Saturday, November 6, 2010

O for Oarsome

It was a night for 'O'. She's awesome. She and her 'A-Man' got a number of pals together for a nice meal at a bit of 'nutty' eatery. Nice food, with a mix of styles. And a number of wines that were a little mixed in style too.
We started off with a 2002 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Rose, lovely fruity number, sweeter in fruit and dosage than I thought it should be, or what I remember the style to be. And not quite the autolysis. Very friendly structure, soft and plumpish. Delicious nevertheless. Then a 2008 Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett, quite substantial, for what I normally see as an ethereally exotic wine. Also delicious. Both lovely aperitif wines as is expected, but these both were more full than just starter wine status; they'd both be food wines too.
Then it was into two Chablis. Firstly a 2002 Raveneau Chablis 1er 'Montee de Tonnerre'. Tight and super minerally, a touch reduced, but classical and traditional. It was paired with a subtle, modern 2005 Moreau-Naudet Chablis GC 'Valmur'. Less flinty and minerally, but it evolved to show more in glass. A nice pair, too.
Two white burgundies to go with the entrees. starting with a 2004 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er 'Pucelles', classy, refined and another wine that just grew in the glass. It had it all, but if you were critical, it rested on its acidity. This paired with the 2004 Lucien Le Moine Meursault 1er 'Genevrieres', broader and fatter, the same bracing acidity, but showing oxidation, well actually madeirisation. A bad cork? Then our 2001 Craggy Range 'Beaux Cailloux' Chardonnay. Big, clumsy, the others saw oak. We saw reduction. We thought it was over the top. We know recent releases are much more refined. The Craggy Range wines were statement wines at first, and this was their first release.
The refresher white between courses was a 2005 Dagueneau 'Pur Sang' Pouilly-Fume. How did he build so much power with restraint? Great varietal character with boldness and textures, allied to class. A treat, as we know the 'wild man' has now left this mortal coil.
Main course time. The reds were a mixed bag too. Firstly the mandatory burgundy. a 2001 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er 'Goulots'. Tight and skinnyish, a little hard and not quite the sweetness. Nor the game and 'blood and fur' character it might have had. It was a good match with the duck mains, giving cut through the fattiness. We then moved to our 1982 Ch. Boyd-Cantenac Margaux. Still dark, full with game and leather on nose and quite fleshy on palate. No Margaux perfume or class, but surprisingly fruity, despite the brett notes. Good refreshing acidity too. It's not the first time the 1982 Margaux wines have surprised. But essentially a bit gutsy. A step better was the 1996 Ch. Lynch Bages Pauillac. Black colour, black fruits, and complex game nuanced to the flavour. Still sweet and bold, with flesh and structure to boot. This was a baby that could handle another decade.
An in a way, it signified what 'O' and 'A-Man' had going. They were still babes that will develop over time.

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