Elystan Street - a first evening...

A rather splendid email arrived from Gary Birchtree (not his real name!) suggesting a dinner in the private room of Philip Howard's new restaurant Elystan Street on opening night. It was not a hard invite to accept. I have loved The Square (where he is now not involved) and Kitchen W8 (where he still is). The rest of the crowd was wine trade friends. The only disturbing part of the evening was discovering that I was the second oldest, only Mr Sherwood keeping be from the ultimate seniority.   

So we gathered, after a ten-minute stroll from Sloane Square tube for me, in the private room and were "treated" to 1992 En Tirage Extra Brut Russian River Valley Sparkling Wine. Our organiser who had sent this did two things one good (for him) and one bad. The good thing was that he arrived late having sent the wine on, the bad thing was sending three bottles. One would have been enough. An enticing nose but a dead palate, may be unfair in this company but probably better a while ago. Certainly not in the same league as the other "sparkler" later.

This was an evening about: Food, venue, company and wine. So to cover off the food it was all superb! There was no dish I would not have wanted more of (greed) or would not happily order again many times. The menu is below.

Ravioli of Langoustines with barbecue dressing, hispi Cabbage and sweetcorn.

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Roast calf’s sweetbread with truffled autumn slaw, seeded nut butter and mimolette.

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Rump of lamb with pesto roasted aubergine, garlic puree, green olives and balsamic vinegar.

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Roasted figs with goats milk ice cream, lemon and thyme fritters and olive oil

or

Cheese

It was time now for a flight of whites. The first and last of which were from (two) bottle(s) the Drouhin being a magnum. The Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre 1999, F.Raveneau bottles were both good ones, the first possibly just edging it for energy. Wax and lanolin with a very "proper" Chablis nose, a little of that dry-honey character. Mature on the plate but still with good vibrancy, a cracking wine in a good place. Beaune Clos des Mouches 1996, Drouhin was an imposing magnum and one might say a brave one. There was a dash of coffee on the nose, this was broad but not loose, I'd have been in Meursault if blind I think. Mature and with a decadent texture, nice wine. We then switched to the Loire with Pur sang 2011, Dagueneau. I don't know the Dagueneau wines all that well but have enjoyed what I have tried. This was expressive, quite broad and open, a little tropical but with enough of the nettle character though not sharp nettles, warm ones if that makes any sense. It was a splendid trio all in all.

Les blancs...

Interestingly we were not "packing any Pinot" on this occasion so we moved straight to Nebbiolo with an intriguing trio, three different sites and three different vintages all in magnum. Young Nebbiolo is something people should not, in my opinion, miss out on. Barbaresco Montestefano 2008 from Produttori del Barbaresco kicked us off. This had a more open and more warm vintage feel that I expected. It was very easy to enjoy from this underestimated vintage. These are such good wines. Barolo La Tartufaia 2010 from Giulia Negri was up next, a blend of Nebbiolo from two crus - Serradenari and Brunate - showing a good degraded fruit and easy drinkability even now though it will age very well. Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2011 from Sandrone completed the Piedmont trio. There is a tar and texture feel to this, it has a tiny hint of toffee from wood but is ultimately both rich and balanced. Good spices too, a wine with a broad drinking window, as could be said for all these.

The three Piedmonteers...

It was Bordeaux next and a good threesome. La Lagune 2001 got us started and I have to say La Lagune isn't necessarily an estate that I get excited about, have they made some lovely wines? yes definitely but I mentally file it under "dependable" rather than "exciting". This 2001, in magnum as were the wines that followed, was delicious and certainly exciting. Lifted with a good bit of sappy liveliness and then a driven and energetic, almost red fruited palate...simply lovely. The La Conseillante 1999 was darker fruited and from a clearly less great vintage, it was good and very true to the house but just a little muddied in comparison to the La Lagune. Tasted and drunk on its own it'd be splendid. The most different of the Bordeaux was Palmer 1976 (a BBR bottling). A very hot vintage, think 2003 but without the heat spikes just consistently hot and dry. The nose had a citrus element, sweet and tarry, mellow in tannin, gently moreish. A wine it was terrific to try and a good drink too.

As we moved towards pudding or cheese we had an eclectic last flight. Two bottles of Clos de Bourg 1989 Moelleux 1er Trie from Huet had that lovely combination of zesty acidity and generous sweetness...a sweet wine I could certainly just drink alone and as an aperitif or with food (both pudding and/or cheese). Zippy apples and a dash of honey. Then Champagne - Moet & Chandon 1978 “Grand Vintage Collection“ (Disgorged 2004) - which reminded me of dry honey and a rancio character with good energy, a little of that "late-disgorgement" cocoa character. A lovely toasty finish, a wine at its peak now I think, well to my style anyway. Champagne later in a meal is a good idea I think. I am not sure why a bottle of Ornellaia 2000 was opened but I am glad it was, quite savoury and bold, a little bit of Bovril, good darker fruits and enough acidity.

And that, as they say, was that...a thoroughly enjoyable evening and a lovely restaurant that I will certainly be returning too!! As for the company...well the wine trade remains a place for fun, often opinionated, folk...long may it continue.

