With Keiichi back in town for a couple of days, a few of us got together at Tsumura for dinner Thursday night. Jojo requested we sit at the counter as he likes watching Tsumura-san work.
Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Cuvee Palmes d'Or Brut 1998 - Presented in a garish dimpled black bottle, like a cross between a golf ball and a hand grenade or pineapple. Light gold. Bready and rather sweet and candyish. Medium t heavy bodied. Totally mature and ready. I don;t expect further development. At this point, already very rounded. An easy and not particularly complex Champagne. Went very well with sashimi, though.
Edmond Vatan Clos des Neore Sancerre 2004 - I'm not really a fan of Sauvignon Blanc. I'll occasionally enjoy one from New Zealand but those from the Loire usually don't do anything for me but this bottle changed my mind. Gentle green pepper with an underlay of orchard fruit. Light, very fresh but rounded. No hard acid edges here. Wet stone and mineral. Pure, limpid, this is a beautiful wine. Nearly every other Sauv Blanc I've tried comes across as a clumsy caricature compared with this. I'm definitely a fan. Outstanding and my wine of the night.
Although I thought the wine lovely, it really wasn't strong enough for the sushi.
Domaine Michel Gaunoux Pommard Grand Epenots 1er Cru 2007 - Light. Very juicy, sour cherry, some smoke. Not a lot of complexity. Perhaps it needs more time but my impression was that it was a relatively simple wine.
Hudelot Noellat Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 1996 - Quite dark and dry. Rather acidic. Chocolate after 30 minutes in the glass. This was taking a very long time to open up. Maybe more time in bottle is needed but if you want to drink it, better decant for at least an hour or so.
Guy Amiot Les Demoiselles 1er Cru 2008 - High acidity, gently wooded. Frankly unpleasant at this stage. Needs time in bottle to come together.
We ended up by finishing half a bottle of Suntory Hibiki 17 year old whiskey.
Thanks to Keiichi for providing the excuse, Jojo for the wines and putting it together, and Tsumura-san for the excellent sushi and sashimi.