WTN: Albino’s birthday

Albino’s fortieth birthday last Wednesday, a super-small gathering at his place, with just his girlfriend Andrea, Erik from Germany and yours truly in attendance. Cooking, eating, drinking, chatting all day, that is, from lunchtime until quarter past three at night. There is something to be said about a day on which there would have been a Fonseca 1963 in the lineup, but which never got attacked.

I may not always put enough emphasis on this aspect, but the dishes Albino regularly prepares are easily on the level of the wines we drink, and sometimes surpass them in complexity and intensity of flavour, as well as ingenuity. To cite just a handful examples from yesterday’s extravaganza (not necessarily in the order served), I do not remember eating milder, rounder- and more subtle-tasting mackerel than found on the sushi and sashimi appetizer plate; and a chilled zucchini/mint soup with tomato granita on top was flavourful and balanced without being overly rich; a lobster bisque with lobster ragout-stuffed black sepia (squid ink) triangoli rich and complex; quick-seared Coquille Saint-Jacques on lemon grass sticks were so fresh and subtle one could eat them raw; a wonderful roast duck breast, marinated and with herb oil injections, and spiced with crushed coriander seeds, sitting on a bed of chanterelles and some of the tastiest sliced cherries I’ve had in a long time fascinatingly complex; quick-seared salmon spiced with crushed all-natural black licorice a delight even to those who usually don’t like “bear manure” (Swiss German expression for licorice). A personal highlight to me was the huge Atlantic langouste (spiny/rock lobster) that I baptised Jean-Baptiste Grenouille shortly before we killed and devoured it. Its soft-boiled meat, sitting on a bed of green asparagus tips and raspberries, with just a little beurre noisette trickled on top, was crunchier and stringier than that of Harry and Sally (the lobsters we’d had earlier), and showed an incredible purity, complexity and finesse – it seemed subtly minerally almost like great white wine. Albino also made a baffling Mexican vanilla ice cream which he instant-froze on the stove and blending in – in portions – a liter or two of liquid nitrogen into the hot Bain Marie pot! The resulting texture was indescribably smooth, so that the tiny vanilla stuck out like poppy-seed. I felt it made even more sense to do the same with a French forest strawberry sorbet, as for once sugar and strawberries could be blended and then frozen so quickly, there was no time for even the slightest oxidation to the fruit to leave its mark, nor was it necessary to add either lime juice or water, the pure freshness and unadulterated intensity of the fruit (and what lively colour!), and again, the texture was remarkable.

Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru V.P
Thanks to Erik. “V.P” stands for “Vieillissement Prolongé”. 50% Pinot Noir from the 1998, rest reserve wines from up to including the 1995 vintage, less than 2 g/l dosage, dégorgé Mai 2005. All the fruit stems from Grand Crus vineyards in Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. Reminded of a virtual blend of Lassalle Cuvée Angéline and Bollinger R.D. if less noble than either. Macerating apple, yeast, tree bark, bakery spices, a touch of medium-fresh brioche. Minerality that is a bit stone-dusty and reminds Albino of fresh asphalt on which rain fell. The fair enough depth is a plus for the price category. the not too fine, almost a bit grainy perlage (quality of the bubbles) is a minus. Macerated apple acidity. Nice body, medium-plus length. Rating: 88+/89+?

Egon Müller Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule #23 Scharzhofberg 1993
Thanks to Albino. Golden olive oil-like colour. Quite oily and sweet, actually tastes as of mild nut and complex aged apple and lemon zest oil, too, golden sultanas, slatey minerality of great depth and nobility, faintly grey peppery. Impressive body at a mere 8% alcohol, not too sweet at all, even a touch bitter, long viscous finish, nice warming lemoncello-like aftertaste, again so deep, complex and slatey. Future greatness, and yet, not too closed to provide (intense!) pleasure. Saffron scent from the empty stem. Opened up mildly bitter, minty, chamomile-tinged Japanese green tea notes with airing, too. I would not mind drinking this again in ten or twenty years from now, same as the beautiful VdP-Auction Spätlese and BA from the same vintage. Rating 95+!

Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero Unico Reserva 1975
My contribution. 70% Tinto Fino, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Malbec & Albillo. 45’000 bottles made. Medium-glossy, deep garnet-black with a coffee-like amber hue, orange at the rim. A bit closed on the nose at first, soon opening up dried cherries, chocolates, coffee, toffee and complex dried herbs, mace, attractive tobacco and some toasty oak. Quite high acidity, including a touch of volatility, fairly complex, tobacco-like, just faintly dry tannin. A little more aged blackcurrant sweetness with a little airing. More high-acid, less opulent, steelier and significantly less smooth and long than the 1970, but more concentrated, structured, powerful and fuller-bodied than the 1964. Salty minerality, sweeter and a fraction more autumnal yet racier with airing, more like a traditional style Barolo. One of those wines that I am sure can be kept for a long time, will possibly improve, but whose fruit seems bound to mature more quickly than its acid backbone. It may be a bit divergent in this regard, but then, I was impressed by how it seemed to both oxidize ever so slightly and get fresher and gain focus the longer it sat in the glass, so maybe it is in a grumpy phase right now and there is greater upwards potential than we could discern. Even so, as Erik said, this will in all likelihood never fully digest its acidity (he finds the 1975 reminiscent of the 1981 and other old-style Unicos in this regard), let alone the per se not too troublesome volatility. Quite honestly, if I owned any more of it, I would either sell it, or gamble and wait until it reaches at least age forty. Rating: 93+

Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 1991
Thanks to Albino. Opaque garnet-black colour that looks like beef blood at the center, garnet-red and orange at the rim. Lingonberry, fresh sage, hugely complex roast beef juice, lovely oak spice. Huge body, concentration and tannin. Roast coffee and spice notes, partly green tobacco leaf. Cherry- and blackberry-based forest berry mix. Tiny (at least in view of the overall size) touch of volatility. Despite the great concentration not quite the fruit density and length of the 1985, but equally as intense and nearly as hugely full-bodied. Strong rusty iron and seemingly quartz-like mineral soil notes with airing. Hugely minerally tobacco and coffee to dried blackcurrant and cherry jam after a few hours, a tiny black olive and strong charcoal on the back end. Less perfumey and seductive than the La Mouline (still my favourite) from the same vintage, with the tannin a touch rustic, but the La Landonne may be longer-lived. Rating: 96+/97(+?)

Huët Vouvray Cuvée Constance 2005
Thanks to Erik. 136.5 g/l residual sugar, 4.65 g/l acidity, 11.41% alcohol. 40-years-old vines. Medium golden yellow with a light green hue. Sweaty chalk, very minerally, touch of burnt hay, bread and brioche a bit as of a Champagne, strawberry with a touch of blackcurrant, physalis, a little green banana. Quite sweet, rather more viscous than sweet, highly concentrated, balm minty acidity, chalky finish, green hazelnut aftertaste. Less botrytised despite a faintly medicinal white glue top note, as well as less sweet and thick than the 1997, more Passito-like in character, the 2005 may be a bit racier. Attractive bakery spice notes. Growing in length in the glass, I would have loved observing this for several days. Already sweeter and longer after a few hours, no less chalky-minerally, but more tropically fruity with a little vanilla-tinged pineapple to aged apple. Seemed a bit lighter and more closed and chalky-sweaty again by the following morning. Note this is the kind of wine I would recommend buying for one’s children rather than oneself: given the performance of legendary Vouvray vintages like 1947 today (I much prefer mature Chenin Blanc dessert wines to the more academic pleasure of tasting young ones), I am afraid wines like this will outlive us all – by far! Rating: 94+/95(+?)

Úri Borok (Vince Gergely) Tokaji Eszencia 2003
A somewhat academic tasting note on an unavailable “wine”, albeit one of potentially legendary status. From the new (not the French design, the slightly less nineteenth-century-like Hungarian) 375 ml bottle. Bottled unfiltered and labelled 0% alcohol, as it apparently never started fermenting. There are two lots, this being the “bigger” I reported on as barrel sample before, sold entirely to private clientele before it was even bottled. According to Albino and Rainer the first lot boasts even higher dry extract and acidity, whereas the second has more accessible fruit. The bottles are impossible to keep apart other than for the absence of a black marker dash or bar at the bottom, and as Rainer once showed me, bubbles in a bottle of the first lot (if turned on its head and back) simply seem to take forever to surface (bottles also feel weightier, but I would really need a scale to tell if there is indeed a measurable difference). Either lot contains between 700 and 800 g/l residual sugar. Having had the second lot a couple of months ago and now this also from bottle confirms my impression that the difference is more significant than my friends led me to believe: this is not just a fraction thicker and more viscous, its acidity has awesome retro-olfaction and gives the yet more intense, complex and deep jellied quince, soaked pollen, part-fresh, part-dried apricot and lemon zest fruit additional lift, finesse and length. Touches of curry, sweet paprika and mace. Plus, the multi-faceted depth of minerality in this first lot is nothing short of surreal, seemingly staining the nostrils as it does the palate. As Erik said, “wine” need not have alcohol to taste great. Rating: 100

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

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[David M. Bueker]

Happy birthday to Albino from a fellow '67er.

thanks david


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What?! YOU're thanking me? You must be kidding! We all thank YOU!!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

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not you, my friend,

David M. Bueker

AAAWWW!! Love that cherry picture! Looks so yummy one wants to bite right into one's screen!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

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The licorice-spiced quick-seared salmon is such a great idea, by the way: so simple, so effective!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

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and a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoUKyo6Veew

Rats, why can't I play the pianner...?

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

What about a pic of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille?

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

tomorrow,

good night

[David M. Bueker]

Oh my gosh...you guys eat better than you drink. Wow.

i introduce,

mr. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille

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