Some nice surprises this year.
Franck Pascal cuvée emeric Extra Brut very fine perlage lots of character. Also from FP, a non-dosé Reserve, more austere, more serious, a wine to marry food to, in this case things like chestnut soup with hazelnuts, and some top flight smoked salmon.
Sacred Hill Sauvignon, a great Marlborough Sauvignon under screwcap, courtesy of his Lordship of the Lower Lands, tangy citrus and grassy, sharp lively wine went great with grilled rock lobster tails.
With Xmas pudding and mince tarts, a fabulous Ratafia of Champagne from Boulard, fortified champagne must with some great flavours of dried grapes and what seemed like orange blossoms, excellent deep wine, perfect match for Xmas baking.
Hermitage 1998 La Sizeranne by Chapoutier with about 2h of carafe befre serving with roast goose. The juice of the goose had caramelized entirely so it took a while to deglaze and dilute it back down in a glass of Hermitage, a rich deep chocolate coloured lean sauce was the result, with the meat it accompanied the wine just fine, Burgundy would have been to delicate, Bordeaux would have clashed, Hermitage was spot on. Plum nose with some tarry notes.
In California last week:
Tried something called Vice Versa, a bordeaux-like blend with lots of power and flavour, not particularly subtle but explosive aromas developing over an hour, but later fading fast.
also experience an Aussie thing called Evil, well named and drinkable given the price, puts Yellow Tail to shame. They also make something called Bitch, did not go out of my way to try that.
At Mille Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe, began with Billecart Salmon basic champ, quite adequate. With a kind of crispy mille feuilles of smoked salmon and cucumber, a Gewurz by Dommaine Weinbach again confirms the talent of Colette Faller as queen of this grape variety, very typical litchi and roses but very delicate, almost too delicate for the excellent smoked salmon (I had to match a wine to 5 different dishes...). Followed up by Piere Usseglio's Chateauneuf Cuvee de mon aieul, beautiful wine, very long lasting impression and perfect with a perfectly cooked filet mignon (there is great beef in France, but it is almost impossible to find - what a pleasure to indulge in something I rarely order, beef, in the US!).
At a bar in Encinitas, tried a glass of Falanghina by Feudi San Gregorio, utterly uninteresting.
At a place in San Diego's little Italy had a glass of Giorgio Primo 2003 by Fattoria la Massa, very... californian in style, a Parker baby I suppose, a little heavy therefore, with cherry stew like flavours, not what I expect from that class of wine.
At Anthology in San Diego, a great music bar normally devoted to jazz but this was a CSNY tribute as a benefit for the fire victims, tasted various wines by the glass, all californian, most hard to distinguish from the next one, all with cute names. Next morning I downloaded Deja Vu and I still cannot get Southern Man out of my brain...
Happy Holidays
Mike