Mostly tasty wines with Christine's shabu shabu.

The last time I had shabu shabu, it was with my host family in Japan during a college trip in ’91 and it was delicious, so when Christine Huang sent out the invite for Taiwanese style shabu shabu at her place last week, I wasn’t going to miss it. Truth be told, I try not to miss any dinner invite from Christine because girlfriend can cook!

Paul and Sandy Jaouen, Jay Miller and Michel Abood also won the golden ticket to dinner and a fun evening ensued. Needless to say, the shabu shabu was fantastic. Christine laid out an incredible array of tasty bits for us to cook up and by the end of the evening, that broth was one of the tastiest soups/broths I’ve ever had!

We had plenty of nice wines to go along with the dinner, though I do think a beer would’ve been a better match. I didn’t try the Champagne that was opened, though, and it seems like it was declared the best match with the shabu shabu.

• 1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese

  Germany, Pfalz

  Jay knows I’ve always liked this wine and it’s always nice to check in on his apparently endless supply. I’m a little surprised by the deep gold color. This bottle certainly shows some more advanced characteristics on the nose. There’s a lot more petrol showing than a bottle I had just two years ago, there’s more of a desiccated apricot character and some intriguing brown spice aromas. Ahhh, but on the palate, the wine is just groovy. It’s intense, yet harmonious with lip smacking acidity nicely balancing the sweet dried apricot and pineapple fruit. There’s some nice secondary development and a certain creaminess to the wine that’s just delightful. Drinking well now, though no hurry here. In fact, I know a bunch of folks that would still consider this too young. A/A-.

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• 1985 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre

  France, Alsace

  Plenty of petrol on the nose, though still showing classic lichee and spice aromas. On the palate, it’s too old for me. I tend to like Gewürztraminers with some sweetness to them and at this age and in Trimbach’s drier style, there’s no sweetness left. Mineral and petrol dominate the palate. There’s some grapefruit pith that veers a little too bitter and I also find the alcohol to be sticking out too much, which is my real problem with drier Gewürtz’s. To my tastes, when you ferment most of the sugar out, I find this wine can be too unbalanced. Jay, on the other hand, loves this wine and the others also seemed to like it more than I did. B.

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• 2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile

  France, Alsace

  Wow! This is the best showing of this wine to date. It’s showing younger and fresher than a number of other bottles I’ve had, with brilliant pear and citrus fruit that’s abundant and rather exuberant. The mineral is there in spades, but what makes this showing so brilliant is the tsunami like persistence across the palate. The wine just seems to grow and grow and then lasts endlessly. Still young, but the integration and balance of this bottle is wonderful. Low A.

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• 1985 Louis Jadot Moulin-à-Vent Domaine Laennec

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent

  Paul threw this in double blind. Well past peak, earthy, no real fruit remaining or tannin structure, but some acidity. Reminded me of an over the hill Rioja minus the American oak. C-.

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• 2009 Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Poulsard Arbois Vieilles Vignes

  France, Jura, Arbois

  What a fun and compelling wine this is. I can’t recall ever having a Poulsard as ripe as this, which may explain why I like it so much. Lots of primary and juicy red plum and blackberry fruit with some interesting earthiness and bark. Tannic and a little chunky, it’s a wine with plenty of personality and just really hard not to like. Low A-.

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• 2009 Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Whoah! This has to be the cleanest Breton I’ve ever smelled. Where’s the Brett? On the palate there’s sweet fruit with primary fruit with some ripe fruit thrown in. Seriously, at this stage this is a honest to goodness fruit bomb. Thickly textured, but not extracted, these just arrived this month and they definitely need some time to show some more. It’s a real pleasure to drink for the sheer fruit, but there are things underneath that I’d like to see and that’s a bit difficult right now. A-.

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• 2004 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir Hommage à Louis Derré

  France, Loire Valley, Coteaux du Loir

  I really like Eric & Christine Nicolas, but this wine is dreadful. It doesn’t help that I’m not a fan at all of Pinot D’Aunis, but a poor vintage makes this stuff even worse. It literally smells like freshly watered potting soil with menthol and green herbs. “It does smell good,” Jay retorts. There’s no fruit here. It’s all greenness, wet earth and really pissed off acidity. Jay, it’s all yours. D.

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