“In this series, I will be sharing my take on which Wines pair well with some inspirational recipes”
This blustery weekend was the perfect excuse to pair the River Stone 2022 Malbec with a comfort food favourite, Beef Pot Roast with Vegetables. This dish is so simple anyone can do it, me, I’ve been making beef pot roast for too many years to count. It’s one of hubby’s favourites and because it is so easy I make it whenever the weather turns. Perfect for fall and right through the winter season. When I say easy I really mean it, there is almost nothing you could do that would spoil this favourite dish. It isn’t anything fancy but it is delicious, stick to your ribs, heartwarming family fare. I give you my rendition below and even the most unseasoned, inexperienced cook can turn this into a feast.
So the wine, I received four River Stone wines to review and because I have been taking it slow since the spring it may take awhile to get through them all but based on this first foray I highly recommend you grab these wines before they are gone. If the Malbec is anything to go by the wines are going to impress. If you really can’t wait to learn more about River Stone wines check out this link for other River Stone reviews on MyVanCity.ca.
River Stone 2022 Malbec
Wine Profile
Vineyard Notes
2022 season started with bud break on April 27th. The weather was cool in May and through June with flowering 2 weeks later than usual. August also had cooler than normal nights. Early September was wetter and cooler than normal but was followed by a return to seasonal norms up to the end of October. Vineyard soils are composed of sandy loam deposited during the last glaciation. The grapes for this wine were sourced from River Rock Vineyard, our estate vineyard, and from Red Brick Vineyard in Osoyoos. The vines were carefully managed with particular attention to water and canopy management allowing the fruit to fully ripen before harvest. The vines at River Rock grow on south facing slopes where soils are composed of rock, sand, and gravel laid down during the last glacial recession. The Malbec from Red Brick were grown on a mixture of sand silt and clay, typical of ancient lake bottom soils.
Winemaker Notes
All grapes were hand-picked, sorted and gently destemmed. Approximately 80% of the fruit was left whole berry, uncrushed. The grapes were cold soaked between 3-5 days and then fermented in both stainless steel tanks (2200 and 2850 litre) and small fermentation totes to maximize skin to juice contact. After fermentation was complete the wine was pressed and transferred to tanks to settle, then to barrels where malolactic fermentation was completed. Wine was aged in French oak barrels (33% new) for approximately 14 months. Following aging, final filtering, and bottling, resulted in the 2022 Malbec.This wine will age nicely 7-10 years.
Silver Medal Winner, National Wine Awards of Canada 2024
This medium bodied red wine is a beautiful inky dark violet color and has bold spice overriding ripe fruit flavours and concentrated textures from mature tannins representative of the great growing season. This wine is presently showing flavours reminiscent of blackberry, cherry, raspberry, with hints of, cloves, cinnamon, tobacco, coffee, and nuances of smoky, toasted French oak. This wine has a medium acidity that is balanced and mouthwatering, creating freshness on the pallet. Tannins are moderate and velvety giving a long lasting finish that will further soften with time.
Pleasing aromas of dark, ripe, black cherries on the nose followed by plum torte and goodness that doesn’t quit. I enjoy the lightest scent of pipe tobacco as well. As it sits scents of red raspberry and boysenberries appear. A bit of red apple peel and mandarin. Later some cotton candy scents.
Lingering dark fruit scents prevail after some time in the glass with the rest of the wine in the decanter.
I found the wine to be rich and ripe as well as an interesting super spicy finish. After about an hour in the glass it is starting to show its leaner side and I’m noticing lighter tannins. Enticing plum notes are coming to the fore.
This wine is still very young and I’m sure it is going to continue to improve, greatly, with more aging. Meantime it’s yummy and I think it is going to pair lovely with my beef pot roast and vegetables with an addition of some horseradish to round it off.
I recommend decanting the wine for about four hours before serving. Room temperature may be too temperate so 30 minutes outside about an hour before serving (5:00 outside, 5:30 inside, 6:00 serve)
$38.90 available online and at the winery.
Beef Pot Roast with Winter Vegetables & Green Beans
Cross Rib Roast (or any lesser cut)
Onions
Carrots
Potatoes
Green Beans
Turnip
any root vegetables of your choosing
Garlic
Beef stock (chicken or vegetable stock also works) 2 – 4 cups
Powdered or jar boullion concentrate (optional)
Soy Sauce – a dash (optional)
Worcestershire Sauce – a dash (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Now the easy part. Start by making slits all over the roast using a sharp knife. Fill the slots with slices of fresh garlic. Salt the meat. Heat a large dutch oven or your biggest sauce pan over medium heat. Throw in the pot roast and brown on all sides. It will stick a little but the bits will incorporate into the stock over time. Once the roast is nicely caramelized (brown) remove it from the pot and put it on a plate while you caramelize the onions in the pot, scrapping up the bits of beef as you toss the onions until slight browned. Add the pot roast, and any juice on the plate, back to the pot and add the stock, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and boulillon, if using, add freshly ground pepper.
Either turn down your burner to simmer or place the pot in a pre-heated 250-275 degree oven. For the most part you can forget it now for hours, maybe turning the roast over every couple of hours. Keep an eye on the stock level, you want it to be about 2-3 inches deep. After four or five hours and about an hour before serving add your vegetables, except the green beans, including more onion if you wish. Turn the oven up to 300-325 and simmer for another hours or more until you’re ready to serve.
Add vegetables like green beans when you set the table because they don’t take very long and it’s nice if they retain their colour.
The pot roast will be fully cooked and likely falling apart as you take it from pot to plate, that’s okay it’s the taste not the look that counts, add your vegetables and pour stock over everything. Serve with tangy creamed horseradish.
Leftovers? Shred the beef and dice the vegetables, add more beef stock and some pot barley and you’ve got a delicious soup.
About River Stone Estate Winery
River Stone Estate Winery, located in Oliver, BC is surrounded by our hand tended vineyard. When we moved to the Okanagan Valley we chose this site for its superb grape-growing qualities and planted the vineyard with a Bordeaux style blend in mind, which we have called Corner Stone.
As our winery name, River Stone, and vineyard name, River Rock Vineyards suggest, our wines come from the deep rock and gravel soils laid down following the last glacial recession. We grow five red Bordeaux varietals: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, as well as several white varietals: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer.
Long sunlit summer days followed by fall`s warm days and cool nights have consistently produced premium quality fruit.
Wine notes courtesy of the winery. My notes in (bold iitalics) All images: MyVanCity. Feature image includes a red wine glass courtesy of Josephinen Huette. Read more River Stone reviews here. I received complimentary wine to facilitate this featare. Red wine glass and decanter both courtesy of Josephinen Huette.
