Beef Stew & $11 Bordeaux: A Thrifty Treat!

It's hard to believe that one could find any Bordeaux from the famed 2005 vintage for $11, but I managed to do that thanks to an email from The Spirited Gourmet earlier this fall. I quickly ordered 2 bottles, and had them waiting for the right meal. Last night's rustic Beef Daube Provencale seemed like just the right match.  A very tasty version of beef stew that made use of the stew beef on sale at Whole Foods this weekend.

I opened the 2005 Chateau La Pierre Levee Cotes de Castillon early, as I had to sacrifice a good bit of it for the beef braise, which slowly cooks in the over for 2.5 hours. Now, I did hesitate a bit pouring this '05 Bordeaux into the measuring cup for the beef, but I reminded myself of the price and proceeded.

I figured the wine could use some solid breathing time, and planned to decant it until dinner was ready. Then a friend who appreciates wine popped by, and we decided to give the wine a try with some gruyere. Mmm, that was a good combo! The wine was a bit woody at first, but quickly opened up in the glass to show nice, well-structured cherry fruit, the merlot in the blend shining forth. Fortunately, I had the foresight to order two bottles as we needed the backup by the time the Beef Daube was done!

If you can get your hands on a bottle or two of this, I definitely recommend it for an affordable taste of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage.  Try it with the stew and you have a treat that won't put too big a dent into your budget!