Magnums...the best by Farr?

PG goes a little "Attenborough"

So the invite to a bit of a trade get together at the new Farr Vintners offices reads:

"It’s "bring a bottle" and there are 17 of us at the moment so don’t bring anything too flash as you won’t get to drink it! In fact, a magnum would probably be better, but either way, there will be plenty to drink."

What followed was entirely predictable, EVERYONE turned up with at least one magnum...just as predictable was the fact that it was a fun evening with everyone interested to try all the wines and the "chat" (banter becoming over-used) was obviously of top quality...So lest I forget, a big thank you to Mark  and Alastair - our kind hosts. Below are just a few notes on the wines, nothing technical, selfishly for my benefit as much as anything. Anything served from bottle rather than mag is noted as such.

Fizz and early whites:
Coeur de Cuvee 2005, Vilmart - nicely balanced from this good if not spectacular vintage, being stuck in and around '02, '04, '06, '07 is a tough gig. 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir from 55 year old vines. This clearly has a life ahead of it but is not wasted now. A nice start.

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2003- My colleague, Joe Muller, brought this along, definitely best served after the Vilmart, good ripeness and just spot on now. Biscuits just starting to show. Would love to serve this blind to any English sparkling wine sceptics.

Meursault Narvaux 2002, Domaine Michelot - I liked this, has only evolved slowly, magnum factor, good minerality and no overuse of oak at all, mellow and balanced.

Guardiola Bianco 2013, Tenuta di Passopisciaro - My magnum, I figured unoaked Etna Chardonnay might be a niche that nobody would clash with. Saline and stones on the nose, clean and pure not really a fruit wine, more a texture thing.

Those all saw us very nicely through a Salmon and Scallop ceviche.

Reds - roughly in weight order:
Savigny 1er Cru Les Dominode 2008, Bruno Clair - a site I had never heard of. Quite bold colour for 2008, good texture. I liked this, robust but not over the top. Good darker fruits.

Conseillante 2007 - went down very well, balanced and will keep but why would you? Good soft fruit and a balanced light structure, nice wine.

Chambolle Musigny 1991, Roumier (bt) - this was a trickier one to pour round the group. Degraded reddish fruit but with sweetness and a pure enough fruit character. Soft and elegant and right there to drink. A treat and nicely different.

Pesquera Reserva Especial 2003 - good balance of fruit and structure here, no decayed 2003 character, Quite ferrous and earthy but with good fruit and body, a good showing.

Barolo Bussia 2001, Parusso - embarrassingly a producer I do not know at all. Judging by this I should. A good mulled fruit character with good balance, not showing obvious oak, though I think there is some in the background but only framing the wine. Good wine and overall well received as it should have been.

Brunello di Montalcino 2004, Ciacci Piccolomini - this was a ripe, full and bold but not unbalanced Brunello from this good vintage, quite extracted but kept in check. Rich dark fruits and very much still young. Would like to try this again from bottle in 2-3 years.

Ridge Estate Cabernet 2011 - I found this to have good richness, more than I expect from the lovely, always balanced, Ridge wines and certainly more than I'd expect from the 2011 vintage. Impressive for it!

Raymond Rutherford Cabernet 2006 - "out the traps" this was a little bit of a monster or so it appeared, but actually, it got better and better, full on may be but in really good balance, I'd love to drink it again sometime to see if it was a little bit of a "one glass wonder" but I think not, rich fruit but not over the top alcohol.

Sociando Mallet 1990 - this had an eggy coating of sulphur to the nose. Unreservedly from a time when quality and quantity could go hand in hand. A good decant could have corrected that but regardless this was a good rich, dark fruit and floral lift wine. Really quite typical of Margaux in its own way. 

Lynch Bages 1982 - in a different style to the Sociando this is a wine that speaks of a different generation in Bordeaux, there is a sense, in a good way, of "throw it all in". The fruit is balanced with the structure, there is some "good green" character and a great drinkability, deliciously honest.

Deer In The Headlights Syrah 2003, Two Hands - big bold and uncompromising, I didn't make many notes here. Sorry.

Vouvray Mont Moelleux 1er Trie 2003, Huet  (2 x bt) - very good, bright, orange fruits and lovely with cheese or pudding, good acidity as you'd expect.
 
Crozes-Hermitage Thalabert 1989, Jaboulet - saline, soy, good acidity, a little astringent but good enough, probably a little past it in bottle format but still there in magnum. Propper older wine for all that.

Main course of Veal, Lentils and Spinach

After dinner whites:
Sanford & Benedict Chardonnay 2013, Sandhi - tiny production (only about 100 cases), old vine, planted in 1971, Chardonnay. I have wanted to try this for a while and would love to do so again, good salinity and not over the top fruit or oak, nicely balanced.

Meursault Grands Charrons 2010, Boisson-Vadot (bt) - a very classic B-V nose, not as extrovert as their good 2009's, more classical and focused, a good wine with a long life ahead.

And I think that...was that...good fun! (and nice offices!)