Hi,
Wine lovers from several countries came to lunch at my house on Sunday (a total of 11 people).
We started off with 2 Champagnes.
The non-vintage De Sousa "Cuvée des Caudalie » blanc de blancs (100% Chardonnay) has a fine reputation. This was disgorged in February 2008. I often find blanc de blancs a somewhat high-strung, but that was not the case here. Although the wine was a little tight, it was not austere and had a gracious, pure, mineral aftertaste.
The 1996 Bollinger Grande Année was nevertheless on a different plane. It was right there in the middle of its drinking window with a lovely caressing, soft, creamy texture, subtle hazelnut and toasty notes, and an extremely long aftertastee. Utterly enjoyable, and I don’t think Champagne gets much better than this.
We had two white wines with crab salad.
The first was 2003 “Viña Gravonia" white Rioja from Lopez de Heredia. This is made 100% with the Viura (AKA Macabeo) grape variety. The wine was decanted and served blind. Guests were baffled and thought it was a fine old Chardonnay. At age 14 this was showing well. My wife had appreciated it when we visited the cellars several years ago, so I picked up a bottle. The nose displayed complex waxy aromas and the wine was pleasing on the palate too – a fine Spanish wine from a much-loved bodega.
The next wine, also decanted and also served blind, was 1997 Clos Sainte Hune, reputed to be one of the finest Rieslings in Alsace. This had a fine petrol nose and a steely backbone. While everyone enjoyed it, no one was bowled over by it. Frankly, I think it was past its best.
Four reds followed with 2 poulets de Bresse:
Youthful, fruity 2009 Château Simone from Palette had people guessing it was a Pinot Noir. This was a very nice first wine, more fun than serious, showing younger than its years – the sort of wine that is good at whatever age.
Wine number two was a 2004 Château Palmer “19th century wine”. This is sold as vin de table français because it contains 15% Hermitage from Chapoutier, in memory of a practice common when négociants added vins médecins to give Bordeaux more color and body. In any event this wine had a great deal of class, and the Hermitage factor is definitely underplayed. What we have here is essentially an elegant Médoc with a slight peppery aroma and something a little different and hard to define on the palate. This wine is not only rare, but also quite good. It is entering its drinking window.
The third wine was 1998 Tertre Rôteboeuf. This was an impressive Saint-Emilion, a very masculine, powerful wine, but one that did not exclude elegance. At nearly 20 years of age, it has still not reached its peak. Everyone loved this wine with a nose of truffle, humus, black fruit, and deep fruit. Un vin couillu.
The final red wine was 1986 Cheval Blanc. Some people will have it that wines from this vintage are “still not ready”. I beg to differ. At age 31, this is as good as it ever will be, and perhaps past its best. Oh, it was not tired, fading, and disintegrating, but its balance between fruit and tannin have pretty much evened out. This wine showed once again that the greatest wines are all about nuance. 86 Cheval Blanc is not stellar, but its breeding definitely shows through.
We ended the meal with two Australian stickies: 2005 Cordon Cut Claire Valley Riesling from Mount Horricks and Seppelt’s D.P. 63 Show Muscat from Rutherglen (17.5 alc.).
The former was very elegant with not a hair out of place. People loved its equilibrium between sugar (low), acidity, and alcohol. It was fragrant, refreshing, and much appreciated. I should add that this came from a screw-cap bottle.
The Muscat was cut from an entirely different cloth, a kind of bottled Christmas cake of a wine with plenty of sugar and spicy flavors. A liqueur type wine.
Best regards,
Alex R.