Dinner at French Kitchen

Elsa and I had dinner with Kee and Zhi, Jolin and Gerald. Free corkage on Mondays. Really good food as usual. Classically prepared, quality French food with Jean-Charles Dubois' touch of je nais sais quois - went perfectly with the wine as always.

• 2006 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 92 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Woah - not typical Donnhoff style. Very different from the grippy 2005 and the aristocratic 2007, this was almost verging on Spat weight, but it was really delicious in its own right. Nose showed lots of chalky, earthy mineral, some sweet white fruit, fragrant Chinese pears, a little sweet flower tone and the smallest drop of diesel. All very nicely integrated though, and very classy. Same thing on the palate - superb integration, great focus, nice gentle balance, lots of class all round. I got lovely flowers of lemons, the ripest gooseberries, a tropical touch from pineapple and longan flavours and, moving towards the finish, another drop of diesel and some sweetened rhubarb. What a nice finish it was too - it showed more mineral, a touch of smoke and a touch of herb, thyme maybe. Not tremendously complex, but this had great depth and concentration, along with a clean, pure feel and perfect balanced. A lovely kabinett, probably top of the pile from all the 2006 Kabs that I have had. Nice pairing with grilled langoustine, even better with lobster bisque.

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• 2001 Domaine Jean Grivot Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d'Orveaux 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  Strange this - started off beautifully, but went downhill rather alarmingly after awhile. When first poured from the decanter, it showed a gorgeous nose, full of heady scents of damp earth and morel mushrooms along with Chambolle crushed flowers and sappy cherries. Like tramping through a damp forest floor after a summer shower. Maybe we decanted it a little too long, because the lovely complex nose retreated after half an hour in the glass, to show higher toned white pepper notes along with a touch of varnish and glycerol, with an oakey accent peeping out towards the end. Similarly on the palate, it started out eminently drinkable, with a nice cleanness and light crushed flowers and high-toned sweet cherries. Not very complex, but nicely balance with good freshness and pretty well-shaped tannins with just that little remnant of powderiness. After some time though, it became a little volatile, with the acid appearing sharpish at points and little touches of alcohol at the edges. Finish was decent with a touch of bittersweet wood spice. All in all, a nice wine, very easy drinking, just lacking that bit of complexity past the nose and the attack - just that little bit disappointing. Went really nicely with the Beouf Bourguignon though.

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