WTN: Paillard Laroche Pichon, Woodward de Fargues

Dinner chez Jenise notes – every guest was given the task of bringing one wine to serve blind alongside the host’s wine for each course (except the bubble and final wines, which were provided by the host).

Bruno Paillard Brut Rose Champagne Premiere Cuvee – this was marked as disgorged in May 2009 and was an NV blend that contains 85% pinot (information available after interminable wait on the winery’s annoying flash-ridden website). Given 3 years in bottle before disgorgement, that means that the wine was a 2006 on average, with up to 15% older vintage content. A yellow/peach colour, and some nice apple in the mouth, and elegant smooth finish. Very nice.

Gosset Brut Excellence – lean lemony bubble with good middle weight and medium length. I like this and drink it quite a bit, but in this instance, in comparison with the very good Paillard, it seemed to come out second place.

We had these with cold peanut and sweet potato soup on the deck, then moved inside for:

2005 Dom. Laroche Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots – interesting for me coming off a recent Chablis and spot prawn event. This showed uncharacteristically big and buttery in the middle, pale yellow, with the obligatory sulphur in the nose that usually puts most people off less than it does me, and good length. Good showing.

2006 Martin Ray Chardonnay Reserve (Santa Cruz Mountain) – while more reticent to show us much in the nose, except some lime hints, I thought this was a lovely clean chard with some coconut notes coming in late on palate.

Served with shrimp and grits (southern theme menu) and excellent large shrimp they were, too.

Next up, with a ham and mustard green terrine (a sort of deconstructed or mutated jambon persille, that worked beautifully) with salad and pickled tomato accompaniments:

2005 Grgich Dry Sauvignon Blanc – very good sauv blanc nose, but of the passion fruit rather than grassy bent, and, oddly, I thought, what seemed like significant RS, balanced by good terminal acidity. Lots of lemon and melon in the middle.

2004 Dom. Serene Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvee – this was the switch-over course from white to red and this Oregon offering worked equally as well as the white with the food. A nice spicy pinot nose, not overly sweet, followed by a sweet entry, and some fairly rich cherry fruit in midpalate, ending with medium length.

The main course was outstanding – a Flannery 45 day prime rib cap, perfectly cooked (by which I mean rare) with red eye gravy, creamed collard greens and okra fritters.

I had the task of coming up with a wine to suit this and had no idea what Jenise might pull out, so I opted for classic elegance with:

1994 Ch. Pichon Lalande (Pauillac) – an under rated vintage that has shown well in recent tastings and this was one of the wines of the vintage. Good colour with the edges lightening a bit, and a nose that was classic – currant and spice and vanilla that made it impossible to pretend that this was anything but Bordeaux. Still some softening tannin, good structure and a commendably long finish, this should coast along for many years yet, and may not be at peak for a few more years.

2000 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Dedication Series #20 – almost black in the glass and showing a nose more redolent of syrah notes (incl. some bacon) than cabernet, this one fooled us. Juicy and long with a big middle presence there is no rush on this one.

With dessert:

1990 Ch. de Fargues Sauternes – now a darkening amber colour, the nose was coconut and orange peel, and the wine showed sweet but balanced.

I’lll tack on another wine we opened sitting around after the others had left for the night –

2005 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Syrah – these Santa Barbera syrahs are some of the most reliably interesting California wine of the type. This one showed a remarkably Rhonish nose with a little poopiness and sweet fruit, but not so much as to be peggable as overtly New World, Excellent concentration and very good length, this would make a great ringer for a blind Syrah tasting as it could be mistaken for a Northern Rhone.

Great experience and thanks to the chef!

[Jenise]

So you got to the bottom of the Paillard and it wasn't the 99 as I thought? Actually, I thought it presented more like 99 than '06, both visually and on the palate. That is, it was musty (in a good way) and the color more copper than pink.

Glad you liked the Martin Ray--I've loved that wine. It's a very classy Chablis style chardonnay, though of course it seems less so next to the real thing.

Re the terrine course, you made me laugh out loud--you're such a carnivore that anything that isn't meat on the plate gets abbreviated! For the record, those plant-based elements all made your ham taste much better. Re the wines, that Grgich is the one wine I wish I could take back. I should have tasted it before putting it out, as well as had a backup ready (for each wine, actually, we all know what can go wrong); it was different and a whole lot riper than I expected based on a bottle a few years back. Not proud of that offering. John's pinot was spot on: I would add to your description that it was at peak maturity: mauve-y light garnet in color and into the fungal tea flavors of older Oregon pinots.

Re the next set of wines, the syrah questions on the Woodward Canyon were quite interesting. Of course I knew what it was, but I think the austerity of your delicious '94 Lalande made your palates overcorrect to explain the sweetness where the same wine, among a set of new world cabernets, would have easily tracked the blackberry, tobacco and spice. I had planned serving Bordeaux myself, but in a late-breaking fit of patriotism ended up persuading myself to stay American and serve something from my adopted home state. And that line of Woodward Canyon (their oldest estate vines) is one of the best made here.

Still can't get over how killer that Arcadian syrah was. Taut and racy, with ample fruit yet no fleshy, overt ripeness, and generously endowed with true Northern Rhone white pepper and an elegant funk. I remember Jim Dietz saying that though a big fan of Arcadian's pinots he had not warmed up to the syrahs. Well, clearly he hasn't tasted this one because I know Jim too well than to think he could not be as impressed as we were.