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bills

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  1. Brief notes on some Ports:

    Fonseca 2003 – warm spirity nose with big fruit, very good presentation on palate considering age but really not showing a whole lot – medium sweet and lengthy finish. Should prove to be quite good.

    Fonseca 2000 – mmm – butter and pears in the nose, a bit hotter, with nice spiciness. Surprisingly open at this young age and with very long finish.

    Quinta do Panascal 1991 – at last a Port that is hitting stride. Warm, very slightly musty nose, nice weight on this wine, not too hot and coming together nicely. This is made from the grapes that would, in a vintage year, go into the Fonseca VP.

    1987 Guimaraens – another selection of grapes in a year when the Fonseca vintage isn’t declared.. Mellow, fairly ripe nose, the wine now well integrated on palate, smooth and long. I would buy this one for current drinking.

    Fonseca 10 Year Old Tawny – pale pinky bricky colour, medium sweet in mouth, and quite tasty, silky smooth feel and long finish. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to compare the various ages of tawnies offered by Fonseca – I find I usually have a marked preference, often of the 10 over older, but sometimes the 20 is the hit.

  2. Impromptu gathering a week ago to taste wine:

    2003 Black Hills Alibi – this BC wine is a sauv blanc Semillon blend that I find needs a bit of time to show well. Clean lemony nose, and clean and crisp on palate, this vintage is now showing what it’s got.

    2000 Montes Alpha Syrah – nose of marjoram and fruit, chocolate on palate, smooth and ready. Very hard to place this one blind.

    2000 Ch. de Valcombes Costieres de Nimes – this syrah Grenache blend had good colour, a sweet Rhone nose, and was also soft and ready.

    1988 Mouton Baronne Phillipe – the last vintage with this name, the wine had a good ripe nose, the tannins still firm, with good length. Showing quite nicely, with no rush.

    1989 Armailhac – same wine, different vintage and name. Decent nose, softer in the mouth and a bit shorter. Not as good as the 88.

    1988 Clerc Milon – we were covering the various Mouton wines that evening. Weakest of the three – fair nose, bit astringent on palate.

    2000 Quinta do Vallado (Ferreira) – purple in colour, with nice ripe nose, quite concentrated on palate with good length. Rather like a dry red Port, if that makes any sense.

    1995 Zenato Amarone – ripe medium weight Amarone, decent rather than outstanding but a nice foil to the cheeses.

  3. Regular gathering of a group that likes to match bottles looking for an occasion to be opened with good food. No specific theme this time around.

    1996 Lanson Gold Label Brut Champagne – apple nose, initial soft entry quickly switches to a juicy acidic finish – quite tasty.

    with smoked goose liver canapés.

    2003 Vergelegen Flagship White – the top white from this Cape producer, blended from Semillon and sauvignon blanc. This was a dead ringer for a Bordeaux! Long clean finish made it a nice foil for the food:

    with mussel soup.

    2002 Felton Road Pinot Noir (Otago)– an amazing show from this wine! Bright colour, big sweet nose of violets and cherry, great concentration in the mouth, more dark fruit than red ones, with very good length. I don’t think this wine will improve, but it should hold for some time. I wish the pricing was a bit more favourable…..

    with wild mushroom ragout in potato nests.

    1983 Ch. La Lagune – I have a couple of these left in the cellar, and have been drinking them before the longer lived 1982, but hadn’t tasted one in awhile, so I looked forward to seeing what the wine was doing. It had a quintessential Bordeaux nose, the tannins now resolved, and was smooth and pleasurable. If you have them, don’t hold them much longer, but this drank very well!

    with lamb and rosemary sausage on a bed of puff pastry and oven dried tomatoes

    1980 Sassicaia – my contribution, chosen because it was my last bottle and was a lesser vintage that I had been keeping around for the purposes of doing verticals. After my vertical last year, there was no reason to keep it on hold, so I brought this and the next wine, not expecting too much from the 1980. It turned out to be one of those nice surprises. Garnet colour, quite good, really. Good nose, no tannin, some acidity, with some flavour interest, obviously old, but nonetheless surprisingly elegant and alive. It would have served well on its own in other circumstances. It was a better bottle than the one I opened for my vertical last Fall.

    1981 Sassicaia – I had been worried about this vintage when planning the vertical, but was quickly disabused of any risk of it being in its dotage once we tasted it, so I wasn’t worried this time. Although the colour showed a bit more brown than the 1980, the nose was deeper and more complex with dark fruit and vanilla, and the tannins more prominent. It was brighter on palate with less acidity, and excellent length.

    1996 Argiano Solengo – this Tuscan winery doesn’t produce a lot of this – about 500 cases in this vintage, and seems to vary the blend every year. This time around it was cab, sangiovese, merlot and syrah, but other years it can be all sangio/syrah, or have some cab added. Sweet oak nose with spicy berries, then quite dry in the mouth, with seemingly less tannin than the 1981 Sassicaia! Good length and low acidity. I have a few of these in my cellar and will now move them up from the ‘hold’ to ‘drink’ status, but there is no rush at all, as they should last many years.

    with sage stuffed pork chops

    2000 Albert Mann Altenbourg Pinot Gris Vendage Tardive – we like to experiment with whites with cheese rather than reds, as they often work better and are affected less by the cheese. This wine was middling pale yellow, had a noticeably botrytised nose, with peach notes, a rich entry and middle, and medium dry finish. This wine is all about balance, and Man’s wines represent much better value than the top Alsatian producers in many instances. Years to go with this wine.

    Next gathering of this group will be an anti-Sideways dinner featuring merlot based wines.

  4. The theme for this tasting was Washington State wines. It was accompanied by an excellent menu of 7 courses, and the chef did a great job – there wasn’t an uncertain step in the lot!

    2001 Cuneo Del Rio Syrah – this wine was brought by a lady who is a knowledgeable oenophile, but apparently a bit of a neophyte (I sad ‘neo’ not nympho’) as a geographer, as this winery is in the Rogue River area, about 2/3 of a state away from being Washington. It didn’t matter, though as the wine acquitted itself quite well. Fairly dark colour, excellent nose with a hint of spice and vanilla, sweet entry, good acid and adequate length, almost no tannin, ready and very pleasant. Oregon is not an area with which I have much Syrah experience, but based on this one I’ll keep an eye out for them. Refreshing to get one where the winemakers aren’t apparently engaged in a ‘mine is bigger than yours’ contest in terms of extract, sweetness and flavour concentration. Leave that in California please boys.

    2002 Cadence Tapteil Vineyard (Red Mountain) – made by a Bordeaux fancier in Washington, this wine has 49% cab, 34% merlot, 15% cab franc and 2% petit verdot. Ripe, fairly simple fruit nose with a slightly stewy element, sweet in the mouth and almost a bit candied at the end, narrowing down a bit. Not there yet, but promising enough to keep an eye on this winery.

    1998 Woodward Canyon Artists Series – purity of fruit in this nose, and a soft silky feel in the mouth, pleasant, medium bodied and drinking well now.

