"Simple" Friday Dinner

The Vinum Le Conseillante dinner was booked out, so Hsien Min pulled together what was supposed to be a "simple" Friday dinner, so I brought a simple wine. I think I've learned not to trust Hsien Min if he says "simple" in future - the 6 of us (with Peter, Gary, Clement and Joyce) had an embarrassment of riches, with some absolutely superb wines. Thanks everyone for a great night!

Unfortunately, service was slow and patchy, with the staff somehow insisting on "unblinding" our wines even though we told them to serve blind. We ended up pouring the wines ourselves. No complains on the food, which was great as usual though. Wines were not served in flights apart from the 1994 Burgs, but I've organised them for easier viewing.

• 2002 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  A first rate white Burg. This could not be anything except a Grand Cru from the Monty family. Golden yellow in colour, absolutely typical nose of mushrooms in cream, hints of chalk, earth, lots of figs and aged white fruit and, with time and air, just layers and layers of honey, nectar and sprinkles of almond nuttiness. Not the most lacy or fine of palates, but the wine had astounding depth and breadth, with a rich, creamy, almost viscous weight just gliding slowly through the mouth. Still young, still primary, but even now there is an inexorable rush of mouth coating flavours - ripe lemons, rich white and yellow fruit, mushroom - all perfectly balanced though, with lovely integrated acidity holding up the wine, but never quite making itself obvious. Powerful finish rounded it off, with long, clingy notes of spice and mineral. Absolutely outstanding. Drinking very well now, but this would really benefit from a good 6-7 years in the cellar. A great effort from Fontaine-Gagnard, in what really must be seen as their niche vineyard.

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• 1994 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  This bottle appeared far more advanced than we would have thought for a 1994. Very nice though. About as elegant as a Les St Georges gets. Colour was all orangey. Nose had layers and layers of funk on first pour with lots of tertiary notes under which appeared when it blew off, like red tea, earth, funky mushrooms, dried strawberries, meaty umami tones and a touch of flowers - very nice, but also very old smelling, almost like a late 70s or early 80s type nose. Palate was a lot younger though. Nice lifted flavours were held up with fresh, almost zippy acidity and the remnants of fine, firm tannins. I got cherry, bramble, strawberries, mushroom, mandarins and orange peel, all streaked with bits of ferrous minerality. Very charming, nicely put together, if just lacking a bit of weight for a vineyard of this stature. Finish lacked power, but had a nice, gently dissipating tail, with orange and spice notes lightly gripping the back palate. A very enjoyable wine without being great, this bottle was at its peak when we poured it.

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• 1994 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Very good, but in a bit of a difficult stage I think - this certainly did not show as well as the last bottle I had a couple of months back. Some garnet on the rim showed a little age, but nose was still rather tight, with earth, mineral and chalk and touches of ferrous mineral being the first thing to strike me. With time, some buried notes of plums and dark cherries along with a dusting of truffle wafted up. Only at the very last few sips did some of the haunting rose inflections that so captivated me with the last bottle eke out. Much the same on the palate, a little tight, nice fresh acid, but with rather chunky structure quite prominent - firm, slightly powdery tannins were noticeably layered under its flavours of cherries, plums and meat. Clearly lots of quality here though, with plenty of sap and strength, especially into the long juicy finish, where more Volnay flower notes peek out along with Chinese herb and Angelica root flavours - a nod to its vintage. I thought the very advanced 1994 Chevillon Les St Georges alongside was drinking better, but that this wine showed more quality. Should continue improving over the next few years.

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• 1997 Haegelen-Jayer Clos Vougeot 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  An excellent, excellent bottle of wine. Just a brilliant aromatics on the nose with this - funky, muddy earth, stewed black tea, rich dark cherry scents, Angelica root, mineral, spice, bramble, all tumbling out in a lovely perfumed melange of great depth and complexity. Palate was absolutely on point as well, drinking at the very peak of its powers. Cool, bit deep tones of rich, sappy cherries, orange notes, spice, umami - all in a complete, balanced package. Finish was long and sappy, with a long pull of cherries and more spice. Absolutely lovely.

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• 2002 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  Extremely decent New World Pinot. No one confused this with the Burgs when served blind, but it was rather delicious in its own right. Nose showed a touch more alcohol than the Burgs, along with toasty, vanillin-laced oak notes and a touch of rubber and mint - all pointing to the new world. Pretty nice aromatics though - plums, cherries, earth and mushroom, with a little nutty action going on in there. Very well-balanced palate, with clean acid and a fine, firm structure holdings up sweet cherry flavours. Not the most complex, but well-put together. Past the mid-palate, there were more rubber inflection along with a touch of mint and eucalyptus moving into a nicely long finish.

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• 2000 Château de Fieuzal 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nice, but no fireworks. Opened a couple of hours before dinner and decanted for an hour before serving. Nice lush nose promised a lot - I got lovely notes of leather, earth, some mushroom, damp tobacco and rich. ripe cassis notes. Not quite as alluring on the palate, but still pretty nice in a clean, mid-weighted style. Fresh acid and fine tannins forming a nice frame for rich dark fruits and a dash of wet gravelly mineral. Rather modern with its ripeness, but still impeccably balanced. Finish was of medium-length, with a touch of tobacco and smoke. Simple, but pleasant and well-made, and it went very well with pan-fried beef cubes. Will continue improving over the next 5 years as well. Certainly put in the shadows by the very illustrious company on the night though - talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight!

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• 1990 Château Figeac 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  I thought this was really good when drank from a Jeroboam almost two years back - but this bottle, a 750ml, was just awesome. Every was on point tonight. Lovely garnet colour with an oranging rim. Lovely nose straddled the right and left banks, which is often Figeac's calling-card, with nicely understated tones of leather, cedar wood, tobacco, smoke, a hint of toast and ripe cassis fruit riding on more savoury underpinnings. Gorgeous palate. Obviously from a pretty warm year, it had a nice plush glycerin richness, and yet it was just superbly balanced, with neither a hint of alcohol or a touch of greenness or hardness anywhere. Instead, we got absolute refinement in the glass, with a wonderfully fine but still firm tannin structure providing the backdrop for ripe cassis, roasted peppers, orange peel and light tobacco notes moving into a long, long finish which showed bits of graphite mineral. A complete wine.

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• 1990 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Haut-Lieu 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  This was captivating, if just a bit too young to show a full range of complexity. Deep orange gold. Beautiful nose of honey, nectarine, some wilted flowers and orange zest. Palate had a lovely richness to it, yet a really nice balance. Honey, a toss of earth, some soy notes, lemon zest, kumquats. Intense and yet reserved at the same time - something that I find so unique about Huet's Vouvrays. Superb long finish as well, with orange notes and spice. Very, very nice. A wine that will just about last forever and develop all the while. I would give it another 5 years before broaching it again. 93-94 for now.

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