My take on the wines at last Monday;’s kaiseki dinner.
Bouldevines Sauvignon Blanc 2007 – From Marlborough NZ. Available at Straits Wine Co. for around P 1200.00. Quite fruity, sweet peppers, good length. An easy, uncomplicated wine. A good way to start while waiting for everyone to arrive.
Sake Kinryo Kirameki Junmai Daiginjo – The highest category of sake. So special that the cork was covered in gold foil. Served cold. Quite sweet, one of the sweetest sakes I’ve tried. Another easy drink that went very well with the starter of caviar tempura. The sweetness of the sake tempering the saltiness of the caviar. Excellent.
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Cuvee Speciale 1995 – Very dry and classically biscuitty. Medium-bodied and, despite its 15 years, still fresh with just the barest hint of oxidation. Very good now but a couple of more years in bottle should make this even better. Excellent with the tuna and salmon tartar with spicy lemon ginger vinaigrette with sesame tuilles. (I’m salivating typing this!)
Keller Westhofener Kirchspiel Riesling Spatlese “R” 2007 – A leaner, more elegant style than the Spatlesen I’ve been drinking recently. Stony, with green apple and a bitter orange rind edge. Very good. In hindsight, it was a good thing this wine was not so lush as it proved the perfect foil against the chawan mushi with foie gras and teriyaki sauce – for me, the dish of the night. I loved it so much I had seconds. The acidity and brightness of the wine cutting through the rich-on-rich velvety texture of the dish.
Didier Daguenau Les Monts Damnees Sancerre 2007 – I admit I’m not really a fan of Sauvignon Blanc or Sancerre in particular but this was pretty interesting. Surprisingly rounded and rather peppery. Good stuff but neutral with the grilled miso, snow peas and udon with truffle oil. Perhaps the wine just couldn’t compete with the truffle. The next dish was the prawn in cornflake batter with a carrot miso sauce. A twist on Ebi Furai. This was another dish where I simply had to have seconds. As I had a bit of Riesling left, that’s what I tried with the shrimp.
Chateau Palmer 1982 – One of the more anticipated wines of the evening. Lovely nose, leather, slightly sweaty. Sweet fruit with a firm acidity on the finish. I get the sense, though, that the wine is just beginning to fade as the fruit seems to be overtaken by the acidity as it airs. Excellent but drink up.
Mystery Wine – Taking a cue from Jojo, Rene served a mystery wine from a decanter and asked us to guess. Very fruity nose. Young but soft, although I think that’s because it was decanted for some time. Very dry. Cocoa and a bit of prune. I guessed Right bank late 90’s or early 2000. I think Noel got it right. I’m happy that I was close to the vintage. Chateau Bahans Haut Brion 2001.
Artadi Pagos Viejos 2003 – Very sweet, powerful nose. Marshmallows. On the palate, still closed despite some time in a decanter. Seems somewhat unbalanced. Judgement reserved. Probably needs some major ageing. All the reds were served with an excellent broiled boneless beef rib with a Japanese glaze and the rice.
Kiralyudvar Tokaji Cuvee Ilona 2000 – Burnt sugar, candied apricot and orange marmalade. There’s quite a bit of acidity in this to cut through all the sweetness. A rather fresh interpretation of Tokaji. I think in this case, the wine was a little too powerful for the watermelon soup with vanilla ice cream dessert.
A truly outstanding dinner with interesting wines and great company.
