Dinner at Roy Hersh's

Had a fantastic dinner at Roy's, which he prepared with the assistance of his buddy, Rob (actually they went to chef school together years ago...bodes well for dinner!). Also attending: me and my girlfriend + Clare and Micheal Gordon. We had a great time.

• 2002 Henschke Sémillon "Louis" 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

  Nice nose of pears, which follows onto the palate as green pears. Nice acidity. A little waxy lanolin. Youthful. Tastes a little like a dry Riesling from Alsace. Good wine.

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• 2000 J. Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Nose of cut grass. This wine is ripe, but quite dry on the palate with nice gooseberries and MacIntosh apples.

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• 1997 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss 97 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Explosive floral nose (roses). This thing just jumps from the glass. Also some olive tapenade on the nose. On the palate, perfect balance. Great ripeness of fruit, supported by superfine tannins and nice fresh acids. The wine features black cherries and black truffle. Served with a fresh wild mushroom risotto with shaved Oregon black truffles, this was utterly divine. 97++

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• 1998 Fratelli Seghesio Barolo Vigneto la Villa 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Somewhat reticent nose of violets. Quite tannic, but very ripe fruit. Marascino cherries and red apple skins. This wine went quite well with Roy's eggplant parmesan and improved alongside the food.

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• 1995 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Serègo Alighieri Vaio Armaron 94 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

  Lovely port-like nose. Very powerful. Liquified raisins and prunes. High alcohol, but in check. Way too young - needs years.

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• 1993 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

  On the nose, almonds and caramel. Starts out fat and unfocussed on the palate. One taster suggests a chocolate cookie with the wine. Presto - the cookie somehow heightens the perceived acidity in the wine and improves it immeasurably. There is certainly a lot of orange on the wine (Roy called tangerine and orange creamsicle).

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• 1977 Smith Woodhouse Porto Vintage 94 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  The finale to this dinner (at least at the dinner table). Roy served us this excellent port, which had been decanting for 10 hours. Adding to my port education, Roy had me sample the port when he opened it in the morning. He said to especially note the color and the palate weight/feel. In the morning, the port showed a light purple color in the centre, turning reddish to the rim. The alcohol/spirit was obvious and the palate was intense and good, if a bit coarse. By the time we consumed it at dinner, the color had deepened considerably. The wine was now black at the centre and deep purple to the rim! The spirit had integrated much better and the wine had smoothed out quite a bit. The wine now showed big, big fruit (sugarplums), medium-strong tannins, a rock-solid midpalate and just a bit of spirit. This is a very strong wine that will improve for another 20 years. 94+

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Many thanks to Roy for being such a gracious host!