    1998 Kestrel Cabernet – an old world sort of nose with some berries, and without the ripeness of many other WA wines. Some spice and quite good length. Based on still somewhat limited experience, I like their cabs; am not yet convinced about their syrah.

    2001 Donedei Merlot (Columbia Valley) – once again, berries in the nose – nice dark fruit, medium to full body, ends sweet and spicy with sweet fruit coming in again. A nice wine, not over the top. I like their cab even better.

    1992 Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley) – the only really mature wine of the night, this had a faint hint of coconut when I first nosed it, then cassis and cocoa and good dark fruit, shadowed by a little capsicum. Full, and now soft in the mouth with clean acidity, and excellent length. Oddly this more classically structured wine was not to the taste of one taster more used to ripe sweet wines – oh well, there is always Australia for her.

    1998 Woodward Canyon Artists Series – yes, I’m not stuttering, there was duplication, but I urged them to pour both, separating them by a few wines. As I more or less expected, this bottle showed differently, being less developed with decent nose, with a bit more rubber, presenting as neither as developed nor as old, were we blind tasting it, as the previous bottle, which we preferred. Different cellar conditions, I expect.

    Good bunch of wines, excellent food and we vowed to repeat out examination of the wines of Washington State on a more regular basis.

  5. Had friends for thanksgiving dinner last evening:

    Blue Mountain Brut (NV) – simple nose, good fizz, citric finish, equivalent to a decent Cava.

    2003 De Wetshof Estate Lesca Chardonnay (S. Africa) – abundant fruit in nose, full and slightly sweet in the mouth, nice wine and recently on sale here.

    With squash soup.

    2002 Morgante Nero d’Avola (Sicily) – ripe hot nose with boysenberry and nutmeg, the wine slightly coarse but quite tasty nonetheless. For those days when you feel like a bit of rough trade….

    With pasta with sage-butter sauce.

    1989 Borgogno Barolo Riserva – some browning/fading at edges, mature nose without to much tar, still surprisingly tannic, ending well – juicy, and with some fruit that only appeared 4 hours after decanting.

    With roast goose with baked pears and apple stuffing

    1998 Brolo di Campofiorin – a selected batch of the regulat ripasso, actually lighter and drier than the Morgante had been, but decent cheese match. The typical ripasso nose, readily identifiable, was not heavy and the wine matched the cheese quite well.

  6. Notes from my monthly blind tasting lunch:

    2001 Echo Valley Chardonnay – this is an unoaked chard from Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Not much happening in the nose, unassuming wine, OK I suppose but I guess we expected more. Worth tasting to make a mental note about local wines but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find it otherwise.

    1996 Landmark Damaris Reserve Chardonnay (Sonoma) – whole different class here! This was good! Obvious oak in the nose starting out, but it was well integrated . Soft low acid wine with a buttery mouth feel.

    2004 Grace Vineyard Koshu Cuvee Denis Dubourdieu – a wine made in Katsunuma Japan from a Japanese vinifera grape called Koshu – couldn’t get much tougher to guess than that!! Some herbal notes and spiciness in the nose, but then light and hollow with a bit of citrus at the (short) end. A novelty. Now I can add one country to my list of (grape) wine experience!

    1999 Alzinger Loibner Weingarten Gruner Veltliner Smaragd – from the ridiculous to the sublime – and just as hard for us to narrow in on, as few of us would expect an Austrian wine. This one was very nice with a peachy nose and excellent balance and length.

    We were working through a course of prawns with carrot ginger soufflé at this point.

    1990 Raffaut Chinon Les Picasses – we had tasted the same wine from 1989 (perpetrated by the same person) a couple of months ago, but we still didn’t home in on this one. Cabernet nose (served in a Burg glass, damn their eyes!) medium bodied, more tannic than you’d think given the age, but drinking pretty well, and ending with a nice hint of cherry that one taster said reminded him of a Barolo. I liked the 1989 a bit better, but these are very interesting wines, made from cab franc and needing to be cellared like Bordeaux. These wines always impress!

    1996 Calona Artists Series Merlot – I guess if Kenwood Artists series is the expression of a gifted artist, this would be the equivalent of giving a kid a hunk of chalk and pointing him at a sidewalk. Calona was the first commercial winery of any size in BC and produced insipid jug wines for most of their existence. This wine was either a special tribute to their past, or they haven’t changed. Nothing much in the nose. That was the best aspect of this wine. After that it got ugly – a hard astringent little bastard without benefit of fruit or any perceptible flavour interest. Guess it shows how far the local industry has come.

    2000 Township 7 Merlot – THIS showed us how far the industry had come – big coconutty nose with good fruit, drinking perfectly now, with decent length. Well chosen (brought by the same person as the Calona) to illustrate the alpha, and if not quite omega, at least the omicron of BC winemaking.

    We moved on into a buffalo confit with:

    1998 Domaine Pesquier Gigondas – rubbery Rhone nose, Syrah obvious, without much heat, and perfectly ready and drinking at peak on palate. Very nice.

    1988 Ch. Talbot – no problem nailing where this came from, but a little floundering about in terms of nailing the vintage before homing in on 1988. Excellent nose with a hint of currant and although it showed a touch on the lean side, it wasn’t ‘nasty-lean’, it was ‘elegant-lean’, and classy.

    1997 Ch. Sociando Mallet – another obvious Bordeaux, but once we got vintage we figured it had to be a heavy hitter. Dark wine with a big sweet fruit nose (more cassis here), full bodied and with smooth tannins and good length. Normally I’d leave a Sociando a lot longer than this, but it drank very well at this age. Yum.

    We had moved on to a rabbit course, and continued with:

    1995 Ch. de Pez – this St. Estephe had medium colour, spicy sweet fruit nose, and was on the elegant side with some nice sweetness coming in again at the end. We dubbed the person who brought this ‘Pez dispenser’ of the day.

    2000 Larose-Trintaudon – this Medoc was the equivalent of grocery store claret (c. $18), and showed how well one can still do at the lower end with Bordeaux. The nose was pure fruit, not complex but pleasant, with sweetish fruit and medium length. Great value.

    NV Rimbert La Chante de Marjolaine – a bottle picked up in France – made of 100% Carignane in the St. Chinian area, it had bright colour and fruit, medium body and was quite tasty. This is the sort of local wine that when you sit down to dinner in a local restaurant in France and they bring a carafe of wine, you say “We lucked out on this one – Encore, s’il vous plait!” Would have worked better if served earlier but I wouldn’t expect the staff to have a clue about what sort of wine this would be.

    1997 Mt. Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz – I have some of this Victorian wine but haven’t started in on it yet – nice to take a look-see. Big ripe sweet nose, sweet and forward on palet with a ton of extract and pretty good length. Thankfully not one of those monolithic sweet Shiraz like many made in the 2002+ vintages that may never develop – this should continue to change for the better.

