral:

Pale golden. Rich, honey, wax, some yellow fruits nose. Low acidity, fruity, waxy palate, minerals, almost smoky, good length. 84 ****

Kongekrabbe med agurk, rug og dillmajones

Meget elegant og saftig rett med forfriskene eplemos, en elegant dill majones som matchet krabben bedre enn ventet, og sprøstekt syltynt rugbrød som fikk en noe mer jordlig substans i de noe" høytflyvende" dill og eplesyrlige smakene, samt sødmefulle krabben. Virkelig flott rett. Tavelen matchet krabben greit om man bare hadde den på tallerkenen, men ble noe søtt og flatt, og litt kunstig fruktig. Som helhet imponerte faktisk Vacqueyrasen, den ble litt for rik og mektig, men mindre så enn alene. Men mineraliteten i vinen dro frem en utrolig elegant mineralitet og sødme fra krabben, så matchen ble faktisk ganske bra. Den elegante dillmajonesen (lite dill) og eplemosens friskhet fikk bort litt av voksen og vinen fremsto mer elegant og nyansert. 

2012 Cave de Rasteau Côte du Rhône Village Ortas:

Ruby. Rich, fruity, dark berries and a bit alcoholic nose. Intense liquorice. Fairly fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, quite lively, rich and dark berries, ever so slightly warm finish. Spicy. Good length. 85 ***

2011 Baron d'Escalin Grignan les Adhémar:

Ruby. Sweet and overripe wild strawberries, raspberries and ever so slightly floral, verging on artificial notes. Anise and spices. Freshish acidity, ripe tannins, leaner palate and alcoholic, warm and feels unbalanced. Good length. 81 ** 

Torsk med potetcrème og sauce vierge:

Saftig og meget elegant torsk, elegant rett, smakfull og flott balansert. Inn på topp ti av torskeretter jeg har hatt. Vinene klarte ikke å imponere meg. Grignanen overdøvet retten helt og de elegante tonene fra kjøkkenet forsvant. Ortas ble metallisk, og for meg er det enda en bekreftelse i rekken av at torsk for meg er noe for hvitvin. Grignanen trenger grillet kjøtt og Otrasen noe lettere kjøtt. 

2012 Mas de Libian Côte du Rhône Khayyam:

Decanted. Ruby. Scented, fruity, anise, floral, pepper, blue- and blackberries nose. Freshish acidity, ripe tannins, warm and alcoholic sweetness, easy going.  Rich and warm finish. 83 ***

2011 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas:

Ruby. Rich, anise, dark berries, fruity and intense nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, more elegant palate even still very sweet. Ripe berries, easy going, good length. 85 ****

2011 Guy Farge Saint Joseph Terre de Granit:

Ruby. Rich, fleshy, sweet and ripe nose, dark berries. Thyme. Medium acidity, ripe tannins, sweet, lush, rounded, easy but lacks nuance. Good length. 84 ***

Lam med jordskokk, spinat og hvitløk

Helt nydelig rett, mørt og saftig lam med en liten fettrand som var perfekt tilberedt, smakfult og kraftig som lam ofte er, men nyansert. Utrolig elegant hvitløk, gir en ny dimensjon til retten og det samme gjør spinaten som bare ga ett lite men særdeles delikat løft. Den hvitløken tror jeg blir historisk. Kanskje hele retten. Vinene derimot var vanskeligere. Khayyam ble alkoholsk og noe overdøvende, Saint Josephen mer så mens Gigondasen klarte det bedre, så føler jeg hele veien at de overdøver de flotte nyansene i maten, de blir for fruktige og alkoholske. Alkoholen og varmen overdøver neste munnfull, smaksløkene blir numne. 

2011 Chapoutier Saint Joseph Les Granilites:

Towards golden. Some butter, wax, minerals, yellow fruits, almonds notes nose. Low acidity, minerals, wax, honey, intense, complex, long. Rich finish. 89 ****

2007 Château Val Joanis Luberon Griottes:

Ruby. Red berries, dusty, earthy minerality, vanilla and seems to be highly toasted. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, Good length, bit warm. 84 ***

Norsk ost

Munkeby, gikk greit med den hvite, taklet også aprikosesyltetøyet. Men samtidig runder aprikosen av osten, kanskje så mye at den nesten mister egenarten.  Den  røde ble noe metallisk og fikenen her overdøvet osten helt for meg. 

2011 Delas Frères Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes:

Ruby. Scented, liquorice, cherries, blackberries, rich and massive nose. Medium acidity, ripe tannins, soft and velvety, rounded, rich, fruity and even if a bit warm, feels almost seductive. But the finish is a bit to warm, long. 90 ***

Variasjon på blåbær med mørk sjokolade

Kraftig sjokolade med syrlige og deilige blåbær som løftes av mynte. Elegant og nesten parfymert og floral rett. Helt strålende. Nesten ett lite sitruspreg på den. Det fungerer med vinen, men jeg hadde foretrukket en søtere og friskere portvin. 

2010 Chapoutier Rasteau:

Ruby. Intense, green, herbal and tar nose. Freshish acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, bit lean, herbal, good length. Warm and alcoholic. 84***

2007 Jaboulet Aine Crozes Hermitage Domaine du Thalabert:

Ruby. Rich, fruity, intense and quite fruity nose, dark berries and plums. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, sweet, fruity, ripe but quite refreshing, good length. 86****

This lunch and tasting was very interesting, even if it confirmed yet again my feeling of the issues with alcohol and fruit that the wines of Rhône has from my view. The wines numbs the palate, takes away the nuances of excellent dishes even if the flavours are superb matches by themselves. More is normally not better, and many these wines feels more like new money than descreet elegance. They are a bit in your face. I have had some truly elegant older Rhônes the past two weeks, with 12,5 to 13,5 alcohol giving perfect balance and less ripe and fruity character to the wines. It was possible to make this before Mr Parker went fruit salad crazy. A Bordeaux producer I met last week told me that the 2009 vintage with 14,5 alcohol was getting increasingly difficult to sell in the US, so hopefully we will be seeing a shift to lighter and more elegant wines from Rhône as well soon. It is possible, most grapes are mature enough at 13,5 degress potential alcohol. The restaurant on the other hand, Onda, made some fantastic dishes on this day, lot's of nuances, very elegant and refined. Lovely.