I was very lucky to be invited again to dine at one of our forum’s very best chefs’ home for dinner last night for an evening of magnificent seafood and champagne. We started with two versions of gougeres, cheese and foie gras mousse, accompanied by a blind opener. This turned out to be the piper heidsieck essential bottling with the 2015 base vintage. Surprisingly pinot noir dominated blend given that we all thought it was a bdb based on the white toasted bread notes. Really opened up and improved with some air.
Although a very nice way to start, the next flight took things to a completely different level. 08 vilmart cdc and egly ouriet served alongside a lightly curried mackerel fillet with char grilled cauliflower. Paul revealed that the egly had recently been awarded 100 points by William Kelly. Hence, its crazy price appreciation. Sadly, it was very much worthy of William’s high praise! Great depth and perfect balance. Incredibly open and expressive already and really outstanding. The vilmart was no slouch either but in a completely different style and nothing like as open yet as the egly. It would be really interesting to compare these again in another 5-10 years.
Our host’s magnificent lobster bisque a la Roux was followed by scallop and lobster raviolo with carrot puree and wild sorrel. The latter served with the 2008 Bonnaire trilogie. Three identical wines made from grand cru cramant chardonnay vineyards as extra bruts with dosage of just 2.5 g/l. The first aged for 9 months in thermoregulated stainless steel tanks, the second in oak barrels for 12 months and the last again in stainless steel but then under cork rather than metal cap. This was a truly fascinating one off concept released by Bonnaire in late 2019 to show the impact of the different approaches. Whilst perhaps not helping the wines show their best, the low dosage did allow the impact of the elevage really to stand out. Initially, bottle 1 was quite awkward and bitter but with air it blossomed into a pure, mineral driven wine with obvious ageing potential. Bottle 2 was richer and fuller throughout and really excellent, with the low dosage having less impact given the oak treatment. The last bottle was very similar to the first but with obviously more aged/oxidative characteristics on the nose. On reflection, the wines showed exactly what you would expect from the different methods. Will be very interesting to check back on this trilogie in another 5 and 10 years.
A perfectly cooked roast turbot on the bone and crushed jersey royals with pernod and tarragon sauce mousseline was a great foil for a trio of 02 taittinger comtes, 04 dp and 06 cristal. Such markedly different wines with the cristal offering really lovely roundness and depth, the dp quite a powerhouse with a long way to go and the taitty perhaps at a slightly awkward teenage stage.
In champagne terms, we finished with a pair of 02 and 08 PH Rares. Sadly, my note taking had really fallen apart by this stage!
Huge thanks again to our incredibly generous host and fellow diners for a splendid evening.