Our last wine lunch of the year was a notable one with many excellent wines. I provided the food for this one and decided (an odd decision for me, a confirmed carnivore) to do a all vegetarian repast – cold bean sprout salad with sesame oil and Togarashi spice and soy, a brussels sprout recipe that combined brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic and apple cider vinegar, and finally an eggplant parmesan.
2020 La Grange Tiphaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Nouveau-Nez – a Loire Chenin that received no dosage – a pet nat wine that was only slightly sweet and had a fine mousse.
2015 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Domaine Raymond Roure – this hite Crozes showed a nice floral nose with bit of wax and citrus, good balance and length. 100% marsanne and 14% alcohol. I’ll keep an eye out for this one.
2007 Kapcsándy Family Winery Estate Cuvée State Lane Vineyard – Bordeaux blend with 46% cab sauv, 46% merlot, 6% cab franc, and 2% petit verdot, and put in a bottle that resembles the old Cordier line from Bordeaux – Calon Segur, Talbot etc.. Still a dark wine with purple edges, a big sweet fruit nose, a long finish with significant slightly astringent tannins, I liked it quite a lot.
2010 St Hallett Shiraz Old Block – dark, with a sweet dill American oak nose, ripe fruit and lengthy sweet finish.
1999 Tenuta Sette Ponti Orma – my wine, and the first vintage of this Italian Bordeaux blend. The current blend is 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Cabernet Franc, but that may have changed since the first vintage. Another dark wine with soft tannins, dark fruit (and a whiff of pine tar?) in the nose, smooth, with good length and red fruit character.
2009 Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – 77% cab sauv, 23% merlot, this wine was also fairly dark, with significant oak and sweet fruit and good length.
2006 Louis Jadot Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre – obviously a paler wine with a refined pinot nose and some excellent light fruit (strawberry?) on palate. A refined stylish wine at a perfect drinking point.
1991 Penfolds Grange – still very dark, with the mint in the nose trumpeting the oak as American, and the dark fruit quite mellow (lots of blackberry). In a good place now, showing maturity earlier than older vintages used to Lovely wine!
We finished with cheese and a bottle of:
De Muller 'Aureo' Semi- Dulce Muy Viejo – this Tarragona wine is like and old sweet sherry – this particular bottle was purchased by me in 1986 and it may have been 20 years plus at that time. Like a fine old Amontillado – nose of orange peel/marmalade and toasted nuts and a long clean finish.