We started with a bottle of this Chablis 1er cru Montmains 2011 from La Maison Romane, which was sublime, with perhaps more tropical fruit flavours than in a classic Chablis. I had the 2010 in reserve, and it would be interesting to try them side by side some time.
It was very effective with the enormous piece of smoked trout which I procured for the occasion. There were some leftovers!
With the main course of slow-cooked chicken and braised lettuce, peas and mint, we had this 1982 Firestone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon which G picked up recently. There was an element of risk as it could have been terrible but instead it was amazing. Hurrah! I was amused by the label which informed us that the wine was 12.3% alcohol, but D told me that in this case the precision probably indicated actual, rather than spurious, accuracy. As he is one of the world's foremost experts on antique measuring instruments, I suppose I must defer to his opinion in these matters. As for the wine itself, G described it as "entirely pleasurable to drink" - it was soft, smooth, rich and sweet with hints of cocoa, stewed plums, mint and maybe even pontefract cake, and went down very easily.
With the cheese course, we had this Syrah-Cabernet Franc 2001 from Red Newt which was 13.2%. We established that it had been in D's cellar for the past 15 years. My notes include the word LOVELY but on closer inspection I see that was just me trying to make my handwriting legible. The wine was succulent and well-balanced, with the syrah to the fore, and G compared it to Chateauneuf. We agreed that some American wines are lacking in acidity but that criticism did not apply in this case. I enjoyed it very much.
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| Getting ready to attack the cheeseboard |
Finally, G contributed his last half of Rieussec 1983. Avid readers may recall this was drunk in magnum at our birthday celebration in July, and was so successful that G rushed out and bought three halves - one for dinner at the Savile with VIP guest, one for the waitress who did such a good job of looking after us in July, and this remaining bottle. This time I actually managed to make notes, although I think it's quite a different wine in half from the magnum, and D, who has bottles of it, says his is different again. It was a lovely dark amber colour, and very aromatic on the nose - G mentioned lemon thyme and garigue. It was almost like a glass of herbaceous honey, and very complex. Wonderful stuff.
We finished off with a glass of marc or was it fine de bourgogne, or possibly both, and perused the pages of an old catalogue which had some fascinating adverts. If anyone has been searching for a patent "Roy" glass bottle stopper, you now know where to send your telegraph!
