Dinner at Bistrode
An impromptu dinner at Bistrode in Surry Hills with Gen, Oli, Cam and recently returned Neville. I was surprised when Neville suggested Bistrode, having heard his repulsion at the idea of andouillette (lamb offal sausage). Bistrode is known for just this kind of food, so I was happy to see Nev progressing beyond prime meat cut. Unfortunately (for him?), it was just that he hadn’t actually looked at the menu!
We started with a very interesting de Sousa Cuvée des Caudalies Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs. This is a very interesting wine, made in the fashion of Selosse’s Substance — that is, a solera wine which sees considerable oxidative handling. The nose was not dissimilar to a vin jaune of the Jura (Selosse’s inspiration for Substance). This needed considerable time to show all it had (2 hours!) and I would recommend decanting, despite it being a champagne.
Once out of its shell, the nose was fascinating: spicy with cedar, cumin and linden. Every whiff was different. The palate showed its élevage: very dry, even tannic; a hint of rancio, coffee, dried lemon. It lacked a little in length and I wish the dosage was just a little higher to counter the tannin. I’ll leave my other bottles for a few more years to see what happens with them.
The Christian Moreau Les Clos Grand Cru 2005 showed typically for that vintage: quite forward and ripe, preserved lemon and that soapy slightly reductive character of modern Chablis. This wine was the most interesting to try with food, and really showed me how important food and wine pairing can be. With the pig’s head terrine, it was superb: neither the champagne or the Clos des Lambrays were successful with it. The combination, however, of the riper fruit with the fatty offal and hint of gristle was superb. Together, the raised each to a level of quality that they couldn’t achieve alone. With the smoked eel and bacon, the dish was less successful, being overpowered by the smoke. On the palate, the briny eel brought out a sourness in the wine which was displeasing.
The Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 2001 was extremely powerful and modern on the nose: black forest fruits, oaky sweetness, and spice. As the wine opened up, it gained more elegance but was still very intense. The palate had some prickly stem tannin which suited some of the food we had. My calf’s liver was not very successful with it, the corned wagyu was much more successful, but the pork loin and blood pudding was best: the pork brought out a sweetness on the palate was benefited the wine.
Most dishes were served with a kind of bitter leaf salad which had been heavily dressed. These do not suit any wine, unfortunately, and a single bite was immediately jarring. I’m nor sure why it was served really, since Bistrode seems very into wine.
The E. Guigal La Landonne 1994 was perhaps less fragrant and powerful on the nose than the Lambrays! What was there, though, was very interesting: white pepper wrapped up in infinite coils of Indian spice with mulberry and plum jam. The palate is beginning to resolve. The wine is showing some development but still has years ahead of it. As Gen points out to me, what power it lacked on the nose is made up for on the palate: the wine was extremely intense and persistent, unrelenting. Really, the only thing for this wine is a massive steak!
A great night!
