Not just any 40th Birthday - one hell of a dinner...

It has taken me a long time to write this one up - I am not completely sure why, but when you see the line up may be I was a little intimated by the unique array of wines. It was a simply brilliant dinner to celebrate Jordi's 40th Birthday. The wines were, with I think one exception, supplied by the man himself.

La Trompette in Chiswick was the venue and a brilliant job they did too. The food, listed below with a few pics at the bottom of the post, was superb, never showing too much ego just complementing the wines.

Cep Arancini

Seared Isle of Orkney scallops with parsley root, delice pumpkin and hazelnut

Roast Guinea Fowl with turnip and come di rapa

Roast Fallow prickett with jerusalem artichoke, bone marrow, elderberries and damson

Charolis and whipped goat's curd

Chocolate tart, salted caramel ice cream, white chocolate crumble, espresso vinaigrette

So onto the wines then, each pair or trio was shown blind briefly before a reveal:

Bollinger Grand Annee 1982 en Magnum was our starting point with a lovely mellow, toasty notes, some nuttiness but not bready. There was good focus to this mature Champagne.

When I caught a glance of the white pair which was not served blind I was instantly excited. Having been smitten by so many Coche wines down the years I has always wasted to drink the Corton-Charlemagne. The 2005's from Coche are rightly lauded as exceptional, early picking the key, so Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2005, Coche-Dury had a bit of a reputation to live up to. It did so effortlessly. My notes are just a list of adjectives; persistent, dense, acidity, freshness, luscious, endless, refined, wow! To be flippant it was just delicious. You could savour it over days or throw it back, as with all great wines it begged to be drunk. To then have it with Montrachet Grand Cru 1986 from Ramonet was some treat. Even more of a treat was the fact that this did not turn into a battle or competition, the verve of one complemented the maturity of the other. The Ramonet had some of this producers classic signatures; Lanolin, ginger, spice, a little more ginger then nutmeg. It was heady and rich but not heavy.

So from Burgundy it was a trip west to Bordeaux for the next pair. There is some exceptional "value" to be had in mature white Bordeaux. The Laville Haut Brion Blanc 1966 had a note of green fruit, lovely verve and freshness, there was, amazingly, a district sauvignon note to this. An unctuous depth. Splendid wine. By contrast the Haut brion Blanc 1985 was deeply frustrating as you could glimpse a great wine but it was in some way unclean. In agreement with others it didn't seem corked to me (and didn't get worse with air) but was not what it clearly was underneath.

Any frustration evaporated rather rapidly and here are the three reasons. Vosnee Romanee Cros Parantoux 1990 from E.Rouget was superb, ripeness, richness, sturdy. The ripeness had good depth and some grit. With time some leather and spice, this was very much the opulent texture of the lavish 1990's. Then a little more age, Vosnee Romanee Les Brulées  1977 from H.Jayer, sweet, rounded and charming, so elegant so seductive, complex and absolutely "a point". Such a treat. The final Musketeer, Vosnee Romanee Les Brulées 1970, R.Engel with oranges, dried herbs, tea, some sweetness, bricky acidity and a slightly citric edge, almost a note of cherry, good now and probably not worth holding longer. What a trio!

BUT…then another trifecta was shown. The Moueix flight! Petrus 1960 was tropically high toned, as always with Petrus, stunning, iron like, extravagant, complete, so textured, so dense with some good acidity, succulent…just so "Petrus". Trotanoy 1955 was a delight, such a good vintage, iron-like richness, blood and meat, a lovely maturity with good acidity, almost a mocha note, magical finish, so moreish. Very different to the Petrus but complimentary. Latour a Pomerol 1949 (more - rather a lot more - of which coming on another blog soon) had more sinew, grip, a savoury edge, lovely grittiness, a shade of bovril, slightly dry toffee finish. By this stage it was already a dinner of a lifetime but wait there is more!

The next two wines, both Burgundy, couldn't have been much more different. First there was Chambertin Grand Cru - Domaine Marion - 1959 from Lionel.J.Bruck en Magnum which had an extravagant nose and lusciously dark core, having this blind I think we were almost all in the Rhone and possibly this wine may have had some help before bottling from that area! It just had a "pepped" up feel to it with a funky grip. The next wine - Romanee Conti Grand Cru 1958 - just simply could not have been more different. Pure elegance, tea and sweet degraded fruits, good energy, gentle and effortless, sweetness again and rosewater delicacy, long and persistent. Special.

Jordi is well know for his love of older wines and whilst we had been "mucking about" with some mature bottles I think he felt it was time to ramp things up and how lucky we were to try these next two but also for them both to show as you could only hope they might. 

Margaux 1900 (Deuxième Vin) had a note of candle wax and bananas, this passed and then there was lush texture of aged purple fruit, lovely, iron showed through amazingly it literally seemed to get younger and younger!! Then going back 30 years further Lafite 1870. This was all iron grit and a little metal then a very clear left bank character came through as the wine gained sweetness and showed more and more of that textbook Cabernet character albeit melded with the maturity…pretty staggering really. We then had the chance to revisit the glasses in front of us and try and take the enormity of what we had been drinking. The good thing was that in all other respects the dinner was just a lot of fun with good stories and views, some nice anecdotes - a good celebration. 

