Notes from a wine dinner:
Part of this dinner was blind tasted and part wasn’t. The first part, including Champagne and Sauternes was not blind and the rest were.
1990 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare – this was made back in the old days when they used a silly extra narrow neck on the bottles and half the time you either struggled to get the cork out or broke it in half trying – I believe that they had revised this in more current vintages and now use a normal neck and cork. This and the second bubbly were served with a three nibbles – a puff pastry and Dijon mustard baton, crème fraiche and two kinds of caviar in little (Siljan) pastry cups, and a herbed liver pâté. The wine had a bit less fizz than the last time I opened one a few years ago, but it showed well - very slight oxidative notes and caramel and it was very enjoyable. My last bottle.
1995 Drappier Champagne Cuvée de Millenaire – this was issued for the turn of the millennium in 2000 (of course those who do possess a clue will know that the new millennium started in 2001 not 2000, but....) Interesting that the labelling features 2000 so prominently and 1995 in much less prominent font and size that many will likely think this was a vintage 2000 wine. It was immediately fresher and crisper. It drank better this time around than with the two prior bottles I had opened. My last bottle
The next course was seared foie gras served with brioche toast and onion jam, a menu I calculated so as not to interfere with the wines but rather to work with them, The wines were all half bottles of Ch. Suduiraut:
1983 – my first comment is that this oldest wine was very close in most aspects to the most recent vintage we tasted – not lot of change – a nice mid amber and showing a very nice nose of fruit (apricot?) and honey, lemon and toasted cashews. This was singing and I was sorry that I am now down to just one bottle.
1990 – the darker colour made us worry that this one might be oxidized but we plunged ahead to see – and actually drank very nicely – it wasn’t showing oxidation to any great degree and had some nice orange and orange peel notes, plus toasted nuts – it worked very well against the onion jam with this course (which wasn’t unduly sweet).
2001 – this wine was absolutely superb – as close to perfect as one can hope for. Honey featured large in the profile plus spice – reminded me of the cardamom that I used in the next course and that I sometimes add to my coffee. Clean acidity in the finish – nothing to criticize at all. Again, sorry that I didn’t buy more!
The next course was a simple one – a quail, marinated overnight in olive oil, garlic and thyme, stuffed with chevre cheese and rosemary and wrapped in bacon. It was roasted at 500 F. For about 15 min. so that it was still slightly rare. Served with a pureed creamy cauliflower, garlic and chive mix..
I served it with a pair of Burgundies one a premier cru and one a grand cru.
1999 Domaine Jacques Prieur Beaune 1er Cru Les Champs Pimont – clean flavour of cherry fruit and spice, an in the mouth it also showed cherry flavours and also forest floor mushroomy elements. Really good showing and it pipped the Grand Cru to the post. This has been drinking really well for the last decade and, alas, this was my last bottle.
2001 Prince Florent de Merode Corton-Bressandes – run by a family for many years, when the prince died in 2008 this property was split up among several nearby houses including DRC. The wine was light medium red and had a nose of floral and fruit notes. It was smooth in the mouth and developed some nice herbal notes, but it lost out to the older Beaune.
The main course wine was a pair that I chosen to hopefully trick some people. It was served with a spiced boneless rack of lamb (it used cumin, cinnamon, cloves, aniseed, and cardamom) and was wrapped with Phyllo pastry and cooked until the pastry was crisp and the meat was rare, sliced into thick slices (cutting things like Phyllo is one of the few things for which electric carving knives are indispensable). Served on a sauce made from another 4 lbs. of lamb neck etc. Rendered down and anointed with a hefty whack of tawny Port. It was accompanied by roasted cherry tomatoes with sumac, and a sauté of oyster mushrooms, garlic and green onions.
1988 Ch. Margaux – came across a half case of this in the cellar recently and decided I should do a dinner to see how it was doing Turns out it was just fine Nice floral nose, clean acidity, Lots happening on the hind end with some nice foresty and floral hints – segueing from secondary to tertiary development, I think.
1988 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia – this was the ringer I slipped in – similar blend as the Margaux but otherwise very different. The group tasting blind were figuring that is was the best claret of the two!. It has more cigar box aromas, and the oak is obvious but not obtrusive. This wine has been excellent for many years but this bottle showed the best of any I have opened. I looked back at a vertical from 1978 through 1989 that I arranged and this vintage has really developed well. The 1985 was always given a huge score by critics but I think that this vintage has come close to surpassing it. It also had the group at dinner convinced that it was Bordeaux
1963 Fonseca Port – this bottle has an interesting history. It was the second to last vintage shipped in bulk to London and bottled there (I emailed Berry Bros. & Rudd to find this out). It is in an old style bottle with a tall lip, and has only a wax seal on the top with ‘Fonseca 1963” impressed on it, and a splash of white paint to allow consistent orientation laying in the cellar. It was about as good as Port gets – spicy nose (cinnamon and orange peel?), velvet as it slides down the throat and with a quite complicated after taste that include anise and tea.
P.S. - despite having the extractor fan on at the highest overdrive setting, the cooking of the foie gras had the alarm system going off, which had the alarm company calling - when that happens (which it does infrequently) I usually tell them that my wife has been cooking again!