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.

Tuscan 2004's...

This was a dinner organised with the same lovely bunch as attended a Barolo 2004 dinner at Zucca back in July. It seemed logical to follow the Barolos with Tuscans. We all gathered at The Quality Chop House and each with the instruction to bring a bottle of our choosing. We were very well looked after through the evening with a menu as shown below. The food was all simple, delicious and complemented the wines well. I think I'll take my son, Charlie, there soon - just his sort of place!

The organiser - Mr Gossip on this occasion - gets to bring the aperitif. We kicked off with 2011 Batar from Querciabella. This is a wine I have definitely had, and enjoyed, before though I can find no reference of it on this blog at all which is odd. This was quite rich but also very savoury and dry when cold, it really opened out with time and actually I think I preferred it when it was almost at room temperature. It will certainly repay 3-4 more years cellaring and beyond. The blend is a fairly "different" one being 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Blanc. It was a nice opener and deserved the 93 its it gets from Galloni. This brings me onto one odd thing about the evening, more than half the wines get 93pts and that made it an interesting tasting as you can analyse that taster as well as the wines. I am not a big one for scores but it was an interesting aside.

We were now ready to start the 2004's. A little look at the vintage suggests it was the opposite of the extremes of 2003. There was a fair bit of work to do in the vineyards and green harvesting seems to have been repaid but all in all it was not a vintage of extremes, balance is always good so hopefully that would show in the wines.

The wines were served in pairs and with the traditional varietals first. I have scored them out of twenty for my own benefit as much as anything.

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione - This had been double decanted a couple of hours before dinner and is from a producer I really like (the 2006 is a little gem if you see it). The nose was initially quite volatile, it actually seemed to tighten up in the glass. It was a little grainy and savoury reminding me of ash and meat. There was just enough sweetness to pull it together. Either this will repay cellaring or it just lacks a little something. 16.5

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Lisini - Nicely complete nose with a little gloss, then with time in the glass a little more meaty and savoury. This tastes young and has quite a bit of texture about it. 17

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Salvioni - Saline, which for me the best Italian wines (Piedmont or Tuscany) must have. This was excitingly good. Richness, fresh greenness by which I mean "good zip", lots of life and good sweetness. Very very moreish acidity, classy, very fine. 18.5

2004 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina, Pieve Santa Restituta from Gaja - had the unfortunate job of following the Salvioni. This was good, grainy and grippy with a very moreish texture. It tasted wonderfully Italian but, and I don't want to be obvious here, it tasted more of Gaja than of Sangiovese. There is a real signature there and had I been told it was a Piedmont wine from Gaja and say 12-15 years old I would have agreed entirely. I liked it but may be wanted a shade more definition. Nice wine. 17-17.5

2004 Camartina from Querciabella - A blend here of 50% Sangiovese, 45% Cabernet and the last 5% being from Merlot/Syrah. The wine was quite glossy and clearly needs a little time, 3-5 years, to fully integrate. It has good ripeness and will be impressive in time, it is just a touch incomplete now. 17(?)

2004 Terriccio from Castello del Terricio - The 50% Syrah here really shows, it is  masculine wine with good sweetness, it is quite lush as well and has a savoury dimension. I found it quite surprising, in a good way. 17+

The next pair was interesting as I had both wines at an Ornellaia 1990-2010 tasting before and enjoyed them.

2004 Serre Nuove - Rich and a shade doughy on the nose but then really good with quite saturated dark fruits on the palate, this was impressive and really quite serious. 17.5 (a little higher than last time).

2004 Ornellaia - I think this was probably voted wine of the night by many. I may be just though the Salvioni shaded it but that really is picking hairs. The nose remind me of crusty bread, the balance was such that writing a note was tricky (a good sign)…there was a little saline and just a feeling of easy completeness. Very good. 18-18.5

2004 Sassicaia - Sadly this was just not a good bottle, not corked but just bruised, a little volatile and prematurely degraded. No score.

2004 Messorio Macchiole - In the absence of Masseto (a little out of the wine trades price range) this was to be the 100% Merlot. There was a nose of dry balsamic notes followed by lush fruit and quite a bit of richness. Somehow I found it a little bit much. 16.5.   

