Day 5 – North Atlantic Ocean

Our next few days were all at sea as we sailed the North Atlantic Ocean on route to Paamuit Greenland. This leaves me one more ocean to sail upon and I will have sailed all the World’s oceans. Can you guess which ocean I haven’t sailed yet?

The weather was mild and sunny, so a good day for a few laps of the deck before lunch! Not sure why the pool was emptied, but it did not look good today… A bit green.

One of the great things about sea days on Regent Seven Seas is that they usually schedule something interesting (well to me anyway) like a Connoisseur Wine Lunch. Today was one of those days.

As these are considered “premium” wine lunches there is an additional cost, usually around USD150 per person. I am not sure if they are always value for money, still enjoy them as the Culinary and Sommelier teams do put a lot of time and effort into them and you do get to meet like minded people. The like minded person I was to dine with was “Bob” from my dinner in Chartreus the night before, we ended up sharing a lot of wine over the rest of the cruise.

Connoisseur Wine Lunch (number 1)

Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

Once we were seated we were served a with a Kir Imperial to start with. This was not for me, too much like a sparkling Ribena for me, gave it a 2 out of 5 (not worth a review)

First Course:

2011 Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Fleur de Champagne Brut, Champagne, France. 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot and 5% Meunier

Appearance:Pale light straw, fine in consistent bead
Nose:A bit of a funky nose not sure of the aroma maybe Brie or toast?
Palate:Light on the palate, with citrus and mineral notes
Finish:Short
Oz’s Rating:3 out 5
Champagne and caviar, a good pair
Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,
Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

Tian of Sturgeon Caviar, Buckwheat Blinis, Traditional Garnish

A great looking blinis tower. Tastes good as well, nice combo

Second Course

Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,
Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

2016 Patz and Hall Chardonnay, Russian River, California, USA. 100% Chardonnay

Appearance:Bright golden straw
Nose:A pleasant mix of buttery biscuit and lemon / lime aromas
Palate:Refreshing with light citrus flavours, it was not overly “oaky” either
Finish:Medium length with a bit of heat
Oz’s Rating3.5 out 5
A nice Chardy from Russian River, interesting pairing with the Beef Consommé, it worked well

Beef Consommé Grimaldi, Parmesan Royal, Celery, Tomato Concasse.

The saltiness of the Consommé and the sweetness of the wine meant that they paired very well.

Third Course

Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,
Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

2014 Castello Banfi “SummuS” Sant’Antimo, Tuscany, Italy. 40% Sangiovese, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah

Appearance:Medium deep crimson
Nose:A subtle combination of white pepper, cherry and vanilla aromas
Palate:Medium bodied, balanced with evolving tannins
Finish:Medium length
Oz’s RatingOz’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5, verging on 4 when paired with the risotto.

Risotto Al Funghi, Carnaroli Rice, Shallots, Wild Mushrooms, Parmesan

Tasty, the truffle really makes this dish work and pairs very well with the SummuS

Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

Fourth Course

2016 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA. 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6%Merlot, 2% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot

Appearance:Youthful deep crimson, with nice lees
Nose:Pleasant mixture of mocha, subtle black pepper and cigar tobacco aromas
Palate:Medium to full bodied with a lingering residual sweetness
Finish:Medium-long
Oz’s Rating:3.5 out 5, also verged on a 4 when paired with the food.
Another interesting pairing
Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,
Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

Scallops with Smoked Bacon, Savory Cabbage and Cabernet Cream.

An interesting pairing, the sweetness of the wine worked well with the saltiness of the pancetta and scallops

Fifth Course:

Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

2016 Two Hands Lily’s Garden Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia

Appearance:Deep purple
Nose:An enjoyable restrained combo of subtle blackberry, plum, cedar and spice aromas
Palate:Full bodied, smooth with a sour cherry after taste and evolving silky tannins
Finish:Medium-long
Oz’s Rating:3.5 out of 5.
Drinking very well now, will definitely repay some patience. McLaren Vale Shiraz is a safe bet with steak.

Chateaubriand, Roasted Beef Tenderloin Salsify, Porcine, Pickled Pair, Red Wine Mustard Sauce

Nice choice for the shiraz, unfortunately the meat was a bit “chewy”. The sauce was good

Sixth Course:

Dow’s Tawny 20 Year Old Port, Douro, Portugal. Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz & Touriga Franca

Appearance:An attractive medium-deep amber with a nice set of lees!
Nose:A perfume of caramel, raisin and mocha aromas
Palate:Balanced, semi-sweet, a bit of savoury under tones with silky tannins
Finish:Medium to long
Oz’s Rating:3.5 out 5
Love a good port at the end of dinner…
Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

Chocolate Truffle Dome, Soft Raspberry Jelly

Very nice, another great pairing

The Lunch

This was a very enjoyable lunch, some very different pairings of wines and food, they all worked quite well, making the lunch more of an experience than a meal. The Sommeliers made sure we never went “dry”, looking forward to the next one!

Choosing a wine of the lunch was a challenge, it was either the SummuS or the Darioush. I went with the Darioush in the end due to how well it paired with the scallops. Both are great wines

Dinner

After a very enjoyable Tanqueray Martini in the Observation Lounge, I headed to Sette Mari for dinner, only needed one course after lunch.

Penne with bolognaise sauce, which was very enjoyable, though the fresh chili was still not spicy.

The Wine

Oz's 2022 North Atlantic Adventure, Day 5, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Connoisseur Wine Lunch,  Regent Seven Seas Voyager,

2016 Rocca Sveva Valpolicella Superiore, Valpolicella, Italy. 70% Corvina, 15% Rondinella, 15% Molinara

Appearance:Deep ruby
Nose:Heady mix of berry and sour cherry aromas
Palate:Medium bodied, balanced with firm tannins
Finish:Medium length
Oz’s Travels:3 out of 5
Not bad as a quaffer

Day 5 – North Atlantic Ocean

What a great day at sea, looking forward to tomorrow, another sea day. There is an American Whiskey tasing in the afternoon and a pre-dinner cocktail party, could be a long day!


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8 thoughts on “Day 5 – North Atlantic Ocean

    • September 11, 2022 at 09:59
      Permalink

      It is the spice of life. Thanks for reading, it is interesting that a wine guy focusses on the chili and not the wine #justsaying….

      Reply
    • September 11, 2022 at 11:08
      Permalink

      Yes, there were a few bottles of decent Australian Wine onboard, on one of my previous Cruises they had some very average (think something similar to the one with tail) onboard so most people gave Australian wine a miss. Bought a couple of very good Australian wine with me that did surprise some people.

      Thanks for reading

      Reply
  • September 11, 2022 at 12:00
    Permalink

    That fourth course wine sounds really interesting tbh

    Reply
    • September 11, 2022 at 12:02
      Permalink

      It was good, a few more years and it will be even better… Thanks for reading

      Reply
  • September 12, 2022 at 00:25
    Permalink

    Another excellent description helping us to relive the wine lunch!

    Reply
    • September 12, 2022 at 08:25
      Permalink

      A lunch is always better with good company… Glad to help! Cheers

      Reply

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