A couple of recent dinners

Brief notes from a couple of recent dinners...

Two weeks ago I was invited round to ACC's for a lovely evening with Baron McG also present.

After a particularly exciting bus journey, I was in need of some liquid refreshment and this Rully 2012 from Pascal Clement really hit the spot. It's classy yet good value white burgundy and although young it seems to be drinking already.

Then it was on to a Pommard-off, along with an excellent game pie made by ACC.

In the red corner, a Pommard Chanlains 2010 from Vincent Perrin.

In the blue corner, a Pommard 1er cru L'Argillieres 2008 from La Maison Romane made by Oronce de Beler.

It was clearly not a fair contest as the Maison Romane wine was a premier cru and two years older. The Perrin Pommard stood up well, and was more typique, although it's still a very elegant style of Pommard, which is a good thing in my book. I have a case of this vintage in my cellar and am looking forward to drinking it, but probably in a couple of years.

The Maison Romane was quite extraordinary, much paler in colour, with a vibrant nose of wild strawberries. There's no way I would have guessed it was Pommard, but I loved it and had to rush out and buy a bottle (from the Burgundy Portfolio) - it's not exactly everyday drinking but will be a treat for a special occasion.

We finished off with this unusual liqueur which ACC had brought back from Paris, made from cherry kernels. It was very sweet and reminiscent of Amaretto. Dangerously drinkable. Thanks ACC for a great evening!

Then, on Monday night P, came round to my place for a "kitchen supper" provided by G. To open the batting, we had this rare amontillado from Lustau. This was serious stuff. We've had a sherry drought lately but this rekindled my passion for good sherry. It was bone dry and an excellent aperitif, although I think it might also go well with cheese if we ever see it again.

Then it was on to the first of the two wines which P kindly brought from his Lincolnshire cellarette, this Clos du Marquis 1993. I am told that this is made by the people who make Chateau Leoville las Cases. It was dark and glossy and looked really good, while on the palate it was mature, smooth, and elegant and still going very well. "Luncheon claret!" proclaimed G and I agreed with him. At 12.5% this wasn't going to give us all a nasty hangover the next day.

With the cheese course we had a Prado Enea Rioja from 1991. I'm not a great expert on Rioja but for me it had that classic oaky thing going on, was mature, with well-integrated tannins and again went down well. We thought it had another 5-10 years in it, but also that it was a good wine to share between several people.

Finally, this sweet wine appeared, a 2012 vin de liqueur. It smelled of rose Turkish Delight and was congruent on the palate. It was certainly unusual but complemented our lemon tart brilliantly. Thanks P for sharing these with us!

Bastardo and Moscatel dinner, 2nd Feb

On Monday evening, it was time to make the trip to the Savile Club for G's annual Madeira Dinner. This year's focus: Bastardo and Moscatel.

I'd been given special permission to arrive early to take some photos, but half of the attendees were there before me, such was the enthusiasm for this event. As usual, we tasted six wines before dinner, three with the starter and three with pudding/cheese.

G and I had held a "pre-tasting" the previous Sunday to determine what order they should be shown in, work out if any of them needed more air, and enable some tasting notes to be provided on the night itself. What follows is therefore a mishmash of my impressions on the two occasions.

We began with a Bastardo from ABSL aka Barros e Sousa. This was a "reserva velha" which just means old reserve. but G tells me it consisted of wine from the 1960s to the 1980s, and was bottled in 2002. It was a clear, mid-dark brown colour - clarity is an essential part of Bastardo so that was encouraging - and for me was nutty with some dried fruit. G nicked my comment about antique furniture for his notes. It was quite dry and had an even drier finish, with a hint of eucalyptus. We felt it was decent but not spectacular, and gave it three stars out of a possible maximum of five.

Next up was the equivalent ABSL version of Moscatel, also from the 1960s to the 1980s. This was a light brown colour and fairly clear. For me, it had a slightly chemical nose and a lot of volatile acidity. On the palate, it was full with good body, and quite sweet. Overall, we weren't very impressed with it though, and gave it just one star.

Wine no.3 was a Cossart Gordon 1969 Bastardo which had been provided by T. This was a real disappointment. The first clue that something was wrong was the murky colour. On the nose, well, apologies, but it smelt of vomit. G was braver than me and actually tasted it - mine went straight in the sink/bucket. In his opinion, it wasn't Bastardo, despite its impeccable provenance. T himself thought that there was "something not too bad underneath" which may well have been the case. No stars. A shame.

