Pre-Christmas Celebration Dinner

23 Dec 2010: Year-end "grande bouffe", a perfect excuse for a bit of indulgence!  We did not have time to prepare elaborate dishes as it was a work day!  Nevertheless, I congratulated myself on my home-made blinis (which I made beforehand)!  Starter was a composition of balik salmon and Richard's fabulous smoked trout pâté!  For main course, Richard cooked a very tasty dish of pork chops served with parsnips, apples and a rich meat jus, intensely flavoured with some leftover vin jaune, madeira and white burgundy!  This was followed by a cheese platter of Isle of Mull cheddar, coulommiers, vacherin and stilton.  Dessert was a combo of Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, berries and ice cream doused with aged PX!  I just adore PX - its richness is so intoxicating! We were rather spoilt by the array of fine wines (all in magnums, except the last two wines): 1999 Pierre Gimonnet Millésime de Collection, 1998 Haut Brion Blanc, 1961 Château Mouton Rothschild, 1959 Château Mouton Rothschild, 1990 Château Lynch-Bages and 1955 Graham's. 

Brief notes follow:
1999 Pierre Gimonnet Millésime de Collection - an extremely well-crafted Blanc de Blancs champagne, showing precision, elegance, intensity, character, very creamy mousse and tremendous length.  A very fine champagne indeed with a nose of brioche, pear, citrus and minerality. 18.5/20

1998 Haut Brion Blanc (RP96) - still tasting very fresh, with firm acidity and a complex nose of citrus, fennel, herbs, smoke, white pepper, macadamia nuts and some figs.  Finishes extremely long.  An extraordinary effort.  Drinking beautifully now and will continue to evolve over the next 15 - 20 years!  This wine went so well with the smoked salmon and smoked trout pâté!  18.5/20   (By the way, we opened a half bottle of 2001 Laville Haut Brion to go with the leftover smoked trout pâté the following day and very delicious too!!)

1961 Mouton Rothschild (RP98) - if I were to humanize this wine, it would be romantically described as "a lady clad in silk with smoky eyes"!   The aromas of the wine momentarily filled the room when the bottle was just decanted.  A gorgeous nose of cedar, lead pencil, blueberry, violet, rose, mocha and toffee.  The structure was firm supported by a good level of acidity, showing no sign of deterioration.  A very sophisticated and compelling wine. Drinking at peak and will continue to drink well for the next 20+ years.  19.5/20

1959 Mouton Rothschild (RP100) - this was austere and masculine by comparison with the sexy and feminine 1961.  A little reticent on the nose, and would have benefited from a larger glass (unfortunately we did not have enough large glasses).  Classic Mouton nose of cedar, herbaceous, lead pencl, mocha, chocolate.  This was a bigger, richer and more intense and concentrated wine than the 1961.  This wine would be described as a "sulky teenager still waiting to show his full potential"!  Sadly we probably drank this much more quickly than it deserved!  Drinking well now and will continue to evolve for the next 15 - 20 years, with a long life ahead!  19.5/20

1990 Château Lynch-Bages (RP97) - I did not try this as I was a little behind......but Richard said it was no shy competitor for the Mouton Rothschild (and it wasn't even in magnum format!)!  So thank you, Martin, for bringing it! 

1955 Graham's - a wine still evolving in my view.  Magnificent nose of fruit cake, walnut, treacle, dried fruit peel and black fruit preserve.  Tremendous structure and length.  A glorious wine.  18.5/20

Great wines, great food, and even better great company and banter. It was a dinner, complete in every sense!  And Christmas is just around the corner...........