As a celebration of friendship and sharing, my dear friends, Paul and Linda, hosted a wine tasting and dinner that fell on the second night of Chanukah for 10 of us who share a love of wine, food, and good times.
My husband and I showed up early to help get things set up, and joined the family for the festive singing and lighting of the candles just prior to the arrival of the other guests.
To get things started, a platter of sushi was served with glasses of 1999 Moet & Chandon Brut. As soon as all of the guests were present, we started the tasting with a 1991 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l'Oree - the nose showed floral and mineral, the wine had an oily texture, and while it was opened about 1 1/2 hours prior to serving, it seemed a bit reticent. However, it was an excellent pairing with the warm brie and caramelized onions. Next up were four reds. 1999 Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis - when I first opened this bottle, all I got from it was piercing acidity, and I wondered, with a couple of hours in the decanter, if it would show anything else. Well, it did. A beautiful floral and berry nose, somewhat thinner than I expected, the acidity blended with the other components, but I should think it needs more time. 1982 Mouton-Rothchild - I was so afraid to open this when I was opening the other tasting wines (all about 1 1/2 hours prior to serving). Paul was gifted this wine a year ago, and the previous owner didn't use proper storage conditions. We didn't know what we would find upon opening, so I opened it, tasted it, and recorked it until we were ready to serve it. The wine showed older than what one would expect from an '82, minerals, still some sweet fruit present and fully resolved tannins. Not the blockbuster that Parker tasted, but a real treat. 2001 Dead Arm - not everyone was a lover of old world wines, and this was a delight for them. Just what you would expect from a big, well balanced Australian shiraz with lots of sweet berries on the nose, and thick and mouth coating. I would like to try this again several years down the road, and see if it loses some of the sweetness. 1994 Turley Petite Sirah Hayne Vineyard - perhaps this was affected by its position following the Dead Arm, but it lacked any character that I enjoyed in a previous bottle. The Dead Arm overwhelmed the senses, and this one underwhelmed. But the best was yet to come.
On to dinner, where a magnum of 1997 Giorgio e Luigi Pelissero Barbaresco awaited. This was another case of out of balanced acidity when initially opened. I decanted this about 3 hours prior to serving. In the glass, there was a well textured nose of mushrooms, tobacco, cherries, complex flavors of sweet fruit and spice, and a finish that never ended. The tagliolini pasta with white truffle sauce that accompanied this, put it over the top. How could we possibly enjoy anything else? 2001 Domaine de la Mordoree Lirac Cuvee del la Reine des Bois - on the nose barnyard, and more barnyard. I struggled to find any fruit, however, others did. I just wanted more of the Barbaresco. 1985 Graham's Vintage Port - most people expected a sweetness that wasn't there. I enjoyed the caramel nose and nuttiness, and with the blue cheese, it's all I needed to complete the dinner. However, someone thought we should also open a Madeira Boston Bual from the Rare Wine Co. - now, I thought this would turn out to be cloyingly sweet, but that wasn't the case. It was similar to sherry, with caramel, peanut brittle and apricot. Very, very nice. And that's how I would decribe the whole evening, and as it turned out, there were more than eight wines.