Your Christmas wine?

Mine was NV Christophe Mignon brut rose. Really great match with a Tails & Trotters ham and roasted root veggies. The salt and gentle sweetness of the ham demanded a wine with acidity and richness, and the Champagne delivered.

With just 3 of us, there’s a whole lot of ham leftover. Looking forward to some great sandwiches the next few days!

NV Larmandier-Bernier Longitude, 2019 Pepiere Clos de Briords VV, and 2001 Clape Cornas.

Did you only have 1 bottle of Champagne and no still wines?

We had 1994 Haut Brion with cheesesteaks. Started with Michel Arnould Grande Cuvee Champagne.

98 F Gaunoux Beaune Clos does Mouches
77 Fonseca

A Christophe Mignon Brut MV and a 1990 Laurel Glen cab, both from magnums with ham

Pierre Peters BdB Reserve Mag (2017)
2017 Olivier Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet
2005 Gérard Raphet GC Champs Chenys
2006 Navarro Gewurztraminer Cluster Select Late Harvest
2020 GTS

2004 Jacquesson Avize Champ Cain before dinner with my small group. A spectacular aperitif wine, a few drank it all through the meal. Champagne with prime rib? Yes!
1989 La Conseillante was sadly dead - failed cork is my guess, flat and thin. After six hours no improvement.
1996 Pape Clement - a very good backup. With standing rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, roast carrots, baked ziti for the vegetarians. This wine is still so youthful but loaded with classic Bordeaux notes. Excellent with the beef, no surprise.
2005 De Fargues Sauternes - a shockingly good partner to a chocolate orange cheesecake. Lots of tart orange in the wine, plus a sharp, tart long finish was a great counterpoint to the richness of the cheesecake.

Merry Christmas to all!

The 24th is a close friend’s birthday so today we opened:

2019 Keller VdF
2017 Cameron Pinot Noir Silvestre Clos Electrique
NV Bartlett Estate Blueberry Oak Dry
2016 Vietti Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza La Crena
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Asili

Pierre Mignon NV, premier cru, very pleasing brioche flavours.
2010 Chateau Cissac from magnum, ready to go, but no hurry to drink.
2002 Real Companhia Velha Colheita, delightfully figgy tawny.

Merry Christmas.

The main event of the night over here is salted cod, which we paired with the 2017 Jean Marc Pillot Clos St. Marc, which at the moment is more about future potencial than anything else. Opened a few aged reds and the evening ended with the Barros 1938 Colheita.

1995 Ampeau Meursault La Pièce-sous-le-Bois (really lovely, in a perfect place) with caviar, gougères and carabinero shrimp soup
2007 Comte de Vogué Musigny (also showing well, deep, complex, and after some air balanced) with roast goose stuffed with prunes and armagnac and potatoes roasted in goose foot.

Krug 163 and the rest of the 12 Cristal

1999 Ch. Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1.5L
2001 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanee

2010 Shafer Hillside

2016 Shafer Hillside
2016 Cliff Lede Poetry
1970 Taylor Vintage Port

2004 Solaia: Dead on arrival.
2009 Pontet Canet: Beautiful.

Kept it simple but pleasurable. Lots of champagne. Some bottles of Sir William’s Chenin Blanc and some mags of:

2011 Clos de la Roilette Griffe du Marquis

2017 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

1999 Dom Perignon and 2014 Domaine Carneros Taittinger with crab cakes and calamari salad

2008 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee
NV Jose Dhondt
1999 Chateau Peby Faugeres (magnum)

1994 Opus One
2014 Chateau Montelena Estate
2018 Perchance Cabernet
2017 Hudson “Little Bit” Chardonnay
1946 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Convento Selección

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