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TN Pinot Noir and Gandules Gandules are what pigeon peas are called in the Dominican Republic. I'd never heard of pigeon peas before, so to me they were always gandules (gahn-'doo-lehs). We got them dried, so they have to soak first for several (many) hours, and then we cooked them up in the crockpot slowly. I say "we" but Katie does most of the cooking. I'm also pretty good, but she loves it so much I let her. It's my small sacrifice. :) Some cilantro, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar were the prime spices, and it was cooked with with chicken pieces, green peppers, and fresh tomatoes, and served on light brown basmati rice (which itself has a really nice flavor). What to have with it... it had a really nice earthy flavor, and I figured the Savignon Blanc wouldn't work too well. The cabernet would probably overpower the chicken, and although I could add tabasco and try the gewurtztraminer, the wine that was calling out was the same 2002 Laurel Ridge reserve Pinot Noir I wrote about earlier. I figured its dark notes would work very well with the earthiness of the gandules, and it would not be so heavy as to run roughshod over the chicken. Boy was I right. I was really sad to see the last drops of that bottle disappear (I'm the only one who drinks, so a bottle can last a bit; VacUVin plus rebottling into splits keeps it pretty fresh. Swiss Chard would probably do very well with this wine too. When I first opened it (with Salmon) I remember thinking "what was I thinking" but with the right earthy foods, it really comes into its own. 93.9103 for the combo on the modified Parker scale. n.b. There was a little of the dinner left over so this afternoon I did try it with tabasco and the Gewurtztraminner (2003, Laurel Ridge). It was quite pbuttable. I'd had that Gewurtz earlier and it was excellent (I forgot with what); it made a nice pairing with the gandules and tabasco dish, but the Pinot was better. 79.9216 for the Gewurtz-gandules&chicken-tabasco combo. I might have graded higher had I not had the Pinot before. Jose -- Nothing takes longer than a shortcut. for Email, make the obvious change in the address.
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