Last night, we had friends over for dinner. One couple generously offered to bring entree and desserts, but also brought home-made multi-grain bread dough and cooked rolls in the convection oven and also some nice cheeses, in particular a blue of superior quality.
Earlier I visited the cellar and plucked a dozen wines for the occasion. This is how things panned out -
For aperitif we drank Pol Roger Chardonnay Brut 1996, still remarkably fresh and zesty with copious quantities of citrus and melon fruit, pastry shop smells alongside the most gorgeous digestive biscuit character. Frighteningly good persistent acidity, wonderful swirling mousse on a interminably long finish. Fantastic start. I thought it worthy of 94 points and a drinking window of up to 5 years.
Next with savoury crepes (filled with crispy smoky bacon, fetta cheese, rocket and topped with maple syrup and a balsamic glaze - an amazingly impressive combo!) I poured the remnants of a Hugel 1988 Gewutztraminer SDGN - chocka-block full of lychee, rose-hip, exotic spices and candied apricot with high acidity that tapered the high residual sugar normally found in this very late-picked style. For such an old wine to hold in the fridge for 24 hours and remain ultimately drinkable was no mean feat. About 91 points last night - I rated at 93 the night before.
Domaine Fourrier's 1996 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint Jacques followed and I was somewhat disappointed. Still holding a relatively healthy red brick colour this wine's aromatics were first class from start to finish, however the palate was unready with eventual shrill acidity spoiling the finish. There's plenty to like about this wine but, seemingly, it needs a lot more time for the palate to come around. 5 to 10 years I reckon! 84 points
Things were very much on the improve with the next wine as we moved into mains (my contribution for the evening) of an old fashioned Sunday roast lamb with roast vegetables and blanched green string beans. Chateau Leoville-Barton 1986 is an outstanding claret that has finally hit its straps. Although it could do with several years careful cellaring for the last of those considerable tannins to resolve, this terrific red is showing remarkably well-defined and delineated classy left-bank aromas and flavours of damp earth, autumn leaves, forest floor, incredible deepset black fruit, with traces of creosote, road tar and French herbs. Structurally, the wine retains a degree of freshness and vitality with noticeable but softeing and integrated acidity and a resolute but melting tannin regime that only needs a few more years to be nigh on perfect. Add wonderful length and breadth of palate and you have a winner - 93+ points.
With tarte tatin and a variety of ice creams including a gorgeous passionfruit gelato, we opened Ch. Climens 1986 - the best showing of this remarkable wine to date. Boasting a super attractive and still relatively youthful light orange/apricot/gold colour this remarkably elegant but complex sweet wine hit all the right buttons for most of us on the table last night. There's an almost enigmatic quality of this wine being so delicate, feminine and uniformly classy yet holding an intriguing core of reserved power and guaranteed extended longevity. The aromas and flavours here are a corncopia of pear, apricot, caramel, almond, coconut, baking spices (more cinammon, perhaps a wee twist or hint of nutmeg) and a gorgeous burnt orange character at the end. Needless to say, this was my wine of the night and with a nauseatingly slow development curve to date and stunning structure of linear acidity and marvellous astringency from the finest French oak, will bring great joy to anyone who has well-cellared examples for perhaps another two decades. Bravo! 95
With our newly-acquired coffee machine we polished of the remainder of David Morris's Cellar Reserve Liqueur Tokay, typically marvellous for its decadent sweetness and lushness but with a degree of elegance compared to the more muscular Muscats the Rutherglen region is also famous for. 93 on its ear - and this has been open and sitting on my tasting bench for several weeks.
An excellent night of fine food, mostly top wine and good company.