2004 Tenuta di Trinoro - This was my bottle so watch out for bias. I have tasted through quite a few vintages down the years but never the 2004 as far as I can see or remember. This has almost tropical fruits and a vigorous youth with a sweet texture and very fresh but youthful appeal. I really liked it. 17.5-18.

So as a whole what did we learn? 2004 is clearly a nice vintage, there was good balance and definition, I think we felt the wines were harder to asses that the Barolos which give a little more perfume earlier in their lives and probably due to being from a thin skinned variety are a little easier to describe and assess. A successful evening for sure...

By consensus the next evening for the group is Bordeaux 2005 under a certain price point (£50 a bottle say) of release…should be interesting!

Some cracking bottles and stunning food - Alyn Williams at The Westbury...

A lunch that grew in number from a catch up for two to a feast for five. Great fun with very like-minded wine lovers in the trade. All wines served blind except the Champagnes (apologies for no photos of the wines). Food was from the tasting menu at Alyn William @ The Westbury - if you like seriously good food then go!
Pol Roger 2002 opened the proceedings in style. Opulent but in check, quite rich, it is perfect from now on. The food came thick and fast - Crab, miso and pepper - starting us off as we moved to the Pavillon Blanc 2005 which if I'm honest was a little strange. There was a character on the nose that was familiar to white Bordeaux and I nearly went there with my "guess" but I eventually decided that the nutty, savoury finish meant it was a White Rioja with age on it. Clearly I was wrong but there you go. The bottle was in no way faulty but it did, as the chap who brought it said, match the other he has had...bit of a mystery I'd love to know if you have had a similar experience? The next course was delicious - Orkney scallop, cucumber, muscatel and scallop broth - and went well with Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet Garnd Cru 2007, Leflaive. I adore Bienvenues Batard from Leflaive the 1999 being one of the greatest white wines I have ever had. This 2007 was quite open, not problematically so, but had a real, almost Meursault-like richness. The acidity is there and the overall wine is enjoyable but just a shade underwhelming on this showing.
The next course was an amazing combo, I almost wanted the watermelon bit to fail but not a chance it's a stunner - Burrata, Iberico ham, watermelon and cobnuts. We were now into a pair of very good 1er Cru red Burgundies, I think we all agreed the quality was pushing for Grand cru. The first - Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Petit Monts 2010, George Noellat - was fascinating to have blind as we would not have gone for 2010, I went for 2007 Grand Cru. Very fruited and extrovert, beautiful clean deep red fruits. It had been opened but not decanted in the morning at about 10am. The producer has holding in other 1er Crus in Vosne and also both Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux, very much one to watch, a delicious wine. Another stunning course arrived - Turbot, cepes, garlic and sea aster - really great food, perfect balance. The wine up now was my bottle - La Forge de Tart 1er Cru Morey Saint Denis 2007 from Clos de Tart. It showed brilliantly which was very pleasing. Very clean and a little decadent, made a beautiful pair with the Noellat. Makes you realise that much as mature red Burgundy is wonderful it is a mistake not to also drink these wines when they are young. The others got near to the wine quickly but then I tried to help by saying it was a 1er Cru made from entirely Grand Cru fruit and not produced every year, that made it harder not easier. There was no La Forge in 2009 or 2010.
We moved onto the true "red wine food" now with a lovely dish of Wild Mallard, Williams pear, cavolo nero, chestnuts and cider. The next wine did a good job of fooling us all. It was Cote Rotie La Mouline 2004, Guigal and the main reason it fooled me was that I always think of oak with these wines but this was a gorgeous expression of fruit, red and black with a dash of spice but a lovely medium weight. No attempt at all to wrestle with you just charming balance and this after nothing more than a very brief decant. Really wonderfully handled wine from an under-rated Rhone vintage. I didn't even bother picking a dish of the day but if I had this next one would have been a contender - Devon Ruby red Sirloin and cheek with turnips and croutons. The flavour and quality of the fat was exquisite. The last pair of reds were served side by side and after a lot of time was spent (by us not the restaurant!) muddling our glasses up we got things organised. The Ornellaia 2001 impressed with the fruit balancing the savoury elements well, there is no rush at all with this wine but if you have some I would start now as it is in a lovely place. The other red was Ridge Montebello 2003 and it did not disappoint. Just enough extrovert fruit but all in that poised balance that the estate seems to just manage over an over again, medium body at most.
A couple of puddings followed the first Cornish Cheescake, chasselas grape, oats and seeds really hitting the spot before the second was not quite my thing - Lemon, Gin and Marigold. We had one last bottle with these and it was a very serious Bollinger Grand Anne 2002. Somehow I have not had this before. It was very, very good. Lovely tight structure and very vinous, impressive and a keeper for sure.
In short, a brilliant lunch with so much good (and bad) chat and amazing food!

