Of late I have been inviting a few friends over on Friday night to play spin the bottle with this week's produce box from Mariquita. While the kitchen gets pretty crowded with six folks jockeying for counter space to work up their ingredients, it's a good time. Last night was one of the best yet with some really delicious results, and not surprisingly a number of bottles being drained in record time.
with gravlax, crudites, and some quadrello di bufala:
NV Sommariva Prosecco di Conegliano Brut
Very fresh bottle. Great cool-toned spiced pear fruit and a nearly dry palate impression. Really good bottle of this. Everything you want from a frosty chilled bottle of Prosecco, and a fine crowd pleaser.
with a salad consisting of spinach, oven-roasted ramps and kohlrabi slices, toasted walnut and some other items i'm forgetting:
2007 Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne-Aligote
This is a very tasty aligote with a touch of parmesan rind to the aromatics, and some nice leesy richness in the mouth. Definitely showing some development, probably not a bad time to be drinking this.
2005 Pepiere Muscadet Classique
Surprisingly developed, though it's been a few years since I last drank this. The richness of the vintage really shows here. A bit atypical, but very tasty with a pungently brassy minerality and some slightly roasty notes going on (roasted skins?). No rush here, although I'm not sure it will get better for my taste. If I had more I'd probably start to accelerate my consumption.
with a creamy, rich Agaricus subrufescens infused risotto:
1996 Malvira' Roero Superiore
Mature, with just a tickle of grip still on the back end. Great mushroomy, floral aromatics, and a nice autumnal palate that doesn't quite live up to the promise of that nose. But it's a tasty accompaniment to risotto and certainly a great value for mature nebbiolo. Throwing heavy sediment, so recommend standing this up for a few days before opening.
Should have gone back to the nebbiolo well at this point but I'd promised Chinon to one francophile, so..
with a poached farm egg, ramps, Bhutanese red rice, minced favas, morels, poached celeriac bits and a Piemontese style fonduta valdostana:
2006 Baudry Chinon Clos Guillot
Quite ripe, with bright red berry fruit and intense lead pencil aromatics that I didn't care for at all. Reticient minerality and not a hint of the herbal awesomeness that the Croix Boisses has in this vintage. This shows some wood and is awkwardly pinched on the back end, and should be better in a couple of years. But you know, I think I've arrived at the conclusion that I don't really care for this bottling.
2005 Domaine Billard Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune
This was charmingly rustic, though rather unmemorable, with some sunny ripe strawberry fruit and hints of spice and earth. A little awkward, but drinking fairly well despite the chunky 2005 tannins on the back. Give it another couple of years though.
There was some also some '08 Francois Carillon Puligny that was killer and a '06 Philippe Faury St Joseph VV going around that was really lovely despite being on its second day, and some amazing strawberries and decent Valrhona. It was a pretty good Friday.
with gravlax, crudites, and some quadrello di bufala:
NV Sommariva Prosecco di Conegliano Brut
Very fresh bottle. Great cool-toned spiced pear fruit and a nearly dry palate impression. Really good bottle of this. Everything you want from a frosty chilled bottle of Prosecco, and a fine crowd pleaser.
with a salad consisting of spinach, oven-roasted ramps and kohlrabi slices, toasted walnut and some other items i'm forgetting:
2007 Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne-Aligote
This is a very tasty aligote with a touch of parmesan rind to the aromatics, and some nice leesy richness in the mouth. Definitely showing some development, probably not a bad time to be drinking this.
2005 Pepiere Muscadet Classique
Surprisingly developed, though it's been a few years since I last drank this. The richness of the vintage really shows here. A bit atypical, but very tasty with a pungently brassy minerality and some slightly roasty notes going on (roasted skins?). No rush here, although I'm not sure it will get better for my taste. If I had more I'd probably start to accelerate my consumption.
with a creamy, rich Agaricus subrufescens infused risotto:
1996 Malvira' Roero Superiore
Mature, with just a tickle of grip still on the back end. Great mushroomy, floral aromatics, and a nice autumnal palate that doesn't quite live up to the promise of that nose. But it's a tasty accompaniment to risotto and certainly a great value for mature nebbiolo. Throwing heavy sediment, so recommend standing this up for a few days before opening.
Should have gone back to the nebbiolo well at this point but I'd promised Chinon to one francophile, so..
with a poached farm egg, ramps, Bhutanese red rice, minced favas, morels, poached celeriac bits and a Piemontese style fonduta valdostana:
2006 Baudry Chinon Clos Guillot
Quite ripe, with bright red berry fruit and intense lead pencil aromatics that I didn't care for at all. Reticient minerality and not a hint of the herbal awesomeness that the Croix Boisses has in this vintage. This shows some wood and is awkwardly pinched on the back end, and should be better in a couple of years. But you know, I think I've arrived at the conclusion that I don't really care for this bottling.
2005 Domaine Billard Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune
This was charmingly rustic, though rather unmemorable, with some sunny ripe strawberry fruit and hints of spice and earth. A little awkward, but drinking fairly well despite the chunky 2005 tannins on the back. Give it another couple of years though.
There was some also some '08 Francois Carillon Puligny that was killer and a '06 Philippe Faury St Joseph VV going around that was really lovely despite being on its second day, and some amazing strawberries and decent Valrhona. It was a pretty good Friday.