15 Jan 2010: A few of us thought we would try another one of the new restaurants at LKF Tower. This time we decided to try Casa Lisboa (8/F). We briefly stopped by to say hello to a few friends who were having dinner at Gold by Harlan (2/F), and we were rewarded with a tasting of 1983 and 1985 Laville Haut Brion. The 1983 Laville Haut Brion, with its deeper golden colour, seemed much more mature and evolved than the 2 years between the two vintages. It had the textbook nose of lanolin, honey and toasted nuts, even with a bit of toffee-like character. Still enough acidity to give the wine a firm structure. The 1985 however was much fresher, with more vivacious acidity and still evident fruit character, underneath the honey and lanolin. Rich but well-balanced. Nowhere near decline yet. Parker last tasted this wine in 1993 and scored it 93 with drinking window till 2008....from this sample, this wine could probably drink well for another 4 - 5 years, whereas the 1983 definitely needed drinking, and might not do so well beyond 1 - 2 years. We even walked off with a bottle of 1996 Deutz which we opened at Casa Lisboa!
Casa Lisboa, as the name suggests, serves Portuguese cuisine. So we went for the classic dishes - bacalhau, grilled sardines and suckling pig. Sadly, the delicious-looking grilled chicken (that would arrive in style on a spit) was already sold out by 8:30! And there was no African chicken on the menu! So we settled for the house special chicken, which was served in a watered-down curry sauce.....not very appetisingly looking and the chicken tasted like frozen chicken, even underneath the spicy veneer!
1996 Deutz: Bright golden colour. Creamy mousse and fine bubbles. A mature and complex nose of toast, brioche, lemon meringue pie, acacia, honeysuckle, ripe pear, marzipan, macadamia and white balsamic. Rounded and creamy character well balanced with firm acidity, medium-full body. A fine example of mature champagne for those who love their champagne with bottle age - I might have preferred this wine 2 or 3 years ago, just a little bit more freshness. This wine could go very well with a rich Chinese seafood dish, such as prawns with egg yolk or crabs cooked in Chinese wine. It didn't particularly go with any of our dishes, unfortunately, but I enjoyed the wine very much. Would be interesting to see how the prestige cuvées from this great champagne vintage are evolving! 16/20
2000 Sassicaia: Decanted for about an hour. Bright ruby core. Black cherry, blackberry, tobacco, chocolate. Velvet texture, soft tannin and acidity. Mid palate could do with a bit more stuffing and finish a little on the short side. However, it was a well made wine, balanced and well-structured, if a little lacking in character. It did its job perfectly well for the evening. I thought it had just enough structure and fruit character to match the spicy chicken dish. A good value wine from a top estate to enjoy with a few friends over a hearty and lightly spicy meal? 16/20
No comments:
Post a Comment