Another amazing wine dinner at Randy’s Steakhouse. Billed as a Cajun Wine Dinner it surprised me that it was paired with Chateau St Michelle wines.
Truth be told – I’m late in writing this up, but with great friends who helped take notes, my memory was easily jogged.
Reception
Randy’s Hors D’oeuvres
Chateau St Michelle Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley, Washington State
The Pinot Gris had a light apple scent and finishes like a granny smith apple. We could all agree on that. We disagreed on whether it was easy to drink or not, but we all found it light and a good ‘porch’ wine.
It brought out the spice of the meat on the crostinis, but was a bit odd with the olives and salami. Personally I found it strange with the asparagus wrapped in philo dough – but my companions did not..
Despite being on the fence abut this one, we kept drinking it.
First Course
Shrimp Creole over White Rice
Chateau St Michelle, Chardonnay, Indian Wells, Washington State
This had almost no scent to it at first – so maybe too cold. As it warmed it got a light butter scent. We got pear and caramel flavors.
The spice brought out the buttery notes of the wine but acted as a palate cleanser for the odd shrimp creole (rotel and celery over rice?).
The second glass some of my companions had poured (I did not) tasted weird to them. Tasting it – I’d agree – it was not s good as the first and had a very metallic taste to it, with a very odd (and unpleasant) aftertaste.
The Glazer’s rep was stumped….
Second Course
Turtle Soup
Chateau St Michelle, Merlot, Columbia Valley, Washington
Technically – mock turtle soup – made with ground beef.
We really disagreed on how to describe one. I thought it had a big bold berry jammy scent. A berry taste but a bit acrid and dry for a merlot. DH thought it was berry and paint thinner. (Not asking how he knows what paint thinner tastes like.) Aly said it was “Very Tart – Like Me.” E’s comment was that it was just too tannic on his throat.
However, we did all agree it went well with the soup. In fact the wine brought out the spice of the soup, while the soup brought out the berry jam of the Merlot. More soup = more jam flavor.
Entrée
Crawfish Stuffed Filet with Cognac Bordelaise Sauce, Maque Choux
Chateau St Michelle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, California
We all agreed this was a “very good cab.” It was a good dry flavor with a berry scent (not same berry as the Merlot). But the berry flavor accentuated the sauce. It went well with the spicy crawfish on top of the steak. And was a very smooth wine.
We ate all the steak and drank all the wine. It didn’t go so much with the corn on the side.
We did try a bit of the merlot with the steak, and it was good, but the cabernet sauvignon was much better.
Final Thoughts
For Dessert was Randy’s Bread Pudding with Jack Daniels Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream and Grahams Port Fine Ruby. So that means for dessert was vanilla ice cream and port. The bread pudding went home for breakfast like it always does!
All in all, not a bad cajun “style” dinner and the wine pairings weren’t bad. I still think St. Michelle is an average wine – so I’m giving it a Tuesday rating across the board. I really think some of the Texas wines I’ve had lately would go better – but Randy says Texas wines don’t sell… which is a shame. I will still keep trying to change his mind.
