Saturday Eve in Notting Hill

Tasted Saturday, August 8, 2009 by reichken with 783 views

Introduction

A few of us found ourselves in London on a Saturday evening in London so decided to take advantage of the great food and wine service at our local, the Ledbury.
the food was super as always and Manu and his fantastic wine service was back from Germany. No real theme to the wine as everybody just brought a little bit of the good stuff. Andrew "Champagne For Everyone", David "Wine is My Life" Wainwright, Henry "Finally back in London" and myself

Flight 1 - Amuse: some of Brett's ash covered veg (i dont know what it was called but like a sweet potato) (1 Note)

  • 1996 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    light yellow very vibrant bubbles. sweet apples and pears on the nose. a mouth of appley, biscuity stones. after about a half hour it started showing some lemons as well as a touch of anise. very long on the finish

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

Flight 2 - Wood Pigeon Ravioli (1 Note)

  • 1995 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon 92 Points

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

    Light Gold color, a touch of sherry (oxidation or age???) which seemed to go away and was replaced with a candied fruit/toffee nose. this wine (like most leflaive's, i find) filled out in the glass over the hour or so. still bright and vibrant, showing some orange and lemons. although not the fullest of leflaive's this was clean and pure and a nice start to the meal.

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

Flight 3 - Sweetbreads with toasted almond (love the sweetbreads) (3 Notes)

  • 1996 Domaine Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin Vieille Vigne 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru

    medium dark clear color. young dark cherries and strawberries on the nose and a bit of mineral funk /sulfur nose which blew off. big mouthful of young fruit, some herbiness and a fair amount of tannins or wood still. this wine gave some glimpses of lovely sweet burgundy fruits but closed up. revisit in 5+ years

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

  • 1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    light clear medium color. this bottle was a bit spritzy, almost carbonated (if it had still been in bottle we prbly would have given it a bit of a shake) in the mouth it was a bit volatile, it had some nice red fruit flavor but also a bit of kool-aid and graphite. it calmed down somewhat in the glass but never showed as much as we hoped it would, high acidity as well

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

  • 2001 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    very light color for such a young wine, sweet red fruits and a bit floral on the nose. very easy in the mouth, soft red fruits, sweet cherry candy, light but not in a bad way just very weightless. med long length. liked this wine very much and it was the best of the burgundy flight on this night

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

Flight 4 - Iberian Pork (henry didn't believe it was pork until he tasted it) (2 Notes)

  • 2001 Château Palmer 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    dark color, nose of dark fruits and tobacco. in the mouth this wine is showing white pepper, young black fruits. it has a fine balance and is almost more feminine than most of the wines we have been drinking tonight. the tannins are silky almost. enjoyed this very much, still developing. My WOTN

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

  • 1986 Penfolds Grange 93 Points

    Australia, South Australia

    black color. smokey eucalyptus and mint on the nose and the palate. very bold and fruit forward on the mouth, still tasting very young and showing the toasty wood and some mocha. i am glad this wine had been open for a while as it is still very primary and developing.great fun to check in on this wine but it needs 15 years.

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

Flight 5 - Selection of Cheese followed bY Souffle (2 Notes)

  • NV Buller Calliope Rare Tokay 92 Points

    Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen

    pretty interesting stuff, starting with the cool tall skinny bottle. it has a dark brown color and smells like maple syrup. in the mouth it is a rich blend of molasses, maple, creme brulee and a hint of citrus fruits. very full mouth and long. would be great on ice cream

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

  • 1999 Château Suduiraut 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    light yellow gold. nose of apricot honey and some spice. med weight in the mouth. oranges, apricots and a touch tropical. med long finish. a very nice wine and a lovely finish. was very good with the blue cheese

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

Closing

The wines were all in good shape with the burgundies in general seeming to need more time, the claret was delicious and the champagne and sweet wines were spot on and interesting.
i would say that the 2001 wines (both) were giving the most drinking pleasure
the highlight of the night was being sung to in french (i have agreed to destroy that video)

×
×