TN: Another 50th Birthday Dinner - With a few Photos

[mychurch]

A bit too long for the "what are we drinking" thread

My wine buddies could not all make my actual birthday, so we decided to have a wine dinner later instead. The plan was to bring 2 bottles each, preferably old and preferably something special. I thought 8 bottles between 4, including a Port, was a lot, but no...A half bottle of fizz, a big Priorat (to replace a dead Mouton), a Vin Jaune , a bottle of sweet Gewurtz and some old rum also made an appearance...I did wake up on the couch at 7 this morning, with the tv on, but the hangover has stayed away so far...

Agrapart Extra Brut ‘Terroirs’, blanc des blancs
A thunder storm hit Leiden around 18:15 and got a message that 2 of the 4 of us were stuck in traffic. No hurry for me then, but as I walked into Birstro Bord´o at bang on 7 I found that the boys were all there and had ordered a half of this to get them in the mood. Nice clean bubbles. Touch of lemon. Very young and it must have a very low dosage. Nice start. 90pts

2001 Rienhold Hart, Piesporter Goldtofpchen Spatlese
This was meant to be the aperitif. Aged Spatlese is probably my favourite style of wine, and this was glorious. Sure, there is loads of sweet stone fruit, but its all kept in check by the zingy, refreshing acidity. Low in alcohol, lush and silky. Brought an immediate smile to my face. 94pts

1998 Le Meal Blanc, Chapoutier
We intended this to go with the 3rd course, but on decanting Jelle noticed that it was much darker than previous bottles and was concerned that it was going to fall apart. Big wine though and it completely dominated the lobster and cucumber dish we had it with. Initially there was a lot of oxidation on the nose. As happens though with this style of wine, the longer it sat in the glass, the better it got. By the end of the evening it was a lovely, silky wine, with the obvious “liquid stone” taste. Even the colour appeared to change. My sort of wine, but definitely not for everyone. 80 -90pts depending on when you actually tasted it…

1966 Clos de Petit Mont Vouvray Demi-Sec, Allias
I have bought a few 66 wines over the years and this is by far the best of them. Still with a young colour, the nose hits you with lanolin, smoke and soil. Lovely textured wine, apricot fruit, more lanolin and earth. I know burg lovers go on about how the reds show terrior, but my experience of old Chennin is that you really can taste the soil. Lovely and joint WOTN for me. 95pts

2006 Montrachet, Ramonet
Ever since I bought this at auction, I had a suspicion that maybe it was a fake and on opening last night I was convinced I was correct. I´ve drank Ramonet Montrachet a few times, and the Batards, and it’s the slatey minerality that hits me first. Not tonight. This was all creamy oak and popcorn, with a definite fat New World feel. Jelle, who has a lot more experience with top white burgs, just thought it was super concentrated. After 2 hours in a decanter and then another hour in the glass, the wine did open up and the expected minerality started to appear, so yes I did indeed buy a genuine bottle. It’s a good chardonnay, with lots fruit and a long finish, but I think the warmth of the vintage has made it a bit too rich. Might just need more time – it did seem really young – but that involves playing an expensive game of Russian roulette… 90pts

1966 Clos Janques Blanc, St Emillion
Mic always manages to find something obscure and this is a wine from a Chateau that no longer exits – apparently a part of Belair now. The colour is great – a strong purple and no bricking. Its an old wine though and in the mouth as well as violets, there is forest floor and cold tea. We opened the bottle at 7 and let it stand until 9:30 or so and in hindsight that was a mistake – the red berry fruit had faded away in that time. I enjoyed it though and it improved considerably once the main course beef appeared. Perfect wine for the occasion, but obviously outclassed by the next 85pts

1966 Chateau Margaux
All the books say that Margaux went through a bad period in the 60s and 70´s. Cant imagine how good a “great” mature Margaux must be. This looked young and from the first sip you knew you were tasting a wine that was still full of life. Yes, the tannins had integrated, but this was strong and actually surprisingly masculine. Lots of red berry, graphite and mulberry. Refreshing acidity. Complexity. Level was top shoulder, and this blew us away. Only downside was that it was so tasty, it went down all too quickly. Yum 95pts

1966 Mouton
Cloudy wine that obviously had a fault. Still some sweetness, but it was more witbier than wine. Shame.

As the Margaux was so drinkable, we ended up actually a bit short of red wine with the main course and so we ordered a bottle off the list that the restaurant would normally serve with the beef

2013 GR-174, Casa Gran del Siurana, Priorat
Drinking a young wine like this after a load of oldies is a tell tale sign that we were getting drunk. Its fine, with a nice body, no heat, prunes and cherries, but its so out of place in the context of the others that it comes across as very clumsy. Imagine it would be fine on its on and I don’t think its fair to really rate it.

