Alba Restaurant, Whitecross Street
Tasted Friday, March 11, 2005 by andrewstevenson.com with 1,467 views
In the downstairs private room at Alba restaurant. A very pleasant room ideally suited to offlines.
Artichoke and potato in puff pasty, Robiola cheese sauce flavoured with truffle
A nice dish, though fairly rich. The Robiola sauce was jolly good and the whole thing was powerfully enriched with truffle.
Risotto with wild mushrooms
Very well cooked risotto with the mushroom component well balanced. Unfortunately the dish was marred by being rather over-salted.
Monkfish casserole with Savoy cabbage and crispy bacon
Not a terribly successful dish – rather muddy flavours and not the most wonderful bit of fish. The savoy cabbage and bacon were the highlight.
Saddle of rabbit with sauce saubis with mushrooms gratin
Another powerfully-flavoured dish and again quite heavy, with the rabbit gratinated with cheese. Curiously my supposed saddle of rabbit had a leg bone in it. Curiously ‘80s presentation with white sauce feathering of the brown sauce. Ah, yes, that was a bit of a problem – the sauce was brown and nothing more than a heavy demi-glace.
Cheese
Round about this time a plate of some excellent Italian cheeses circulated. Quite probably the highlight of the meal.
Dessert: Bünet
Bünet is a Piedmontese relation of crème caramel but incorporating chocolate and amaretti macaroons, and this is the first time I’ve seen it, let alone tasted it in about 20 years – since I came across it in one of Marcella Hazan’s books and thought it sounded interesting. This was a very deep yellow and not the lightest of crème caramel type concoctions. Yet after all that champagne it was very welcome.
NV Champagne Raymond Boulard Champagne Petraea XCVII-MM 89 Points
France, Champagne
Creamy vanilla. Very pleasant wine. I feel it’s much creamier than the XCIX, but it’s not as distinctive either, and given the choice, I’d prefer the XCIX. Very Good Indeed.
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NV Gosset Champagne Brut Excellence 85 Points
France, Champagne
This took some opening: up to four people were working on it, and even a monkey wrench was brought to bear. Reportedly bottled for the millennium, so it has at least 5 years bottle age, though when you’re dealing with something the size of a methusaleh you’d expect that bottle age would need to be at least tripled to have the same effect as in a single bottle. So, all the more surprising that this has quite an aged nose with a touch of reduction. Creamy citrus flavours on the palate, but clearly showing some age. Very Good.
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NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve Mis en Cave 1996 90 Points
France, Champagne
(served blind)
A light, fresh citrussy nose. Very fine and elegant. Quite prickly with white pepper. Fairly powerful with a sold backbone. Very Good Indeed. I guessed at a 95 or 96 Laurent-Perrier.
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1996 Lanson Champagne Gold Label Brut 83 Points
France, Champagne
A very curious, soapy nose. Quite racy acidity. Full on the palate, but a touch coarse. Good.
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1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 92 Points
France, Champagne
Pale lemon colour. Crisp, lightly creamy nose. Very elegant with lots of white pepper. Lovely finish. Very Good Indeed.
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1983 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 84 Points
France, Champagne
Almost a coppery gold colour – incredibly different to the 96. Is the difference really down to just the 13 years of extra age? Remarkable toffee fudge nose. Full and a touch caramelly with cocoa butter notes. Although I've not had DP before tonight, I'd hazard that this wasn't a terribly good bottle. At least I'd hope that was the case. Good/Very Good.
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1983 Alfred Gratien Champagne Brut Millésimé 90 Points
France, Champagne
Much paler than the 1983 Dom Perignon – a light straw. Peach and limey citrus on the nose. Very elegant. Nice weight and depth. Very Good Indeed.
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