It has been some time since I put together a dinner party. We had a wonderful time together—time with friends is truly so precious. I cooked and served everything again.
With assorted cheeses and crackers:
2013 Westcott Vineyards Brilliant
Such a well-named sparkler. Methode Traditionelle, and this is a stunning beauty. So much length and drive and yet the bubbles and the appley fruit caress you at the same time. Definitely will benefit from some further ageing, this honestly stands up to almost any medium-level Champagne I’ve had and I can’t mind the price tag of C$35.
With Peach Amaretto Fruit Soup
2017 Egon Muller Scharzhof Ries
Not much of this comes in here and it doesn’t stay on the shelf very long. I wanted to crack one open to try. Sizzling wine here, it still has the vivacious sternness of Muller, but this low-level offering is more than approachable now. It has a touch of frizzante and is very consistent with the apple, steel and sweet lime notes on aroma and palate. Delightful.
With tossed salad
2014 Christian Moreau Chablis Les Clos
For whatever reason I didn’t give this much of a decant and by the end of the night it was clear I should have. Starts out tight but “correct” for me for Les Clos with plenty of mineral and seashell and slight chalky feel to apple and tinge of grapefruit and salt flavours. With air time, rounds out and up just that little bit. Cracking Chablis.
With Salmon with rhubarb and crème fraiche
2012 Bevan Cellars Ritchie Chard
Wanted to give my guests both sides of the Chardonnay equation. I will try some of this again today (dinner party was Saturday) but I have to confess I was pretty nonplussed with this wine. It wasn’t hot or alcoholic to me, but it seemed to be rather abrupt and more, seemed to be missing the Ritchie citrus signature I’ve had with other producers from there. I’d almost say it’s in an awkward stage, but we’re 7 years out and that shouldn’t be the case.
With pasta in homemade rose sauce
2000 Chateau Musar
Wonderful wine. No decant, just a little slow-ox for about an hour. Absolutely Musar to me—the leather, the cumin, the hummus–all on display with fanciful red berry and dried berry fruit in the main. This is one where there is no VA at all. It’s a touch on the “light” side and I was surprised a bit that it is showing fully mature to me, but this was pretty much everyone else’s fave and it was my #2 tonight.
With short ribs in ancho chili, chipotle, adobo sauce, lime juice, maple syrup, coffee and Talisker whisky marinade served with scalloped potatoes with roasted garlic and gruyere cheese
2016 Quivet Beckstoffer Las Piedras Cab
This is a big dish and it demanded a big wine. AFWE needs to stay far away, but this isn’t a bomb wine either—it is plenty voluptuous with supercharged plum and sweet blackberry and touches of the oak here and there, but it is also shaped and reined in just enough. Here, the wine for me becomes more because it matches beautifully with the dish. I gave this about a 2.5 hour decant and that seemed to work just fine. The finish lasts a long, long time.
With chocolate mousse cake and tiramisu and other pastries (brought by one of the guests–I don’t do any baking!)
1997 Dow VP
My WOTN, fan-tastic port. I decanted this for 12 hours before serving. The very present thing here is balance and elegance. There is next to no heat and no hard edges to be found here at all. Tongue loves the raisin, fig, chocolatey currant and welter of baking spices and it has a licklicious presence on the finish.
Happy no duds in the lineup for the evening.
Kwa Heri
Mike