We had some friends over to dinner last night, and had a wonderful time. I was in charge of appetizers, and did:
Boquerones rolled around a chevre/shallot mix
Pancetta crisp with chevre and pear
Chorizo cooked in sherry and rosemary
With the double goat cheese whammy, decided on Loire SB as greeting wine. The 2006 Mardon Quincy Tres Vieille Vignes was up to the task, with bright citrus and tropical fruit, an explosion of gooseberry, and a little grass. Not much in the way of minerality compared to a good Sancerre, but a nice friendly puppy dog of a wine, and a big hit with guests. B/B+
First sitdown course was shrimp/garlic timables, with the 2001 Henri Boillot Meursault. At first I thought this was already a victim of pre-ox, color seemed advanced and thought I got some oxidative notes on nose. But whatever it was quickly blew off, leaving a decent white Burg, some baby fat but with good acidity, straightforward pear fruit, a little toasted hazelnut. Maybe the color isn't so advanced, just seemed dark after the SB. Nice, not special. It does hold up overnight. B
Main course was a leg of lamb, accompanied by a winter vegetable tian (parsnips, turnips, yellow and red beets, squash with a mushroom sauce- even better to taste than to look at) and a salad of fennel & pear. Three wines:
1982 Ch. Rouget (Pomerol)
I also feared this one dead for a moment, but bottle funk blew off in decanter. Pleasant mature and maybe slipping Pomerol, fruit is a bit advanced, but quite pleasant secondary/tertiary notes of cedar, earth, and fallen leaves. Someone gets chocolate, but not me. Time to drink up, but this lasts well over 3 hours, though a final pour during dishwashing is past it. Overall, B+
1996 JM Gerin "Les Grandes Places" Cote-Rotie
This seems younger than the bottle Oswaldo described recently. Tannins are resolving, but blackberry fruit is fairly vibrant. Not a lot of length, but nice notes of pepper and spice. A bit less burly than I'd expect from an 11 year old Cote-Rotie. B+/B
1999 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino
This seems to be modern without being over the top with ripeness and oak. Black and red cherry fruit, a hint of vanilla, excellent length, firm but not hard tannins. B+, with potential for better.
Then a cheese plate of Keen's cheddar, reblochon, and muenster, plus little mini-cheesecakes with orange and chocolate.
2006 Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc
Sweet although not very heavy, tropical pineappley fruit, some honey. Desperately needs acidity to give it backbone and zip. Others liked it more than I. C+/B-
2002 JJ Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese **
Welcome acidity after the Errazuriz. Some botrytis, warm apple fruit, that acidic backbone. Good length. Nice wine, if not exciting.This was one of the $15 PC blowouts, good value at that price, but I had also bought some at $35 at release, and value is borderline at that point. B+/B
I also had little sips of some wines used in cooking:
NV Barbadillo Oloroso
I had poached the sausage in this and white wine. I'm not a sherry drinker, but I found this rather nice, a dry sherry with oomph and interest.
2005 Haut Colombier (Premiere Cotes de Blaye)
Used for deglazing lamb pan for sauce. Lighter style of Bdx, modest fruit, noticable tannins. OK for level I guess.
2005 VRAC Macon-Villages
Used for sausage and on timbale crust. Straightforward, simple, screwcapped, and $5.
Nice night with nice people.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
