"Huat-Huat" Chinese New Year Dinner

6 of us gathered on the third day of the Lunar New Year to welcome the year of the Rabbit with a bang. The theme for dinner, as befitting the occasion was "Huat-Huat" wines (Chinese for prosperity). This was opened to interpretation of course, and we got hilarious wines like Vinas de "GAIN", a "Haut" Medoc, La Mission "Haut" Brion, one from 1988 ("8" sounding like "Huat" in Chinese dialects) etc...

All wines were served blind as usual, and paired with some excellent food - cold cuts, rabbit stew, grilled kangaroo, t-bone steak and wild boar stew.

• 1996 R. Dumont et Fils Champagne Blanc de Noirs Grand Millesime 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  It has been quite some time since I have had a blanc de noirs - this was a very decent example, although I felt it could really have done with more time in the bottle. The nose was very expressive - lots of yeasty scents and oxidative notes, with green apples slightly browning at the edges, some mushroomy accents and a little nuttiness. Suggested a bit of age, but the palate was drinking a whole lot younger than the bouquet put on. Lots of apple, almost cidery flavours buffetted by extremely bright, lemony freshness. Almost a bit aggressive on the acidity at first, but it was a nice foil for the cold cuts on the table - made me think 1996 immediately. Somehow though, while there was lots of verve and energy here, the wine just did not seem to have the structure of the better 1996 vintage Champagnes. Nevertheless, it had a nice yumminess and good weight and heft on it, with some gummy pineapple and guava notes emerging on the mid-palate as the wine sat in the glass, and then more yeasty tones on the moderately lengthy finish. Not the most refined or well-built vintage Champagne, but there was quite a bit to like here.

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• 2006 Artadi Viñas de Gain 90 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja

  A good wine - I definitely preferred the 2005 at the same point of evolution. This seemed rather more modern right off the bat, thicker too. It calmed down and showed more restraint after a double-decant, but always remained that bit more extracted and obvious than the 2005. The nose here had sweet scents of fruit compote, dark cherries and blackberries, some earth notes and a little curl of smoke. With time, some flower petal accents started coming up. On the palate, some sweet oak notes, followed by ripe plums, more black cherry and then dried earth and smoke. Balance was decent, not as bright as I expected though, so that it seemed to flatten out a little, leaving the wine a bit on the shortish side at the finish, where spicy and smoky note lingered shortly. This is drinking okay now - there was a touch of tannins that have just begun to soften out, but it was very approachable with food. A very nice pairing with a rabbit in Barolo stew I must say. Overall, I liked this. I think it is a good wine, but I would leave my one other bottle for some time in the cellar before opening it.

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• 1996 Château Sociando-Mallet 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  This was one of those bottles that I had quite forgotten trying before. As with the last time, highly impressive when served blind. The nose was lusher and riper than I remembered it. It showed typical Sociando Mallet "green" notes of roasted capsicum wreathed in cigar smoke scents, but also had plenty of sweet dark cherries, plums and sweet spices along with a rather inexplicable whiff of salted Chinese vegetables. The palate still had a mouthfull of ripe tannins, especially towards the finish, where it was a little dry and mouth-puckering, but otherwise it was a real pleasure to drink, with quality 1996 left-bank fruit - really clean, transparent expressions of cherries and cassis - wed to fresh acidity that gave the wine a fine balance and a lightish feel. Again, the vine stem and tobacco character showed up here and there as the wine slid towards its finish. I liked this - - typical Sociando Mallet made in a clearly good vintage. May not be to everyone's taste, one must like the Sociando Mallet idiosyncracies to fully enjoy it I think, but I thought it was a solid wine nonetheless. Best to leave this for another 3-4 years' time, with an aging cycle that will probably see it developing for quite a bit longer than that before hitting peak.

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• 1988 Dickerson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Reserve Ruby 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  A nice wine drinking at peak. HM picked it out as a new world Cab, but the rest of us leaned towards Bordeaux. Nose showed plenty of matured old-world Cabernet notes - tobacco, a touch of fresh green peppers, meat, umami, earth and a restrained amount of dark cassis and plum fruit. It was the secondary character that stood out more than the fruit aromas here. The palate was drinking beautifully. It still had a layer of powdery tannins, but had softened into a nice velvety package with some super-fresh acidity giving it a very lively feel. Again, there was tons of tobacco floating around alongside ripe prune and slightly dried plum flavours. The ripeness and flavours profile really should have alerted us that this was not quite kosher Bordeaux, but then the wine moved into a lively finish with lovely clean cassis fruit that pulled towards the old world again. Not the deepest or most complex wine, nor the most refined - this was certainly rather more rustic than the two Bordelais on the same flight. But all said, this was certainly very well-made and enjoyable. A solid Napa cab.

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• 1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Great stuff. Very young - this was the least ready wine in the flight, but it was nevertheless quite clearly the WOTN. Nose was super smoky, almost a bit of cigar ash, along with earth scents, dark fruit undercurrants and a touch of ripe vine stems. Textbook young Graves. Palate showed quite a bit of richness on the attack, with a plush seductiveness that spoke of Merlot fruit. However, the mid-palate was quite a bit more restrained, showing noble Cabernet character, with subtle cassis fruit wed to fine, ripe fine tannins and fresh acidity. I thought it was a really nice 1995 - not a hint of any tough, chewy tannins here. The wine was still not showing completely though. It was rather monolithic. However, there was clearly fine breed, good structure and plenty of power all tied to an impressive elegance. Solid finish too, with rich cassis, tobacco and spice that filled up slowly in the glass. Still in its adolescence clearly, it would be nice to taste this again a decade down the road. CS 47%, M 48%, CF 5%.

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• 1986 E. Guigal Hermitage 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  From a half-bottle. Enjoyable, if not exactly perfect. Nose showed mature Rhone notes of winter melon, herbs, menthol, incense, lavender and spice aromas playing on a backdrop of sweet red fruit scents. The palate was full bodied - certainly heavier than any of the other wines on show, with thick flavours of haw flakes and cherries, followed by meat, spice and garrigue towards the finish. The balance was okay on the attack, but I thought the acidity dropped a little towards the end, so that the wine became just a little plodding. It was high-time we drank up this half-bottle. Full bottles might age that much better, but I would not expect this wine to be developing much further than it already had when we got to it. Overall this was still an enjoyable wine with plenty of character. As would be expected, a great pairing with the wild boar in Montepulciano stew as well.

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• 2007 Château Rieussec 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  This was still showing the obvious sweetness of a Sauternes in its infancy, but boy it was enjoyable. Nose had a nice stream of coconut candy oak notes, ripe apricots, bitterscotch, honey even some cotton candy scents. Nice, but it was the impeccable balance on the palate that made this wine such a joy. There were gobs of ripe yellow fruit, dried apricots, honey and white chocolate, yet this remained fresh all the way into a long finish that showed a caramelled nuttiness with a little toast and spice. Very young, but impeccably balanced and very stylish. This should age into a lovely Sauternes if one can resist the temptation to drink them all up over the next 20 years.

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