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.

Boats, bottles, tides and pirates...

So, first things first, this was a master class in belligerent organisation. Getting this motley, yet ever so lovely, crew together is never easy. Peat did a great job. The plan, which largely came to fruition, was meet in Henley at the Riverside then lunch at The White Oak at Cookham before a trip up the river then supper and home or bed! In some ways a little like the Rousseau at Riverside post from last year.

The cast:
- Irish Peat - the host, organiser and all round good egg.
- Halifax - excitable northerner with great cellar, even if he didn't know the vintage of the wine he produced.
- Ronaldinho - another northerner, epic cellar, usually found telling inappropriate jokes or smoking cigars. 
- Chewy - wine merchant, top chap, not wearing the bow ties of old but still laughing very loudly.
- Woo - wine merchant, mellowing yet opinionated chap, love him.
 - Tides - (the newest nickname) - young father, lacking sleep passionate anecdote teller and very good at telling taxi drivers to "put their foot down" whilst snoring at the same time.
- Myself (Young Will) - scribe, drinker and slightly (unless you ask my wife) OCD travel coordinator.

So with a quick half of beer negotiated it was time to get cracking, first up was Gosset Celebris 1990 from magnum which had been released for the millennium rather than being the 2000 vintage which it's kind provider thought it was. This was lemon like with a biscuity side but nicely mellow, just perfect now to my taste. A good bit of saline zip. It drank well as an aperitif and when we returned to it later. Latterly a bit of apricot and more roundness came out…a splendid start.

A lone white was poured next. Most of the wines at lunch were blind for a bit while we had a chat about them. This turned out to be Livermore Valley Chardonnay 1995 from Kalin Cellars. Just released and just shipped, very much a new producer to me. It was smashing, ginger and richness on the nose with a mellow palate, some good oxidation and botrytis. This all sounds a bit much but it wasn't at all heavy, generously open and bang on right now.

The next wines were a pair - Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champgains 1990  and Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes 1990 both from Domaine M.Niellon but only the second one was served blind. Amazingly these were the first bottles from a case of each. The Champgains was initially quite reduced and very "rural" but with air it became brilliantly focussed and pure showing nothing like 26 years of age. Saline and slate-like, to me this could have been Grand Cru Chablis. Then to the Chenevottes which was blind, Tides got his nickname here as he compared the wine with being at different stages of the tide…(yes I know!!)…The Chenevottes was more mature, bready and a little more toasty, waxy even. The palate more generous but not as fresh, responses were mixed, I liked it. Always fascinating to see two wines separated only by site.

Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 2007, Domaine F.Raveneau was the bottle "Tides" now presented as he tried to regain any glimmer of respectability. In fairness this is some wine. I love Raveneau and have drunk my share BUT this is the first Grand Cru I have had. Halifax described it as "hermetically sealed". It did demand time as it was coiled tight. As the wine lost its chill over the next hour it revealed startling poise and drive, verve, electricity. Very fine. If you're lucky enough to own it just leave it for another 4+ years.

So to red wine! Served blind side by side we had: Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve 2007 from Chateau Rayas (twice) and Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru 2006 from Domaine de Romanee Conti. As if the line up of producers was not incredible enough already. We actually had two bottles of the Rayas. Bottle one, which just got my vote (if that were necessary) had a beautiful lavender and fennel unctuously superb decadent nature, raspberry and sweetness, ripeness too. An intense and delicious wine, young yes but infanticide? No. The second bottle, most of the gangs minor preference, was more powerful, more succulent and a little more classically Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Either way both were stunning. The Grands Echezeaux offered what Chewy termed "florality". Soft and supple while obviously young this had a lovely warm vintage breadth with floral elements and spice. A long life ahead, as with the Rayas but no crime to drink it now and my notes say the last large mouthful was "delicious"…as lovely as it was generous of our host...

As a certain sense of "this is fun but let's not overdo it" or "marathon not a sprint" sentiment crept in we had on more bottle. Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie 2012 from Domaine B.Moreau et Fils was a delight, young but very much balanced (not all 2012's are in my view) and showing a sort of 2010 like purity, very balanced and very nice, good gentle use of oak.

