Started off with nibbles on tasting spoons – an orange, green and black lentil mix (each of which of course had to be cooked separately!) anointed lightly with truffle oil and then dressed with a bacon, Dijon mustard, and Sherry vinegar dressing, and another with a tuna tartare with sesame oil, soy, panko for texture, avocado and enough Sriracha to give it a bit of authority. Served with:
1996 Henriot Brut Champagne – very decent yeasty nose, and on palate a bit softer than usual with perhaps a slight bit of RS, but still enough acidity to work with the food. Pleasant.
Next up was an orange Kubocha squash terrine wrapped with Prosciutto, and a side of celeriac remoulade.
2005 Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg – the terrine was flavoured with thyme, nutmeg and a soupcon of maple and the wine seemed to marvellously meld with it, showing some of the same flavour characteristics. It was on the dark side, a medium amber colour and had a decidedly apricot nose that matched the colour. On palate it had good acidity and seemed to echo some of the autumn squash flavours of the food. Long clean finish. A serendipitous matching!
The next course was an old favourite of chanterelles in cream. Take 700 gm. of wild mushrooms (chanterelles in this case) and a litre of whipping cream and simmer then for about an hour. At some point, the cream magically thickens and takes on the colour of the mushrooms. Add some herbs (I used sage, but rosemary is also nice) and finish with a little dry Sherry and cook a bit more, and serve in patty shells. I topped it with a few lightly sautéed black chanterelles (aka horn of plenty or trumpet of death) that we were lucky enough to find. I figured this would go well with the clarets that followed.
1964 Ch. Trotanoy – not a vintage you hear much about these days, but the top wines, mostly right bank, but a few left bank that harvested before the rain that year (including Montrose, maybe the wine of the vintage) are still hanging in there. Amazingly dark – about the same as the 25 years younger Mouton that followed. Great nose of mushroom, dark fruit and forest floor. Good balance and excellent length, with a slight bitterness at the end. One taster found it musty in mid palate but I wasn’t bothered by it. Must have been a brute when young!
1989 Ch. Mouton Rothschild – the immediately obvious difference was in the nose – a green component lacking in the Trotanoy, and some cedar and cassis as expected. Tad hard still on palate, but good fruit level and length and a slightly drying finish. No rush but doubtless on plateau.
The next course was a north African inspired lamb stew, spicy and served with cous cous. I figured it would work against the Rhones we used to accompany it.
2005 Dom. Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Exceptionnelle – this, and the one that followed, were wines we figured might be juts hitting drinking time and we wanted to monitor them. This one showed a bright berry nose with some wet leaf component, and on palate had bright but not excessive acidity and a smooth lengthy finish. Very good showing.
2005 Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes – wow – very different wine from the first one. Darker colour, medium ripe nose with slight VA and spice, anise and fruit, not too hot or ripe, but on palate it came across as quite ripe and even a bit pruny, albeit concentrated and with good length. First bottle I recall tasting so I don’t know if this was typical for the wine or not (hope not – I have a case resting in the cellar). Seemed more like a 2003! 100% Grenache.
I served mostly blue cheese with the last wine, Stichelton, Bleu d’Auvergne and Fourme d’Ambert, but also included a Vacherin de Mont d’Or, given its seasonal availability. and I chose a white instead of a Port to accompany them.
2001 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Furstentum Vendange Tardives Clos Des Capucins – lighter colour than the 05 Zind we’d started with, and an excellent nose which unlike older Gewurz, retained the attributes of that grape. Sweet apricot and citrus nose with spice (nutmeg?), some RS but not enough to overpower the acid level and a lengthy finish. Excellent, and I think at peak now.
We finished with coffee and a Tiramisu, and retired, sated. Not a bad wine in the bunch.