Had a couple of friends over for dinner last night mainly to create some space in the wine storage unit. Several of the new wine offers are being shipped next month so I needed to make a little more space in storage.
We started with the Michel Dervin NV champagne. K & L Wines recommends this champagne for those who love Veuve because its about $10 cheaper. It had a richer, creamier mouthfeel than Veuve and a pretty long finish for a NV. Gotta love those small grower-producers! The Dervin was paired with a starter of Bresaola and marinated mushrooms. We proceeded to the Aubert Lauren Vineyard Chardonnay 2004. It had loads of lemon and lemon rind along with mineral on the nose but a rich buttery palate - the nose of a Chablis but the unmistakable palate of a California Chard. Delicious! This was paired with garlic and cilantro King crab sections. The fruit in the Chard was accentuated by the crab and made the crab taste sweeter.
I then decanted both old and new Cabs from California - a Heitz Martha's Vineyard 1982 and a Blankiet Paradise Hills 2002. We also tried both wines with the new Eisch crystal that "softens" young wines and Riedel's standard Bordeaux glass. The Eisch crystal did soften the Blankiet... somewhat, though it probably needs another 2 to 5 years to open up. The Heitz was aging well with dried cranberry and currant and a balanced palate though the finish was disappointingly short. This was served with lamb shanks braised with Asian spices, bok choy and shiitake and Moroccan meatballs. I admit, a Syrah or Zin would have been better wines but I was craving lamb shanks with those Asian spices.
We ended the evening with two dessert wines, a Sonnwendberger Kirchengarten Trockenbeerenauslese 1971 and a Pedro Ximenez 1971. The TBA was the star of the evening with caramel fruit tart, dried apricot and honeysuckle aromas and flavors while the Pedro Ximenez was the perfect partner for Godiva dark chocolates - if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it!
I opened up 6 more spaces in storage though I am receiving another 25 bottles by the end of March. Guess that means a lot more drinking to come in the next couple of weeks!
We started with the Michel Dervin NV champagne. K & L Wines recommends this champagne for those who love Veuve because its about $10 cheaper. It had a richer, creamier mouthfeel than Veuve and a pretty long finish for a NV. Gotta love those small grower-producers! The Dervin was paired with a starter of Bresaola and marinated mushrooms. We proceeded to the Aubert Lauren Vineyard Chardonnay 2004. It had loads of lemon and lemon rind along with mineral on the nose but a rich buttery palate - the nose of a Chablis but the unmistakable palate of a California Chard. Delicious! This was paired with garlic and cilantro King crab sections. The fruit in the Chard was accentuated by the crab and made the crab taste sweeter.
I then decanted both old and new Cabs from California - a Heitz Martha's Vineyard 1982 and a Blankiet Paradise Hills 2002. We also tried both wines with the new Eisch crystal that "softens" young wines and Riedel's standard Bordeaux glass. The Eisch crystal did soften the Blankiet... somewhat, though it probably needs another 2 to 5 years to open up. The Heitz was aging well with dried cranberry and currant and a balanced palate though the finish was disappointingly short. This was served with lamb shanks braised with Asian spices, bok choy and shiitake and Moroccan meatballs. I admit, a Syrah or Zin would have been better wines but I was craving lamb shanks with those Asian spices.
We ended the evening with two dessert wines, a Sonnwendberger Kirchengarten Trockenbeerenauslese 1971 and a Pedro Ximenez 1971. The TBA was the star of the evening with caramel fruit tart, dried apricot and honeysuckle aromas and flavors while the Pedro Ximenez was the perfect partner for Godiva dark chocolates - if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it!
I opened up 6 more spaces in storage though I am receiving another 25 bottles by the end of March. Guess that means a lot more drinking to come in the next couple of weeks!
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