Dinner with some great wines
Dinner at Fred’s place in Drummoyne with Gen, Fred and Ian.
We commenced with a M. Grünhäuser Riesling Kabinett 1998 which was a little pongy (sulfur) but had great poise and amazing youthfulness.
The Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1996 appears to be in an ugly stage, a little dull on the nose, unyielding on the palate. Wait a while.
The Remoissenet Corton-Charlemagne 2001 had a beautiful citrus and mineral character, combined with a resiny pine cone aroma that is integrated nicely. With the crumbed lambs brains, this was superb: the spicy wood married perfectly with the slight bitterness of the offal. A great pairing.
The Rousseau Clos de la Roche 2001 was youthful, but still giving. Prickly tannins and acid show the Rousseau style. A very nice wine that will age well. Should begin to drink at its peak in 6 years I feel.
The J.F. Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru 1988 was very smelly on the nose. Ian: ‘bilge water’. This didn’t dissipate unfortunately. The palate showed great acidity but this was not a great wine.
The Domaine Pousse d’Or Pommard Jarolières 1er Cru 1990 was a great wine, with a freshness that kept the ripe fruit in check. Unlike some wines of that vintage, this wine was very youthful with a lot of time ahead of it. Excellent now.
The Muller-Catoir Mussbacher Eselhaut Riesling Eiswein 1998 astounded me. This wine had a complexity rarely seen in ice wine. The nose was replete with tropical fruit (botrytis in eiswein?), coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, caraway, baking bread, white flowers… the palate had amazing refreshing acidity. After a large meal of three fish courses, oysters, duck and much more, the structure of this wine cleaned the mouth and prepared you for the departure from the table. Uncharacteristic for an eiswein (due to the range of aroma and apparent botrytis) but remarkable.
A very enjoyable night.