The team at The White Oak had done a really good job - recommended!

Cabs were ordered and "Tides" started to wonder how he was going to leave before dinner as he had planned…back at the riverside we grabbed some reds and my blind fizz and got in amongst the regatta, almost literally.

The blind sparkler of which I write is Wiston Blanc de Blancs 2010 a wine I really like, their Rose is spectacular too and I don't really "do" Rose (wine for the indecisive you see). This is mellow with apple fruits, a little toast and nicely refined.

The other "on-board quaffer" was a couple of bottles of Morey-St-Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffonts by Domaine H.Lignier. This is quite high octane, good saturated darker fruit and a savoury side, drinking now but made to last as well I feel, a touch of Iodine, there is a little structure that still needs to resolve but ultimately very good. It brought on a fit of piracy as we were beckoned to the shore by a group having a bit of fun in a marquee on the riverside.

Once we had made it ashore we were treated to a glass of Sparkling Saumur (no photo- apologies), although Chewy and Tides found some beer (possibly a wise move). As the party  looked in a minor state of implosion we got back on board the boat and headed for base camp.

Pre-dinner was, of course, Salon 2004. This is opening up more and more over the short time it has seen since release. There is a marked salty-ness to this vintage, Salon never lacks for precision but this was a superb glass (and Zalto universal works very well for this). It'll be fascinating to see how it ages alongside the 1999 and 2002.

I am not sure I have had many 1979 whites, if any. Meursault-Chevalieres 1979 from Domaine Rene Monnier was a wonderful mature bottle, my little note book simply says "under-ripe toffee apples and apricot, just instantly delicious, opulent, late picked? Crisp on the palate, not OTT, lovely, zip is there". This was the first of Woo's two whites, what followed is Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Caillerets 1986, Domaine Bachelet-Ramonet. This was not as opulent or overt but more restrained, more classical. Superb balance, fully mature but not even a shade over mature, the reduction left as the wine saw air, just lovely.

What had turned into something of a Chardonnay Master class saw no signed of abating as we now had Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 1988 from Domaine Ramonet. This was Ronaldinho's bottle to complement the pair of Niellon's earlier. My notes get less readable from here, this had the signature stem ginger that Ramonet so often does, this same group actually had this wine a year or so ago at the Double Birthday Bonanza. It's a joy of quality with the near perfect balance between the maturity and richness and the savoury freshness. 

Richebourg Grand Cru 1999 from Domaine A.Gros and the only Bordeaux of the day - Chateau Latour 1970 - were next as we devoured a terrific Pie having put the fish broth to bed!

Proper supper!

The richness of the Richebourg was the perfect foil to the iron like classicism of the Latour. The fruit profile on the Gros wines always seems that bit darker and richer, wines that age on their savoury edge. The Latour was just so Pauillac with richness but no sense of showiness. It was a very good phase for Latour from what I have had. Just a lovely pairing.

Now it is a rarity if Mr Rousseau doesn't get a good airing with this host and we were in for a treat next with two bottles of Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru 1993. As a vintage it is a joy to drink now, a little like the 1991's and the sort of vintage that 2001 has a good chance of becoming, the profile is so fresh and just so "Pinot". This Beze managed to be both fresh and red fruited but serious at the same time, a wine with a real lift and profoundly enjoyable even with so much wine in our bellies!


And that, as they say, was that, the northern contingent hit the sack and the Londoners jumped in a cab…these gatherings are what it is all about, great fun, great friends, great wines…memories…onwards...Booked that yacht yet Nobby?

Some of the Lunch dishes

Crabbage

Barley Risotto - delicious

What a load of old "Pollocks"

Dinner in St.Emilion...not just any dinner...

The "Shelfie" to end all...

As a break from the rigours of tasting the En Primeur 2015's we got a very kind invite from a friend and customer who lives in St.Emilion a fair bit of the time. He's no stranger to these blog pages either. Having been once before we knew it would be a treat, especially when combined with Ian's brilliant cooking. We were ten in total with half that number being colleagues, there also being a rather famous Danish winemaker...by the name of Peter (no prizes for guessing that one) in attendance.

