9 people at dinner, 9 wines

[AlexR]

Hello,

I had friends over to dinner on Saturday and the 9 of us had 9 different wines.

We had two sparkling wines for the apéritif. The first was a Jaillance Cuvée de l’Abbaye brut rosé, a Crémant de Bordeaux. This was showing very well, and shines in a category that is frequently lacklustre. The fizz to follow, Charles Heidseick rosé, was a step up, but not a very big one. I think, however, that this reflects more on the superior quality of the Bordeaux than anything wrong with the Champagne. I have a sentimental attachment to Charles Heidsieck because I did an internship there many years ago.

I had asked a question on the UK wine forum about pairing wines with asparagus on the forum last week (some people say they are against) and the consensus seemed to be that there was no reason not to. This proved to be accurate and the white asparagus from Blaye in hollandaise sauce went very well with two white wines. The first, a 2016 Domaine Richou, Anjou blanc was a good starter wine, but lacked personality. The second, a 2002 Pape Clément was an entirely different story. This was superb and in fine fettle at age 17. Served blind, my guests (mostly in the wine trade), thought this was a fine white Burgundy and I can see why. There was that beautiful matchstick quality one finds in some of the best wines in the Côte de Beaune and a complex bouquet showing some truffle. Ah, if only more white Bordeaux could be like this…

We had 4 reds with the main course, paupiettes de veau (escalopes of veal wrapped around forcemeat) in a mushroom sauce.

The first was a real eye-opener. Also served blind, the 2010 Cullen “Diana Madeline” from the Margaret River region of Australia (blend of Bordeaux grape varieties) was not only delicious, but my friends all thought it was a Right Bank Bordeaux. I have rarely had an Australian wine of such class and subtlety. It had a screw cap and perhaps this is why it had retained so much freshness. There was certainly nothing heavy or clunky about this distinguished, delicious wine.
It also makes me think that screw caps have a lot more to offer fine wines than most people realize.

Wine number two was 2005 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut Brion, the estate's second wine. This had cedary, terroir-driven aromatics. Arguably less pleasing than the Cullen, it certainly had more of a sense of place. Most people agreed that the wine seemed younger than its years, but that it was pretty much in its drinking window.

Wine number three was 1986 Lynch Bages. I was expecting much from this, but the wine was, in fact, too old and may even have been slightly corked. There was a subtle bouquet, with lead pencil Pauillac character, but the overall quality was not what I had hoped for. As opposed to some Bordeaux lovers, I think that waiting further for the 86s is a mistake.

The last red wine was 2004 Château de Rayas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This had a pale color and a lovely nose that made many guess Burgundy. The tannins were fully resolved and this was a smooth, enjoyable wine to drink, although not really a great one.

With strawberry shortcake, we had a 97 Yquem. This is drinking very well although, of course, it can hold for years. Will it improve? It depends how you like your Sauternes, really… 97 may have been not such a good year for red Bordeaux, but it is fine for the sweet white wines.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[jckba]

Sounds like a great evening.

With asparagus, I find that you just need a wine that has some green tones so I usually reach for a Loire Valley white in either a Muscadet or Sancerre and I think they both work well but you could just as easily go with a Spanish white in either a Tkakoli or Verdejo, the choice is yours.

[Nicklasss]

Nice report Alex. I don't eat asparagus often but i agree to have them with kind of leafy white or red. I guess with the wine choice we have today, there are wines for matching everythings.

It is sad to read about non performing 86 Lynch or 04 Rayas. On the other end, impressive white Pape Clément and red from Margaret river area is good to read, to get out of the strict thinking.

About 1997 Yquem, had it once before going to The Instigators show (rob dayton's band) and i almost did not notice it, as i was so enthusiast to go see rob playing!

Nic

[DavidG]

Peggy and I love asparagus and have it often.
I like Loire whites with asparagus but it’s usually a side dish with a main that wants a red.
It doesn’t stop us. I just don’t take a sip of wine immediately after a bite of asparagus.
If we were bigger drinkers or had guests over, we could have both.

[JCNorthway]

Paula and I also love asparagus and often grill it in the spring season. I find that the grilled flavors seem to enable it to go more easily with wines. If we have grilled asparagus and grilled chicken, I find that fruity pinot noirs and some cotes du rhones work fine.

[DavidG]

Yes, Jon! Grilling and seasoning make a big difference.

[jal]

Great notes Alex,
The 1986 Lynch we had in Denver last July was glorious, I don’t think it was anywhere near maturity.
I loved the 2006 Rayas but I think it would have suffered in a tasting with fruitier more robust wines. I never had the 2004.

[hautbrionlover]

Great report! Thank you
I am particularly envious about the Pape Clement Blanc, which is one of my favorite whites!

[Harry C.]

Alex, Thanks for this. I think asparagus calls for Austria Gruner Veltliner. And do you know what we call 9 bottles for 9 people? Amateurs!

