Terrine 19 Aug 3 2024
I have been holding this annual event for the past two decades with the sole exception of 2020 and 2021 which we stood down in deference to health considerations. It is a spousal event and we have had up to seven different terrines with two wines each presented with the food. This year was a smaller group with only four couples and three terrines (one couple had misremembered the date but when contacted dropped what they were doing to attend (obviously without terrine but with two wines).
I was up first and I was on tenterhooks about our terrine as for the first time I was presenting not a cooked terrine but merely an assembled one, which presents challenges as far as cohesion is concerned – a cold strata as it were.
The terrine was layered thinly sliced smoked salmon interlayered with a mix of herbed crème fraiche and Boursin and served with sides of a celeriac remoulade and Gruyere crisps. The two wines I chose, party because I thought they would go well with the food and partly because we rarely drink this varietal, were chenin blancs:
2016 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Sec – pale colour, a good nose of citrus and melon, that picked up some floral elements as it warmed in the glass (they were in a cooler at 40F.) Crisp acidity and almost a hint of salt. Excellent showing.
2017 Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis-sur-Loire Remus – this is chenin that a couple of us are quite familiar with and enjoy, and I thought it would be an interesting comparison – except that this younger wine showed a darker almost ambe colour and the nose hinted at light oxidation. After mulling it around a bit I offered to get another bottle and when poured straight out of the cellar (13 C./55 F.) it was instantly superior to the other bottle. The colour was correct, the nose was clean with apple and peach notes, and the crisp dry wine as a pleasure to sip. Asked which they preferred the answer was slightly in favour of the Foreau but both were declared to be excellent.
Next up was an ‘elevated’ Spam musubi terrine – I played Monty Python singing the Spam song as he brought it out. The chef had made his own version of meat with pork as a starting point and it was delicious with a side of pickled daikon, noodle salad..
2008 Dom Perignon – light colour, creamy feel with citrus and a bit of vanilla, and with a bit of time a little butter and pear. Superb wine just hitting stride.
NV Laurent-Perrier Grande Siècle - always a blend of three years (this was perhaps the 02/04/06 version). The wine was superb – slightly darker than the previous wine but also crisp, clean and long, and it was judged to be the better wine. Not easy to beat out Dom Perignon.
We’ll put the couple with wine but sans terrine in here, the place they would have taken. Thir plans had included a chicken liver terrine with two Alsatians (neither of them dogs!)
2022 Josmeyer Riesling 'Le Kottabe’ – fairly light colour, nose of wet stone and lime rind, excellent balance and good length
2020 Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer ‘Roche Calcaire’ – a change-up in grape attended by a notably different nose - more apple and pear with some spice and a medium length crisp finish.
Last up was a ‘Pate’ Pico Rivera’ with avocado corn salsa and beach strips. Served with the only reds of the day:
2004 Roar Syrah Rosella’s Vineyard – I am a self admitted syraholic, but have limited my attention to the Northern Rhone as I found many American versions over oaked or wrong kind of oak, or made in the shock and awe school. This wasn’t any of that – a really good herbal/peppery nose with some tar and high notes of dark cherry and maybe some smoked meat? Mature and very well integrated but with stuffing to go on for years.
2015 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Clary Ranch – another hit – excellent nose of meat, floral and cocoa elements and on palate more medium bodied with long smooth not overly tannic finish. Hard to choose between them but delightful to have that opportunity.
, one split up when the husband ran off with another woman and disavowed all prior friendships 
, one couple's still around but declined to attend this year, one couple dropped out period (wife is a disapproving teetotaller), and among newer recruits there were some schedule conflicts. Life happens. 