| | Canapés The most amazing duck roll things. - 2016 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Served from Magnum. On the nose, a whiff of struck match, silage. Pale lemon colour. On the tongue, bit of a spritz. Very sweet - someone mentioned sherbet pips, which i got, and a hint of creaminess. I really want to like this kind of wine but struggle to do so - hopefully continued exposure will work...
Roast Cauliflower, cashew, pickled king oyster A great transplant from the glasshouse is a vegan, cauliflower based starter. A victory. - 2018 Heinrich Mayr (Nusserhof) Blaterle Bianco - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Vino da Tavola
Lovely stuff with a fascinating story - evidently this is a somewhat rare indigenous grape variety whose name is not permitted to be printed on the label. Medium pale yellow. On the palate - someone described it as "weight without heft" and I thought that was very fair. Some body here for sure, but it's elevated - vibrant without being too acidic. Lovely stuff and I will look out for it again.
- 2018 Giuseppe Nada Langhe Bianco "Armonia" - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
My extra wine - brought due to a slight mix up in the listings and kindly served due to an excess of generosity on the part of the restaurant. Perfectly decent wine - I believe a blend including indigenous varieties but I also sense a bit of sauv blanc. Told far less of an interesting story than its flight mate however, and I didn't finish my glass.
Raviolo of rabbit, white onion velouté - 2010 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Served from magnum. On opening - tightly coiled, and could maybe even be described as foursquare. Opened up, what seemed like rusticity or clumsiness started to unfurl - this has years ahead of it but a jolly decent wine.
- 2010 Giuseppe Nada Barbaresco Riserva Casot - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Looks older than the preceding wine, more bricking around the rim. And almost went in the opposite direction - on opening, clearly more perfumed, more elegant, but seemed to somewhat fall apart at the end - like a guitarist attempting a complex solo and not quite being able to pull it off. With some air, became more together. I have a few bottles left and will endeavour to drink them in the next year or two - but still more than pleasurable.
- 2011 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
It would be both trite and damning with faint praise to say that this is the Hegelian synthesis of the flight. Really lovely stuff - a hint of plushness perhaps, but in the classiest way. Fragrant - a hint of, maybe blueberries - and a length on the palate. A treat to drink at this lunch, and (perhaps along with the Mayr) a wine that would benefit from being contemplated over the course of an evening.
Aged beef fillet, roasted cep, potato galette I often feel that choosing fillet in a restaurant is a waste, as it's so easy to cook well at home. There are some circumstances under which this is wrong - this was absolutely lovely in every way. - 2008 Marcarini Barolo La Serra - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Just what I imagine barolo to be. Purple colour with a little bricking. On the palate - tar, cherry stone. There is some fruit under the structure but it must be sought out.
- 2004 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
On the nose, forest floor, just a hint of complexity. Very clean palate - clearly barolo but more resolved, more ready to share its pleasures than the previous bottle. On swirling around the mouth this really came into focus - a wine definitely worthy of contemplation - certainly one could imagine drinking this slowly over the course of a few hours and enjoying seeing its progress.
- 2004 Fratelli Brovia Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A slightly burned, pruney flavour which I found to be faulty. Some interesting discussion at the table as my fellow diners did not perceive this - is there perhaps a specific compound to which I am uniquely sensitive (as some are to brett or TCA)? I recall having a case of halves of some 98 St Emilion which I thought had a similar fault, but a friend loved so...perhaps I learned something more about myself than I did about wine with this one.
We were also offered a glass of the 98, which I did enjoy, and had none of that characteristic.
My apologies to my fellow diners, who heard my opinions on this wine shared more loudly and often than was required.
|