To round things off we had a Madeira from Henriques & Henriques the 1898 Boal Solera this had a very distinct; menthol and pine resin nose then the classical Maderia acidity.

All that really remains is to thank Jordi for the bottles opened, so many of which there is no chance I will ever have again! A special evening.

A few remnants

All set!!

Seared Isle of Orkney scallops with parsley root, delice pumpkin and hazelnut

Roast Guinea Fowl with turnip and come di rapa

Roast Fallow prickett with jerusalem artichoke, bone marrow, elderberries and damson

Balanced perfection...

Two weeks ago "Newcastle" hosted another (some of the others are here) epic Luncheon. This time at Alyn Williams at The Westbury. This blog will deal primarily with the wines but the food was exceptional as the menu below and picture at the end of the blog suggest:

Lobster, new season broad beans, ricotta gnocchi,  jack by the hedge

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Foie gras, rhubarb, walnut foam and crumbs

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Wood pigeon, three cornered leek, charred & blanched, morel discs, blood orange

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Beef barbeque cheeks, truffled pommes daupin, vichy carrots, croutons

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Cheeses

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Candied carrot cake & liquorice ice cream 

So onto the wines, as is often the case Salon opened proceedings and in this case Salon 1988 in magnum. I have tasted and drunk the 1988 a fair few times down the years and it tends to be a bigger bolder style that some years and a richer more biscuity wine. This magnum was very pure and whether it was an especially good magnum or just that this wine is great in magnum I can't be sure. It has some white fruits, a mellow completeness but also focus, very easy to enjoy, very refined, a cracking start.

The Lobster that came first was perfect for white Burgundy and so it proved. The pair of wines; Le Montrachet 1990, Ramonet and Musigny Blanc 1991, de Vogue where both good in different ways. The Ramonet stole the show with it's taut opening and then layer upon layer of depth and flavour, from mild reduction to stem ginger, but never losing it's linear nature, a wine that there is no rush to drink, stunning. The Musigny was a little more muted, a little heavier of texture. The 1993 was the last vintage before they started a widespread re-planting exercise. A lovely pair and that Ramonet will be with me for a while.

Next with the Foie Gras was a trio of Germans. Firstly, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese 1970, JJ Prum (Loeb bottling), almost a nutty nose, mellow, a wine of texture, not over sweet, almost a smokey mint element to the end. Really fascinating. Next was a more textbook Wehlener Sonnenuhr, the Auslese 1995 (JJ Prum of course). It had a classical nose of sweet unhoneyed fruit and citrus freshness but with a fair weight of texture as well. If the 1970 was in stage three of it's life this was starting stage two, vibrant and expressive. The final "musketeer" was Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Auslese 1996 (Barrel 55) which got everyone talking especially when compared with the 1995, more heady, more weight, a little Lap sang tea, more bold, more viscous. I am biased but the 1995 did it for me on purity, the 1996 was a wine to wallow in.

So two wonderful courses in and five whites done it was time for the Pigeon to see some red Burgundy and boy did it see some. A quadruple of Chambertin Clos de Beze from Rousseau is right up there! This was a fascinating run of vintages:
1981 - a vintage of no real repute, arguably one you would say should have been drunk. This has a lovely nose of cheesecloth and deep fruit with some spice, a little iodine, light red fruit to follow, not a wine with much density. The wine in glass became a little more savoury but was a delight, so impressive for the vintage.

1989 - a vintage I have struggle with in Burgundy for some reason but a good one. Again gentle clean red fruit and some spice. More weight, a little more muscle, delicious now whilst the texture and fruit are in great balance.

1993 - the insider's vintage. A little more chunky, more primary, not forceful but potent, a masculine wine with time to come. Serious, very complete. If you own it, be very happy!  
1996 - a controversial vintage, classical yes but will the fruit out way the tannin and acidity is often the question. This was a little more muted, christmas spices but not heavily so. Good acidity and a little dryness from the tannins but there is balance.
As often happens, debate turned to which you want most and some sort of consensus was to drink now, 1989 and to own, 1993 but as always it's a near pointless decision.

As Pigeon needs Burgundy, Beef needs Claret and as Claret's go this was a blue-blooded pair. I had never had them side by side and certainly not both from magnum. Lafite 1990 & Latour 1990 - they both played to their character. The Lafite was more mellow,  little easier, balanced, quite sexy and aromatic, the fruit was "Cabernet black" but not heavily so, poised. The Latour was very big shouldered, darker with more iron and more depth, more powerful and certainly masculine (compared with the latin Lafite this was Anglo-saxon meat eater). Pencil shavings and good tannin made an appearance. I love the pair, "exactly as they should be" is my rather lazy conclusion.

Cheese means port and the Warre 1963 was lovely, got better and better, there was red fruit to the fore but some grey pepper and some marzipan there, I really liked it.