    1996 Turley Old Vines Zinfandel – I brought up the rear, attempting to show that this sort of wine need not be scarfed down as early as everyone seems to drink them. Super ripe nose, like a ripasso style Italian wine, hot in the mouth and with good length, I thought it a passable match with the cheese.

    An even wider range of wines than I usually get at these lunches and good fun!

  7. Thought I'd give the wife a goose for Canadian Thanksgiving - looking for a really good stuffing. I have an Alsatian fall-back - prunes stuffed with liver pate that sort of melds and becomes greater than either when cooked, but thought someone might have an interesting alternative.

  8. Notes from a wine dinner at a local restaurant.

    With ahi tuna served rare on cucumber salads with blood orange vinaigrette:

    Blue Mountain Brut Rosé – a BC bubbly that was quite presentable, showing some colour with fine mousse, perhaps a very slight bit of RS but balanced by good acidity.

    With carpaccio of marinated portobello mushrooms with roasted garlic aioli:

    2001 Zefina ‘Serience’ Grenache Syrah Mourvedre (Columbia Valley – this Washington state Rhone clone had a full cocoa and vanilla nose – lots of oak, but had decent fruit and was overall pleasant drinking for the non-quercophobes. Fool you into thinking you were drinking a Chateauneuf….uh, no.

    With halibut cheeks with basil pesto:

    2004 Seven Hills Viognier – I hadn’t tasted this producer’s whites before although I have had quite a few of their reeds over the years. Located in the Columbia Valley, they make good cabs and merlots but have been expanding their repertoire to include this iwne, Malbec, and a number of whites and blends. The Viognier had a vanilla lemon nose, perhaps a hint of honeysuckle, and was soft and clean. I prefer the crisper versions made by people like La Frenz in BC.

    With mussels and chanterelles with frites:

    2003 Dom. Drouhin ‘Arthur’ Chardonnay (Willamette Valley) - one knew instantly that this was NOT your average American Chard. – it hadn’t been marinated in oak! Buttery nose, with nuts and a bit of peach/citrus, fairly full in the mouth with good length. Rather Burgundian, as no doubt intended.

    2000 Dom. Serene Evansted Reserve Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley) – interesting contrast – you could tell instantly that this was NOT a red Burgundy. Nice dark cherry nose, sweet and long, drinking well now with the tannins resolved.

    With roasted pheasant breast on chevre and pine nut risotto topped with seared foie gras:

    2002 Dominus Napanook – a very nice almost Bordeaux style of nose with chocolate and cherries, fairly big in the mouth with a fair bit if extract, middle length and a slight astringence at the end, but also the characteristic American sweetness. Very nise.

    With duck ravioli:

    2002 Signorello Seta – this sem-sauv blend presented as always – fairly Bordeaux in style, less oak than the 03, good acidity. Competent but not exciting.

    With espresso and cocoa crusted venison loin with sour cherry reduction:

    2000 J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet – as always, this wine was sweet fruit up front, and little tannin present. Forward, big and friendly like a happy puppy.

    With sablefish with maple roasted garlic cream and butternut squash gnocchi:

    2000 J. Lohr Arroyo Vista Chardonnay (Arroyo Seco) – (I think that was the vintage) – showing some age in the nose, in a good way, with some interesting appley things happening behind the oak. A big typical oaky Cal-chard with good acidity.

    With cheese:

    Bonterra Estate Organic Muscat – not bad varietal nose, and moderate residual sugar, but for me the wine came off as middle of the road without the charm of a lighter Moscato d’Asti, and without the interest of a slightly sweeter dessert Muscat. To each his own.

  9. I had recently pulled a cork on a bottle of the 1995 Santa Duc Gigondas Haut Garrigues, a stunning Gigondas, and it seemed like a good idea to open one of the regular 1995s for comparison. This wine is labelled as Cuvee Classique in some markets.

    It had been a day of work and unusual accomplishment – I’d brought home a race car engine that had been sitting in someone else’s shop for ages, and (at the prompting of SWMBO) I’d finally shifted a load of bark mulch that had been sitting in the driveway where she is wont to park since last summer. The weather had changed as we headed into Autumn and October, and we decided to do one of our favourite Fall comfort dinners, oxtail stew with tomatoes, olives, rosemary, potatoes…….a definite pointer to southern France for the wine to accompany it.

    The regular 1995 Santa Duc was much in the same stamp as the HG had been, but there were differences. The nose was really one that reminded me of garrigue – and I try not to over-use that term. There was also a decided smokiness and a strong element of tar in this nose. In the mouth, it seemed to have pretty much what the HG had, with big sweet forward fruit, but had a little less length, not tailing off, but just not as long.

    I left the wine in the glass for awhile to see what would happen to it and was glad I did. It opened up nicely, not in the nose, which remained pretty much as it had first presented, but in the mouth. The wine just kept getting bigger and bigger and ended up with something that would positively put a certain segment of wine drinkers off – an habitual Beaujolais drinker would as soon drink cough syrup as a bottle of this sort of wine. It picked up even more weight and smokiness and it reminded me in some ways of old Barolos in the finish, which seemed to lengthen a bit with air.

    This wine drinks very well now and will continue to do so another half decade at least. It may even improve a little on the way. I wish I had more of the regular, but at the time it just didn’t make sense as I found a source for the Haut Garrigues at a slightly lower price, so I just picked up a few of the regular for academic comparison purposes.

    Santa Duc is making major league Gigondas that is at a different level than any other Giggie I can think of – most mature much sooner and are a cut below this sort of monster. OK, I did buy some of the very good 1998 and 2000 Brusset Les Hauts de Montmirail, but I think even it is a half notch below the Santa Duc.

    The 2000 and 2001 were both very good in the Haut Garrigues, but I’m not sure anything since 1995 has equalled that vintage. If you have the regular, by all means get some ox tails and give it a test run. If you drank all yours early on, you’ll have to ponder the joys of maturing Rhones vicariously!

  10. Notes from a dinner with friends while on a wine buying expedition:

    1996 Pesquera – this crianza was showing quite well, with slightly funky cherry vanilla nose, good concentration and the tannins still slightly on the firm side. No rush. I have enjoyed the 94,95, and 96 vintages of this wine – all are continuing to drink well.

    2003 McCrea Sirocco – from Washington, this Rhone blend is 55% Grenache, 27% syrah, 14% mourvedre and 4% counoise. The Grenache comes through in the nose, and it is fairly ripe but not to the degree that you’d be thinking of Australia if you were tasting it blind. In fact it does a better job of emulating a Rhone than many Californian Rhone blends do. Good length and the fruit enjoyable but not too sweet nor over the top. I much prefer this to Cigar Volante, for instance.

    1982 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – this one is an old friend – I split a case with my host on release and we have been drinking it back and forth for the last 20 years – his cellar is warmer than mine, so it has been interesting to note differences. My last tasting was a year ago when my friend also opened it (I brought an 82 La Lagune). Edges were browning a bit, medium garnet colour, warm slightly sweet nose with earth, soy and coffee notes, tannins now soft, smooth and long. All that a mature Rhone should be!

