Otto's!

Halifax, he's appeared on here a good few times, was in town last Wednesday so it seemed silly to miss the chance to grab a quickish lunch at Otto's in the Gay's Inn road. He kindly insisted on bringing most of the bottles but I managed to squeeze in a red. The opener was Dom Perignon 1996 which is in a beautiful spot right now if you ask me, just starting to develop a little on the finish but still light in colour, vibrant and refreshing with a little lemon sherbet. I am sure it is going to age wonderfully but if you haven't had any and own a few cases then definitely get going as it's lovely now.
The white was then served blind but I had an advantage over Paul (Marus) as I was almost certain it was going to be a white Bordeaux. I was a little way out with the vintage plumbing for late 80's when actually it was Laville Haut Brion 1995 but it was good. Complex, evolved, quite tropical but also waxy. The finish was a little short would be the only negative, it needs drinking in the next 2-3 years to be at it's best I would say.
Another blind wine followed and this time we were clearly in Bordeaux, Halifax professed that this was not the best bottle of this wine he has had but I liked it anyhow, very much evolved "Lunchtime Claret" but with enough life and acidity to make it very pleasant. We were clearly on the left back and Paul and I both plumbed for St.Julien and later 80's but it was in fact Pichon-Lalande 1981. As with the Laville I see no point in keeping it further but it's a lovely drink now, very mellow and fragrant.
The food was good as ever, we all went for the Crab Ravioli and then Steak. Both were just as they should be. The Final red was a possible case of infanticide but a delicious one at that. Echezeaux 2007, Domaine de La Romanee Conti. 2007 Red Burgundies divide opinion generally some people feeling they are a little weedy and even under ripe at a times, I am far more of a fan and love the pure Pinot freshness and elegance. Yes generally they will not make "old bones" but they are delicious and pure. This was exactly that but with some classy grip and structure underneath. I love drinking great wines when they are just opening up, you get excited about where they are going and you get a strong sense of their personality. We followed the Echezeaux with an 1993 Icewine that was clearly a good wine but was ever so slightly corked..a real shame as you could see there was an intensity of sweet ripeness and also a very crisp acidity. A delicious lunch all round.