Deepavali Lunch at K&J's

A nice, relaxed lunch with good friends, sipping some very interesting blind wines and enjoying fresh seafood simply but perfectly prepared by Kelvin as we watched the rain come down outside. One could certainly think of worse ways to spend a public holiday!

• NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée Sainte Anne 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  60% chardonnay and 40% pinot. A very decent NV, showing quite a bit more character than most grand marque bottlings you would get at this price. It had a very expressive, almost no-holds-barred nose which wafted out of the glass with thick, slightly oxidative whiffs of chicken stock, rich white fruit and slightly browned apples. As one would expect from that, the palate too came across as rich, thick, rather heavy-set, but somehow pretty well balanced with a really bright acidity. So bright and zippy indeed that it almost threatened to tumble over into the wrong side of tartness when first poured. Thankfully, with a bit more air and some food (very nice blueberries this time) it calmed down to show ample flavours of strawberry flesh and apple tempered with some earth and mineral notes. What I really did like about this Champagne was its beautiful long finish, lingering away with complex notes of white meat, yeast and white fruit. All in all, a bit disparate at the moment, but this was pleasant and certainly very interesting. It should improve with time too.

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• NV Gustave Lorentz Crémant d'Alsace Pinot Noir Rosé 87 Points

  France, Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace

  Fun, fresh stuff - great for a casual afternoon. A raspberryish colour, this showed a nose of strawberries, red berries, earth and white meat. The palate was bright, fresh, zippy, and very red fruited, with a few dollops of cream and a touch of mineral bringing up the rear. Not great depth, but not insubstantial eiher. In fact, there was nothing wrong at all with this - it was just simple, fun, refreshing stuff.

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• NV Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino 24 "que va para Amontillado" 96 Points

  Spain, Andalucía, Montilla-Moriles

  Once again, this was stunning. Starting with a beautiful nose, it showed layers of gentle earthy aromas, dried flowers, ripe yellow figs and plums, some browning apple flesh, a bit of almond and pistachio notes, a whiff of mahogany wood, the tiniest kiss of seabreeze - so complex and yet so integrated that it was hard to pick it apart. After the intensity on the nose, the palate was almost surprising in how easy and wonderfully drinkable it was - we just could not stop downing ihis. There was a perfect marriage of great intensity, mellowed depth and mouthwatering balance, so that one barely noticed the 15.6 alcohol as the wine filled the the mouth with deliciously pure flavours of apples, pears and yellow plums, seasoned again at the midpalate with complex little notes of earthy mineral, wood spice and roasted nuts. Beautiful stuff - at once creamily rich, superbly integrated and yet carried by pitch perfect balance - this was a mouthful of profound goodness. It had a finish to match too, one that showed tremendous length, vibrant freshness and great power, all somehow wrapped in a beautifully, silky elegance as it stretched away into the horizon with reams of white fruit, spice and dried flowers filling the back-palate. To top it all off, it was a great pairing for fresh fish baked with butter and salt. This was a killer - one of the very best sherries I have had the privilege to drink.

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• 1995 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  I thought this was very nice indeed. It seemed far younger than it was, with lovely freshness both on the palate and on the nose. This started out with a very pretty bouquet of seashell, beeswax and white flower scents littered over a core of peach, pineapple and breadfruit aromas. The palate too showed gently fruity notes of pinepples and peaches, with a lovely balance brought about by a fresh and very well-integrated bit of acidity. There was a sprinkle of cinamon sugar on the midpalate and then a little honeyed touch on the appley finish met by a final bit of flowers mingling amidst gentle bits of spice. Very nice indeed - a good wine at a lovely place.

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• 2007 Henry Fessy Beaujolais-Villages Domaine des Païens 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages

  This was really surprisingly good for a 2007 Beaujolais-Villages. We all thought it was a Gamay when blinded, but were on the other hand quite sure it was a Cru bottling from a good vintage. This was a delicious drink, and while it was not the most profound, was certainly a nicely put-together package. The nose was pure Beaujolais and rather pretty, showing notes of iodine and metal, violets and bright strawberries, and then telltale aromas of stalky green herbs patted down with a touch of earth. The palate was all fresh and lacy, with high-tone flavours of dark cherries and berries laced through an silky and elegantly porportioned midpalate. It ended with a bit more stalks and herbs gently floating about at the finish where the littlest touch of banana and bubbelgum peeked out at the edges. Finely balanced and extremely enjoyable. This was great QPR.

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• 2003 Mischief and Mayhem Charmes-Chambertin 91 Points

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

  A good enough wine, well-made for a 2003 Burg, but this was certainly not a sterling Grand Cru experience. Overall a pretty good wine though. The nose was certainly decent enough, if just a touch modern, with notes of cola, cherries and strawberries wed to some earth, spice and mineral and, with a bit of air, a hint of meat and a twist of orange peel. The palate was very much the mirror image of the nose, showing in cherry cola flavours, some strawberry and stony mineral accents on the midpalate just before it finished with a little kiss of spice and toast. This showed some of the ripeness of the vintage, but it was also very nicely fresh - a bit surprising for a 2003. So, while it did not quite have Grand Cru depth, it was nevertheless a very decent wine.

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• 2006 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Served blind again, this performance underlined just how good a wine Francois had made from this bottling in 2006. Given the lacy elegance and floral perfume that we were quite unanimous with Chambolle guesses, and quite a few placed this as a 2006 given the way the fruit and acid came together. However, such was the quality of the wine that some thought it might be a Bonnes Mares, while others thought a Les Amoureuses. Indeed, it had both the depth and structure to suggest a Bonnes Mares, as well as the rustling silk and seductiveness that nodded towards Les Amoureuses. Nevertheless, something about the wine, a less than Grand Cru profundity perhaps, made me think it was probably another 1er Cru. No bones about it though - this was a lovely wine, starting from its glorious nose that showed lots of rose and violet petals, some lavender and then lovely red cherries and strawberries, vanilla hints, a touch of earth and the tiniest hint of herb. Such beautiful stuff. The palate was very complete for a wine so young. Framed by fine tannins, somehow both firmly structured yet lacy at the same time, it melted across the mouth with pure red-fruited flavours of strawberries and red cherries, all ringingly clear and absolutely delicious, wed as the whole package was to fresh juicy acidity. It finished just as it began on the nose, with a lovely suggestion of fresh cut flowers stretching away in a long, persistent tail marked by both structure and purity. A wonderful wine that paired beautifully with roast duck. Drinking well now, but this should improve over the next decade or so.

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• 1982 Pio Cesare Dolcetto d'Alba 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba

  Still a bit over-the-hill, but this was rather better than the last bottle we had. Clearly an old Piedmontese varietal when blinded, this had a telltale nose of umami-laden chicken essence, some dried cherries and berries, raisins and cherries coated with cocoa, and then a good amount of wet earth, all overlaid by a layer of sherry-like rancio notes. It smelt really old. The palate was surprisingly fresh and alive after that. There was still some richness here, rather ripely sweet actually, showing in flavours of dried figs and strawberries, some cocoa and more salty chicken soup flavours and rancio notes. There was a rather thickish texture still, with fine tannins giving a sense of structure and fresh acidity on the midpalate that gave the wine a nice lift to its dried fruit ans spice notes at the finish. Just a tad too old, so that this seemed to be pulling apart at the seams, but it was still very pleasurable.

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