Twomey Newsletter Fall 2008

The 2007 Twomey Sauvignon Blanc
Paired with Redwood Hill Bucheret

The 2007 Sauvignon Blanc has creamy pear aromas, refreshing acidity in the finish and a relatively full mouth feel for a Sauvignon Blanc. I tried it with several goat cheeses and a young sheep’s milk cheese, and while it worked with all of them, it shone with the Redwood Hill Bucheret, an aged goat cheese. Dense, dry, and tongue-coating, the Bucheret matched the wine in weight and intensity, and the wine’s briskness helped to cleanse the palate. For the best match, cut away the cheese’s rind.

The 2006 Twomey Pinot Noir
Paired with Caprino Cremoso

The 2006 Pinot Noir is a delicate wine with a lovely scent of rose petals and geranium and a silky texture. I liked it with the truffled Caprino Cremoso, a mixed goat’s milk cheese from Northern Italy with shaved truffle on top. This cheese has a lush softness that calls for a wine without a lot of tannin -like Pinot Noir- and the compatibility of truffles and Pinot Noir is never in doubt.

The 2005 Twomey Merlot
Paired with Abbaye de Belloc

The 2005 Merlot has abundant aromas of ripe plum, chocolate, coffee and oak. It is a soft wine, without monster tannins, which bodes well for pairing with cheese. I tried it with several aged sheep’s milk cheeses and one aged cow’s milk cheese, and the clear victor was the Abbaye de Belloc. This firm, smooth-textured sheep’s milk cheese from the French Pyrenees smells like roasted nuts and has a creamy mouth feel and the perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness. Twomey Merlot is just what you want after this velvety cheese.

Janet Fletcher is the author of Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying and The Cheese Course (both from Chronicle Books).