Goose at our place.

Hosted four friends for a holiday meal before we all get on planes trains and automobiles. We served a roast goose, sautéed mushrooms with shallots & tarragon, sauerkraut & carmalized calvados cinnamon apples. This is an Alsatian recipe often enjoyed as a Parisian Hanukkah meal. The irony here is that we never opened any of the Alasatian Riesling I chilled as we were enjoying the company and wines on the table too much and they, along with the salad we forgot.

• NV Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut

  France, Champagne

  Solid, refreshing beginner. Clean, fresh tart tree & citrus fruit on the nose & palate. This interacted well with spiced pecans & castelveltrano olives. This did well to prime the palate before the rest of dinner.

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• NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée Sainte Anne

  France, Champagne

  Served alongside the Feuillatte as a starter. This offered a bit more for me. The nose is clean with some apples & brioche. The palate here shows some yeasty character along with some subtle tart fruit. The wine really shows off with some layered textures. It enters with a crunchiness, but slowly yields to some creaminess which brings an involuntary smile to your face. Rich, somewhat intense, yet bright & clean with loads of acid.

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• 2008 Királyudvar Tokaji Pezsgő Henye

  Hungary, Tokaji

  This poured a beautiful golden yellow. Pure citrus nose with some floral components. Medium bodied, high in acidity and boatloads of tart apples. Blind, I would have sworn a sparkling Vouvray of high character. Bright, nimble and fresh, this drinks much like a still table wine. It demands food and delivered with spades with both a sweet, spiced apple and an austere sauerkraut. This gets more substantial with air & warmth. Highly recommended.

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• 2007 Domaine La Tour Vieille Collioure La Pinède

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Collioure

  Deep maroon color. The nose showed a little hint of reduction which blew off quickly, yielding to dark cherry, savory pit fruit & a black pepper. Full bodied, intense and muscular. This begins with spiced black fruit accented with a figgy component. Some dark berries show some tartness on the mid palate and play off the tannins beautifully. Those tannins were silky and unobtrusive and showed a dimension that was necessary with the fatty goose. The gamey bird and savory aspects of this wine were made for one another. Black pepper swirled around the entire time and lingered on the finish.
  
  One of our friends spent a year in Collioure, so we always bust a wine out from there during a special meal. The qpr on this is insane due to the appellation being largely unknown. Highly recommended.

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• 2009 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

  Clear dark ruby red. A little oak on the nose along with some aromatic, pretty red fruit. Medium bodied, soft and feminine in the mouth. Effortless to enjoy. This actually may have been too delicate for the fatty goose. Some acidic brightness was certainly present, but the tannins were like silk pillows. As stated, quite elegant, but also showing a load of fresh red fruit. This fruit is definitely the star of the show right now, although the soft texture and freshness is quite compelling. Long, mouthcoating finish. Delicious.

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