Our New Year festive bottles were a pale image of what I would serve, had our family been able to be present. Opening more than one bottle with the meal for just two meant left-overs, which either had to be wasted or served a day or two later risking their not being ideal as a pairing (see Irouléguy).
New Year's Eve
With traditional cold Breton lobster with mayonnaise & sauce Vincent followed by salad -
NV Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut - France, Champagne (31/12/2020)This is almost certainly from the same batch bought in 2018 as last New Year's Eve's bottle and I can repeat verbatim my description -
fine bubbles, airy crisp fragrant bouquet and quite full for champagne with delicate texture, fine white fruit and minerals, rich burnished undertow leading to firm and long finish. Ideal pairing for lobster. Even better than Christmas Eve's bottle of Roederer Brut Premier. Excellent.
With Stilton cheese followed by a chocolate dessert in a heart shape -
1983 Marc Parcé Rivesaltes Ambré Vin Doux Naturel élevé 36 ans en barriques - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Rivesaltes (31/12/2020)30+ year old Rivesaltes from Marc Pracé is a "must" for the festive season. It is made from a cocktail of Grenache banc & gris and Macabeu is is aged
colheita style in the barrel until ready. As always, it had that typical light golden pink tinged colour and light/medium body. Seamless and ethereally subtle with its cherry and rose tinged fruit, nuts, gentle sweetness, perfectly balanced acidity, it had enough backbone to pair well with Stilton cheese and was perfect with a chocolate dessert. Excellent.
On New Year's day -
Rabbit marinated in Kriek Lambic beer and prunes -
The sweetness of this dish really called for a Châteauneuf du Pape but there was no way that it would have been healthy to empty a, say, 2001 and also drink the remainder of the Bolly as a starter and more of the Rivesaltes with dessert. So we decided to go with two-thirds of a bottle of Irouléguy which had given a very good impression on opening two days before.
2017 Domaine Arretxea Irouléguy - France, Southwest France, Pays Basque, Irouléguy (30/12/2020)Arretxea is probably the best known estate in Irouléguy and on this showing its reputation is justified. A blend of Tannat, Cabernet franc and Cabernet sauvignon, it has a nose and palate entry quite reminiscent of Loire CabFranc with lively berry fruit, touches of spice and minerals and a leafy hint but adds to the more depth, generosity and backbone. Very good.
On January 2, the remainder of the lobster was made into a tasty but spicy
homard à l'Armoricaine-
2008 Domaine Geneletti Château-Chalon - France, Jura, Château-Chalon (02/01/2021)I always find it difficult to pair vin jaune, so I was intrigued to read a suggestion in Guide Hachette that it works well with lobster à l'Armoricaine (cayenne pepper in the sauce). Made from Savagnin and aged oxidatively under
voile (AKA
flor in Spain), it has definite fino sherry notes but with more fragrance, amplitude and backbone and indeed it stood up well with the sauce and even to Stilton chesse. I have enough left to test a claim on La Passion du Vin, a French wine-lovers' site, that it can benefit from being several days open and served at room temperature. Very good.
Posted from CellarTracker