  11. These are notes from a Ch. Lafite vertical dinner held in Vancouver at Lumiere, spanning the vintages of two decades, the 70s and 80s, from 1970 to 1990. he event was arranged by Albert Givton, the gentleman responsible for many of my most memorable wine moments.

    1998 Louis Jadot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru – a nice way to tune our palates. The wine was showing a fair bit of colour (I should note that Albert keeps his cellar temperature barely above refrigerator level, so there was no question of any accelerated development due to temperature). The nose was showing some caramel notes, another sign of maturity, and it was lovely and smooth in the mouth – soft, lush and long, with the caramel also showing on palate.

    Served with artichoke, truffle and lobster terrine with almond cream.

    1976 Ch. Climens – another ‘setting up’ exercise, this time with one of my favourite Barsacs, and the perfect choice with the food as I find a sweet Sauternes not nearly as good with this sort of food. The nose was beautiful – light on its feet, Botrytis present but not overwhelming, and a solid hint of lemon and honey. It had excellent length and was that bit drier in the finish that Barsac often is, and that makes it such a great pairing with the food.

    Served with seared Quebec foie gras with apple and trockenbeerenauslese reduction.

    It was then on to the main event, with the first flight of Lafites, followed by olive oil poached squab breast with pheasant boudin and lobster and pine mushroom risotto. The wines were served blind in this flight, accompanied by a ringer just to keep us attentive.

    1970 – never a strong showing for Lafite. Significantly lighter than the rest of the flight though balanced and elegant. It showed a bit of tea in the nose, a sure indicator of advanced age, as well as the lead pencil-cedar signature elements that most of these wines showed in one degree or another. About on par with the last bottle I had and it isn’t getting any better. In contrast to Latour, Palmer and Montrose, my favourites from this vintage, Lafite always lacked weight.

    1975 – there are two kinds of 1975 Bordeaux – the ones that have enough fruit to balance the hard characteristic tannins of the vintage, and those that do not. The nose had a seaweedy pong at first that blew off, but even then it wasn’t a classic Lafite nose – too funky. There was fruit, but the levels of tannin left an austere dry astringent impression at the end that robbed the senses of much enjoyment. I could be wrong, but I don’t think this will ever be a ‘good’ 75, unlike, for instance, the Las Cases, which had tannins harder than a tax collector’s heart for decades, but which has finally come around over the last few years and is now quite pleasurable.

    1976 – my wine of the flight! Classic cedar and spice nose, with more obvious ripeness than in the other wines in the flight. Still some tannin, and good balance, it finished big, round and sweet.

    1978 – the classic high-toned nose was an encouraging start, as was the good colour, but the wine had no almost tannin left (surprising as it was a hard brute when young), was riding on some acidity, and was flat and weak.

    1979 – my second best wine of flight and much superior to the 1978. More warmth to the nose, tannins firm, it almost seemed young! I think it still needs time (bottles kept at higher temperatures are probably ready now). I found it on the backward side and a bit coarse, at least for Lafite.

    1978 Ch. Pichon Lalande – this ringer was a bit hard to sort out. I found it to have a simple earthy nose with a hint of cocoa, and also a hint of greenness, medium colour, smooth on palate and drinking very well.

    We moved on to the next flight, followed by a sous vide saddle of lamb with lamb cheek and orzo ragout (the sous vide method of cooking results in exceptional tenderness and flavour in this case)

    1983 – a big weighty style of 83, with typical nose, lots of immediately attractive sweet fruit on palate and good length. Yum.

    1985 – not very exciting. Nose a bit odd, with some strange woody notes and while the wine was balanced and soft as would be expected for this friendly vintage, it just didn’t ring any bells for me.

    1988 – wow!! My wine of the flight without doubt (the 83 was second). Very interesting and complex nose, with the cedar, and cassis, and a faint hint of almond. Tons of ripe sweet fruit on palate, and although there are lots of soft tannins, one senses that they are continuing to soften and this wine is more approachable than some other 88s I’ve had recently. This is one to hide away in the depths of your cellar to prevent you popping corks too soon, it is that good!

    1989 – nice depth and differentiation in the nose, the wine elegant and a bit closed, but some pleasant sweetness showing on palate. It drinks pretty well now, but I would hope for more development in future.

    The next flight was followed by a selection of cheeses.

    1982 – Oh my! The big hitters for sure! Dark wine with a rather intense nose, with a beam of pure sweet fruit cutting through it. Big enough on palate to rival Latour in some years, a bit out of the norm for the normally elegant Lafite. Notable for the extremely long finish – we were competing at timing how long it was until we could no longer taste it as it slowly faded – then we’d take another sip and do it again! It doesn’t get much better than this.

    1986 – another great nose, the cedar to the front and the fruit notes just under it. Also a big bruiser, with huge reserves of fruit, but in this case veiled by still hard tannins. This wine will take years to soften and come around. It is clearly a great Bordeaux, but I do not think that it will surpass the 1982 in the end – they are pretty much twins, with one drinking well now and the other on hold for another decade. Given the choice, I’d drink the 82 for instant gratification, and let others more patient (and perhaps longer lived) cellar the 1986.

    1990 – lovely bright colour, lead pencil more than cedar in the nose, still quite tannic, as opposed to many other 1990s, which are starting to drink quite well now. The wine shows excellent balance and length, and in any other company would have me raving about it, but tasted with the Terrible Twins of 1982 and 1986, it showed as an excellent but not a great wine. Almost a shame, in a sense, to open it in such competition.

    There was dessert (lemon chiboust), but the final wine eclipsed all though of food for me.

    1945 Ch. Lafaurie Peyraguay – this bottle had a low neck fill and the dark amber wine was alive and delicious. It had a nose like liquid butterscotch with hints of coconut, and was clean and intense on palate, with very good length and fairly dry at the end (it would likely have been somewhat sweeter in youth).

    What an end to an unforgettable tasting event. Memories to ponder on those long winter evenings.

  12. Notes from an interesting blind tasting that combined a mushroom menu and Italian Sangiovese.

    1997 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino – colour on the lighter side, nose a nice traditional Sangiovese nose with some cherry and earth and a hint of mint. On palate perhaps slightly lacking in fruit and loads of acid, but the aftertaste was quite persistent and over all it was a pleasant rather than profound wine. Nice way to start.

    1999 San Felice Poggio Rosso Chianti Classico Riserva – an Italian tasting and we only got one Chianti?? Bigger darker wine with deeper cherry nose with some plums and maybe just a hint of anise. Lots of acidity but also sweet fruit, some tannin, and good structure.

    2000 Moris Farms Morellino di Scansano – I wouldn’t have bet much on even one Morellino showing up and we got three, and a nice cross section of this producer, too. This regular bottling showed a ripe sweet nose with some cocoa, forward on palate and with tannin to back it. Bitter cherries in the finish.

