Ledbury Bordeaux december Decadence

Decadence indeed. A wonderful selection of wines with Brett's usual, excellent food and the impecable service we've come to expect at the Ledbury. Bravo!

Enjoyed with a tranche from a royal ofsmoked salmon on pain pouline and with a splendid off-sweet mince-meat pie done up as a cornish pastie - a fun upgrade to a Christmas norm.

• 1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires

  France, Champagne

  Lovely rich brioche nose. Fresh fruit, nutty, biscuity. Very nice. Touch of lemon fruit. Lovely balance.****

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• 1984 P. Lancelot-Royer Champagne Cuvée des Chevaliers BdB Brut Les Oublies ~Crayère

  France, Champagne

  Assembled 1984, a blend of 81/82/83. Honeyed nose. Honeyed attack, nice balance, rounded. Very good. ***

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Served with roast scallops with cauliflower, tamarind and sea purslane. The Lambrays matched the sweet, rich scallops better, but the Colinn was a joy to savour on its own.

• 2002 Marc Colin et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Nicely mineral. Crisp, nice length, a touch of ruefundr on a rounded finish. Long. Needs clean, fresh food or enjoy on own. Lovely ****

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• 2001 Domaine des Lambrays Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Cailleret

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  More golden yellow in colour. Rounded ripe entry. Lacks a touch of minerality cf the Colin. Good precision and clarity in the middle. Flavours a little riper, richer and co-mingled on the finish. Lovely with scallops. Might need drinking up though. Best with rich food. ****

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Wow. Great flight wonderfully matched with breast of mallard, chevril roots, cepes, truffle and hazlenut with the meatiness accentuated by a confit mallard leg.

• 1961 Château Malescot St. Exupéry

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Wow, fantastic colour. Lovely nose, classic left bank cedar, hints of blackcurrant and spice. Very focused. Mineral purity. Smooth, savoury. Lacks some depth and stuffing on mid-palate but lovely finish. Very positive. Very smooth, silly. Lovely. Really lovely. *****

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• 1961 Château Léoville Las Cases

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Riper, brettier, a little more feral. More savoury on the attack. Fresh acidity, a little drier. As Nigel says, LLC surliness. Good though! ****

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• 1970 Château Léoville Las Cases

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Younger, lighter, a little bretty. Some cheesiness to the nose. Fresher, more acidity. Nice tobacco dominated palate. ***1/2

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• 1981 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Quite a spicy nose, rounded. More tobacco on the palate. Dry left bank. Classic claret, more balanced than the 1970 LLC I think. ***1/2

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Tender Loin and shoulder of lamb roasted in balsalmic with an aubergine glazed with miso. Pretty sure I had some lamb's tongue hiding on the plate too. Lovely.

• 1989 Château Gazin Pomerol

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Quite a spicy nose, somemlactic quality. Quite mineral;, but developing a horrid nose. Very bovril / beef tea, just like a rib joint left cold in the roating tin with its dripping. Not corked but bottle a little under par I think. ***

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• 1989 Vieux Château Certan

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Richer, spicier, rounder. lovely nose. very smooth. Poised and precise nose. Smooth, mineral. best bottle of this I've had. Lovely. More depth and complexity than the others in the flight. Very composed, complete and harmonious. Yes. *****

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• 1989 Château Le Gay Pomerol

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Opened and poured, no breathing time. Lovely nose. Fresh, cool, composed. A little rustic but everything here and a fun quality to it. Good. ****

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Passion fruit souffle with sauternes ice cream. Goodness. This was special. I'm not a fan of souffle, findingb them far too rich and eggy, but this was something else. The lightest, most delicate of souffles, really just disolving in the mouth without the slightest effort, and wonderfully offset by the acidity and tang of the sauternes icecream, somehow balancing lightness with freshness. This really shouldn't be able to taste so light and so good. I've noticed that Brett has a way with souffles (I usually order them at the Ledbury despite not being a fan of them!), but this was extraordinary.

• 1989 Château Climens

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Wow. Gorgeous nose, all sweetness, pineapple fruit, hints of creme brulee. Lovliest nose on a Sauternes since an 89 Tour Blanche last year. Picks up the passion fruit of the souffle on the nose. Lovely palate, just lovely. Freshness, acidity, balance. It's sweet, it's not red, it's lovely! *****

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Stilton, walnuts, ?quince jam, apples. Simple but good. Maybe the stilton was a touch too salty, but now I'm nit-picking.

• 1994 Smith Woodhouse Porto Vintage

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Full colour, smooth rounded nose. A little spicy on the palate. Others thought it unresolved and a little hot but actually I liked it quite a lot. ***(*)

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