TN: Mathieu St. Cosme Giant Steps Chapoutier

Notes from a Christmas dinner with another couple friends. Menu was designed on containing Canadian ingredients.

2009 Serge Mathieu Champagne Brut Millésimé – disgorged 2015. Some colour, yeast and roasted cashew nose with some lemon notes, smooth and clean at the end and well balanced. Drinks well now. With crème fraiche and trout roe canapés and smoked trout on toast

2014 Saint Cosme Condrieu – fairly full coloured, with some interesting Mandarin orange notes in the nose plus some sweeter mango notes, mouth filling with good acidity, rich. Served with a lobster roll

2019 Giant Steps Pinot Noir Applejack Vineyard – served as an inter-course taster, opened the day before. Fairly dark colour, good sweet fruit nose, smooth medium length finish. I was advised that the flavours had been more forward the day before but that it had smoothed out with air in the mean time.

1990 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Bernardine – this was out of my cellar and had been there since release. Lighter colour than the pinot, very enticing node with dark fruit, some leather and nutmeg, and herbal undertones. It was smooth on palate with no remaining edges, sweet fruit and some black pepper notes that showed up part way through. Long smooth finish and it added some light funky notes to the nose after 30-45 minutes. Served with a delicious tourtiere. Down to my last couple of bottles.

We had been watching the weather a bit nervously as the snow had been coming down, but fortunately the roads were fine as we headed back home to finish with a wee dram of single malt in front of the fire. Great way to spend a Christmas eve.