The Papies 20th Anniversary

A party, more like a second wedding at the excellent Notting Hill Kitchen ( http://www.nottinghillkitchen.co.uk/) for 68 great friends and some glorious wine.

Empadinhas de leitao suckling pig, chorizo, sage and majoram pies
Croquetas de Gallina corn-fed chicken croquetas
Ovos verdes deep fried quail eggs stuffed with parsley
Basteis de bacalhau deep fried cod fish cakes

• 1990 Drappier Champagne Carte d'Or Brut 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  From Magnum and had several, as in 15, magnums on the evening.
  Beautifully mature with a dark golden colour to go with it. This is a champagne the demands (to be honest all decent champagnes perform better in white wine glasses) a wine glass. Open yeasty rich nose, good ripe fruit. Mellow and showing its age on the palate, rich and full , lush with a lot of presence. A touch low on the vitality front and we would suggest one drinks this sooner than later. A beautiful wine and at a bargain price too. 93 and worth it.

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Of course opened with a sabre - pic.twitter.com/EoWacrHd6a

• 1990 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  From double magnum/jeroboam.
  Indeed a Grande dame! We have always questioned the longevity of old GD's and we were worried about this but on the evening it gave a stellar performance. Had it after several magnums of Drappier 1990 and it was interesting to see it raise the bar. The colour is quite youthful and not as dark as other 1990s. On the nose it is rich, ripe, toasty, brioche notes. Beautiful nose, long and complex. Where it raises the bar however is in how youthful it is. Fresh and vibrant on the palate, good intensity and depth. Lots of complexity here. Very nice to see the richness of aged champagne co exist with vibrancy. Almost in a Dom Perignon Oenotheque way. Really a special lady this Grande Dame! 95!

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pic.twitter.com/QKzx3CWZ1Y

• 1993 Château Léoville Las Cases 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  From a 6.0L ex-chateau bottle. Decanted for one hour or so , a few decanters, and it helped.
  The centre piece for our 20th anniversary and for a 93 Bordeaux it performed very well. The colour shows the age and so does the nose. Classic Bordeaux nose, well secondary, very earthy, leathery. Light spice, light fruit. On the palate it is not a light wine at all. Good weight and very much alive, no green edge at all. Could use a bit more weight on the mid palate and some more length but for a 1993 this was a great wine. Felt in general a lot older than a 90s wine , very pure claret, very elegant and very classic. A 92 for this beauty but a great wine nonetheless.
  LLC seems to be making great wines in off vintages as the great 94 (Papies 94) and so on.

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FIRST COURSE

Enchidos – Charcuterie board
Hamburguers de atum com choco – Tuna & cuttlefish hamburger
Tiborna alentejana - Bone marrow and toasts with papada and pata negra
Favinhas estufadas - Broad beans cooked in sheep butter with cacholeira
Salada de polvo - Octopus and black eyed beans salad
Espargus bravos com ovos mexidos - Scrambled eggs with wild asparagus

MAIN COURSE

Espadarte corado - Pink sword fish smoked in Azorean black tea with carolino rice
Cachaço de porco com batata e legumes - Pork neck with potatoes and vegetables
Lechal con burunia - Roasted baby lamb shoulder
Espinafres com amêndoa - Spinach salad with almonds
Beringela com tomate e courgete - Aubergine tomato and courgettes

• 2009 Michel & Stéphane Ogier Condrieu La Combe de Malleval 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  The wine performed brilliantly as the white wine in our anniversary dinner and was a real crowd pleaser.
  The oak has assimilated well and this is now at a very good time to be enjoyed and could even say at its peak. The nose is full of citrus, mineral notes and a floral edge too. Medium on the palate, glycerine texture, good weight, acidity and fruit from start to finish. Very good condrieu, well made and a better alternative to an oaky chardonnay! 91-92

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• 2001 Château Pontet-Canet 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This vintage remains our favourite of the Pontet Canet stable and absolutely love the no nonsense purity of it. Well made and to the point with none of the new age changes they made additions that make the 08,09 & 10 feel so charmless (great wines but lack the special factor). Dark in colour, youthful glossy. On the nose it needs a bit of time to develop but once it does it is just magical with lots of dark fruit, spicy and light tobacco. On the palate it is vibrant, super well made, pure and so elegant. For lovers of un-adulterated Bordeaux this should hit the spot! So sell your 08s and buy 01s that is what we did! And the more we drink this the more we think we should be selling our 09s and 10s!

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Pastel de nata - Thousand sheet Nata with cinnamon ice cream
Terrina de chocolate com amendoas do Douro - Chocolate and hazelnut terrine with a caramel parfait
Assortment of fruits

• 2009 Anama 95 Points

  Cyprus

  We love this wine and granted given to us is among the best little Cyprus has ever produced we are on the biased side. We chose this as the dessert wine to our 20th anniversary party and it was just the perfect wine to finish. Our previous TN holds. We and our guests loved it once again. Beautiful show stopping bottle too!

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