Irish goes into his 50th year

I am a few blogs behind at the moment but this one has jumped the queue so that I can write it up while things are fresh in my mind. The other reason is that it is Irish Pete's actual birthday today and the lunch that follows was to celebrate this a couple of days early. Irish is one of the select few with a nickname on this blog…I can't quite remember from where or when the name started but there we go, Halifax (aka Nobby) started it.

So an email came round 10 days ago, can you make a relaxed lunch at Kitchen W8? I was delighted to be able to say yes. Come the day we were 8 in total and a lovely line up had fallen into place. As an aside it now often seems easier to organise dinner 3-10 days in advance rather than with lots of notice.

The menu that Kitchen W8 put together, of 4 half main courses, was spot on and is listed below (with a few pics at the bottom). I must have been there four or five times now and will be actively looking for chances to go back, I think the food and service are both very well pitched, "relaxed attention to detail" may be. Sadly living North and working just south east of the city it is not as close as I'd like.

Croquettes of Mangalitza Pork with Smoked Yolk, Glazed Salsify and Black Pudding

-

Thinly Sliced Smoked Eel with Grilled Mackerel, Golden Beetroots and Sweet Mustard

-

Fillet of Cornish Brill, Delica Pumpkin, Chestnuts, Trompettes, Turnip Tops and Red Wine

-

Slow Cooked Short Rib of Beef, Parsley Potato, Heritage Carrots, Savoy Cabbage, Horseradish

And so to the wines:

Salon 2002, ok I am biased but Salon is never a bad way to start any meal, the 2002 is a teenager at best but a perfectly mannered and promising one at that. Brisk with great freshness, Chablis-esque possibly but not sharp, very moreish with a dash of saline, lovely and with such a bright future.   

Then as we sat down we had a pair of whites. Meursault 1er Cru Genevieres 2009 from A.Gambal and Chateau de Fonsalette Blanc 1997 from Rayas. The Meursult was exactly what you want of Meursault for drinking now, rich, opulent but with good warm minerality, really good length and a lovely rounded but not flabby texture, a very slight whiff or reduction essentially just a very good wine. The Fonsalette was a lovely contrast, more complex and academic for sure but not to such a degree that it was anything but delicious to drink. A little lanolin and chestnut, dry toffee and a burning butter as well a a long length and no lack of acidity, really rather splendid especially with the food. The wonderful contrast of the three whites already had me thinking this was a good tasting day.

Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs 2002 from d’Angerville was up next as we sort of served the reds in a staggered, one wine at a time, order which worked well. I know Clos des Ducs pretty well, in the main thanks to this exception tasting. The 2002 was showing very well, saline and tight with focussed red fruit and elegant persistence, serious with the drinking window just opening…really lovely, coiled tight. We now shifted both to the Cote de Nuits for the next 3 reds…some big names.

Clos St Denis Grand Cru 2001 from Ponsot was some how less precise, soupier possibly than the d'Angerville but that worked as a nice contrast. The less defined, slightly degraded nose gave way to a good, more generous palate and a certain lush decadence.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cr Clos St Jacques 2001 from Rousseau had a nose of sweet fruited density with a dash of bovril just adding a savoury side which just shows this wine to be moving into the second phase of a long life. It was very precise, with fruits that are hard to describe, red fruit on a core of something darker possibly, long and just so dam drinkable. Yet another bottle of Rousseau that just makes you wonder how they do what they do.

Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 2001 from DRC followed, it can be dangerous with DRC and Rousseau for a winner to appear and then the sum of the parts is less than the individual loveliness should make it. On this occasion both were singing. This RSV was superb, focussed and red with primary fruits but in no way one dimensional the nose is so packed with life, an exceptional bottle in every way. I think this will age with grace and balance rather than going through the phases that the Rousseau before it, I would be equally excited to own both. The RSV for its guile and finesse with a core underneath (think Philippe Sella), the Rousseau for its grit and savoury decadence whilst still being charming (Richie McCaw).

