Notes from another garden dinner:
After chilled Fino Sherry with olives, cashews and cold minted avocado soup, we plunged into the main events:
1999 Dom. Les Hautes Noelles Muscadet de Grandlieu Sur Lie - when first told we were having this wine, it was described as a 1990, and I figured we'd be having a wake, but this 99 was typically mineral in the nose and smooth, clean and crisp on palate.With oyster and oyster mushroom timbale in red pepper sauce.
1993 Moillard Santenay Pre. Cru 'Beauregard' - a little funk in the nose to start out, then more typical Burgundian fruit, and on palate I thought it a little sparse and mean with the fruit falling a bit short of the abundant acidity.With pate de campagne with leeks, served with red onion and currant confit
1999 Zonnebloem Laureat - this South African wine is a Bordeaux blend and it carries it off quite well, with a sweetish nose and mellow medium to full body, followed by decent length. Drinks well young.with quail salad
1989 Cos Labory - this St. Estephe property was coasting along making absolutely indifferent plonk for years (which is why it isn't exactly a household word even among Bordeaux cognoscenti) and then all of a sudden in this vintage it came out with a winner. Dark wine with slightly browning edges, a nose of typical Bordeaux currant and vanilla, and a middle with some tannin but decent length.1989 Ch. Soutard - I brought this out as I wanted to try it and it was also a
1989 from a region that started with St. E(milion). The nose was less forthcoming initially, but it was a similar plumy vanilla. This wine is a bit firmer, though not as hard as I'd feared, and also a bit more elegant than the Labory, although I think the Labory drinks a tad better right now and this one will continue to improve. It skirts the edges of being elegant and has lots of time to go.with rare ribeye and Dijon/shallot/cream sauce
1989 Ch. Bastor-Lamontagne - I wanted to match the vintage of the red Bordeaux for this inter-course palate cleanser. Amazingly dark in colour, it had a bit of bottle stink at first, but cleared up, and exhibited a marked orange element in the nose - so much so that it was remarked that tasted blind it might lead one into thinking it an older Muscat based wine. Low in acid, and with a bit of caramel at the end. If you have this, drink up soon.1997 Zenato Ripassa - made by an Amarone producer, this wine gets an added kick from spending time on the pressings from the Amarone grapes. You might be familiar with the better known Masi Campofiorin, done in this style. A recioto nose, a little pruny, and a fair bit of power (though certainly not finesse) on palate made it a nice match with cheese.
There was also a wonderful looking currant based dessert (I get flak for not mentioning desserts because I don't partake of them, but it is really because there are no wines served with them to merit a note).