[felixp21]

Hi Alex,
maybe I am mis-interpreting your notes, but did you mean that the Chapelle had more of a sense of place than the Cullen?
for me, at least, the wines of Cullen scream Margaret River (I am astounded your friends mistook this for a right bank Bordeaux when it is such an easy wine to pick). Whilst they have a rich berry flavour not unlike a decent Pomerol, there is always that hint of eucalyptus and sea salt that identifies the wines of the region. Of just about anywhere in the World, Margaret River Cab blends nearly always stick out like a sore thumb, with Cullen perhaps the most true to it's origins.
OTOH, the top Cab blends from the Adelaide Hills are far more difficult to pick, too often I mistake them for a lesser Right Bank wine

[AlexR]

Hi Felix,

No, you did not misinterpret me, we all felt that the Chapelle had more of a
sense of place than the Cullen. Please let me explain. For a start, all the people at dinner, including myself, were very Bordeauxcentric. Second, none of us have more than a passing acquaintance with finer Australian wines (as opposed to dark, high-alcohol wines). I vaguely know that the Margaret River region is relatively cool, but have had only 4 or 5 wines from there in my life. So the chances of our identifying a wine from there blind were pretty slim.

That having been said, we did not find the exotic notes that you mention in the Cullen. And I was looking for them, seeing as I was the only person who didn’t taste the wine blind.
That, however, does not mean that we felt the Cullen was a disembodied, crowdpleasing but “technological perfect, but ultimately boring” sort of wine. On the contrary, it was top-notch and pleased us immensely. I can’t remember the last time I had such a good wine from Down Under; It had been given to me by an Australian who carried it specifically from home to represent his country’s wines, which it did very well. It’s just that it was immediately followed by the Chapelle, which showed earthy, forest floor, and wildberry aromatics that made us all think spontaneously of Bordeaux, whereas the Cullen had people more puzzled – also knowing that I am very wicked and am known for serving oddball wines from all over the place.

The Cullen and Chappelle were made from the same grape varieties, but displayed very different expressions of them. It was the roundness and softness of the Cullen that made people think of Right Bank Bordeaux. Honestly, there was nothing in this 9-year-old wine that screamed New World. I specifically cannot remember eucalyptus notes. The Cullen was a restrained, (relatively) low alcohol wine with a great deal of class. It could hold its own with a slew of great growth Bordeaux.

Of course, if you are familiar with Margaret River wines, and you had been there, you might have immediately picked it out as being from that region!

All the best,
Alex R.

[AKR]

I think people can go overboard with the 'don't eat x while drinking y' thing.

If one likes the food and the wine, they'll probably like them together anyways, even if one is committing a Class III Sommelier crime

[Claudius2]

Alex
Being an Aussie, we don't normally talk about wines such as Cullen simply as we really don't want anyone else to buy them.
Cullen make one of the top 3-4 Cabernet based wines in Australia and similarly, their Kevin John Chardonnay is one of the very best.
Cullen is charactersied by purity of fruit as well as complexity. I'd say that they are more like St Julien with their roundness of fruit.

The current release of the Diana Madeline (2017) is $A129 which would equate to about $US95 Cellar Door.
It sells out quickly and is mainly sold via mailing lists rather than retailers.
The cepage is similar to a left bank Bordeaux - around 80% CS and the remainder Merlot, PV, Malbec, though I don't recall Cullen growing CF.

I understand that you don't see a sense of place in this wine,though when you are used to Margaret River wines, you get to identify the characters that shout out the region.
For the most part, the Cabernet from MR is brighter than in Bordeaux, and has a softness and roundness that make it quite drinkable when young, but I have had 30 yr old Cullens that were still in great condition.
With age, MR cabs develop an earthy, mocha like character that is quite different to other Australian Cab regions (e.g., Coonawarra and Yarra).

If you prefer a style with a touch of mint/eucalyptus/herb et al, you will generally prefer Coonawarra, which is a little cooler than Margaret River, particularly having cooler nights.
Some cooler Cullen vintages will have a touch of herbs though it is never a prominent character of the wine.
The Yarra style for my palate is somewhat a combination of the two, though again, herbal/minty characters are not powerful (and I don't like overtly green characters anyway).

One point about Stelvin (screw) caps.
Just about every wine now in Australia uses them.
They make so much more sense than corks, not just for their ability to avoid TCA taint, but they rarely fail (unless damaged) and whilst some whites may show a touch of reductive characters, that normally balances out with a bit of air as oxidation will occur.
I went to a big tasting some yeas ago of Leo Buring Clare Valley rieslings from the 70's. Most of the wines were around 30 years old.
The makers had bottled some of the wines in Stelvin, others with traditional corks.
It was at that point that I realised that wine and cork is a bad mix.
Of the cork sealed wines, many were out of condition thru TCA, oxidation and leaking.
One Stelvin sealed wine was out of condition as the seal on the cap had been damaged but other than one case, the wines were not only good, they were absolutely delicious, with complexity and floral/citrus characters.
The very best cork sealed wine was equivalent to the Stelvin capped wines. Most cork sealed wines showed some signs of premature ageing or other condition faults.
All these wines were stored in a natural underground cellar and had been there since bottling.
That tasting convinced the Australian wine writers that Stelvin caps were superior to cork, and since then, I have consistently been a fan, suggesting them to vignerons in such far off places like St Emilion and Beaune.....

[DavidG]

I’m with you on Stelvins Mark.

Was that tasting the one that led to the widely distributed picture of the bottles all in a row showing various shades of darkening under cork?

[Michael-P]

Mark:
If I wanted to try a Cullen, what vintage should I seek? Thanks,
Michael-P