We started with an aperitif of Ch. Beaulon, a Pineau des Charentes made by adding spirit to a red wine and aging it (in this case) for 5 years in oak. Very pleasant drunk chilled. Sweet with a distinctive almond character.
First up (and as this was a 6 hour meal, being first up has its advantages) was a foie gras crème brulee served with toasted brioche and some foie gras on the side with berry sauce. The crème brulee contained 14 ounces of foie gras and was a sensuous delight that was apparently too much for some. Sinfully rich, and instead of choosing a traditional rich wine like a Sauternes, the creative wine match was:
1979 Drappier Carte d’Or Champagne – surprisingly good mousse, as older bubblies tend to become decidedly less bubbly. Quite a bit of amber colour, and a delightful nose showing complex nuttiness and fruit. Good acid, and a very good match for the food – I daresay a better one than a richer wine would have made.
Next dish was a seafood and roasted pepper terrine with a delightful garnish. These are often very difficult to plate as they tend to fall apart, but they did a good job with this one.
2008 Caillebourdin “Les Cris” Pouilly-Fume – I was very pleased with this wine. Nice citrus and mineral nose, long and tasty in the mouth with excellent acidity.
2009 Joie Farms Rosé – this BC pink was made from pinot noir and gamay and your first response to it was ‘Strawberries!”. Your second and third were exactly the same, Once this wine said ‘strawberry’ it had conveyed all it had to say, and that’s alright for a pleasant summer wine, a slightly off dry quaffer that worked well with the seafood.
A chicken galantine was next, made by boning out a chicken carcass and filling it with forcemeat, rolling and poaching it. Accompanied by a warm potato salad
1990 Lopes Heredia Tondonia Blanco Rioja Reserva – ironic that the two oldest wines presented this year should both be whites. Or rather, yellows, for this one was also showing a lot of colour. A whole woodpile in the nose, of course, de rigeur in this sort of traditional white Rioja, very interesting in the nose. Viura and malvasia went into this wine and it finished long and tasty.
2000 St. Benoit Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Grande Garde – killer fruit driven nose and enough tannin that I at first thought it needed more time, but was later convinced that it may be on plateau now and will hold for a few years. Sheer pleasure at this point, and so different from the other wine that I found it impossible to choose a winning match.
I was up next with a wild mushroom terrine, that included 8 different types of mushrooms, many of them incorporated into a forcemeat of chicken, heavy cream, herbs and egg whites, with selected ones (cepes and morels) placed whole down the centre, the whole wrapped in bacon, which nicely complemented the forest flavours. I followed up with a simple salad intended to lighten and refresh the palate, made of cubed watermelon and feta cheese with chiffonier of basil (some opined there was too much basil – as if such a thing were possible!) and dressed with fresh lime juice. As I’d drizzled a nice spicy EVOO on the terrine, I elected not to use any oil at all in the salad.
1994 Swanson Syrah – I’d chosen two syrahs to go with this earthy dish. The Swanson showed very nicely with sweet vanilla oak in the nose, and a hint of pepper, sweet entry and some tannin remaining. I thought it was quite decent until I tasted the French wine, at which point it was clear that the Californian example was simple in comparison, lacking complexity, though still good drinking on its own.
1995 Jaboulet Cornas Dom. St. Pierre – Jaboulet had long been involved in this small Northern Rhone appellation (the whole of Cornas would fit into the lands at Vieux Telegraphe), and in 1993 bought this 4 hectare site and released their first bottling the following year. The 95 is a classy wine (some would say that Cornas and classy don’t go together, but with age these often unruly rough wines do smooth out). Excellent black pepper and dark fruit nose, and some pepper on palate as well as very good levels fo sweet fruit, finishing smoothly with very good length. I bought this on release and this is my first bottle. Wish I’d bought more. For those who own some, it is now into optimum drinking window with no rush.
Next up was a stunning pate en croute with smoked duck, hazelnuts, two types of pastry and a raspberry onion mustard with layered chiogga beet/chevre carpaccio.
2002 Lemelson Jerome Reserve Pinot Noir – a slightly musty (but not corky) blackberry/raspberry nose that never quite went away, with good high toned fruit behind, a bit warm in the mouth, concentrated flavours and good length. Willamette Valley.
2006 Arcadian Fiddlestix Vd. Pinot Noir – much lighter in colour with a pleasant fruity nose with spice, all the elements having come together at this early age, attractive, sweet and with good length. I thought this the better wine with the food.
Osso bucco terrine was up next with a nice pepper relish.
1999 Produttori del Barbaresco Montestefano Reserva - this wine was not nearly ready for prime time, seeming closed with tar and some floral notes in the nose, still quite tannic and long. Needs time.
We rested, exercised (bocce) and then had a last plate of cheese – a smoked Caciocavallo and a round of forme d’ambert, with:
1994 Taurino Patriglione – a negroamaro wine from Sicily, this was warm in the nose with a little rubber and spice, medium to full body and long dry finish. Very similar to an aged Amarone.
An additional wine popped up as well:
2004 Quinta do Vale Meao – a baby, warm chocolate nose, very concentrated amd slightly sweet, this has a lengthy finish, and can be drunk from now until…who knows? Good.
