Recent dinner notes:
with steak tartar, squash soup and crab crostini appetizers
Lanson Black Label NV – I got this after the sales for 2000 – 2001, so it was probably made a couple of years earlier – in any case somewhat venerable for an NV champers, but I’d popped a bottle recently and found it to be quite tasty. Nice complexity in the nose, and some colour, and a clean acidic finish.
with seared sablefish:
2005 Lucien Crochet Sancerre Le Chene – I also brought this (I know, I’m blowing my rep as a red wine guy). Fresh acidity gave a juicy feel in the mouth, clean and long.
2001 Ch. Carbonnieux – also very good but obviously in a different idiom. Smooth, soft and full with good length and nice fruit in the middle, but lacked the sparkling clean feeling of the Sancerre.
with foie gras stuffed into a small Granny Smith baked apple:
2002 A.F. Gros Vosne Romanee ‘Aux Reas’ – this Burgundy was pleasant but nothing special – simple fruit nose, medium weight.
2001 Florent de Merode Corton Bressandes – I was pleased to try this as I have this wine as well as the Clos de Roi in the cellar waiting for a suitable time. Darker wine with pronounced cherry aromas, excellent fruit in the mouth and an enticing hint of nutmeg in the finish. Needs time.
with braised veal cheeks and dried pancetta on linguini:
1995 Clos des Papes CNduP (magnum) – excellent Rhone nose, classy bottle with soft tannins and good acidity. drinsk well now but no rush at all.
with duck breast and confit:
1995 Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva (magnum) – a surprisingly sweet floral nose on this one, and good fruit. Still has tannins but drinks well now.
1987 Ch. Mouton Rothschild (magnum) – an intermezzo in the dinner, and while many 1987s are past peak, this one showed very well. earth, iron and plums in the nose, very decent, not much tannins and not quite as fat and round in the mouth as a better vintage usually is, but decent showing.
with cheese:
2001 Amarone Tedeschi ‘Capitel Monte Olmi’ – purple wine, very sweet nose, too hot, with lavish levels of alcohol, hot and spirity, very ripe flavours, almost Port sweet. This one turned me off – and I have a couple of bottles, too. Guess I’ll leave them another decade and cross my fingers.
with dessert:
1983 Grahams – as it happened I had drunk the 1983 Taylors at lunch the day before, so had a chance to mentally compare them. The Grahams wasn’t as sweet as it usually is, and was hotter and darker than the Taylors. Very nice. Checked my list and for some unknown reason I bought this in magnum. Gonna be awhile……