And so to the Rhone next. Hermitage 1991 from Chave was an absolute masterclass in how this producer belongs at the top of any table of wine estates. Rich yet weightless, a little armpit and grunt with a sweet fruited then saline palate the sombinationof elegance and almost light texture with much flavour was staggering. This was followed by Barbaresco Rabaja 2000 from Giacosa, 2000 being warm it was a better vintage in Barbaresco than Barolo due to the cooling effect of the river. It had a degraded, flattering nose of sweet bruised nebbiolo fruit that made it easy to enjoy and decadent. Just a lovely wine for right now. 

Then after the diversion from Burgundy to Rhone and Piedmont we were back with a cracking pair of 1999's both of which had been decanted:

Richebourg Grand Cru 1999 from Anne Gros was very good, a rich fruited nose of mulled, almost Christmas, fruits, this had a darker more powerful side to it, a wine that shows massive promise. There is a balance about it that makes it appreciably enjoyable now, brooding is too crude a word but probably as close as I can get.

Musigny VV Grand Cru 1999 from de Vogue is a wine I know rather well and is also a wine that, when I last had it, was still firmly in a sulking phase. This was all about coiled minerality, saline, iron and a wonderful rich yet not heavy texture. I, sadly, had to taste rather than drink these last two (its not often work has to get in the way but sometimes), I can well imagine they both came out more and more in glass and strutted their stuff. From a tasting perspective they were just how I wanted them to be...

A splendid luncheon with a really good crowd of wine lovers, lots of good chats…at one point I overheard a good, if not directly relevant to this, quote about Martinis (or Negronis in my case)…"One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough." from James Thurber…too true.

Happy Birthday Irish Pete...

Croquettes of Mangalitza Pork with Smoked Yolk, Glazed Salsify and Black Pudding

Thinly Sliced Smoked Eel with Grilled Mackerel, Golden Beetroots and Sweet Mustard

Fillet of Cornish Brill, Delica Pumpkin, Chestnuts, Trompettes, Turnip Tops and Red Wine

White Wine and Seafood in Suffolk

A quick bottle of rounded but poised Horizon Blanc de Blancs NV from Pascal Doquet set the day off nicely as we found ourselves on the mid-morning train to Ipswich. On arrival a quick change before a slower ride to Melton. We were in Suffolk and off by cab to The Butley Orford Oysterage, a cracking fish restaurant linked to a great smokery. With the menu, of which I think we had everything, being solely fish and seafood it was always going to be a day of whites. A great array of wines it was too.

A new one on me!

Brut Initial Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Selosse (Nov 2013 disgorgement) was next out of the blocks and the not quite chilled temperature was actually no bad thing, the wine had enough focus to balance the sparkling Meursault-esque nature of Selosse. Slightly oily with a little whiff of reduction, probably the best Selosse I have had.

A rather lovely way to start the meal

As the delicious food started to arrive - everything from Salmon to Eel to Mussels and Oysters - we were on to the first still white which was served blind. One of our number knew the capsule but we were all fairly quickly in the Loire. Sancerre Les Mont Damnes 2006, Francois Cotat was the wine in question. I'd never had anything of his before and was both pleased to have the chance and impressed by the wine. In a lovely phase. The flavours and aromas were light and almost airy, green but "good" green with some white flowers, a ripe green apply freshness…in a great zone right now.

We then ventured to the opposite end of the scale really and had Belle Cote 2004, Peter Michael, again blind. I was in a warm vintage Meursault sort of place and am not unhappy with that…for some it was just too glupey and textured, I actually quite like it though a glass would have been enough. The fruit character was slightly bruised tropical fruit that matched the opulent texture, not a wine to have anything but well chilled. The only other Peter Michael wine I have had was a rather impressive Chardonnay Cuvee “Indigene” 1991, Magnum at the Paulee at Bovey Castle in early 2013. That seemed to have aged very well and lost the oak so who knows the same may happen here.

The two Will's conferring.

A welcome non-blind wine followed - Gaia & Rey 2005 from Gaja - it's a savoury wine that has aged well, the fruit is a littler spiced too, the saline finish balances things. at 9 years of age I'd say it is certainly not on the way down.