    2001 Baroncini Mercuzio – a sangiovese syrah blend that no one knew anything about. Slight warmth in nose, and the usual cherries, drinks well now. I detected no syrah elements in this wine, nor did several other people, yet one taster was swearing they detected it right away. Go figure.

    1998 Moris Farms Morellino di Scansano Avvoltore – 75% sangio, 20% cab and 5% syrah in this blend.. In the nose, oak appears for the first time as well as cherries, and on palate, smooth, long and tasty.

    1997 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone – I tasted this a month ago and while very similar, this bottle had the edge and was showing very well indeed. Dark, with warm ripe nose of cherry vanilla and a hint of cinnamon, with good depth of flavour in the mouth and quite good length. I thought the previous bottle had needed more time; this one was right on form now!

    2000 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte - made from the Sangioveto version of Sangiovese, this vino di tavola has a great reputation. The nose on this one was a bit muted, indicating more age than 5 years, and the feel in the mouth was mellow and pleasant, but didn’t knock you out with concentration. A pleasant wine, but not quite up to my expectation.

    1999 Moris Farms Morellino di Scansano Reserva – dark wine with an interesting ripe nose that reminded several of us of vitamin tablets! Big presence in the mouth and a slight terminal astringency. I’d give this one more time.

    1993 Ciacci Piccolomini d Aragona Ateo IGT – made from mostly sangiovese, with up to 30% cabernet and merlot added (I think this one was just 10% cab) they named this ‘Ateo’, the Atheist, for its non-conforming nature. When opened there was an almost Rhonish funk to the nose, but that cleared up and it became ripe rather than sweaty, with a little rubber. Sweet and tasty with good depth and still lots of tannin, there is no rush to drink this one. A very good performance in a middling decent vintage.

  13. 1988 Ch. Leoville Las Cases – I last tried this awhile ago, and it was tasted blind against the 88 Mouton and Lafite (tough company) It showed a simpler than it’s flight mates, and more forward (although that isn’t saying much as they are tannin monsters, and closed), although still fairly tannic. This time around, it showed a nose that was sort of mid-Atlantic at first – not obviously Bordeaux yet not really American. It settled down after about 15 minutes and became much more Bordeaux-correct and more interesting to boot, with some spice and good fruit, and some cassis happening. It isn’t as tannic as it was a couple of years ago, but it is still quite tight and isn’t yet showing what it has to offer. It has always been a bit high in acidity, and it has some good fruit lurking in there. I’d leave it a few more years before revisiting, but it was certainly pleasurable now, especially when a client brought it for lunch!

  14. Jean-Yves Benoit's history includes stints at El Bulli in Spain, Arpege in Paris (both with 3 Michelin stars) and the Hotel Negresco’s Chantecler restaurant in Nice, the 5 Sails at the Pan Pacific in Vancouver, l'Emotion (their own restaurant in West Vancouver, since sold) and Mistral is their new home.

    jeanyves_benoit.jpg

    This is sort of a combination of wine notes and restaurant review as we had dinner last night at a pre-opening event at Mistral French Bistro, which opens for business September 8th at 2585 W. Broadway in Vancouver (right at the northwest corner). It is run by Jean-Yves and Minna Benoit.

    I got there early to take a look around – they have completely redecorated the interior to reflect a sort of Provencal Bistro style, with bare wood tables, nice artwork and bright young wait staff willing to please. I spoke with Rob Feenie when I was walking to the restaurant (I’m attending a Lafite vertical at Lumiere in a couple of weeks) and he sent someone down with a gift of some chocolate goodies made in-house, a nice gesture.

    We started out with a local wine (the wine list is compact but well thought out with many small production BC wines included).

    2004 La Frenz Viognier – I’ve a half case of this but haven’t got around to pulling any corks yet, so it was interesting to try this again. Papaya and banana hints in the nose, crisp and clean with decent length.

    with:

    Trio of Duck – Rillettes, Paté in crepine and Smoked duck breast garnished with cornichons and onion confit. The coarse paté was very country French, the smooth rillettes very tasty and two slices of rich red duck breast were redolent of smoke.

    SWMBO had:

    Warm Roblechon cheese on crouton with proscuitto, mesclun salad and fresh pears, which she declared to be quite good.

    Next up, to match the main course:

    1997 Ch. de St. Cosme Gigondas Cuvee Classique – dark wine with a knock-out bouquet of sweet plums, leather, pepper and mushrooms. It just sort of leaps out of the glass at you. When I finally stopped just sniffing this and tasted it, I found that the tannins were abundant but softened, the wine quite full in the mouth and with really excellent length, slowly tapering off with little hints of spice an anise. Almost dislocated arm trying to pat own back at foresight in having tossed a couple of cases of this into the cellar. If you have it, it drinks well now and should continue to do so for the next half dozen years or so.

    With:

    Duo of Beef - Pan seared beef tenderloin with creamy green peppercorn sauce,

    Steak tartar with mesclun salad and Mistral French fries – oh YES!

    Meateaters delight! First, it is unusual to order beef and actually get it cooked the way you ask for it. For that reason I usually ask for it to be done ‘bleu’, in the (usually vain) hope that it will show up with at least some pink in the middle. In this case, I got it – bleu! And you could almost cut it with a fork, and it was napped with a creamy and not too assertive peppercorn sauce (easy to overdo that and wind up with you own little pot au feu happening in your mouth.)

    Second, to accompany this with a small cylinder of tartare, cut on the slightly coarse side with a piquant mustard incorporated was delightful, and the hand cut frites were of variable size and just as you’d get them in a French Bistro, served on the side.

    SWMBO had:

    Casserole of lamb shoulder, duck leg confit, lamb sausage and white navy beans – the sausage (not made in house, I think) interesting, the lamb falling apart and the duck perfectly done. Very good.

    We finished the Gigondas with a cheese plate (generous portions) and for she-who-must-be-obeyed, a round of fresh apple tart with praline ice cream.

    A promising start without many of the usual first night jitters. I intend to return and work my way through the menu, no matter how long it takes me. I have already spoken to Jean-Yves about remedying the lamentable absence of foie gras at present on the menu and he promises it will soon appear as a daily special.

  15. This is sort of a combination of wine notes and restaurant review as we had dinner last night at a pre-opening event at Mistral French Bistro, which opens for business September 8th at 2585 W. Broadway in Vancouver (right at the northwest corner). It is run by Jean-Yves and Minna Benoit.

    I got there early to take a look around – they have completely redecorated the interior to reflect a sort of Provencal Bistro style, with bare wood tables, nice artwork and bright young wait staff willing to please. I spoke with Rob Feenie when I was walking to the restaurant (I’m attending a Lafite vertical at Lumiere in a couple of weeks) and he sent someone down with a gift of some chocolate goodies made in-house, a nice gesture.

    We started out with a local wine (the wine list is compact but well thought out with many small production BC wines included).

