We started with a fizz that wasn't from Loew, J-P Brun Charme NV which is a Bl de Bl. Like all other Bruns, this is outstanding: lovely citrus and mineral aromas; crisp and delineated but with a bit of richness. With a couple amuse bouche, one a "fish and chips" - one fry with a bit of burbot on top -, and something mousse-like from Jerusalem artichoke, were both wonderfully greasy and cut the fizz's excellent acidity to create a tremendous whole. With pairings like this, why does Luomo have only one star?
After this we had a glass of Loew Muscat Les Marnes Vertes 2009 with a plate of ginger tofu and four different types of sea-weed. The wine was quite wonderful. It had all the grapey but mineral aromas of the best Muscats, yet it was also completely dry and, despite the warm year, it had wonderfully lively acidity. The boisterous aromatics worked with the umami of the dish wonderfully. With pairings like this, why does Luomo have only one star?
We continued with a second starter of blinis with vendance (coregonus albula) and its roe and had a glass of Loew Sylvaner Verité 2008 with it. I haven't had many Sylvaners so this won't mean much, but this Loew was the best I have had. The aroma was pleasantly floral, a bit like rosewater, but mineral and elegant. Crisp, lively, mineral yet with elegant fruit. Interminable aftertaste. Lovely wine. And it even survived the smetana in the blinis. With pairings like this, why only one star?
Next up was a strange dish of tartar and some strange creamy drops on the plate. The tartar was wonderful and creamy drops were all good (I can't remember what they were, however - sorry!), but there was also a Guinness-jelly that wasn't to my taste (I'm not too fond of that beer). With it, we had a glass of Loew Gewurztraminer Cormerais 2007. I'm sure you're tired of hearing it again, but it was just wonderful with the dish (apart from the jelly): it had all the typical Gewurz aromas like rosewater, but it was all in a mineral and elegant package with brilliant acidity. The Cormerais usually has c.20-25g/l RS, but that didn't diminish the wine's focus and precision at all.
A wonderful dish was then presented to clear our palates: a sherbet of black tea with some citric froth on top. I hadn't experienced something sweet in the middle of dishes before, but such a perky combination of sugar, acid and tannin really did cleanse my palate.
Our main dish was monkfish with fennel. A tough match, perhaps, but the meatiness and aromatics found a worthy dueling partner in Loew Pinot Gris Grand Cru Engelberg 2007. Etienne said that this was in a bit of a tough spot right now. If so, I am almost afraid to try it when it is in a good spot since it was so wonderful now. Spicy aromas, much like a copper kettle, sweet; but the palate was fully dry, delineated and wonderfully structured, lively and refreshing. I am not a huge fan of this grape, but this is the type of PG that can win my heart!
Loew Riesling Altenberg de Bergbieten SdGN 2006 was the only, albeit slight, disappointment of the night: it was so heavily botrytized that I wasn't able to find Riesling aromas in it. But the balance between sugar and acid was brilliant, so it was an exciting drink and was only a disappointment in this company for lacking the purity and grace of the other wines.
A blind surprise was then served, Loew Cuvée Amoureux Vin de P***** 2007, a straw wine from Muscat, Pinot Noir and some other grape that I forgot due to indulging in too many good wines. Only 150 bottles were made of this wine. It was stored, exposed to the elements, until bottling on Valentine's day 2008 - hence the name. Wonderful. Oxidative, coppery, sweet and savoury; endless. I love this. When served blind, I thought it was an old Pinot Gris because it had a mix of spicy and strawberry aromas.
Though all the dishes until now made me wonder why Luomo had only one star, sadly, the dessert was a bit of a disappointment: there was a pastry soaked in Thai whiskey with sweet, fruit-purées, which weren't very interesting in themselves, and worst of all, these came with bland chunks of fruits from a can.
After the dinner, we took Etienne for a beer!