We were then served Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre 2002 from Raveneau blind again from a bottle with only a 1971 next label - this can be off putting. I was fairly sure it was Chablis but I was thinking a little older. It had lovely notes of cheesecloth, creme fraiche and goats cheese that then went on to be nougat and gooseberry…really good as is always the case with this great producer in my experience.

A splendid "spread" and that's for starters!

My bottle was up next - Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2001, Bonneau du Martray - and I can already sense the "what so young" comments. I have had this wine to drink rather than taste twice now and it is delicious, not in an over-opulent way but in a balanced loveliness way, a little bit of very classy oak shows alongside the fruit, I think it'll be a wine that drinks well for quite some time but without closing up…If you own it I really think you should have a bottle soon just to see what it is like.

21yrs apart but equally lovely

The last white at actual lunch was - Morey-Saint-Denis Blanc 1er Cru Monts Luisants 1990 from Domaine Ponsot - This was really lovely, very generous in a 1990 way. A little pineapple and a dash of reduction, then a tiny bit of cocoa and mocha…really lovely. It has a very definite character, the only other time I have had it was the 2002 vintage from magnum at a magnum, bbq and poker day/night organised by the very fine chap who brought this along. What I had not hoisted in at all was that a lot of the unique character comes from the fact the wine is made (exclusively as far as research will show me) from Aligote! If you've not had it then you need to put it on your list...

We finished lunch with a sticky toffee pudding of epic proportions then had a wander down the road to pick up some smoked goods before pudding number. This was served with - Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese 1990, JJ Prum - this was in hedonistic form, a little over developed may be but very very good and much enjoyed. 

Diet? What diet?

Needless to say the return train journey was a more mellow affair than the way up…what a great day! Well done all…and special thanks to Uncle Ju-Ju...

Burgundy 2004 - Ten years on…

Following on from a few other tastings (2010 Whites, 2001 Grand Cru & 2003 1er Cru reds, 2008 Whites) with this same group we found ourselves in front of a selection of 2004’s. Now reputation would have you believe that the whites are really pretty exciting and the reds a weak vintage, may be the weakest since 1997 or 1994 depending on your view of the freaky 2003's.

The format was a good one with the whole tasting co-ordinated and hosted by Mr Laing. We did the whites pre-dinner and a couple of reds then the remainder of the reds with a good dinner at Launceston place. There were some very amusing comments about some of the wines, some repeatable and several not!

For another version of events - a friend in the trade - click this.

Whites

2004 Mâcon Verzé, Domaines Leflaive

In theory a humble start but an interesting one as this is the very first vintage of Macon Verze from Anne-Claude. The nose was balanced and not showing the reduction it did in youth. It loosened up with time in the glass. The best approach would be nicely chilled. A good wine that has mellowed slightly beyond interest but is still balanced. 15

                                                           

2004 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru La Romanée, Fontaine-Gagnard

A dash of reduction. A lovely waxy texture after an expressive and slightly high-toned nose. Quite bold and showy with a little unctuousness. This just stops short of being “OTT” and is impressive for it. 17.5

2004 Puligny Montrachet 1^er cru Clavoillon, Domaine Leflaive

Reduced a touch, good fruit with the gunsmoke, quite opulent and almost decadent on the nose…the palate didn’t quite follow it through, lacking a touch of class and being a little clumsy. I feel I’ve been a little harsh. 16.5

2004 Puligny Montrachet 1^er cru Perrières, L. Carillon

Yeasty, decent, very old school, old oak in style, all about the texture. There is a slightly melony note. The palate is long and has some complexity. In many ways the opposite of the Clavoillon. 16

2004 Puligny Montrachet Les Enseignères, J-F. Coche-Dury

Quite mellow for Coche, I may be unfair in expecting a little more focus. There is though a citrus liveliness to the body of the wine and lots of energy and length. I think my only problem with this wine was that I expect so much from Coche, in short for a Lieu dit from anyone else I’d be heaping on the praise. Well received in the room. 18

2004 Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir, G. Roulot

A little bit of brine on the nose, a tight and taut wine. I expected more of the 2004 whites to be like this. Very impressive. There was a grapefruit core with a long finish that had a very classical “proper” profile. Some people were less excited but I thought this had real class. 18.25