    2004 La Frenz Viognier – I’ve a half case of this but haven’t got around to pulling any corks yet, so it was interesting to try this again. Papaya and banana hints in the nose, crisp and clean with decent length.

    with:

    Trio of Duck – Rillettes, Paté in crepine and Smoked duck breast garnished with cornichons and onion confit. The coarse paté was very country French, the smooth rillettes very tasty and two slices of rich red duck breast were redolent of smoke.

    SWMBO had:

    Warm Roblechon cheese on crouton with proscuitto, mesclun salad and fresh pears, which she declared to be quite good.

    Next up, to match the main course:

    1997 Ch. de St. Cosme Gigondas Cuvee Classique – dark wine with a knock-out bouquet of sweet plums, leather, pepper and mushrooms. It just sort of leaps out of the glass at you. When I finally stopped just sniffing this and tasted it, I found that the tannins were abundant but softened, the wine quite full in the mouth and with really excellent length, slowly tapering off with little hints of spice an anise. Almost dislocated arm trying to pat own back at foresight in having tossed a couple of cases of this into the cellar. If you have it, it drinks well now and should continue to do so for the next half dozen years or so.

    With:

    Duo of Beef - Pan seared beef tenderloin with creamy green peppercorn sauce,

    Steak tartar with mesclun salad and Mistral French fries – oh YES!

    Meateaters delight! First, it is unusual to order beef and actually get it cooked the way you ask for it. For that reason I usually ask for it to be done ‘bleu’, in the (usually vain) hope that it will show up with at least some pink in the middle. In this case, I got it – bleu! And you could almost cut it with a fork, and it was napped with a creamy and not too assertive peppercorn sauce (easy to overdo that and wind up with you own little pot au feu happening in your mouth.)

    Second, to accompany this with a small cylinder of tartare, cut on the slightly coarse side with a piquant mustard incorporated was delightful, and the hand cut frites were of variable size and just as you’d get them in a French Bistro, served on the side.

    SWMBO had:

    Casserole of lamb shoulder, duck leg confit, lamb sausage and white navy beans – the sausage (not made in house, I think) interesting, the lamb falling apart and the duck perfectly done. Very good.

    We finished the Gigondas with a cheese plate (generous portions) and for she-who-must-be-obeyed, a round of fresh apple tart with praline ice cream.

    A promising start without many of the usual first night jitters. I intend to return and work my way through the menu, no matter how long it takes me. I have already spoken to Jean-Yves about remedying the lamentable absence of foie gras at present on the menu and he promises it will soon appear as a daily special.

  16. Notes from a pretty tough blind tasting dinner.

    With Prosciutto, enoki mushrooms and fresh figs:

    1990 Piper Heidsieck Rare Brut – quite fresh but showing some complexity in the nose – I thought it would be a 1995 or so, surprised to see it was a 90. Glad to see I also have some in the cellar – no rush at all on this.

    With a smoked black cod salad with fingerling potatoes:

    2001 Pfaffenheim Steinert Gewurztraminer – a treat to have 2 good Gewurz in 3 days (had the 2000 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer VV Furstentum on Friday). Nose an obvious gibe-away as to varietal, slight RS present, and without the length of the Mann wine, but very nice nonetheless.

    With heirloom tomato salad:

    1999 Jacques Prieur Beaune Champs Pimont – I have the red version of this wine and was interested to taste it. Showing a bit of colour, it sported a nose that was a bit confusing – not obviously chard, and with notes that could have been Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, quite complex. After some time in glass it settled down to a chard nose, and had good length, smooth and crisp.

    With sable fish with beet greens and endamame beans and soy butter:

    1996 Dehlinger Estate Russian River Chardonnay – OK - he got us with this one – very Burgundian, darker with deeper toast, soft and balanced and even longer finish.

    With rabbit stew with penne:

    1999 Ricasoli Casalferro – this IGT wine threw us as well as it seemed so oaky and American on first taste, and the terminal acidity wasn’t typically high. Sweet simple nose with a hint of cocoa, long and full in the mouth, with the acid coming in almost as an afterthought right at the end. Good but very non-traditional style.

    With grilled veal chop, venison sausage, celeriac and onion pave:

    1994 Apex Merlot (Columbia Valley) – high toned refined nose with just a soupçon of mint, clean acidity, good length, sweet at the end. Not much like a Merlot!

    1994 Dellile Chaleur – I preferred this one, which showed a decidedly Bordeaux style on palate, though not quite as convincing in the nose. Vanilla and plums, sweeter than most Bordeaux noses, balanced on palate and still somewhat tannic. Impressive showing.

    With Piave cheese and kumquat marmalade:

    1983 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape – this was an amazing wine that really tested us (and found us wanting). It was a dead ringer in both appearance and nose for a red Burgundy of about half the age! Pale with browning edges, perfumed Burg style nose with only a bit of funk, excellent fruit, and only a bit of pepper – the only real hint to what it was. It is still carrying some tannin and will hold for years yet. Lovely wine.

    With Tunisian orange cake and strawberries:

    2003 P.J. Valkenburg Beerenauslese – pleasant Riesling nose, very good up front fruit, balanced and not overly sweet. Pleasant end to a wonderful dinner. I’d say our host did an excellent job of confusing us with the wines!

  17. Notes from my monthly blind tasting lunch. One of the most interesting and eclectic assemblies of wines in recent memory.

    2003 Willow Heights Reserve Chardonnay (Niagara) – we in the West are lamentably ill acquainted with Ontario wines and the reverse seems to apply as well. A pleasant fresh hay and apple nose, restrained use of oak, ending lemony and with decent acid. Very pleasant little wine

    2002 Marc Morey Chassagne Montrachet Prem. Cru Virondet – sadly, this excellent wine was very slightly corked, but it’s purveyor assured us that based on his experience it hadn’t significantly affected the fruit level, and indeed the corkiness did abate with time in the glass, so I think we had a meaningful look at the wine, if not quite as good an opportunity to assess it as if it had been unaffected by TCA. It had great fruit in the mouth and was very smooth with a long finish. The minerals remained in the nose, but the expected floral elements were AWOL.

    2000 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer VV Furstentum – wow! Darker wine with an oily sweet spicy nose led us unerringly to Alsace and the varietal. though it was harder to nail down the age. Rich in the mouth, long and tasty – my most memorable Gewurz in some time.

    1982 Dom. de Chevalier – this Graves had me stumped for vintage. The colour was quite pale and bricky, and the nose was pretty good but quite mature, without much sweet fruit. I hazarded a guess at 1979 or 1971, and when the answers were negative, went further back, not forward, as this wine just didn’t fit the profile for any 80s vintage I could think of. It must have taken particularly ham-fisted winemaking to make a wine like this from a vintage like 1982. Having said that, there was nothing really wrong with the earthy Bordeaux nose, but there is little fruit in this wine and the terminal acidity is too high for much enjoyment.

