Couple of Rieslings to start with a cauliflower and gruyere soup
2010 Schloss Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Spätlese
The flavours here are remarkably Saar-like; fresh citrus, green apple and pear fruit tinged with floral, green herbal and mineral notes, all conveyed on a lightweight frame with a sense of incredible precision and energy with a spine of acidity that's almost painfully intense at points. On its own it's almost too acidic, but with a rich soup or pate accompanying, it's a fantastic wine to sit down with.
1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese
Oxidised. Stupid corks...
Yquem paired with foie gras mousse and duck liver paté
2001 Château d'Yquem
Incredibly fresh, complex and layered, combining all sorts of floral, tropical fruited, honeyed and more savoury elements into an enticing scent that slowly keeps developing with air. There's fantastic richness and depth here, but it doesn't come across as sweet as I'd expect - there's a sense of restraint and remarkable acidity beneath that moderates the sweetness and keeps it very light and refreshing at the same time. A superb wine though it seems to be holding a lot in reserve now, but I'm glad for the chance to try it. Thanks Mike.
Onto some reds, the Pacalet with a bacon and green pea risotto, and the Haut-Brion with pan-roasted quail with black trumpet mushrooms.
2007 Philippe Pacalet Gevrey-Chambertin
Another fantastic bottle, very similar to the last. Bright cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit tinged with fresh floral and herbal notes for the first few sips, then it starts to turn more savoury and earthy with air, all the while conveying flavour with a sense of real lightness and finesse.
1976 Château Haut-Brion
Classic Haut-Brion aromatics; a vivid scent of cigar smoke and tobacco leaves, with fresh red and dark fruited flavours and a gravelly earthiness beneath. This isn't a particularly powerful or concentrated wine - the fruit's fairly restrained with the developed smokiness and earthiness dominant, and there's a remarkably finessed, silken palate presence with the tannins fully resolved. Old Haut-Brion can be so good.
We moved onto some Cab Franc once the Haut-Brion was emptied (or once we had the last pours in another glass just to sit and smell - I found the aromatics amazing), though a few corks needed to be pulled before we hit something drinkable.
1996 Pierre-Jacques Druet Bourgueil Grand Mont
Corked.
1996 Domaine de la Chevalerie Bourgueil Breteche
Other bottles of this were very nice, this wasn't. Acidic, thin and green, Mike suggests this should be a poster-boy wine for the anti flavour wine elite.
2010 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Franc de Pied
When in doubt, go for the ungrafted stuff.
A core of incredibly fresh dark fruits tinged with black pepper, green herbal and forestal notes and gravelly earthy notes. While it isn't quite as silken and graceful as the Baudry Franc de Pied (admittedly a high benchmark), it still shows that textural polish and sense of lightness I find in a number of Franc de Pied wines and it's all too easy to drink now, even though it has the fruit, structure and balance to age very well. Wonderful.Dessert with a couple of cheeses
2001 Château d'Arche
Obviously doesn't have the complexity of the Yquem, but it's a much more accessible and friendly wine, easy to sit and enjoy casually as dessert with lots of ripe apricot, pineapple and caramel flavours and bright acidity beneath. Not profound, but delicious stuff.