New Year's Eve

[David McDuff]

I'm a little surprised someone else hasn't gotten this thread started already, so here goes....

Wkl and I cooked dinner for our significant others and some friends last night and took it as the perfect opportunity to open an array of juice. We had pre-determined a loose theme based around some Loire Valley wines culled from my cellar and from W's recent trip to the central Loire but you'll see that we obviously didn't discriminate against other regions.

Savennieres, Domaine des Baumard 1996

Served with a first course of carrot and galangal soup accompanied by pan-seared sea scallops. This may have been the wine of the night for me. Drinking beautifully right now, still showing primary flavors of honey, quince and white flower blossoms but also developing lovely savory herbal aromatics. Very long finish and still a good future ahead.

Montlouis Sur Loire "Methode Traditionelle" Demi-Sec, Francois Chidaine NV

Served with a second course of skate wing with a brown butter caper sauce. I have had the pleasure of trying Chidaine's Brut sparkler on a couple of previous occasions but this was my first exposure to his Demi-Sec. A surprising 12.5% ABV, the wine still shone with bright, forward fruit and an obvious but delicate hint of sweetness. Extremely fine bubbles and a joy to drink.

Saumur Champigny "Les Terres Rouges," Domaine de Saint Just 2001

Served with a basic salad of fresh bibb lettuce tossed with button mushrooms and yellow bell pepper with walnut oil and sherry vinegar. This sounds like an odd pairing but we wanted a salad and we wanted to try this wine so it seemed like the right time. It was certainly the simplest wine of the night but in a good way. Just super soft, gentle red stone fruit flavors with only the slightest hint of Cabernet Franc's leafy herbaceousness. The walnut oil, also from the Loire, actually helped it to work quite agreeably with the salad course.

Barbaresco "Bricco de Neueis," Dante Rivetti 1997

Accompanying a pulled duck leg ragout made with Wkl's preserved tomatoes served over short, wide pasta ribbons. In spite of hailing from Nieve, usually the home of the most intense wines of the Barbaresco zone, this was all delicate red fruit, rose petals and warm spice on the nose. Well balanced and very soft. Drinking, I think, already at or pretty near to its peak potential.

Napa Valley Stag's Leap Disctrict Cabernet Sauvignon "Hillside Select," Shafer 1999 (in magnum)

Before, during and after pan-seared duck breast with asparagus and fingerling potatoes roasted in rendered duck fat. This contribution from one of our very generous friends was the obvious "big wine" of the evening. Weighing in at just under 15% (14.9 ABV) but not at all hot. Gobs of rich, primary red and black currant and berry fruit. Low acidity, very soft, ripe tannins and a long sweet finish. Very well crafted, this was the most opulent but, in a way, least characterful wine of the night.

Montlouis "Le Cuvee Saint Martin" Moelleux, Jean Chauveau 1997

A return to Montlouis and a third visit with Loire Chenin Blanc, this was a simpler wine than the first two but a fine match with a final savory course of cheeses and truffled foie gras pate. Produced by one of the many small farmers making their wine at the Montlouis cave-cooperative, it delivered flavors of honey and ripe golden apples brought home by medium acidity.

Bourgeuil, producer unknown 1978

The curiosity piece of the evening, this was an unmarked bottle of Bourgeuil given to Wkl by one of his hosts during the above mentioned trip. Given the wine's age, its unknown provenance and a fill at the low neck level in a burgundy-style bottle, it showed remarkably well. Still holding its structure and showing an interesting combination of mushroomy, herbal and minerally flavors along with just lingering flavors of dried red fruits.

Banyuls "Cuvee Parce Freres," Domaine de la Rectorie 1996

Chosen to accompany a dessert of crepes with Rum-roasted bananas and melted chocolate. We thought, if we're going to serve dessert, we'd better serve a dessert wine. Solid but somewhat unremarkable Banyuls of medium sweetness. It worked well enough with the dish but might have been the one wine we all agreed (in retrospect) could have been done without.

and finally, with midnight about to strike...

