Dinner with Thor & Theresa last night. As usual a fun and filling affair.
Pierre Peters Cuvee Reserve Brut NV (magnum)
Served with some gruyere cheese gougeres to start, and since it was a magnum it actually carried us through for a bit. Deliciously good for such a young NV (disgorged December 2010), with great balance and persistence. 100% Chardonnay, but has real depth and weight versus being merely a "pretty" wine. You would have to spend a lot more money to beat this wine IMO.
There was a sparkling Nebbiolo that repulsed all of us.
We moved on to cassoulet with two wines:
1997 Domaine Drouhin (Oregon) Pinot Noir Cuvee Laurene
Fading. It still has the barest edge of dried cherry fruit, but is being fully overtaken by a dusty, earthy and surprisingly tannic structure.
1993 Edmunds St. John Syrah (California)
Two for two with corks that bust in half upon opening, but despite the bits of cork floating in the wine it was stupendous. Dark, meaty and leathery upon opening, with more varied meat elements emerging over time. It became rather bacon infused after several hours of air. Delicious.
We had not yet had enough pork, so we moved on to braised pork shoulder with leeks and apricots. Three wines this time, though I missed the details on the rather anonymous Baden Riesling. The two highlights of the course were as follow:
2000 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Cuvee Laurence
Full of pineapple and lychee fruit. A somewhat burnished edge underscores that this is not a young Gewurz, but only adds to the flavor interest. It was meant to go with the food which it did not, but it was delicious nonetheless.
2001 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese*
Yes it is still a bit away from maturity, and even a touch closed in, but wow, there are true fireworks here. Imagine the ripest white peach you have ever tasted, pass the juice over fresh washed stones from a mountain stream, and complement that with a mere touch of botrytis and an emerging creaminess, and you get maybe half of what was going on in this wine. Absolutely stunning!
We finished off with some berries dipped in ganache...
and then to bed...