Sometimes, ya gotta make lemonade out of lemons

The flight gods left me stranded in Rochester today, forcing me to miss the Decanter wine tasting event and Rioja masterclass. As a response to that, we decided to have a 2005 Viña Tondonia Lopez de Herredia for dinner tonight, paired with grilled filet mignon with Bernaise sauce. I feel like I didnt fair too poorly!

Despite its age, the wine was a deep ruby color with just a touch of brown from aging around the edge. The aromas were mainly tertiary, with lots of leather and forest floor. Spices, cigar box and tomatoes mixed with a bit of cedar and mushrooms. Laura's comment was, "It smells like a "'gentleman's club,'" I think referring to the old, polished leather.

The wine is medium-bodied, with medium levels of acidity and medium tannins that are quite gentle. The alcohol level is imperceptible. Fruit flavors are diminished and are mainly dark fruits such as blackberry and blackcurrant with some slight hint of red fruits. (Actually, strawberries came to mind - more in response to some light acidity than to any specific flavor). There was lots of mushroom and leather on the palate. The whole impression lent a savory feeling to the wine. The mouthfeel was round, soft and very pleasant. There was a long, pleasant finish. So how did it do with the steak?

It was simply lovely. The grilled steak was just terrific and this wine complemented it perfectly. The steak and wine bodies matched perfectly and the dark fruit flavors admixed with the savory aspects of the wine made each one better. It certainly did not clash with the backed potato, chives, sour cream, and cheese, but that combination was not the "star of the event", and this is probably not the best wine to pair with our green salad with nuts and dried fruits. I tried it with a small tasting of a dark chocolate with Cabernet sauvignon filling (from Argentina) and I actually thought that the chocolate "too big" for the wine.

A great salvage to a disappointing day!!!