2004 Meursault 1^er cru Poruzots, F. Jobard

Not pleasant, pencil-led, unbalanced mineral flavours. This wasn’t corked or obviously oxidised just not very nice. One taster suggested “it might be made from Parsnips”. 11

2004 Meursault 1^er cru Charmes, Domaines des Comtes Lafon

CORKED                        

2004 Meursault 1^er cru Goutte d’Or, Domaine d’Auvenay

By substantial consensus one of the white highlights and a few peoples wine of the night. Shame that only 1200bts were made. Had a lovely reduced, gunsmoke nose with the weight that could only be Meursault. Opulent but persistent, generous but with no lack of focus. Exciting. 18-18.5.

The score is a cop out because I wouldn’t always want to drink this over the Roulot or Coche.

2004 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, L. Carillon

Nice mellowed nose, subdued but with balance, not exciting Grand Cru quality, gentle and slightly non-descript if perfectly decent. 16.5

2004 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, M. Colin

A little lemon merangue-ish. More volume in the way you would expect from , broad shoulders. Bold, unctuous and long. Lacks for a little refinement. 17.5

2004 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, L. Jadot

Odd and disjointed. I thought it had a peaty Islay Whisky note (someone suggested “JD & Coke”). There was also a bruised apple yeasty note. May be not a great bottle. Not undrinkable but not pleasant. 12 (though judgement reserved)

REDS

2004 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, D. Bachelet

A Chunky chap. Pencil-led, good dark fruit, masculine. Has the cool vintage minerality you would expect with a little pine resin also. Not skinny but not over-extracted very herbal. I can’t help but feel a nod to the northern rhone here. Nice now. 17 

2004 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru , A. Rousseau

Red fruit, lovely delicate nature, a dash of dryness but then a lovely finish. Drink soon I feel as the red fruit is attractive. So different to the Bachelet. 17

2004 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, C. Serafin

Nice clean nose, simple but good, a little cheesecloth whiff, very easy. Not very 2004 except for a slightly dry and hollow mid palate. Safe if a little non-descript. 16

2004 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Dujac

A whiff of chlorine to start, dry and forced, grippy with too much winemaking. “Cheap brown bread”. A disappointment. 15

2004 Griotte-Chambertin Grand cru, L. Ponsot

A little but warm, high-toned with the smell of high acidity. Stewy and a little forced if not dry. Lacks purity. 15

2004 Gevrey-Chambertin 1^er cru Clos St Jacques, A. Rousseau

Nice wine, very Rousseau – poised red fruit but with persistance, has good balance. Not lush and may be a tad lean to be anything but 2004 but a nice drink. 17

                                                                      

2004 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, A. Hudelot-Noellat

Slightly gamey nose with degraded sweetness. At the same time some very good acidity. A good effort. 16.25

2004 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, T. Liger-Belair

Ribena, bacon fat and frazzles. L;ush but shallow, the taste of dried blood also. The palate is a little hollow also. Odd wine, OTT in everyway, strikes me that it is a bit of a “throw everything at it and see what sticks”. 15

2004 Clos de la Roche VV Grand Cru, L. Ponsot 

Beef stock, Bovril. A little stewy, gamey with high acidity that sits over the wine not in it. Quite tannic, not that clean. 14.5

2004 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, N. Potel

“Cabbage and dirty rags” not a good bottle. No Score

2004 Bonnes-Mares  Grand Cru, de Vogüé

A good balanced and slightly elegant if muted nose, no faults but may be no excitement either. Overall a simple, understated and good wine but either needs time or just doesn’t have the ingredients needed. 16

2004 Musigny VV Grand Cru, de Vogüé

Poised red fruit, nice palate, good energy. Lifted and elegant, has very good balance and purity. Strange that this shows more than Bonnes Mares. 16.75-17

2004 Echézeaux Grand Cru, J. Grivot

Nice red fruit, poised and quite fine. A dash stringy but that lean freshness is no bad thing. Pure. 16.75-17

2004 Echézeaux Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

By popular consensus the wine of the night(by a little distance in the reds). Escaped any 2004-ness. Really poised, delicious texture that combines some good fruit weight (75% red) with a little sweetness. Very good. 18-18.25

So what was the view on the 2004’s?

