Notes from a boozy lunch at Je Suis Gourmand; the whole thing arranged by Noel who graciously provided all the wines.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose 2007 - Served with escargots. Pretty light salmon pink color. Light and refreshing with some ripe fruit flavors but managing to avoid overt sweetness. A perfect starter. Impressive enough that Noel and Johnny thought it the best wine of the lunch. I just wish it wasn't so expensive!
Bott-Geyl Sonnenglanz Pinot Gris Vendange Tardive 2001 - Light gold. Quite rich for a VT. Perhaps a declassified SGN? The richness and sweetness seems to have masked the varietal character. Burnt sugar on the finish. Very long finish. Probably at peak now. A successful match for the foie gras salad. My favorite wine of the lunch but I am rather partial to dessert wines.
Mystery Wine #1 - Noel let on that this was a Chablis but he wasn't saying which one. Rather deep gold. An old wine judging by the color. A sip reveals a strange watery/steely flavor. Something's not right here. Perhaps a bit too cold? After letting it warm up a bit, still weird. Definite oxidation. Even worse with the sea bass and shellfish. Obviously a bad bottle. Noel assured us that it was much better than this last time he tried it. Jean Marc Brocard Chablis "Le Clos" Grand Cru 1999.
Mystery Wine #2 - Fairly deep color. Slight mustiness on the nose. Smoke and a little heat. Quite dry, with some dried berry character although there seems to be a hint of jam as well. More fresh fruit flavors appear in the fairly lengthy finish. This is a wine of some depth which went well with the earthy flavors of the wild duck with beet puree and red cabbage confit. Lucien Boillot Nuits St. Georges "Les Pruliers" 1er Cru 2001.
Mystery Wine #3 - Cherries and leather-bound books. Cocoa powder. Brighter fruit than the Boillot, perhaps due to the lighter body and more obvious acidity. Leaves your mouth clean. A refreshing wine. I preferred this to the Boillot although flavor-wise, the Boillot matched the duck better. Jean-Jacques Confuron Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2000.
We polished off the VT with the strawberry and Grand Marnier millefeuilles. Chef Marc, I guess sensing that we needed something to aid our digestion, also sent us complimentary glasses of green Chartreuse as a digestif. An excellent way to spend a cool and rainy afternoon.