No.4 was also pretty awful. This was a Moscatel from Justino Henriques, from the 1950s/1960s, bottled around 1970. Again, it looked a bit murky, an ominous sign. For me, it was like pineapple juice that had been left out for a month. G thought it wasn't Moscatel, but maybe Tinta Negra Mole. Whatever it was, it was just horrible. No stars again. We were going through a bad patch!

Next up was another Bastardo, this time an 1875 from Welsh Brothers. This was murky, so we knew what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't actually smell of sick! In fact it didn't smell much of anything. It was quite sweet, but short, boring and flabby. G thought it was a fake, and that the glass of the bottle was wrong. Given that it cost a four figure sum (ouch!), nul points was only fair.

The last of the bottles tasted before dinner was a Moscatel from Vasco Luis Pereira. This was a wine from the 1950s/1960s bottled around 1970. It was a clear, mid-brown colour. On the nose I got creamy toffee and it reminded me of a Cadbury's chocolate eclair. On the palate, it was full, rounded and rich, again reminding me of toffee. It had immediate appeal and I gave it three stars as opposed to stingy G who gave it just two.

At this point we sat down to dinner and were served the remaining three Bastardos with our chicken consomme.

First was a 1927 wine from Pereira D'Oliveira which was bottled in 2013, so if my maths is correct then it had been in cask for 86 years. This was more like it! It had an enticing nose, and on the palate was richer but well-balanced with more body, and G detected figs. It had a superb finish. We gave it four stars, and the good news was that it is still available to buy in the UK from Bovey Wines for around £300.

Then there was another 1927, this time from Adegas de Torreao, bottled around 1970. For me, this wine wasn't as immediately appealing as its predecessor - sharper on the nose, drier, and generally not as complex. At least one other person expressed the opposite preference, though! G and I gave it two stars.

Then, G did his Hercule Poirot impression and revealed that (duh duh DUH!) these two were actually the same wine! But one had been bottled 40 years earlier than the other. It certainly confirmed my opinion that the more time in cask, the better.

The final Bastardo was another 1875, this time from Miles. It was bottled around 1975 so had a century in cask. It looked fabulous, a clear mahogany, and had very vibrant apricots and stone fruit on the palate - I spent some time writing down "peaches", "nectarines", "apples" while G is obsessed with quinces so that was his go-to reference. It was amazing, lively and complex with a finish that went on for minutes. "Absolutely fabulous" said T. A complete bastard clear five star winner of the Bastardo competition.

With our main course of steak frites we had a double magnum of Mas de Daumas Gassac 1994. G had picked this up at auction and then wondered what on earth he was going to do with it, so the Madeira dinner was an obvious opportunity to drink it. First impressions were good and it had a lovely fruity nose (comments were made about Ribena), but it was less exciting on the palate. It improved as time went on, and we wondered if it could have done with more than the hour it was given in decanter.

Then it was time for pudding, a generously-sized creme brulee. With this we had the final three wines of the evening, the three remaining Moscatels.

First up was a Cossart Gordon "Very Old" Moscatel. This was not as obvious as the Vasco Luis Pereira, and was altogether a more serious beast. It was accomplished and complex, with a relatively dry finish, well-balanced and not excessively sweet. Four stars were awarded.

Next was a 1900 Moscatel from Pereira D'Oliveira. My notes from the Sunday night say "pre-wicker bottling" whatever that means! G's notes say it was bottled around 1975. Maybe wicker came in in 1976... It had a lot of volatile acidity when we first tasted it, and shot straight up my nose. But it had a lovely mouthfeel, and was quite marmaladey, a delicious combination of sweetness and bitterness. A five star wine.

The last wine of the evening was a Shortridge Lawton 1900 Moscatel, Although the label looks like something from the 1950s or even the 1930s, G tells me it was in fact bottled in the early 1980s because the company referred to on the label, Fine Vintage Wines plc, didn't exist until then. So much for my font detective skills!