    1997 Torres Mas La Plana – I have enjoyed many older vintages of this wine, but have never tasted this one before. Dark wine with leather and roasted fruit in the nose, and a bit of beetroot and cocoa, big in the mouth with well defined flavours and good acidity. My impression was that this wine went through a bit of a dip in vintages in the late 80s and early 90s, but if so they are back in form with this one.

    1993 Leonetti Merlot – a dry cocoa in the nose, nicely soft and sweet on entry, well defined creamy flavours and surprising acidity at the end. I like these wines with enough age to tone down and integrate the often excessive levels of oak.

    1994 Spring Mountain Cabernet Miravalle, Alba and Chevalier Vineyard – (93% cab, 3% merlot, 4% cab franc).A sweet minty antiseptic nose, hot, spicy and peppery on palate with good length. Very enjoyable.

    1995 Ridge Geyserville – 62% zin, balance others incl. Petit Sirah, Carignan and Mataro. Starts sweet in the nose, is sweet on palate and ends sweet – do you sense a theme here? But there is also cassis and complexity and the sweetness is by no means cloying. This one is just getting into prime time. I was pleased to see that my cellar list reflects a 6 pack. I must begin to drink it, if I can just find it……

    1996 De Loach Platinum Zinfandel – this one probably had less than optimum storage and was well advanced compared to what I’d expect, with browning edges and an oxidative nose, with prunes on palate and a sweet raisiny finish. It wouldn’t have been out of place with an Italian Recioto!

    1998 Wolf Blass Special Bottling Barossa Shiraz – I doubt anyone will have this sitting in their cellar as only 1000 bottles were released in celebration of the opening of a new winery in 2001. Sweet oak and blackberry nose, on palate highly extracted, ending with some RS. Interesting and great with cheese.

    1994 Ch. Guiraud – not the best vintage for Sauternes, but this one was interesting. There are a few wines that one would say would not fool them in a blind tasting, and Sauternes is one of them. In this case, however……. Light amber colour, warm tropical fruit nose, quite dry with little botrytis, yet very pleasant. Interesting.

    2001 Donnafugata ‘Ben Rye’ Moscato di Pantelleria – from a small Italian island closer to Africa than to Sicily, this wine had a decidedly melon nose, and wasn’t overly sweet or heavy – a very pleasant ending to an interesting lunch.

  18. Quick note on an interesting wine.

    Masi has a winery called ‘Tupungato’ named after a daunting climbing target, a dormant volcano on the Chile-Argentine border.

    They built a winery in Mendoza and grow local Malbec and Corvina and Corvinone varietals from North East Italy. They do the same sort of double fermentation as is used with Campofiorin with the Corvina slightly dried.

    The result is a modestly priced and interesting wine. It has a medium colour, and a warm, slightly hot even, nose, although alcohol is noted as only 13.5%. There is good fruit and the same sort of ripeness as you get in Campofiorin, with hints of anise and dark fruit, ending with good length and a passing hint of bitterness, with good acidity.

    The Corvina, although only a 30% component. seems to almost dominate the wine. I’d be interested to hear from anyone in Argentina what they think of outsiders playing about with ‘their’ varietals like this. Many times this sort of experimentation falls flat (almost all Italian varietals in California, for instance), but this comes off remarkably well!

  19. The 1990 Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Gold Label is quite a surprise, I had mine nearly three tears ago with little hope for further development - perhaps they did not travel well.

    Parker got it right on this wine - another 10 years left in it.

    I intend to try the 95 again when I find my case - it was just as tannic but perhaps with a bit less fruit and I am wondering how it is coming along.

    The 1985 was excellent as well, but my supply is long exhausted :sad:

  20. Concept – a pot luck dinner in the garden with everyone bringing a wine from Tuscany.

    Working title – ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’.

    We almost ran afoul of the weather this week, which had been threatening to turn from sun to rain on the very evening that we were scheduled to dine, but in the end the precipitation held off, and the only odd occurrence was a visit from some hungry racoons apparently prepared to eat Italian that evening.

    2000 Jermann ‘Vintage Tunina’ – this IGT wine made from chardonnay, Picolit, sauvignon blanc and sundry other unspecified components, in Friuli (so we started a liitle out of our chosen territory). Some tropical fruit in the nose, and the chard was fairly obvious as a major player. Nice acidity. Went very well with the fresh crab lasagne (rolled version) with pine nuts - crabs caught by one participant.

    We next headed for Chianti. I had initially planned on a vertical of Riserva Ducale Gold from 1990, 1995 and 1997, but after a couple of hours of shifting stacks of cases, I finally gave up and substituted the next wine, which we paired with a 97 and some antipasto, including aroncini made by another attendee – balks of risotto, breaded and fried with basil leaves emulating the apples they were supposed to resemble.

    1995 Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva – good colour, garnet edges, and a nose of earth, cherries and spice. Supple and smooth with good depth, this wine is now mature and at peak. Best drunk over the next few years. Excellent example of a traditional style of Chianti.

    1997 Panaretta Torre a Destra Chianti Classico Riserva – a very different presentation with some pine in the nose and a sweetness that had people swearing there was cabernet (there isn’t, this wine is 100% Sangiovese). Slightly warm on palate and with good length.

    The next food match was fennel sausage and a ratatouille (OK- the latter was southern French, but there must be an Italian equivalent….)

    1990 Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Gold Label – this wine surprised us all. It was darker than the 1997, had excellent fruit, still has significant tannin and there is no rush to drink it – it is just now getting into good form, and will have many years ahead of it.

    1997 Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Gold Label – there was some head scratching going on here. Lighter colour, with a sweet caramel nose, more acid than tannin, and surprisingly light weight. None of the tannins of the 1990 and 1995 here. I much prefer the earlier wine.

    Next up was a vitello tonnato – veal cooked in wine and covered in a tuna sauce, served cold (it would be interesting to know the origin of this dish). Better with white wines because of the fish, but passable with reds.

    1997 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone – dark wine, big nose of vanilla and sweet fruit, tannins abundant but soft – needs a few more years.

    1999 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone – too soon to be drinking this now, but instructive in a vertical tasting. Unfortunately slightly corked, but there was a decent nose underneath with a red fruit core. Much tighter in the mouth, with harder tannins, but should open up with a few more years of age.

    With a Tuscan meatloaf (what is the Italian for meatloaf?)

    1999 Alessandro Il Bosco – a Syrah grown around Cortona. Rubber and black pepper in the nose, an initial waft of fresh, sweet fruit on palate and then the tannins clamp down. I think this will be quite good when it mellows out a bit more.

    2002 Ferrari-Carano Sienna – what happens when an American named winery makes a Sangiovese and gives it an Italian name? Does it rival the wines made from the same grape in Italy? Uhh…no. First, they can’t resist adding cabernet and a bit of Malbec (?), which would be dandy of it worked and they ended up with a Super-Tuscan quality wine. Second, they have the common failing of not knowing what kind and how much oak works and thinking more is always better. It started out rather well with a decent mineral and fruit nose, but the over-abundance of oak/vanilla ruined the effect, and the caramel sweetness carried over on palate. I like other products from this winery, but would pass on the Cali-Tuscans.

