Angela's Birthday Dinner

Greg and Sayo joined us for a very special and beaufiully executed dinner at Pierre to celebrate Angela's birthday.

At Pierre they serve 6 different champagnes by the glass....so we opted for a bottle of the most unusual.

• NV Vouette et Sorbée Champagne Fidèle 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Steely green-gold colour. Effervescent mousse and prolific, persistent tiny bubbles in pinprick streams. Very attractive vibrant and yeasty nose with the steeliness in the back common to very low dosage. Palate is bone dry, almost remniscent of hospital corridors and general antiseptic cleanliness....sharp, lanolin, angular finish......gunflint, extremely chalk-dry. Some resonance. Somewhat austere as an aperitif (but to my taste) and better with food. Not for the faint-hearted but really excellent.

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• 2006 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu La Petite Cote 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  Beautiful burnished light bronzed-gold colour. Nose is a muted semi-ripe banana note and an alluring mix of light marzipan, toasted almond mararoons and fresh warm meringues. Fresh buckskin leather emerges with more time. Palate is rich, unctuous, warm honeyed ripe canteloupe melon with a good backbone of tannin and oak balanced by fresh medium acidity. Very silky mouthfeel and lots of different butters emerge on the palate with more time in the glass. Some quite impressive honeyed resonance....long and lingering. Elegant for a Condrieu.

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We had a variety of Lamb, Beef and Foie Gras creations between us, which were beautiful but somewhat upstaged by the completely mesmerising Rioja.

• 1962 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial 98 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Middle neck fill bought at a charity auction. Uncorked an hour prior to a quick decant before serving. Dusky, alluring and ethereal soft-focused damask-red semi-translucent colour with just slight transparency at the rim. Nose is BAM!......gorgeous sweet strawberries....so pure....with great subtle yet firm background of barnyard....developing a very high-toned and mesmerising elegance with extended time in the glass. Gosh, this nose is one of the most beautiful I have ever experienced and just plunges you into private reveries. Palate is pitch-perfect poised and mouth-watering acidity combining with mushrooms, fungus, wild woodland strawberries, light and lifted....diaphanous....with increasingly persistent and deepening plum baritone notes. Incredibly sophisticated....so subtle yet powerfully moving and constantly micro-unfolding different facets of its personality. Totally beguiling and transcendental.....wow, what an experience. 98-99.

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The food, ambience and service at Pierre are highly recommended.