Dinner with the monthly group at Restaurant le Nicolas

It was Elsa and my turn to host the group - we decided to go French with one of our favourite chefs, Nicolas Joanny. He prepared a lovely private room for us and worked out a delicious menu. The wines came from my my cellar save for the St Emilions, which were brought by Darren, Bill and Sean in that order. I think it is safe to say that we all had a great time - I really enjoyed the meal.

CARPACCIO OF LANGOUSTINE
CRISPY OLIVE OIL BREAD

• NV Ville de la Reine Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut 92 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Lovely as usual. This is really smashing stuff – a crowd pleaser with some amount of complexity and backbone. Fresh, open blanc des blancs nose of chalk, fresh lemons and oyster shells – could almost be a Chablis grand cru. Palate had a beautiful texture. It was creamy, yet crisply fresh, with lots of mineral, lemons and apples sliding into a long minerally finish. Superbly balanced throughout. Not the most complex of Champagnes, but it had more than enough character to hold the interest from attack to finish. I thought it was especially lovely when paired with the caviar and langoustine tartare.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

HOMEMADE MEZZALUNA BASIL RAVIOLI
BRITANY 'PALOURDE' CLAMS EMULSION
PARMIGGIANO REGGIANO CRISP

• 2006 Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards (TMV) White Coastal Region 92 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region

  Yummy. Best showing of this wine yet (my fifth bottle) – possibly because we served it at just the right temperature after 30 minutes in the ice bucket. Everything was integrated and in the right place. Nose was all honeycomb, honeydew and sweet yellow fruit - almost jackfruit-like I thought. There was less mineral and beeswax than I expected given the last couple of bottles, but there was still a hint in there, especially with the slight underlying chalkiness that floated beneath the sweeter scents. Palate was open and delicious - sweetish and big, with a generous burst of yellow fruit carrying on from the nose along with a honeysuckle and nectar accent. There was lots of structure undergirding all that, so that it was never imbalanced. This was especially evident as the wine moved into its really dry, minerally finish with nicely integrated notes of slate and chalk. Excellent.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

WARM PERUVIAN QUINOA SALAD
AGED VINCOTTO, SWEET POTATO CHIPS
MOREL MUSHROOM EMULSION

• 2001 Hubert Lignier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Baudes 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  I just absolutely love this wine – almost sad to see my last bottle go. At least it was wonderfully paired with a beautifully done pigeon dish followed by hen’s egg with white truffle – both were absolutely spot-on. It was just about the perfect way for the last of this lot of Chambolle to pass on. The wine was rather darkly ruby coloured for a Burg. Decanted for about an hour, the nose was really seductive. Flowers! Perfumed, fragrant, fresh cut flowers, along with dark cherry, bramble, a touch of earth and a bit of game. Beautiful, with both power and freshness evident. Lovely palate too. It showed quite a bit of extraction, but was always clean, fresh and balanced, with rich cherries and strawberries, along with fine tannins and a little rivulet of mineral and a long, long finish. Very long. With time, the strawberries started sweetening and took on a slightly stewed tone – this wine is just on the cusp of maturity and could really do with some time in the cellar. Still, absolutely delicious and very much enjoyed by the whole table.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2002 Château Coutet (St. Émilion) 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Simple, but very pleasant wine. This was probably the only one that was a bit out of place when paired with the Korubuta Pork Loin – just a bit young I think. Nose was really nice – very fresh and quite sweet, with cherries and currants along with bramble and earth. Somewhat like taking a stroll through the forest on a fresh spring day. Very nicely balanced palate too – lots of fruit, especially reminiscent of bright summer cherries. Medium length finish. Tannins were rather refined. All in all, I found this a simple, but very pleasant wine – well-made, bright and eager to please. Still very young, it would do with some time in the cellar.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

SIMPLE JUS INFUSED WITH TAGGIASCHE OLIVE
CHIUDINI MUSHROOM AND PANCETTA

• 1990 Château Pavie 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  We decanted this for about half and hour. Pity – because the wine really opened up with another half and hour in the glass, by which time we down to the dregs. Nose was really nice from the get-go. Secondary aromas of toasty butternut and toffee along with tobacco, smoky roasted capsicums and an earthy, leather note that emerged with time. I picked up a streak of metallic, ferrous notes which surfaced at one point and submerged rather quickly. The palate was rather simpler than the nose at first. More toasty notes, with clearly mature flavours of tobacco leaf and roasted capsicums along with plush, softened tannins. It was all rather lacking though, especially on the woefully short finish. Thankfully, the wine really opened up with time – the nose began to show more smoky cigar and sous bois, and the palate went through quite a metamorphosis to show crystalline cherry fruit. The finish finally started lengthening out as well as I enjoyed my last quarter glass, with sweetly lingering notes of cherry and redcurrants. It was really enjoyable by this time.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1982 Château Magdelaine 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  I just love mature claret. Lovely, lush nose, full of tertiary notes of stewed capsicum, leather, earthy undergrowth, truffles, stewed tea and boiled vegetables along with slightly higher toned cherry compote and quince paste. Very warm and inviting. The palate was alive and kicking though - lots of acid and fine, but still noticeable tannins. I was not quite expecting that after the very developed nose. Still, it was rich and plush – with lovely dark cherries and more stewed vegetable flavours along with a hint of coffee at the finish. Some prune notes emerged with time. It lacked a little power at the tail, which was a bit shortish, but more than made up for it with some lovely elegance. I thought this was rather better than the 1992 Pavie we had alongside. Lovely pairing with roast lamb.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

EPOISSE
CAMEMBERT
BRIE
COMTE
STILTON
ROQUEFORT

• 1999 Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 94 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Cape Peninsula, Constantia

  This was so very, very good. Lovely golden colour. Drop dead gorgeous nose. Just a fragrant explosion of dried, apricots, dried flowers and orange peel. The palate was really thick and rich, almost syrupy in texture, yet laced with fresh acid, giving the wine a superb, supple balance. If anything, the flavours on the palate were even more complex and delicious than the nose suggested. Lots of exotic spice, cloves, cinnamon et al, along with a whole spectrum of fruits like grenadine, mandarin orange and apricot along with the slightest touch of macadamias. The flavours just clung to the mouth in a long, strong finish which remained fresh to the very end.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue