Notes from a recent dinner tasting. Menu from various meals recently experienced by the hosts on a trip to Paris.
With petites quiches Lorraine, tartelettes au tomates a four gratinees, and croustades au pimentes rouge: Kir Royale – no notes needed except to say that just about everyone goes way overboard on the cassis. We didn’t.
With saumon fume, faucon tartare (Petrossian a Lafayette Gourmet)
2002 Drouhin Chablis Les Clos – clean ever so slightly waxy nose with pear and apricot notes, clean middle and excellent length – more like a Burgundy in weight.
With terrine de foie gras d’oie (Marche de la Rue Saxe)
1989 Moulin Touchais Coteaux de Layon – young for this wine, which I always enjoy with about 20 years of age. Excellent slightly sweet nose, great fruit, supple and long with superb balance. I much prefer this sort of wine, not too sweet, to pair with foie gras, to a sweeter Sauternes.
With potage aux champignons, des de foie gras (Café Constant)
2000 Olivier Leflaive Volnay Clos des Angles 1er Cru – light in colour with a very good fruit based nose , fresh, little tannin left, really pleasant middle weight wine that could be criticised only for a slight lack of mid palate fruit.
Magret de canard, legumes de saison, girolles (Jean-Pierre Frelet)
1986 Ch. L’Arrosee – we decided to put together a couple of right bank 86s to see what was happening with them. This one had sweeter fruit in the nose, but you had to dig for it as it wasn’t pouring out of the glass. It also had more depth to the nose, and more tannin, but high acidity gave an impression of austerity and leanness that was a bit off-putting. If you have it, leave it in the cellar and cross your fingers.
1986 Ch. La Dominique – definitely more forward with a nice Bordeaux fruit and oak nose, some tannin present, but not nearly as tough or hard as the Arrosee, medium length, and a rounder, more pleasant wine for drinking today. No rush on either of these.
With tarte aux pommes frangipane (Patisserie Francis Dossemont) – no wine
Fromages
2000 Abbe Rous Helyos Banyuls – 100% black Grenache finished at 16.5% alcohol. Sweet chocolate and cherry nose, tannin that indicates more age needed, but well balanced and not too sweet, it was a very nice accompaniment to the cheese, and a wine not that often seen here.