WTN: Biryani wines (Champagne, Riesling, Gewurz, Burg)

Had the Buekers over for dinner on Saturday, with a chicken biryani on the table accompanied by raita (yogurt with grated raw veggies and spices) and a yam/sweetcorn dish. Plenty of good wine on the side as well, and we certainly ate and drank well.

2004 Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Extra-Brut Oenophile 1er cru
Leftovers from an extra bottle that David and Laura brought along; this didn't work with the biryani but it certainly disappeared quickly. Fresh, pale fruit and biscuity notes over chalky notes, light, bracing and too easy to drink.

1997 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Auslese
Riesling so exotic and wild that it would be pretty easy to mistake for Scheurebe, with a lovely scent of orange blossom and pink grapefruit combined with more savoury developed and honeyed characteristics. This is drinking superbly now with the fruit still luscious and fresh, lots of depth and the sweetness and acidity balancing each other perfectly.

2005 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer Furstentum Vieilles Vignes
Very dense, slightly viscous and rich, showcasing a spectrum of ripe Gewurz fruit, florality and spice with a honeyed topnote. It's nicely balanced with a little bit of residual sugar, though a touch more acidity would be welcome here. Very enjoyable with biryani, though I get the impression this will be a lot more enjoyable with some more time in the cellar to lose its baby fat.

2008 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vigne
A seamless combination of high toned red fruits, florality, savoury brothy and stony elements conveyed with a sense of real purity, freshness and transparency. The tannins are rather fine-grained here and a lot of the structure comes from the acidity, which keeps it light on its feet and so incredibly drinkable, with each sip inviting another. Fantastic wine that has me very keen to explore the higher end 08 Fourriers.

2005 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer Furstentum Vieilles Vignes
Very dense, slightly viscous and rich, showcasing a spectrum of ripe Gewurz fruit, florality and spice with a honeyed topnote. It's nicely balanced with a little bit of residual sugar, though a touch more acidity would be welcome here. Very enjoyable with biryani, though I get the impression this will be a lot more enjoyable with some more time in the cellar to lose its baby fat.

Somehow, I hardly ever run into an Alsatian Gewurtz where the acidity is just right, but I do love what Albert Mann does in Furstentum in general.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for making the biryani Salil.

The Gimmonet was originally opened to go with steamed lobsters with lemon. It worked well with plain lobster, but the lemon clashed badly, so we corked it up.

The '97 Catoir took a long time to get its act together. Of course if I had to spend 14 years locked up in a bottle I might be a bit grumpy too.

The Mann was very oily in texture, and I think I caught some rose petal on its own that was clobbered by the food. Lots of pineapple fruit though.

The Fourrier just kept getting better and better as the evening went on.