Dinner at Friends

Just six or us and a perfect occasion to open some special wines in the right company.

Deliberately ate fresh green olives with this, which improved the experience....but I think this wine really needs good Cantonese main course food to shine best.

• NV Krug Champagne Brut Rosé 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  (ID 113016 - based around 2006 grapes). Way better than last time even though it was from the same batch. Toasty and with a chalky finish.....enjoyable but would be better with food and should have saved some for the mushroom pasta. I have come to the conclusion that this is a wine best suited to really good Cantonese banquet-type food.

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Our hosts had brought back the caviar from Russia and it was a great combination with the octopus.

• 2005 Gaja Langhe Chardonnay Gaia & Rey 89 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  (From Magnum). Opened for an hour and drank over the next . Still a young-looking pale silver-gold colour. Nose and palate were a lot more muted than a 75cl bottle of the 2001 we drank a couple of months ago. I sense this is a weaker vintage but if had any in my cellar I'd hold off for a couple of years to give it the benefit of the doubt. An enjoyable wine without being spectacular.

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• 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 92 Points

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

  Opened by our host a few hours before but not decanted. Semi-translucent deep ruby colour. Nose is classic CdP 'wet dog', chocolate and very expressive black and red cherry fruit. Palate is beautifully integrated, high fresh acidity, lots of spice and very distinctive fresh-ground black pepper on the back end. Very smooth tannins - almost velvety. Medium resonance and reverberance on the finish. This drank beautifully - sophisticated and very accessible. In my experience, CdP tends to have a 'young' very pleasurable drinking window then goes disjointed or sullen for several years before its mature drinking window opens - this is definitely in its 'young' drinking window. 92+ but others scored it higher and I perhaps underrated it as there wasn't any left to return to later.

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What could be better with these wines?

• 1988 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Decanted for 4 hours then served over the next hour. Very faded label but high neck fill and an impressively perfect cork. Nose is alluring but still very tight. The palate was absolutely divine - linear, black fruit then bang! you disappear into reveries like Alice down the rabbit hole. Superb. Heady and with a soft and very long reverberence. This has many years ahead of it to unfurl further. 95+

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• 1988 Chateau Musar 94 Points

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Pristine bottle, one of a case recently sourced directly from the winery (in individual presentation boxes, no less). Decanted for 5 hours then drank over the next hour. Attractive semi-translucent amethyst colour. Nose is much deeper and bass-toned than when I have drank this before. A bit sweaty dog like a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, white shoe cream, new leather, less incense or spice market than you normally associate with Musar, deep succulent ripe red berry fruit - this is heady and resonant even on the nose. Palate is deep, rich black and red small berry fruit. Gorgeous....but still very young. Needs more time to add more lenght and to show more expression. Revisit in 5 years. 94+

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• 1990 Château Lynch-Bages 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Opened several hours by our host but not decanted. Deep black-red totally opaque in colour. Nose is deep black-berried fruit and new cedar shingles - still quite primary but very welcoming and voluptuous. Palate is rich unctuous black and red berry fruit, some cedar, very harmonised but still quite primary/secondary and clearly with the best still to come over the next 10+ years. Good growling and mounting resonance and reverberance on the finish. Quite captivating and very easy to enjoy but it has to lot of evolution ahead of it to match the more mature 1989. 94+.

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• 2004 Château Gazin Pomerol 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Popped and splash-decanted after some rather higher-class wines. Opaque purple-tinged black-red colour. Nose is smoked mackerel skin and it has an oily depth. Palate is medium acidity, lovely Pomerol roundness and lots of rich red plummy/strawberry fruit. Heady but not resonant and no real length. Quite alcoholic and a bit rustic. Might improve in a couple of years? But I wouldn't bet on it. 88.

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Interestingly....the CH Lynch-Bages 1990 lingers most in my memory but I would love to re-visit the Ch. Beaucastel Hommage 2001 sometime when it is the centrepiece of a meal.