Champagne "Special Club des Viticulteurs" Brut, Jose Michel et Fils 1992

One of my favorite small RM Champagne producers, Jose Michel is one of the few champions of Pinot Meunier and this is his top wine which showcases it at its best. Supposedly a "bad vintage" for Champagne but you'd never know it from this wine. Still very young, packing a beautiful combination of lush texture backed by firm, muscular structure. Flavors are of pear, autumnal potpourri, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, brioche. A delicious way to seal the evening.

[Rebel Rose]

Holy cow! Were you emptying your cellar to make room for 2006 purchases?

We went to a bash at a neighboring vineyard, so I drank lots and lots of Veuve! (Ah, but I got up at 7:30 am Sunday, built a fire, cleaned house and reorganized my closets. I had to tippy-toe all day because everyone else here drank zin all night. )

[peppyre]

I spent the evening playing poker with my dad and family and knew that he would want to pull some spectacular bottles out of the cellar, and I was right.

The evening started with a magnum of Columbia Crest Cab 1992, which was pretty tasty. (Thanks to some antibiotics for an infection, I only had a taste) The highlight for me was the glass of 1984 Clos Du Val that I rang in the New Year with. It was great way to start 2006.

[hathor]

1988 Veuve Cliquot Grand Dame

She was a lovely ol'dame. It was just me and my husband, so it carried us thru the caviar, bottarga and butter poached lobster.

We barely touched the bottle of Gigondas that was waiting with the salad course.

Life is too short to drink bad wine.

Happy New Year!

[vanderb]

I ended very well for 2005 and although I forgot my pen and paper to note all the different wines we had paired with our tasting menu on NYE the top scores were for the Okanagan Kettle Valley Pinot Noir - 2003 and the top of the night 2002 Black Hills Nota Bene. Thank you to Truffle Pigs Bistro in Field, BC, Canada.

Midnight was welcomed with a 2004 Blanc de Noir sparkling wine from Sumac Ridge. The Blanc de Noir was very good but I was not as happy with it as I have been with Sumac's Stellar Jay's sparkling. There was an under tone of petrol to the Blanc de Noir, not sure if it was supposed to be there as it was my first tasting... not unpleasant just odd.

[David McDuff]

Holy cow!  Were you emptying your cellar to make room for 2006 purchases? 

Luckily, a nine or ten bottle night once in a while, with bottles being contributed by all, doesn't put too big a dent in the cellar. We were just enjoying the cooking, eating, company and -- of course -- the wine. There were a couple that I do wish I had quite a few more bottles of for the future though....

[LindaJ]

Sadly, I was the sole caregiver to my one year old. I had a diet coke with too much rum (blech) at a neighbor's house with baby monitor in hand. I was in bed by 10:30. I will simply live vicariously by reading others' wine notes.

[eje]

On our server's recommendation, with dinner we had an interesting French wine from Domaine Laffont in Madiran called 'Hecate'. I've not drunk wine from this region or producer before. It almost reminded me more of an Italian red than a French wine.

For our year end sparkler, later that evening we had a bottle of Navarro's 1999 Brut Blanc de Blanc. I will admit I was a little jaded by then; but, the wine didn't impress me as much as it had when we tasted it in Anderson Valley. Pear flavors really seemed to dominate. Might have been my tired out taste buds, though.

Edited January 3, 2006 by eje (log)

[Jambalyle]

We enjoyed a nice bottle of Meyer Family Port that we picked up on our trip to the Mendocino Music Festival last summer. It was marvelous with the dark chocolate desserts being served. I wish I had purchased two bottles!

[raxelita]

I worked.

Tasted:

Lallement Brut NV-- violets, biscuits, nice, my fav. of the night.

Gimmonet "Cuvee Gastronome" 1999

Gaston Chiquet "Carte Verte"

Gatinois Brut NV

Thevenet Sparkling Chardonay (from Macon) NV

and lots of other small producer Champagnes, Vouvrays, Petillants...

I drank:

Several bottles of Cava by L'Hereu, which is really good for the price-- crisp, clean, tight.

Tequilla shots.