Champagne:
- Veuve Clicquot Brut NV from magnum, with a big thank you to KillerB
Lovely stuff, and mags are always cool.
- Lanson Black Label NV
Lacks the character of the Veuve, but nice and fresh sparkler that perfectly served its purpose.
The remains of the champagne were served with the amuse: oystershooter with spicy tomatocoulis and cardemomfoam.
Whites:
- 2005 Domaine Guillemot-Michel Quintaine Macon-Villages
Served with two dishes: Celery root and porcini soup and Hake with mandarin reduction and celery root / apple puree. The flowery, citrus notes that were accompanied by a distinct earthiness, matched very well with the fish dish.
- 1976 S.A. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel
Served with Duck liver terrine (marinated in port). Classic combination for a classic dish. I've had this wine a couple of times before and it remains one of my favorites. Incredibly young and rich.
Reds:
- 1997 La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino
A bit funky at first, but grew out to be the star of the evening. Wow, what a wine, and still a baby at 11 years of age. Spicy and rich, but ever so elegant.
- 2001 Lavradores de Feitoria Douro Grande Escolha
Had a hard time standing up to the La Poderina, but was lovely on its own. Sweet fruit, chocolate and a dense, rich structure.
Both wines were paired with filet of wild boar, filled with parma ham and chestnut crumb, wild boar stew, grilled butternut squash and potato puree. A very good match for both.
Dessert (chocolate cake, with chocolate truffle and fruit in port syrup) came without wine.
Port:
- 1976 Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port
I will post a more detailed note in the TN section, but boy oh boy, what a surprise this was. Incredibly dark and incredibly young. This needs more time, but was already an enormous joy to drink. Paired with a collection of cheeses.
On Saturday, we had a very satisfying "Day After Party" with KillerB, SimonSaysDrink, StevieCage (partly) and mrs. SSD. The wines poured were:
- Kreglinger Tasmanian Sparkling Wine (horrible...)
- Marcel Deiss 2002 something field blend (faulty bottle, undrinkable)
- Kruger Rumpf 1994 Spatlese (a bit tired, but still drinkable)
- Robert Weil 1998 Spatlese (very nice)
- Keller 2005 (?) Spatlese (forgot which vineyard... the cork was glued to the bottle, so we had to pour this through a coffee filter into our glasses. Restrained nose, but ever so full and concentrated flavours. Lovely wine)
- Niepoort Redoma 1995 Douro (slightly over the hill and very oaky, but still drinking rather nicely)
- Niepoort Redoma 1997 Douro (impressive, concentrated and packed with fruit, flowery aromas and complex. My #3 of the night)
- Niepoort Quinta do Napoles 2000 Douro (weird wine. Very green on the nose and on the palate, crushed stems. Hard and almost unapproachable. Seems better as part of a blend).
- Pio Cesare 1998 Barolo Ornato (a great wine. Earthy and dark. A wide array of fruit, varying from dark forest fruit to redcurrant on the long finish . Lovely with KillerB's Pasta Bolognese. General consensus was that this was WOTN)
- d'Arenberg The Dead Arm 2003 Shiraz (lovely wine, very much restrained for Dead Arm, built for the long haul. My #4 of the night)
- Torbreck 2001 Shiraz The Factor (another very good shiraz, in a more lush and jammy style than the Dead Arm, this is great for drinking now, but I don't know if I would cellar this... My #5 of the night)
- Rieussec 1999 Sauternes (this has really fleshed out since the last time I drank this. Ripe and ready. Slightly reductive, with white tea, honey, citrus and tropical fruit. Not the most complex sauternes probably, but a true joy to drink. My #2)
- Dow Bomfim 1998 Vintage Port (just as the Vargellas 1998 this is strangely vegetal on the nose. Dark flavoured, a bit rough, and slightly bitter finish. Not bad at all, but I wonder if this will ever really come together. So far, I haven't been too impressed with '98 as a vintage).
All in all, a very good way to celebrate our wedding weekend!
