DINNER PARTY WITH DEB AND FRIENDS–AUGUST 23, 2013
In and through a very hectic week, Deb—my hostess for my time in Calgary and one of my very closest friends, did me the honour of allowing me to use her home to cook dinner for her and her two friends, Dana and Lyn, who I’d heard all about and was anxious to meet. Dana was great and he and I talked sotto voce about pushing Deb to do this or that with her new place…and how futile an exercise that was. He and Lyn are true friends to her and it was a great pleasure to meet—and cook for them. Around some simple crackers and cheese, some salad, my short ribs in ancho chili, chipotle in adobo sauce, maple syrup, lime juice, coffee and lagavulin whisky marinade (all credit to Tony Velebil who generously first made this for me and shared the recipe) and scalloped potatoes with roasted garlic, 2-year aged gruyere, dash of amarula, thyme, whipping cream and roasted garlic (I make this once a year, my arteries won’t allow any more) and finally a sponge cake with double fruit layer and Deb’s patented lemon filling, we had these:
2010 Moss Wood Chardonnay
I have missed this stuff. Dazzling, fresh nose of flowers—including lilac, lime and light citrus. It’s clean, strong, just sweet enough with sparkles of golden delicious apple around more structured pear, and with a lavender ender. A touch of star anise pops up later. But this is overall as excellent a wine as I remember. I haven’t tasted top-end Leeuwin, the Yattarna or the Petaluma tears, but I would take this maker as the best Chard in Australia.
2004 Arietta Hudson Vineyard Merlot
Opened this a full day before, and it certainly needed it. With that time, there are cedary and mint cocoa notes swirling around black cherry and plum. A fine mouthfeel, the wine’s flavour really follows the liquid down the throat, making sure the cherries, cassis, chocolate and small coffee notes have their respective say. Tannins, which were pretty snarly the day before, have gotten tamed some—the nice thing here is that there remains quite a lot of life and structure and no limpid feel whatsoever. This is a wine that could easily have another decade of life in it and, if not quite when put all together exactly what I love, is still quite enjoyable and of a very high quality.
2009 Chateau Coutet Barsac
This remains consistent with my last taste, with very bracing lime and Bartlett pear in the nuzzie and aromatic replays with very marked freshness on the tongue. I will note that I think there are 6 more months before these tuck the covers over themselves for their hibernation….it is just on the edge of still being expressive.
One of those nights that I was reluctant to have end.