When I asked or pen and paper it was suggested (by my "friends") that I might enjoy some colouring in!! 

Ornellaia - 1990-2010

An invite from the UK agent to a tasting of Ornellaia from 1990-2010 was only ever going to get one reply...a big YES. The wines were presented by General manager Leonardo Raspini and Winemaker Axel Heinz at Sotheby's. I am not going to launch into background here as Ornellaia is well known and there are a lot of good profiles etc "out there". They also have a good site www.ornellaia.com.

The tasting started with two vintages of Le Serre Nuove which is a true second wine in the same sense as Bordeaux. It is a blend of sites that don't quite make it into the first wine and production is circa 30,000 bottles. The first vintage was 1997.
Le Serre Nuove 2010 - Leather and spice, dark fruit that is subdued and then tobacco. It is big and rich, expressive in the savoury sense, cocoa, mocha and bruised brown fruits. Good length, good grip that is may be overly dominant right now. It possible needs more clearly defined fruit but for a second wine in what was a tricky (cool and damp) vintage it is good, 15/20.
Le Serre Nuove 2004 - Lovely ripe fruits as well as sweet tobacco. Soft palate, lovely, open with great balance, nothing harsh but some gentle grip, drinking well now and over the next 3-5 years, really lovely, 17+/20.

Ornellaia 2010 - Closed but serious, brooding even, deep and savoury. Big classy tannins, nothing lush here, masculine. Elements of mocha and cocoa but no harshness. 17/20. The cool climate shows and I think it is crucial that they didn't over-oak. Interesting to follow this wine.
Ornellaia 2009 - Could not have been more different from 2010 in vintage character. 2009 harvest was end of August to 12 Sept where 2010 started on the 13t Sept. This was obviously a very hard wine to make and control. I may possibly have got this wrong but to me it was the weak link. Bruised but stewed fruit, some warmth and volatility (not necessarily a bad thing). On the palate is was a bit spread out and loose which meant the tannins were a bit exposed. 15/20. Decent but not expressive or exciting.
Ornellaia 2008 - Lovely dense but expressive nose, good life and vibrancy. Has a nice softness to the mid-palate. Power and tannin at the end of the palate. Needs 2-3 years, nice sweetness after a while in glass. 17+/20.
Ornellaia 2007 - Bruised sweet fruit and new leather sweetness. Open and out there. Quite sexy and approachable without being too much (many 07's are too much!). It has structure but a nice easy soft one. A savoury finish, good length. An Ornellaia for the decadent. 17-18/20.
Ornellaia 2004 - A decent production in 2004 as 2003 had been so small. This was my wine of the tasting. Having had the 2004 Serre Nuove it was always likely to be good. The fruit is redder and sweet, the leather and oak a perfect balance for the fruit. Very fresh and vibrant, acidity frames it well. It will age well but if you have some have a bottle now, too good to miss. 18+/20. Very fine and very complete.
Ornellaia 2001 - This wine was in a different place and profile from the 2004. Beef stock and soy on the nose, browned bruised fruit, a touch of bacon fat (frazzles) in there too. Tastes like Sangiovese (none present). Not for everyone but the most Italian for me. Francois Mitjavile of Tertre Roteboeuf would call this "degraded". 17/20. 
Ornellaia 1999 - Refined, darker fruit, slightly saline character, very smooth, softened with a lovely texture. A little dry but it is a food wine, very honest and now showy. Refined and a little stern may be. 17/20.
Ornellaia 1990  - With the vineyards only planted in 1982-1983 this is very much from the early stages of Ornellaia. A light expression, a nice nose of soft sweet leathery fruit but then the palate is really strange and drier, faded some how. This is not a wine I will score as a whole, no need. Lovely nose, not much there on the palate.

A really interesting tasting. An estate that it Iconic in terms of Tuscany and Italy and deservedly so...I'd happily drink several of those with my own money.