This was a beautiful-looking wine, dark brown, clear and glossy. It had an unctuous, mouthcoating quality, was rich and smooth, and the finish went on for ages. All in all, a very special wine and for most people, the wine of the evening. G said that Shortridge Lawton were the last of the really old-school producers, and this wine went on a journey around the Cape to improve it. It's possible that these two 1900 Moscatels were in fact the same wine but generally everyone thought the Shortridge Lawton was superior.

So there you have it - the Madeira dinner of 2015. In several cases, these were the last known bottles of their type in existence so we really were drinking a piece of history. P said that those down at his end of the table had thought that the Miles 1875 Bastardo was the best thing they had drunk in their lives, only to find that the next three wines were even better.

G's father then told us that the Scottish auction house which supplied two of these wines had handed them over in a Marks and Spencer plastic bag to the friend who was collecting them and when she requested some more robust packaging, she was told there was a roll of bubble wrap in the corner and she could help herself! I think we were all glad that these bottles made it down to London in one piece. Thanks and respect due to G for hunting these wines down and then sharing them with us. It was a real honour to be there.

A bunch of Bastardos...

... and a multitude of Moscatels. Sadly all gone now!

Dinner at mine, 1st Feb - 1970 claret horizontal!

Last night, D came round for dinner. We'd been requested to provide 12 similar wine glasses, so guessed that some sort of comparative tasting might be in store, and I'd made an emergency Riedel purchase earlier in the week to bring stocks up to the necessary level.

We weren't disappointed. After a bottle of 2002 Castelnau blancs de blancs champagne (which I think we all enjoyed - it was light, elegant and creamy), it was time for the main event. D had brought four half bottles of 1970 first growth claret: Haut-Brion, Lafite, Latour and Margaux.

It was amazing to get to try these four fully mature clarets side by side, especially for me as I don't get to drink much claret (with the exception of my Latour habit).

We tasted them in alphabetical order, as good as any! The Haut-Brion was very smooth and had a lot of mint and even eucalpytus - a good wine to clean the tubes out. I thought it must have a high percentage of cabernet sauvignon to be having that effect. G described it as "bewitching" and it certainly was superior claret.

The Lafite was a noticeably lighter colour than the others, and was more austere. It seemed to have an edge to it. I have actually drunk 1970 Lafite before and found it vaguely disappointing; again, this evening, we felt it was in last place.

The Latour had that powerful Latour nose and was big and majestic. To start with, I found it a bit too much, and after the first round of tasting I moved it to the end, to stop it interfering with my impressions of the others. As time went on, I found it more pleasurable, but it was a wine I was happy to only drink a glass of as opposed to half a bottle. Whereas the others were mature, it felt as though this had some way to go (cue G telling story about the 1937 Latour only being ready in 1999).

Finally, the Margaux. This was more feminine and sensuous, coming after the Latour, with fleshy red fruits. "Hello sailor!" was one comment. It had an amazing finish and I liked it very much. But we did think it was a "pop and pour" wine, as it started to go downhill first.

Finally, with the cheeseboard, G produced this 1963 Sandeman port. It had been double-decanted at 2.30 and now it was 9.30. I'm not sure what went wrong during those seven hours but this port, although drinkable, had faded considerably. At first we thought perhaps it was suffering from coming after the first growth clarets, but even after some cheese had been eaten it still didn't pick up. A shame, but these things happen. It didn't stop us getting through a fair bit of it!

And on that note, I must finish, since I have an important occasion to attend, also involving fortified wine! More to follow at the weekend.

Dinner at mine, 17th Jan

Last Saturday night ACC and Baron McG made a long-awaited visit to A du V Towers for dinner.

To start, we had a Felettig double-bill - first this Cremant, which has a little bit of age on it now as it's been residing in my wardrobe cupboard for some time. It made a delightful aperitif for thirsty travellers from the SW2 area.

Then it was on to this Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune 2008, which is showing very well at the moment. It's a wonderful golden colour, and has good weight and richness. I'm very happy with it, and with the fact that I have a further six bottles in storage!

G created two assiettes - one of saucisson with walnuts, procured from the cheese shop, and one of Roka cheese sticks, as no Roka cheese crispies were available in our local supermarket. This was rather aggravating especially after the shortage of Bath Olivers around Christmas and New Year. Waitrose, sort it out! First World Problems, I know.

On to the reds. I'd been saving up this Beaune 1er cru Pertuizots 1971 from Domaine Voiret, for a belated celebration of ACC's birthday. The level was very good and the dreadful label was promising. We know nothing about this domaine and it doesn't appear to be still in existence. But the wine itself was wonderful. and it had that old school power and sweetness. It still had it all going on!

With this we ate a tagine-style stew of lamb cheeks with dried apricots and prunes, and G got his Ottolenghi on and jazzed up some couscous with pomegranate seeds, mint and coriander.

Next up was this bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru aux Combottes 2007 from Domaine Odoul-Coquard. G went long in 2007 and we're now reaping the benefits. This was just starting to drink but G had "over-decanted" it by giving it 3 hours, and it didn't quite work with the cheese. We will do better next time, not decant it for so long, and eat it with a meaty main course!

It's alive!

I'd made it to Knightsbridge that afternoon to hunt down some ripe cheese which included this excellent Epoisses. It didn't last long...

With pudding we had this Carmes de Rieussec 2005 sauternes provided by ACC, the second wine of Rieussec. It made a very suitable complement to my panettone bread and butter pudding (although memo to self - more custard next time).

Finally, it was on to the remnants of the Marcs de Bourgogne which I brought back from Beaune in November - two Roulots. They were both smashing, in their different ways - the Hors d'Age was fine, rich and powerful, while the 1962 was much lighter, more elegant and even floral by comparison.

Some had apparently been up since the crack of dawn working on a certain En Primeur offer, and so it was time to call it a night. Said offer can be found here and there are many enticing wines to be had. I've spent several days dithering about what to go for this year, but am just about there, and off to order some right now! Bon weekend.

New Year's Eve

Happy new year!

We had an enjoyable evening here on New Year's Eve. ACC joined G and myself and there was a certain amount of vinous indulgence...

We started with some fizz, alongside G's cheese straws which are dangerously moreish. The pile was considerably higher before this photo was taken!

The fizz in question was this 2002 champagne from Castelnau, which I picked up in the cheese shop a couple of months ago. The young man there had been very enthusiastic about it and I succumbed to temptation. I didn't make notes but it went down very well and was pleasantly mature with toasty notes, and for the price (about £40 if memory serves) seemed good value.

To go with our starter, ACC produced a mystery bottle! At least, it would have been a mystery if an identical empty bottle hadn't been sitting in the Hall of Fame above the kitchen cupboards. We had guessed correctly: it was another Batard-Montrachet from Domaine Albert Joly!

Sylvie Prevot-Joly gave us a bottle of the 1990 vintage when we visited her domaine exactly two years ago (blogged about here), whereas this was the 1988. As the 1990 was the best white wine we've ever had, G and I were very excited. I'd struggle to compare them with a gap of 2 years inbetween, but this one was a beautiful golden colour, with mushrooms and honeysuckle on the nose, and had wonderful weight and length. It was absolutely enchanting, and much gratitude to ACC for sharing it with us.

Next, it was on to the claret - a Chateau Latour 1937 which I got at auction at some point. This was very interesting. The cork indicated that it had been re-corked at the chateau in 1964. I'd expected it to have the faded grandeur which the 1943 showed, but not a bit of it, this was still going strong and we all thought it was drinking really well! It was surprisingly fruity, which given that it was 77 years old suggests that it must have been a total monster in its youth. Subsequent research by ACC confirmed that Michael Broadbent was quite rude about it, but it seems he last tasted it 20 years ago.

It had mint and pencil lead but also mocha chocolate, and was generally very vibrant and enjoyable. As usual, it was complex, long and cerebral. Not to be guzzled!

After that, we had some cheeses - mostly a giant hunk of Stitchelton which G had got from Neal's Yard just before Christmas. To go with this, we had a bottle of Corton grand cru les Renardes 2001 from Anne Parent. We'd chilled this slightly to get it to cellar temperature, since the room was quite warm.

I was very happy with this. I bought it a few years ago and had been waiting for a good time to drink it, and it was perfect now. It was very stylish and polished, with good fruit and that Corton musky thing on the nose. I had feared it might be overpowering but that wasn't the case at all, in fact it went down very easily.

Finally, we moved on to some marc de bourgogne. This is one of the bottles that I snapped up in Magnum as related in the previous post - some 1962 from Roulot. It's been a joy to drink.

I've never had an evening before where not one but two bottles have been added to the permanent collection! A great way to start 2015.