Christmas Goose Lunch

What an excellent lunch - nice wines, great company with Lawrence, Joyce, Brenda, Alex, Leonard and Jillian. We started with a flamkuchen (German Pizza) to share, followed by a large goose confit leg each paired with a couple of really nice Pinots.

• 2007 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  A really nice Kabinett - a little on the ripe, sweet side given the maker and the vintage, but this had fine balance. Lovely nose was very Mosel, with some herb, lovely minerality, a touch of rubber, some nectar, white flowers and musk apples. Very fragrant, but in a gentle, wafting way. Palate showed the characteristic soft, sweet weightiness of many 2007 Kabinetts, with sweet apples, some nectarine and tropical fruit notes at the fore, but there was also lovely balance and a backbone of dry extract and mineral especially towards the lengthy finish where a twist of spice showed up. All in all, I found it very open and pleasing, and a top notch pairing with with ham and onion flamkuchen.

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• 2007 Friedrich Becker Spätburgunder "B" 91 Points

  Germany, Pfalz

  Top-notch stuff - this is as good an entry-level Spatburgunder as I have ever had. I would say this is easily a match for top-class Burgundy village wines. Nose was very Volnay, with tons of floaty, perfumy florals, mineral, spice and charming red fruit. Charm is probably the best word to use for the wine. The palate was every bit as pretty as the nose. Cool, transparent and quite elegant - nice high-toned red fruit on the attack was matched with some spice and mineral - a little mettalic at first, but it opened up to be seriously stony backbone. On the mid-palate, sweet fleshy cherries and strawberries (showing none of the candied confectionary sweetness of many similar priced Spatburgunders) were mixed with more pretty florals and lifted by nice orangey acidity. Nice depth and structure for an entry level wine indeed, with superb balance to boot. Very impressive for a wine at this price point, and a wonderful pairing with the goose confit.

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• 1995 Domaine Michel Noëllat Chapelle-Chambertin 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru

  An excellent wine - still so young and fresh as well! Lovely nose showed quite a bit more depth than the Spatburgunder, with strawberries galore, whiffs of kirsch and some very Gevrey earth, meat and mineral notes to go along with the sweet fruited scents. Palate showed more rich red fruit on the attack - strawberries and red raspberries I thought, with lovely sappy roundness on the mid-palate and super-fresh acidity throughout. Finish was just a bit tightly wound at first, showing a compact little tail with fruit tea notes. It did open up and integrate with a little time in the decanter too, to show a really focused sense of definition. Not a power-packed Gevrey, this was more about classy elegance and smooth deliciousness. At a nice place now, but this could easily go on aging for some time yet.

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