My friend Jeremy kindly arranged dinner with a few of my London-based financial market friends at the now famous Ledbury restaurant in Notting Hill, recently voted London's best restaurant - the food was perfectly complementary to the wines and discreetly 'played a blinder'
With canapés...
Krug Grand Cuvee NV
This had been stored for 15 years (by the tumble drier? Next to the boiler?) and despite an alluring yeasty brioche and marmite nose tasted a bit tired and flaccid. Shame **
With roast scallops, broccoli, natural yoghurt, Falmouth Bay prawns cooked in vadouvan
Molitor Haus Klosterberg Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese 1997
I couldn’t pronounce this so I referred to it as ‘molitov cocktail’ – nose of dirty diesel, but wonderfully soufflé-light, elegant and lifted on the palate, frizzy, lemon meringue. Levitating. Marvellous *****
Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos De Mouches (blanc) 2005
Tasted clumsy in comparison, thick and viscous with good purity, some pinot gris added in to lend some finesse, a youngster...should be marvellous when (if) it grows up ***(**)
With roast sea bass with cepes, oxtail and rosemary
Nicolas Potel Clos De la Roche 1997
Captivating earthy nose with infused cherries on the palate and a fabulous texture and intensity, with poise and a long finish; moving into its second/tertiary phase. Red burgundy at its best and my wotn ecplising a strong line up from the Gironde estuary *****(*)
With loin and shoulder of lamb with Jerusalem artichokes, winter savory and sunflower seeds
Chateau Haut Brion 1997
Trademark earthiness/scorched earth but not at all extroverted, opaque at the centre, maroon at the rim, medium bodied on the palate and a cool satisfying finish; such class in a glass ... drink this while waiting for your 98s to mature ****(*)
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1993
This one had a somewhat controversial label. A more attenuated nose of tobacco leather and berries, on the palate somewhat more austere and angular; some would complain that this is too lean; I would disagree and think it has fabulous class and breeding – also purple-rimmed suggesting still youthful; cool languid and classy like the HB ****(*)
Pichon Lalande 1989
A perfectly stored bottle, this too tasted young and on the upslope. More generous and fatter on the mid palate than the first growths, it began to open but only slowly, and had quite a pronounced green/asparagus note on the finish which will not be to everyone’s liking. I like this wine a lot but on the night I preferred the two FGs ****(*)
With brown sugar tart with muscat grapes and stem ginger ice cream
Justino Henrique Verdelho Madiera 1954
Silty brown – brown sugar, figs, raisins, nutty &tangy, bonfire and Christmas cake...quite a treat...not tasted anything quite like it, went down a treat with dessert ****?
With canapés...
Krug Grand Cuvee NV
This had been stored for 15 years (by the tumble drier? Next to the boiler?) and despite an alluring yeasty brioche and marmite nose tasted a bit tired and flaccid. Shame **
With roast scallops, broccoli, natural yoghurt, Falmouth Bay prawns cooked in vadouvan
Molitor Haus Klosterberg Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese 1997
I couldn’t pronounce this so I referred to it as ‘molitov cocktail’ – nose of dirty diesel, but wonderfully soufflé-light, elegant and lifted on the palate, frizzy, lemon meringue. Levitating. Marvellous *****
Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos De Mouches (blanc) 2005
Tasted clumsy in comparison, thick and viscous with good purity, some pinot gris added in to lend some finesse, a youngster...should be marvellous when (if) it grows up ***(**)
With roast sea bass with cepes, oxtail and rosemary
Nicolas Potel Clos De la Roche 1997
Captivating earthy nose with infused cherries on the palate and a fabulous texture and intensity, with poise and a long finish; moving into its second/tertiary phase. Red burgundy at its best and my wotn ecplising a strong line up from the Gironde estuary *****(*)
With loin and shoulder of lamb with Jerusalem artichokes, winter savory and sunflower seeds
Chateau Haut Brion 1997
Trademark earthiness/scorched earth but not at all extroverted, opaque at the centre, maroon at the rim, medium bodied on the palate and a cool satisfying finish; such class in a glass ... drink this while waiting for your 98s to mature ****(*)
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1993
This one had a somewhat controversial label. A more attenuated nose of tobacco leather and berries, on the palate somewhat more austere and angular; some would complain that this is too lean; I would disagree and think it has fabulous class and breeding – also purple-rimmed suggesting still youthful; cool languid and classy like the HB ****(*)
Pichon Lalande 1989
A perfectly stored bottle, this too tasted young and on the upslope. More generous and fatter on the mid palate than the first growths, it began to open but only slowly, and had quite a pronounced green/asparagus note on the finish which will not be to everyone’s liking. I like this wine a lot but on the night I preferred the two FGs ****(*)
With brown sugar tart with muscat grapes and stem ginger ice cream
Justino Henrique Verdelho Madiera 1954
Silty brown – brown sugar, figs, raisins, nutty &tangy, bonfire and Christmas cake...quite a treat...not tasted anything quite like it, went down a treat with dessert ****?
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