Easter Dinner 2003

On Easter afternoon, we gave dinner to our parish priest, as well as a retired priest friend (our priest's first rector, in fact). This was s special occasion for several reasons -- living in Asia, I only get to see Andrew once or twice a year; his 50th birthday is a week away and I will be unable to make it to his DC or London celebrations; and any rector deserves shelter and celebration after surviving the rigors of Holy Week.

After the obligatory nibbles, we sat down to a first course of scallops on fresh egg fettucine in a lemon cream sauce, garnished with chives and Ossetra

• 1995 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Blanc Les Rocoules

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  The wine was brought out of the refrigerator and opened about 45 minutes to one hour before serving. It still had a chill, but was not unduly cold. When I first tasted it without food, I was a little concerned, as it seemed one-dimensional and a little flat. The nose had a little citrus, but primarily apple and peach fruit – not big at all. Rich, round mouthfeel, acidity sufficient but not notable. White fruit and a hint of lemon on palate, with maybe a little butterscotchy sweetness. Decent complexity but, again, kind of flat. Then I tasted it with the pasta. What a change! The wine stepped up and did its job perfectly, developing elements of fresh warm cream, fig, and honeysuckle that played perfectly off the lemon and scallop-sweetness of the dish. I tasted the small sip of wine that was left after dinner and it was back to its pleasant but unremarkable self. I'm not sure I'd buy the wine for any other reason, but if I ever make this dish again, I'll beg, borrow, or steal another bottle. Even my mother-in-law, who generally doesn't drink white wine, was singing its praises.

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The next course was a boned, butterflied, and rolled leg of lamb stuffed with a combination of onion, arugula, spinach, and pine nuts, bound with a small amount of gorgonzola bechamel. Before roasting, I studded the lamb with garlic and rubbed it with a mixture of thyme, Dijon mustard, and finely chopped pine nuts. Accompaniments were fresh spring peas parboiled then finished in a pan with butter, shallots, and mint, as well a simple oven-roasted potatoes seasoned with rosemary, salt, and pepper. We served two wines with this -- an '82 La Louviere and an '88 Calon-Segur. Each was double decanted about two and a half hours before serving.

• 1982 Château La Louvière

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Still purply garnet and solid to the rim. Simply standing over it while decanting, it was easy to pick up the sweet fruit drifting up. Tasting the dregs, the nose was all fruit – more plum and blackberry than anything else. It was a little dusty/earthy, but the nose was simply fruit, fruit, fruit. Big rich mouthfeel, but not as big as the nose suggested. Only 12.5% alcohol, but perhaps a little hot on the tongue and in the back of the nose. Over time (and with food), the hotness toned down, as did the attack of the fruit on both nose and palate. Developed a little bit of vanilla in nose, along with more pronounced dusty element. Seemed to round out and come more into balance, but never developed the complexity it should have. From first opening, tannins were fully integrated and only noticeable if one searched for them. If you have it in your cellar, drink up. It doesn't seem to be in danger of fading tomorrow, but I don't think it's developing either. FWIW, I do know that this wine was well stored, but it did -- once or twice, fleetingly – seem to have a bit of a prune character, as if the fruit were a bit stewed.

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• 1988 Château Calon-Ségur

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  Good, solid color, but looked older than the La Louviere. When first opened, it had a classic currant/cedar nose, with perhaps a bit of mint. Good medium mouthfeel, very nice balance. Noticeable tannin, but not aggressive. Eminently drinkable from first opening, but subdued. With time and food, pleasant herbal character became more pronounced and a hint of anise emerged. Nose became bigger, mouth rounder. Further development showed a bit of tobacco on nose and broader berry fruit flavors. Remained elegant and beautifully proportioned throughout. Drinking really, really nicely now, but probably some more room for development. Certainly still has structure to hang around for a good while, even if it doesn't have sheer size.

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We finished the last of the wine with four cheeses: Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk (an American washed-rind, triple-cream cow's milk cheese); Major Farms Timpson (an American semi-soft, washed-rind cow's milk cheese); Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog Coupe (an American aged chevre); Roaring Forties Stokes (an Australian cow's milk bleu).

Lessons:
(1) The pasta/Hermitage Blanc pairing reminded me just how much the right match can be worth.
(2) The Calon-Segur confirmed again for that (contrary to universal opinion) '88 is one of my very favorite recent claret vintages. It doesn't hurt that it's also one of the best value vintages still widely available.