A very fine Carrot cake pudding was accompanied by the compulsory Sauternes match-up and this time the two teams were - Climens 1986 & Yquem 1986. The former had a dash of burnt caramel, a little smoke but then in glass just mellowed and settled into stride, classy. The Yquem has a more hazelnut-like richness and a heaviness, a chewier texture, it was a bigger wine for sure possibly with more botrytis but on this occasion I just about favoured the fruited freshness of the Climens.

A very refined and greatly enjoyable lunch, well refined if you take out Ronaldinho's jokes. Mr G you did us proud! AGAIN!

Lobster

Foie Gras

Pigeon

Beef!

Carrot Cake

Trinity with the gang (why no star?)

Following from the first meeting of what I can see is fast becoming a regular dinner "gang" at Zucca in January here for the post we met last Wednesday at Trinity in Clapham.
I don't really do food and or restaurant reviews (I tend to eat out at Zucca) but I have to say that why Trinity does not have a star I do not know. The dishes were all delicious and clever without being fiddly. The menu and pictures are at the bottom, they do corkage too but I am sure also have a good list. Recommended.
So the wines, there was no theme as you'll see but actually the balance of wines worked really well. We started with two vintages of Bianco Seco from G.Quintarelli. A wine made predominantly from Garganega (as in Soave) but also some other "bits n bobs" amongst them Sauvignon Blanc and Soarin which is near to Furmint apparently. The 2011 and 2007 were the two vintages. The 2011 was Floral but with a nice waxy texture, young and quite taut but very balanced. The 2007 was in a similar weight profile but was a little more oxidative and more unctuous, I don't know if this wine has phases but I would say the 2007 is probably a dash better than this showing or may be could have been a touch cooler. Fascinating wines and a good start. Next up was a bit of a gem Meursault 2007 from P.Boisson, as in Boisson of Boisson Vadot a producer getting rave reviews and the beginnings of a cult following. This was way above village Meursault in ranking, refined and yet with broad chest and shoulders, as yet unpuffed, a lovely touch of reduction and struck match. Serious stuff indeed and another strong showing from a very proper white Burgundy vintage. I am definitely finding, in agreement with the provider of this bottle, the 2004, 2007 and 2010 vintages the place to go for white Burgundy and none with the exception of 2010 get the uniformly rave reviews they might. From here we were onto a pair of Bordeaux, the first of which was blind - Lafite 1970 - from a bottle with no label remaining. We had a bit of fun "guessing" I went for mid 60's Pauillac which was actually more of a hedge that a specific guess as it was never going to be too far away. With a few steers we got there in the end. Encouragingly the wine got better and better with air, it was developed but had good, once black, fruit and tasted less than its 43 years. A real treat. My offering a kind gift from a friend was next - Montrose 1966 - it was a few wines in one. The level was good - at the junction - the colour was a firm and saturated colour, richer and darker than the Lafite. The initial nose was strange but on one swirl in the glass it released a deep beef stock and soy nose with good fruit, there was also a touch of bacon fat and a little caramel before a brief finish. It was strange but fascinating. It also got better with time. A really good pairing.

Burgundy got its chance next - Clos de Tart 2001 - this is a wine I have been impressed with a few times. Sylvain Pitiot took over the helm at the domaine midway through the 1996 vintage and the wines improved from there but I would say that from the 2001 you really see the rewards of the work that was put in. I also love this vintage for reds. It is still in its almost primary phase, there is both freshness and depth which is both encouraging and impressive. The fruit is brambly with some candied cherry elements. So much fruit on the nose, the palate a little more muted, if you own this wine, you are lucky but also I would say keep being patient. Next on parade was Beaucastel 1981 a wine that it appears is a bit of an insiders secret, not a secret I knew about! There was depth and texture with soft black but hard to define fruit and a bit of good greenness. Too many wines now are so afraid of greenness that the over selection that goes on is crazy. This Beaucastel clearly had both young and old vines and was all the better for it, really delicious, mature but not in old age. The next wine was a stunner - Sori San Lorenzo 1989 from Gaja - my notes are a bit strange though as they simply say..."Ski boots" "adolescent" & "very good". The former is a note I have never written before and must be to do with only coming back from Skiing a week ago! This wine was delightful but in mid-development at best and backs up a good Sori San Lorenzo 2001 tasted here.  The last red was Hermitage 1989 from Chave, I am very poorly drunk in the Rhone which needs work, what can you do? This showed as a big wine, very dense black fruit, it was served a little warm which was a shame, the structure was well integrated and I liked it but even more than the Gaja it was still very young. Must drink more Chave. We had a corked bottle of Sauternes so we went for a Pedro Ximenez San Emilio from Lustau with a rather spectacular desert as below. It's a good wine and works so well with the richer darker puddings. A cracking evening, apparently Medlar is next...can't wait!

From my seat, "quite!" near the kitchen

Bresaola

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup, Hazelnut and Brown Butter

Scallop Cerviche, Pickle and Charred Cucumber

Warm Salad of Cheltenham Beets, smoked Aubergine and walnut

Halibut, Fricasse of Shellfish, Cucumber, Sorrel and Sea beet

Smoked Venison, Baked Onions

Black forest (which I didn't photo) & "large" Baked Apple Souffle