Notes from a dinner tasting of one of my small groups.
With smoked salmon and cream cheese on endive:
1996 Lanson Brut Champagne – some nice bready/nutty notes under a lemony fruit overlay in the nose, good acidic backbone, no rush.
With celeriac soup with bleu d’Auvergne garnish
2010 Cailbourdin Pouilly Fume Le Cris – pineapple and apple notes in the nose, lush fruit on palate, and some interesting tropical fruit notes (guava?). Good wine.
With lobster, spinach and mushroom crepes:
2007 Blain Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Morgeot – clean stony nose with some faint toffee hints, nice sweetness in the middle, crisp finish. Good presentation and worked wit the food.
With vegetable and turkey terrine:
2002 Lane Tanner Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard – this pinot from the Santa Ynez Valley really took my fancy (I assure you that all American Pinots do not do this). It was quite dark, had a good spiced vanilla oak nose with excellent fruit, was sweet and balanced in the mouth and had a nice long follow through. Good.
With mushroom ragu on pollenta:
1990 Paulo Scavino Barolo – pale edges, nose of black cherry, good fruit and body, smooth and long. It picked up some tar with time. Still in great shape. I see I have a bottle somewhere in the cellar – time to go spelunking!
With chicken breast stuffed with peppercorns and pesto:
1988 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Oro – from a single vineyard with very low cropping level, this was from my cellar and I was crossing my fingers that it would be in good shape. I needn’t have worried as it showed a medium Burgundian color with bricky edges, nose of red fruit, mostly cherry, and in the mouth it was juicy with good acidity. There were even some soft tannins there. Excellent showing from a mature wine.
1999 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura – another single vineyard with higher cropping levels and some clonal variation, this wine slots in above the regulare and below the Oro (had to do some research to determine the details). It was darker, and had a sweeter nose, all currants and cherries. It presented as less rustic on palate with finely tuned tannins and lots of juicy acidity and it had a nice lengthy finish. Ready now but no rush.
With apple tart with Lincolnshire Poacher, Piave vecchio and Tomme de Savoie cheeses:
2001 Ch. d’Arche Sauternes – already a light straw colour and showing a pleasant nose with pineapple and dried apricot notes, it was sweet, smooth, very well balanced and produced some honey later on in the finish. I was surprised at how forward it was and think it will be an early drinker.