On Apr 26, 9:41*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On 4/25/13 3:46 PM, Bi!! wrote:
>
> > made venison meatloaf last night ( I took a 300lb buck this past fall
> > and have a lot of ground venison) and opened a bottle of 1998 Chateau
> > Montelena Estate from a case purchased on release. *The wine was still
> > a deep purple color with no sign of age. *Aroma of rosted hazelnuts,
> > blackberries and black coffee which I find in a lot of vintages of
> > Montelena. *Rich and smooth on the palate with lots of upfront cassis,
> > blackberry, blueberry and sage. Not a highly hearlded vintage but the
> > wine was tasty with the venison. "B+/A-"
>
> I think that I had my last (2nd) bottle of this not too long ago. *I
> bought them at the winery, tasting them against the '99 and '00. *Of the
> three, I preferred the '98 for its more savory character. *Good to hear
> that yours is showing as well as it is, and congratulations on bagging
> that buck!
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> p.s. *My personal choice is Syrah with venison, but Midwestern Whitetail
> is so non-gamey (for venison) that I can see it going with Cabernet.
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

With loin, steaks or roasts I prefer syrah also but with ground
venison mixed with spices, etc I like Cab as it seems to bring out the
sweetness. Our venison are quite mild as they tend to eat a lot of
corn and soybeans in the fall and don't have to subsist on stems and
forbs. I do not add pork or beef fat to my ground venison as it's
being ground but (in this case) I add a bratwurst to the meatloaf
mixture and wrap it with bacon as it bakes. My farm has an abundance
of deer so I am fortunate enough to get a nice buck every year...this
was a nice 10 point. I usually take at least one doe so I always have
venison in the freezer and I donate one or two per year to my local
food bank.