    Finally with a variety of mostly Italian cheeses:

    1999 Masi Grandarella – this bargain Amarone style of recioto wine was the first vintage, and so far the best in my view as the 2000 wasn’t quite as good. Some very nice chocolate and rasins in the nose, the wine forward and not too heavy in the mouth, working very well against the cheese. Haven’t tried the 2001 yet.

    We chased off the mendicant coons, gathered up all the dining paraphernalia and as we headed for the house, it still hadn’t commenced to rain, and the temperature was still mild. This might be a theme we’ll have to repeat next summer. Or perhaps a Piemontese focus, or just a more general Italian one.

  21. The Second Annual International Terrine Tasting of the Western All Terrine and Paté Eaters Society took place in the garden yesterday. This is an event that I created to explore the different combinations of wines with this sort of food. It has the added advantage that while the cooking can be rather intense, the major effort is normally completed before the event, which leaves the combatants in garden stadium at ease and relaxed and able to chat rather than slaving away in last minute preparation.

    2000 Wegeler Winkeler Hasensprung Riesling Spatlese Trocken – this was an aperitif wine, but one that segued into the first course very well. Expected varietal nose, very clean on palate and then it snuck up on you with a hit of acid right at the end.

    8_copy3.jpg

    First up were a couple we had added to last year’s crew, because they are very interested in food and wine, because I couldn’t take the pleading any longer and because he kept whispering the magic word in my ear – foie gras (he is another founding member of the Foie Fools, who do the same sort of thing with wine and various foie gras matches.

    Tourchon of Foie Gras

    with ‘Stained Glass Onions’

    1_copy5.jpg

    Wanting to get out of the (albeit pleasant) rut of serving this with sweet French wines, my friend opted for German wines, of which we had 3 to taste and compare.

    1978 Schloss Reinharthausen Hattenheimer Heiligenberger Traminer Spatlese Trocken – we wondered how well a trocken wine this old would have held up as these wines carry along on both sugar and acidity, and this one started out short on the former. A slightly funky nose turned to a quite pleasant nose with, I swear, a touch of mint, something you almost never see in this sort of wine. Balanced and clean.

    1975 Winzergenossenschaft Kobnert Herxheimer Berg Siegerrebe Beerenauslese – the colour on this was now brown with a sweet caramel nose and good acidity. Bastard son of Gewurz and Madeleine Angevine.

    1992 Sichel Kirchheimer Kreuz Beerenauslese – beautiful golden colour, with the typical Riesling petrol nose that I had been subconsciously looking for in the two previous non-Riesling wines. Fruit much better, then just a tad hollow in the middle and then the acid kicked in at the end. Decent.

    Conclusion? We thought that the Trocken was too dry and the BA a bit too sweet – next time, probably an Auslese.

    The next course was prepared by someone that had done a final course meat dish last time, so this was a complete switch for him.

    Scallop and Sockeye Salmon Terrine with Asparagus

    2_copy4.jpg

    2002 Drouhin Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru ‘Folatieres’ – this presented like an oversized Chablis – stones and mineral in the nose, but rich and textured on palate. Good match with the food.

    Next up was yours truly. I’d done a pork based traditional pâté last year and also wanted to mix it up a bit, so I chose to do a lighter chicken based dish this time.

    Ballotine de Volaille aux Pistaches

    with confit of red onions and currants

    3_copy4.jpg

    2004 Martin Codax Albarino – I was all set to serve a different wine when I saw that this had come into the stores. I thought that a wine that so few people knew would be interesting. Interesting nose of a wet cedar forest with a hint of peach, very clean in the mouth, and quite crisp. These wines are best on release and should be drunk when young like this.

    1998 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – alright, I can’t resist challenging accepted wisdom, which in this case seems to dictate that this well known wine be drunk up within the year of release. My rule with CB is to cellar for 1-2 years to allow the acidity to integrate a bit – the wines soften and become more interesting. I put away a couple of bottles of the 1998 for a longer term experiment. Gone was the gooseberry in the nose, replaced with more complex herbal fruit. It was clean in the mouth, the acidity moderated and it exhibited an interesting red currant element on palate (I swear it wasn’t the confit talking). Voted best match with the food.

    Vegetable Terrine with Heritage Tomatoes

    4_copy5.jpg

    2001 Willi Haag Brauenberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett – I don’t think I can recall another meal where we made such good use of German wines! Good oily petrol nose, crisp and smooth on palate with a lingering sweetness that would have had me guessing Spatlese in a blind tasting.

    2004 Dom. Lafond Roc Epine Tavel Rosé – bright pink colour, dry and with lots of stuffing and a strawberry nose. Voted best match with the veggies.

    Terrine de Canard aux pistaches et apricots

    5_copy5.jpg

    2003 Duboeuf ‘La TrinQée’ Julienas – this is a heavyweight Beaujolais, if that isn’t a contradiction in terms. Quiet dark, with a nice dark cherry nose and lots of stuffing – the tannins here dictate a couple of years ion the cellar. This is not your typical lightweight Bojo!

    1979 Ch. Pichon Lalande – oh my! Showing a bit of browning at thedges, this has lost nothing on the nose, which shows a delightful tobacco and cedar nose, medium body, the fruit probably a bit less than a few years ago, but made up in complexity and elegance. Drinking as well now as it ever will, though it will continue to hold without too much change for some years. For an old Bordeaux hound like me it was an easy choice – trying to beat a mature Pauillac like this armed only with a Bojo is like entering a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.

    Truffled Pork Terrine with foie gras

    6_copy4.jpg

    1993 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Clos de Vougeot – interesting beetroot and manure nose with good fruit lurking beneath. Excellent weight , smooth and long on palate, and this was my best wine of night vote!

    1985 Ch. Gruaud Larose – great nose, once it settled down out of bottle. I swear there was a hint of truffle, but it could have been the terrine. This wine is now mellow and smooth in the mouth (like quite a few 1985s in fact) and drinks exceptionally well now. It took a heck of a Burgundy to steal my vote from this and the Pichon as wines of the night.

    This course, prepared by the ‘Cat Lady’, was also my favourite course of the night. The little stack of potato cubes dressed with mustard oil was a touch of genius. It was meant to be made from wild boar, but as hunting was poor last week, domestic porker had to stand in.

    The final course, served without wine, was a three chocolate terrine with peaches made in honour of the birthday of my dear wife, SheWhoMustBeObeyed.

    <img src=" 7_copy4.jpg ">

    1979 Heinrich Lorch Bergzaberner Wonneberg Auslese – I brought this out for those who weren’t into desserts (I had it in the fridge as back-up for the other 79, had it been hors de combat) Dark amber, much of the sweetness it no doubt had when young now gone, leaving a nice wine with good length and interesting flavours. These mature Rieslings can be great fun.

    As we broke up, gathering our glasses and accoutrements by torchlight, I could hear the plans for a third annual event being discussed…….

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