Cheese was up next. Ramon was concerned about what cheeses might be available and hedged his bets by bringing and old port and a Vin Jaune. The intention was to open one or the other, but that was never going to happen and actually Mic ordered a bottle of Grand Cru Gewurtx off the list as he thought it would be an even better match

1999 Chateau Chalon, Macle
I´ve had a few “young” Chalon´s recently and they are not quite my thing. I like the flor, the acidity and sherry like tones, but the mid palate does have a hole in it and it needs time in the cellar to put on some weight. Lots of potential and good with the cheese, but try again in 10 years time. 85 pts

1967 Niepoort Colheita Port
This was chilled beforehand and then decanted into a wide decanter. Lovely light red colour. Very smooth and round, with no spirit showing and plenty of red currant fruit and also no real sign of its advanced age. Still, something must have happened - when I stuck my nose in the glass all I could get was demerara rum and coke, which happens to be my other favourite drink. Yum. 92pts

2013 Altenberg De Bergheim Gewutraminer Grand Cru, Fernand Engel
Always had a soft spot for sweet gewurtz. Unlike the Priorat, this is not out of place here and while its still primary with the classic lychee and tropical fruit, I get the feeling that there may be more to come with time. Very lush, with a touch of glycerine. Best match with the cheeses though. 92pts

After that lot there was still time for a real rum and coke with the coffee, followed by a visit to the best cocktail bar in Leiden. Amazing that a man of my advanced years can still take all this….

[Redwine&Rum]

I collect rum, and have some crackers in my collection. What was the old rum that you drank?

[Redwine&Rum]

By the way, that's how I hope my 50th goes. Sounded like a bloody good night.

[JamieBahrain]

I've cut down my white burg purchases to near zero and discovered wonderful alternatives. Perhaps not as amazing as on song Ramonet and friends but I just can't accept the odds of having to consistently buy 2 bottles to get a good one or drinking them too young!



From the oxidized burgs page-



2006 Ramonet

Batard Montrachet (July 2014): no oxidation. @Kitchen Table Bubbledogs London [N. Lau]
Chassagne Boudriotte (July 2010): no signs of oxidation whatsoever [Michael Malinoski]
Chassagne Morgeot (March 2016): no ox (Adrian Latimer)
Montrachet (Aug 2013): absolutely stunning. no oxidation [N. Lau]

[mychurch]

I collect rum, and have some crackers in my collection. What was the old rum that you drank?

Sad thing is that I can't remember the rum in the restaurant.. It was one I had never heard of before, which is why the name didn't stick...in the cocktail bar I had a 25 year old Diplomatico. Very smooth and rounded and a class above the standard 12 year old.

For my actual birthday I decided to just drink rum and beer. I had 27 different bottles, all open and partially drunk. My brother apparently tried every single one.. 8 bottles declared dead at the end of the day, but I did receive 8 new ones as presents, so I'm still on 27 bottles. Current favourite is the 2001 Jamaican from Plantation- i like the crunchiness. One bid difference with rum and wine is that the minute I get a new bottle home, I open it and have at least a sniff..

[mychurch]

I've cut down my white burg purchases to near zero and discovered wonderful alternatives. Perhaps not as amazing as on song Ramonet and friends but I just can't accept the odds of having to consistently buy 2 bottles to get a good one or drinking them too young![N. Lau]

Totally agree. The Montrachet was the only white burg I owned and if a want a good white burg, I will only order it in a restaurant, where I can send it back if there is a fault. Great though these wines can be I'm not actually missing them too much..

[mychurch]

Cloudy Mouton on the left

[mychurch]

[mychurch]

Course 1 - Lobster and cucumber


Course 2 - Onion Soup, Fish and Peas


Course 3 - Slow Cooked Port Belly and Langoustine


Course 4 - Beef

[mychurch]

Just getting started

[Michael McNally]

Happy Birthday mychurch,

Looks like you had fun! (most important thing)

Cheers

Michael