Tis springtime in the South Pacific, and as the daylight hours expand and the temperatures rise, we antipodeans (of the warm-blooded variety) start awakening from our winter hibernation and commence socialising again.
Without a great deal of planning, and no collusion, allowed, our group (three couple which have been doing this for 15 years) congregated in Auckland.
Two champagnes (H Lanvin et Fils NV & Lanson Brut Rose NV) to get things rolling - the perfect start to any evening.
First course: smoked fish Soufflé with green salad. The wine served was Dry River 1998 Riesling (Martinborough). A hint of RS; lots of petrol on the nose; an excellent illustration of how well NZ Riesling can age. Not Australian; not Alsace nor MSR - but almost a combination of these three.
Main course: grilled breast of wild duck (w blueberry reduction sauce); mushroom risotto and fresh, new season, green asparagus (pan roasted w butter)
The lottery, (which best illustrates our method of choosing wine) saw three French red wines at the table.
1st wine: Dom Santa Duc Gigondas 2001 - rich, sweet, ripe; very fragrant (lavender and even jasmine!) deep colour; wild berry flavours - a very, very good wine.
2nd wine: Ch Calon-Segur 2001 - I found this a little austere after the Gigondas (others disagreed) medium bodied; classy without being a classic claret; certainly a good match with the duck.
3rd wine: Ch. Lamartine "Expression" 1998 (Cahors) - an excellent wine; big, bold and beautiful; leather, plums and wild herbs; a healthy dose of tannins, starting to soften. Although one would expect this wine to dominate the duck, unanimously it proved not to do so.
All in all, a wonderful comparison.
Rounding off the evening was a Warres 1977 vintage port - great port for a wonderful vintage - before crawling into bed at 1am mumbling incoherently.