My feeling was that I expected more of the whites to be exciting. They were more consistent than the reds for sure, but there seemed to be two schools. Too lean or too voluptuous. On the reds I was not as disappointed as I feared (and to answer the question I nearly posed at the top I would buy 2004 over 2003) but clearly it was a vintage when the less you tried to “make” a wine the better. The lean red fruit and decent acidity can be a strength. I feel this is a weak vintage and in general terms I feel it lags, for red and white, a good point or two behind the 2007’s. It was a very good tasting and as ever no real surprise to see DRC, Rousseau, Roulot, Coche-Dury and d’Auvenay near the top.

Our host, kindly, then got 2 wines from his cellar, both a treat:

                                                                                            

1996 Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Clos de Foret St Georges, Arlot (Magnum)

Served at the perfect temperature. Really delicious and without a harsh texture or acidity (which can happen in 1996). I was well beyond writing many notes at this stage but this was very impressive. 17.5-18

1966 Volnay 1er Cru Santenots, Collection Bellenum, Roche de Bellene

Truffle and mushrooms, a little savouriness on the palate but with good degraded sweetness and acidity. This is an old wine but the sweetness means that the sherry and Bovril flavours work well. 16-17

There were post tasting emails about the same thing next year with the 2005’s, now that will carry a weight of expectation for the reds and opulence for the whites…

Lunch time perfection at Koffman's

The last gathering of "The Gang" - Mr G, Irish Peat, Nobby, Chewy, Young Will, and the sadly absent this time Ronaldinho - was for a simply stunning Petrus Dinner back in February and up in the north so it was the turn of London to host, "Irish Peat" got us organised, no easy task, and the Venue was to be Koffmann's at the Berkeley - somewhere I have always enjoyed since first being introduced. The only sadness was that Ronaldinho could not make it as he was locking people up on jury service. We did have a new diner with us, as yet un-nicknamed.
As everyone gathered and after a little bottle of "grain" to focus the mind we were onto the grape! All wines were served blind and very well by the Koffmann's team who did us proud. I won't mention the food too much but all the courses were superb and worked very well with the wines.
The first bottle, or rather magnum, was Ruinart 1998, soft open and ready to go but with good balance, a little biscuit, a little yeast and some citrus fruit and white flower, very nice. As we received our Squid Bolognese-Style we were poured two whites that took us out of our comfort zone, although "Irish" was spot on with getting, St Peray 2010 from Domaine de Tunnel, as white Rhone. It was 100% Roussane and had depth, spice and a little toastiness, whilst a broad wine it had focus and was good not just interesting. We performed less well with the other white in the pairing, trying a few grape varieties before coming to unoaked Chardonnay, this one was Northern-Italian, Franco Toros Collio Chardonnay 2011, clean crisp and with soft but clear fruits, two good palate awakeners.
With the next course of Gascony-style black pudding croque monsieur with egg on the way we were off to more conventional climes - White Burgundy. Both blind as mentioned above these were two wines are of very good quality indeed. Between us we got pretty close without lingering too long. Our "newcomer" was definite on the first being Corton-Charlemagne and despite me trying to put him off he, rightly, stuck to his guns. It was Corton-Charlemagne 1990 from Bonneau du Martray this showed a lot of class, mature, widening out with a little yeasty complexity and a depth of creamy greek yoghurt and honey, a waxy texture and moreish finish, nice, very nice. However the second of these was whilst obviously younger even more exciting for it's potential. It had that trade mark Coche-Dury reduction, the classiest of "struck matches" and was the Meursault Perrieres 2002. A wine of incredible class and potential, taut and steely but at the same time showing the lurking intensity and depth you would only really expect to find from one of the very greatest domaines. The colour, particularly in comparison to the richer Corton-Charlemagne, gave no real suggestion of 11-12 years of age. A very great wine.

