Got together with some grad school friends last night, and inbetween having large and useful/useless discussions, we had some food and wine.
olives sauteed with garlic and parsley
2006 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet
This was such a fun wine and such a great pairing. Crisp zesty lusty effervescent fun (I’m talking about the Muscadet here). Not sure everyone else was riffing the same way I was. But, who cares…
mini-tarts with onion confit, roasted leeks, sage, and gruyere
2005 Château D'Epiré Savennières Cuvée Spéciale
This was also a good match, and a nice bold wine. Plenty of firm fruit, but well-balanced with acidity for my tastes. The bottle didn’t last long enough for any chalk or mineral elements to emerge, but perhaps that will require more age and calming of the fruit anyway?
Bolinas rock cod with onion basil “pesto”, roasted squash, winter greens, roasted potatoes
2002 ESJ “The Shadow” Syrah
2005 ESJ Rocks and Gravel
Everyone knows these wines, but I will say that the Shadow showed nice character with 2 hours of decanting but probably could have used more. The R&G was nice, although it showed really primary, more so than I remember from recent bottles, and of course it was gone before it could get enough air. Still, a nice rich yet balanced wine (to my tastes).
Cinnamon custard with orange chocolate sauce
More 05 Rocks and Gravel
Why didn’t anyone bring any damned dessert wine!
(Not that I was complaining about the R&G)