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"Champagne, Chablis and a Touch of Red" Dinner

HIX Oyster and Chophouse, London

Tasted June 23, 2009 by reichken with 712 views

Introduction

As summer approaches five of us gathered for some tipples and some whites with a little dinner. we thought it would be nice to work our way through some champagne and some chablis and of course some reds managed their way in as well
we choose to do this at a new place in London that serves great oysters and seafood and even thought the concept of BYO seemed to be foreign to them by the end i think they enjoyed it almost as much as we did.

Flight 1 (3 notes)

Assorted Oysters, which were very fresh and delicous- I thought the Mouldons were the best, but the Colchesters really had a good ocean taste to them. the others were good as well. Langoustines, steamed with fennel and Dill

White - Sparkling
1996 A. R. Lenoble Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Millésimé France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
91 points
light yellow color, vibrant bubbles. a touch metallic in the mouth at first but that seems to go away. mostly a tart citrus lemon flavor with a touch of apple. seems fairly young with a medium long finish. first time i have had this champagne. seems like pretty good value for money
White - Sparkling
1996 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses France, Champagne
90 points
golden yellow color, vibrant small bubbles. nutty nose. it the mouth though this seemed to show a touch of sherry along with the nuttiness that took away from the sharp straight line of acid , the backbone. the bottle seemed a bit advanced to me and one or two others at the table who have had this before said this was not a good bottle. it was a shame as this tipple seemed to have a lot of good citrus and acidity, and was very well balance, just seemed a bit off. oh well , just have to wait for the next one
White - Sparkling
1979 Henriot Champagne P. de Rothschild Reserve France, Champagne
93 points
I ad never seen this bottling of Henriot before. the cork came out a little flat and were a bit worried but no reason to be, a nice gold color with lots of bubbles. a sweet hazelnut nose. the mouth had honeycomb, a touch of dough, and a nice sweetness. it was medium length and still very lively. really enjoyed this champagne

Flight 2 (4 notes)

Home cured (smoked) Salmon, Fried Sand Eels and Fried Sprats

White
1999 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
92 points
yellow green color, a touch of sulfur minerals on the nose with some citrus. this wine in the mouth was pretty interesting, it had a fresh but fine acidity and lightness to it but it seemed to keep getting longer and longer. the balance was just amazing, it showed some hazelnuts, some spice, some tartness. i kept coming back to it and it kept showing different things. a really lovely wine
White
2001 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
flawed
shame but at least there was only one bad one
White
1996 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
92 points
Wine shows that green lemon yellow color (not bad for 13 year old chables!!!wow!!!) this again still had a bit of mineral ocean nose (i guess some would call it beachy sulfur) really fresh clean and bright in the mouth. citrus and lemon but in a lovely fresh way. this wine had length and stayed fresh through dinner. very much enjoyed this and imagine this wine has 5+ years left on it easily
White
1996 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
93 points
Light yellow color. fresh nose of lemons, sulfur and seaside. fresh in the mouth, a nice slight creaminess to it, this went really well with the langoustines. a nice floral lemon flavor. crisp clean and long, i think this wine has years aead of it

Flight 3 (4 notes)

Whole Roast Chicken carved at the table and served with Bread Sauce and a Chicken Liver Stuffing, Porterhouse Steak for two, Veal Chop (this was very tasty veal). Chips, Green Salad

Red
1985 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
93 points
slight fading and brickiness to the color but a clean looking bottle and wine. a nose of earthy dark red fruits and just a bit of leather. in the mouth this wine showed more sweet fruits than i was expecting from the nose, it was really lovely and lively , perhaps not the best bottle of this wine but still in very good shape. theh mouth was medium weight and the wine kept showing different parts of its character., a bit of fruit a bit of earth, i guess a bit of youth and a bit of age, complex wine. long finish. very good wine that is in a really good spot right now. love the 85's
Red
1993 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
92 points
Deep dark color on this wine still. if not for seeing the label i would have thought 5 or more years younger. sweet cherries and a bit of barn on the nose, a bit of spice as well. in the mouth it is bold and a bit spicy still, not showing too much acidity. some red fruits, ainise and earth. this wine had a lot to say during the main course and went well with the food but at the end started to come apart a bit. in a good place to drink now i think
Red
2004 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
90 points
Threw in a younger bottle out of curiousity as so much noise about the "greenies" . this wine has a dark color, a strong nose of red fruits. on the mouth it is spicy dark cherry juice dipped in chocolate , well balanced long finish. there is a touch of heat and black pepper but i don't get the green pepper or veg that gets thrown onto the '04s. perhaps i am not that sensitive. nice wine, leave it alone for a while to let the tannins smooth out
Red
2002 Pascal Lachaux Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
90 points
deep dark color, leatherey cherry nose to this baby. big bold wine in the mouth , dark fruits, spice, grippy tannins. this wine is a bit of a baby but going to be a big kid. the fruit is nice and a bit ripe/forward but the balance is pretty good, a bit warm. this needs time, revisit in a few years or perhaps a good food wine at the moment

Closing

at the end of the night looking back at the wines a few thoughts
-what a shame it is about all the premox issues. when white burg/chablis is good it is so good but so many of us (including all of us at the table, are so afraid to age it or buy much of it now) but in the hands of guys like Raveneau and Dauvissat it is amazing stuff
-need to find more good '85 Burgundies
-I LOVE CHAMPAGNE !!!!

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