To kick off it was Pol Roger Cuvee "Sir Winston Churchill" 1996 En Magnum this was delicious with Anchovy and onion tartlet. The wine is clearly all the younger for being in magnum, I would have said far younger if served blind. There was a toastiness but not a heaviness that you often get with "Winnie". Blind tasting became a theme from here with every other wine except the Sauternes served in blind "themed" pairs! 

Pair 1 - whitesThe first theme was the vintage - 2010. I had remembered a discussion with our host so had a firm feeling that there would be a Raveneau and there was, the Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre 2010 being simply delicious, just entering drinking territory with that lovely beeswax and stones nose...I loved it. The next white producer I have been expecting was Roulot but with the theme being 2010 and the way the Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Remilly 2010 from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey En Magnum tasted I was fairly sure it wasn't Roulot as that would have been like a rapier. Joe (Muller) got the producer, the C&B team groaned as we'd be hearing about this forever. The En Remilly was delicious, open, generous without lacking drive at all...very fine with a long life ahead of it.

Pair 2 - first Reds
The vintage was again the theme but already there were disputes over right bank of left bank. I suggested we nail the vintage first. Clearly it was set as a trap because it was one of those vintages known to be good on one bank over the other but the wines from the "wrong side of the tracks" was clearly an over performer. We reduced it down to being 1996 (left bank vintage) or 1998 (right bank)...wrongly we went 1998 first as it was 1996. The two wines being  - Palmer 1996 and La Conseillante 1996. The Palmer was simply superb, primary in a way, just what it should be, dense floral fruits and exactness, a lovely wine to drink over the next two decades. The Conseillante was impressive, a lovely opulence, not the depth of the Palmer but that would be unfair. A nice pair.

Pair 3 - two younger reds
Now we were firmly put on the spot with two glasses in front of us and a "right then, what are they?", all we were told was that there was a theme and they were younger than the 1996's. Nebbiolo got a shout, Burgundy was certainly in the mix. Possibly fortified by the delicious Chicken liver parfait my competitive - "can't let Muller win the day" - nature kicked in and I decided to follow a hunch and said Red Burgundy on the left and Brunello on the right...I was correct and should have stopped there. I then said so it is 2001 or 1999 - right again! I went for the hat-trick and said 1999 but alas it was 2001. I did though get that it was Poggio de Sotto. There was then a battle for the red Burgundy, Joe and Peter ganged up together and were fairly sure there was a de Vogue mark on the wine, they were right and eventually got the Bonnes Mares.  So the two wines were:

Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2001, De Vogue - so very elegant and primary, pretty, good acidity, red ripe fruit, long, moreish and so blooming drinkable!

Brunello di Montalcino 2001, Poggio de Sotto - a cracking bottle of wine, such lovely gentle but vibrant red fruit with little black cherry, great acidity and lift and a tiny dash of Saline. Wine of the night for one of our number not known for his love of Italy (he's learning).

Pair 4 -  the pair that wasn't
There had been a fair bit of chat through the dinner about the fun one can have with genuinely "off" vintages - even Marsan 1991 got a mention (do some research!) - so our kind host decided it was time for one last pair with the delicious wine friendly (not easily done) cheeses. The first wine was delicious, lovely right now, not dense but mature and complex, it was Haut Brion 1993...alas it's partner in crime, Latour 1993, was corked. The Haut Brion alone though made the off vintage case very well. Terroir shows as much, if not more, in the lesser, more difficult, vintages. There was another bottle grabbed and served. It confused us because we wondered if we were still supposed to be on the "off vintage trail", the confusion coming from the fact the wine was so good. It Lynch-Bages 1982 and clearly we were NOT on the off vintages. I had the very wine from magnum recently and this was every bit as good!

A stunning lemon and almond cake followed for pudding and with it the Coutet 1988 worked a treat, a great time to drink this with just a bit of development showing...and with that we had to head back to Bordeaux...to have taken a break from the tasting to drink these great wines with lovely food and great company was a real treat. This is the finest wine drinking address on the right bank! Thank you!!

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...