Dinner with friends

[Florida Jim]

With Paul and Elaine Campbell in the house, we enjoyed:

With salmon spread and crackers:

1997 Trimbach, Riesling Frederic Emile (375):

A wine of grace and depth with a bright minerality and perfectly ripe fruit; balanced and persistent. A lovely start and good with or without the food.

With grilled pork loin, asparagus, sautéed Portobello mushrooms and olive bread:

1985 Barge, Cote-Rotie:

Enchanting wine with a complex nose clearly of its place; beautiful full fruit on the palate but well delineated with olive, herb and earth tones, excellent structure and balance; medium length. A joy to drink and terrific with the food.

and,

1990 Gaja, Sperss:

“Gobs” of fruit overwhelmed by sweet and sour oak. The style is new wave, the oak obtrusive and there is so much fruit it’s forward. What a waste.

Has anyone else noticed that you never see Angelo Gaja and Helen Turley in the same place?

With assorted cheeses:

1971 Huet, Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont:

Apricot, ginger, quinine, stone and orange zest scents, complex, bright and clear; medium weight, fully integrated and viscous on the palate with flavors that echo the nose, very little RS showing and extraordinary precision, concentrated, intense and perfectly balanced; endless, complex finish.

I will run out of superlatives long before I have properly described this wine; one for the life list.

Best, Jim

[RobInAustin]

Jim,

You just plain ROCK!

I love reading these notes, and your choices of food and wine continue to entertain and delight me.

Huet walks on water. I love his wines. As for the Trimbach Cuvee Fred, it is one of my "desert Island" choices.

My favorite wine anecdote comes from a wonderful lunch at the Four Seasons with Jean-Michel Trimbach. It was me, him, and two restaurant owners and a rep from the Trimbach distributor.

Over lunch, this fat, "bubba" restaurant owner says, with a West Tx twang "Mister Trim-back...how much new oak do y'all use in your wines?"

Jean-Michel, next to me, stiffens slightly, smiles and says purringly (oh so French) "Oh, I do not know...we really don't use many oak barrels...one wears out after many years...it is replaced. We do not really use oak barrels for our wine..."

Bubba: "Weyall, wah DON"T ya use oak in your wines?"

J-M: (sipping a 25 year old Cuvee Fred, long pause) "well, it is easy. We are WINEMAKERS, not a LUMBERYARD"

I snorted the Cuvee Fred out the nose before I could stop myself...

Cheers,

Rob

[ctgm]

Jim, still waiting for that dinner invite

Had a few wines with "Dinner with Friends" but not to the high standards of yours!

1996 Nyetimber - for what was supposed to be a past winner of the best sparkling wine in the world and more than a match for the big champagne boys, this was a disappointment. Slightly green and quite tight, it opened up very slowly. Acidity was fine.

2001 Riesling, JJ Prum - very nice although going through a quiet patch. Rich fruit with a nice touch of residual sugar.

1996 St Paul La Dominique - 2nd wine of St. Emilion's La Dominique, has a nice vibrant burst of red berry fruit. Good length and typically Right Bank. Accessible and easy but nothing exceptional

1994 Gruaud Larose - boring! Nothing wrong with it but there was a lack of class with the fruit. It was just there (and not in huge amounts) and lacked charm and sophistication. I will have to plow my way through 3 cases of it!

1993 Beaune 1er Cru, Jadot - nicely matured. Quite light in colour now. Sweet fruit with light tannins went very well with a rather bland cheddar.

[Florida Jim]

Jim, still waiting for that dinner invite 

You're welcome anytime; just let me know when you'll be in town.

Nice notes; 'sorry about the three cases.

Best, Jim

[Florida Jim]

I snorted the Cuvee Fred out the nose before I could stop myself...

Also, very French.

Thor Iverson has a few stories about the Trimbachs that he relates from time to time on the WLDG board. Quite a family.

Best, Jim

[Rebel Rose]

"well, it is easy. We are WINEMAKERS, not a LUMBERYARD"

I snorted the Cuvee Fred out the nose before I could stop myself...

Now that there's just funny, I don't care who ya are.

[Marco_Polo]

1971 Huet, Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont:

Great notes, Jim, as always. And good to read about the Huet. I love the wines from this estate but it's been a long time since I've had the chance to sample any such well matured Vouvray (or Bonnezeaux or Quarts de Chaume or Savennieres for that matter). The longevity of these great Chenin Blanc wines is simply mind blowing and the complex honeyed textures and flavours that you describe so well can be truly astonishing, almost life changing! I have a couple of boxes of some good Coteaux du Layon but it's still infanticide to drink, though I taste from time to time and regret the waste. Have you been sitting on that Le Mont '71 for over 30 years? How have you managed to resist?! And how much do you have left? Patience is indeed a virtue and the rewards are such riches...But now you've made me want to sample again ... just to see how the wines are evolving. I'll manfully try and resist. Heck, what's another 20 years or so, the time'll soon pass.

MP

[Florida Jim]

Have you been sitting on that Le Mont '71 for over 30 years? How have you managed to resist?! And how much do you have left? Patience is indeed a virtue and the rewards are such riches...But now you've made me want to sample again ... just to see how the wines are evolving. I'll manfully try and resist. Heck, what's another 20 years or so, the time'll soon pass.

Don't I wish; it was Paul's bring (bless his heart).

And 20 years, according to the actuaries, is my life expectancy. A sobering thought and one that gives me support when I'm early on the trigger.

Best, Jim

[ctgm]

Dinner with Dad, who is a wino like me but obviously has slightly deeper pockets!

Laurent Perrier NV - from a magnum and had no age on it. Awful! My dad couldn't finish his glass and I had to close my eyes and think of Briton (as I am loathe to leave any booze in my glass). Over acidic, unattractive bubbles, muted fruit and much worse than the Nyetimber that I had the other day. Having said that I know that LP does age very well so perhaps rather than being overly commercial they should change their marketing strategy and try and keep the stock back in the cellars for a while. A brand that is resting on its reputation of its rosé?

1996 Rayne Vigneau (Sauternes) with Terrine de Foie Gras - very full nose and instantly recognisable as a Sauternes (opposed to other sweet wines that you are served with Foie Gras). The body lacked a bit of depth and was a little short. But it was clean and was OK with the terrine.

1989 Leoville Las Cases with grouse - Impressive colour, huge Cabernet fruit on the nose. On the body there was plenty of minty cassis fruit with excellent length but still the tannins were firm. We thought that it would be better in 5 years time but still we enjoyed it alot.

1977 Taylors - More subdued than the last time I had it. Lacking acidity and fruit on the pallate but still the fruit was lovely and sweet and not spirity at all. Not the best bottle of 77 Taylors that I have tasted, but still 3 big glasses have left their mark!

[Florida Jim]

1989 Leoville Las Cases with grouse - Impressive colour, huge Cabernet fruit on the nose. On the body there was plenty of minty cassis fruit with excellent length but still the tannins were firm. We thought that it would be better in 5 years time but still we enjoyed it alot.

1977 Taylors - More subdued than the last time I had it. Lacking acidity and fruit on the pallate but still the fruit was lovely and sweet and not spirity at all. Not the best bottle of 77 Taylors that I have tasted, but still 3 big glasses have left their mark!

Hmmmm; my Dad likes warm beer.

Interesting note on the Leo; several 89's I've tasted in the last year have struck me similarly.

'Can't speak about the Taylor but, these days, the 77 Fonseca is a point.

Best, Jim