Burgundy was up again with a brilliant Langoustine tortellini with langoustine broth but this time of the red variety. Once we had established it was the same wine in two different vintages we set to work on guessing what and there was a sort of consensus that it was 1996 or 1998 and a 1990 but we were wrong (not massively but still wrong). The wine was Nuits-St-Georges "Boudots" from Leroy and the vintages were 1997 and 1993. The 1997 had a bit of bricky decay (I know what I mean and can never quite describe it) with the fruit in one place then the acidity and a little tannin at the end, it had a very particular texture too. The fruit was black but not too dark (light black?), I loved it despite how that note sounds, it was old school and evolved and just right now. The 1993 by contrast was at an altogether different, earlier, stage in its life. Primary almost, brooding, darker rich colour, long with black fruit, may be holding a little back for itself, brooding and then finally, as my note says, "bloody good". A great pairing.
With Turbot with Shellfish and fennel Puree we went Italian, Ugo Lequio Barbaresco 2007 from Gallina and Barolo Cannubi S.Lorenzo-Ravera 1996 from Guiseppe Rinaldi. Two very different wines and not just because of the 11 years between them. The Gallina was more delicate, red fruited with almost strawberry or cherry fruit, clean and pure (not always easy in 2007), it has finesse and elegance, will be fascinating to follow it over the coming years. The Rinaldi, my bottle and one of my favourite producers, was earthy with minerality, leather and bruised fruit, it is still a little young but showed well, it has the saline quality that I like just starting to appear, impressive.
On the food front a real signature dish was up next, Pig's trotter stuffed with sweetbreads and morels, and delicious it was too but I have to say the wines stole the show. It was one of those pairings that I write this blog for, I just don't want to forget it. The glass on the left was poised, gentle even, with pure and persistent beautiful fruit, red and a little black, amazing length for a wine of this finesse, the balance so good that you could have had in 10 years ago or in 20 years and get the same enjoyment. By contrast the glass on the right was a different animal altogether. More brooding and dense with deeper darker, black fruit, my notes says "brilliant, depth, depth". Whatever they were they were wonderful wines, contrasting so well. Preferring one is ultimately pointless. The left was La Tache 1991, DRC the right was Chambertin 1991, Rousseau. It all goes to show what a great vintage 1991 was (and 1993 from the previous wines as well), the charms of Burgundy seem to me to be too often missed as people focus in the, perceived to be, stellar vintages (90, 02, 05, 09 and 10). These wines just made me what to have more of them and in turn to look out for the likes of 2001 where the balance is superb but may be the volume is turned down a little, I'm starting (?) to waffle but what I am saying it look at balance not power.
There was still a red pairing to go before the last two sweet wines. And it was a pairing to give any a run for their money. The pair was, La Tache 1999, DRC and Clos de la Roche 1990 from Ponsot the La Tache was one of the purest expressions of Pinot Noir I think I have ever come across, poised, red fruited, delicate yet firm, this wine is balanced but still essentially primary, still in phase one of it's life but in no way is it unapproachable, amazing. The Ponsot had a rich, lavish almost hedonistic side to it, very 1990, fruit a little bruised (in a good way) there was a little spice as well, delicious.
It had been a brilliant set so far but there was one lesson still to learn Yquem 1975 and 

Yquem 1976. I have had both of these before both courtesy of the same source but there is no getting away from the fact that these two vintages in many ways, I think, show you what Yquem is all about. The 1975 has, to my mind, everything, perfect poise and balance, freshness, sweetness but also a savoury edge, it is precise, delicious but still in very much middle age, I absolutely love it and if I had (I don't!) case I would want to drink it every 5 years as it has a long and fascinating life ahead of it. The 1976 is an altogether different style, rich, almost toffeed, rancio, like the richest creme brulee in a glass, a slight leathery, almost tobacco edge, if you want an idea of what older Yquem is like and want the full on hedonism of the Chateau then go for 1976. Either way they go perfectly alongside each other.
I have said this after a few "gang" meals but really how do we carry on bettering these? But then actually it isn't about bigger or better just the very best bottles with the best of friends! Until next time...