Seeking brilliance in the class of 1973

30 April 2017:
Richard and I were invited to a birthday feast in Taipei. It was a veritable feast in every sense, food and wine, at Ephernité, one of the latest culinary sensations in Taipei, run by a Taiwanese couple with French background.  The name of the restaurant "Ephernité" is coined from two words: "éphémère" and "éternité", combining two contrasting temporal concepts in this cosy yet minimalist-decor space where we get to appreciate high quality cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. Chef Vanessa spent her formative years at L'Astrance in Paris where she honed her skills, in particular her pastry skills, before she and Claude returned to Taiwan to incorporate local ingredients (as much as possible) into her fusion style of cooking. With his Taiwanese roots, Claude, born and raised in France, looked after the wine service with extreme professionalism and dexterity. Thanks to our generous host, aka birthday boy, the wine selection was curated exclusively to celebrate the class of 1973 (with a couple of outsiders!)

The class of 1973

The Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs was the most expressive of the 3 champagnes from the vintage. It showed biscuity and smokey mature character but retained a great balance, precision and persistence. I would score this 19/20.  The Taittinger Comtes de Champagne showed clarity and elegance but seemed a little subdued. The Krug flaunted nuances of hazelnuts, toast, coffee and caramel, perhaps a touch overly oxidative.

Of the 3 white Bourgogne wines, the DRC Montrachet was the most complete (white) wine of the evening, with layers of complexity, harmony, richness and weight but balanced by a gracefully mature level of energy. The finished lasted incredibly long.  I gave this wine 20/20.  The Meursault Perrières, Leroy was structurally very sound, and showed exceptional crystalline purity.  It still showed incredible citrus character overlaying an age-defying minerality and linearity. There was much less expression of the Meursault character which we were somehow expecting. I scored this 17.5/20. The Musigny Blanc unfortunately suffered from cork taint character.

The Petrus, though served from a magnum, failed to show greatness, class or structure. It was marred by a little too much volatile acidity and caramelised note for my preference. The Vega Sicilia Unico also showed mild level of volatile acidity, but that rather lent to its vibrancy.  It was a well-balanced wine with elegance but it lacked expression and character.

The La Romanée was unfortunately served in a pair together with the beautifully matured Chambertin Clos de Bèze which showed remarkable energy and character, with silky texture. We loved the sous-bois, soya sauce, cardamom and mushroom notes that layered the flavours.  This was one of my top two red wines of the evening.  Very happy to score this 18/20.

Of the three red bottles from DRC, the Romanée-Conti was the hands-down winner.  It had an elegant richness, complexity profile and persistence that the other representatives of the vintage failed to deliver.  On the palate, it was harmonious, wonderfully complex and lingered on the palate. I scored this 19/20.  La Tâche suffered from the same fate as the Musigny Blanc, ie cork taint.  The Romanée St Vivant smelt and tasted quite maderised, with copious level of volatile acidity and a dry finish which suggested it should have been drunk a long while ago. 

The olive brown-hued 1875 Sercial was a great pair with the cheese selection.  The oxidative character of liquorice, roasted nuts, coffee and balsamic worked very well with the aged Comté.

Finally, we finished with a 1949 Suduiraut, which showed an amber hue, with honey, apricot, rye toast notes, a lively acidity that balanced the richness but without the heavy cloying character.  Long finish. I scored this 19/20.

1973 is often a forgotten vintage in vinous speak.  Luckily for us, we have a generous friend who enjoys celebrating his birth year with his friends, giving us the opportunity to taste and re-taste this forgotten but not forsaken vintage.  The top performers from this vintage have remained some of our most memorable wine experiences.  

To our generous host, a big thank you for sharing such memories with us!!

We look forward to returning to this high quality neighbourhood restaurant, with relaxed atmosphere, on our next visit.  In the meantime, we wish Claude and Vanessa an enchanting wedding in France this summer!

Here is our menu and wine selection (with photos of some of the dishes):

1973 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs

1973 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne

1973 Krug

Amuse- bouche

- crystal caviar 魚子醬

- tête de cochon 豬頭皮肉凍

- gazpacho de pastèque 西瓜冷湯

- mousse de foie de volaille 雞肝醬慕絲



Entrée 1:

Hokkaido scallops salad 北海道干貝沙拉

Hokkaido scallop salad

1973 Meursault Perrières 1er Cru, Leroy

1973 Musigny Blanc Grand Cru, de Vogué

1973 Montrachet Grand Cru, DRC


Seafood:

Grilled uni risotto with white asparagus 白蘆筍海膽燉飯

Grilled uni risotto with white asparagus

Fish:

market fish/ lobster/ pineapple mousse 市場鮮魚及薔薇龍蝦



1973 Petrus (en Magnum)

1973 Vega Sicilia Unico



Meat 1: Os à moelle Bordelaise 巴西里烤牛骨髓



Summer truffle and porcini Tagliatelle 松露野菇寛扁麵



1973 La Romanée, Albert Bichot

1973 Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Rousseau


Meat 2: Tealeaves smoked Pigeon/ foie gras/ farm vegetables 茶燻乳鴿/ 茶樹蜜鴨肝/ 時蔬

1973 Romanée St. Vivant, DRC

1973 La Tâche, DRC

1973 Romanée-Conti, DRC



Meat 3: Japanese wagyu ribeye/ sauce bourguignon

鹿兒島黑毛和牛肋眼/ 勃根第牛肉醬汁


Assortiment de fromage: 起司盤

truffled Camembert /crottin de chavignol/ Comté 18months/ Blue cheese/ Brie


1875 Sercial Madeira Reserva, d’Olivera

Desserts: 甜點

grilled fresh peaches/ thym/ dacquoise

So pretty ....and tasty too!

1949 Suduiraut 

Birthday cake: 生日蛋糕

chocolate raspberry birthday cake



Mignardises: 小茶點三式

Seasalt caramel macaron/ madeleine/ pâte de fruits

We have a birthday to celebrate!

All the wines are here, plus 1 more magnum of champagne and 1 magnum of 1982 Mouton!
There were 14 of us after all.........

17 Jan 2014: We had a birthday to celebrate! And bravo to the team at Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons (Great Milton, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom) for an impeccable job they did in looking after us (and all the heavy lifting for the sommeliers)! We were told to wait in the bar for an hour before sitting down at 9 pm (I think so as not to stress the kitchen) but when we did sit down, the food came at a very good pace and all at once for all 14 of us! So well done!

2000 Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill (magnum) I had never seen 2 magnums of champagne being consumed at such speed! It was a richly intense bouquet of lemon peel, ripe pear, almond and shortbread. Fine creamy mousse on the palate, persistent and delicate bubbles racing to the surface…..a note of minerality dominates on the palate. Vibrant acidity. Finishes extremely long. Sensational. I would drink this now but it will drink well for 6 - 8+ years, depending on your taste. 18.5/20

2008 Meursault Les Clous (magnum) 

This is a magnum bottle of our own wine……it was so delicious….still full of tension and energy, even in its 5th year for a village wine. Loved the lemon and pear notes……with a very fine detail in the long finish. A really brilliant effort and almost delivering above its level! 18/20 (It went brilliantly with the brill, oyster, wasabi and cucumber dish - highly recommended!)

The brilliant brill dish, with oyster, wasabi and cucumber!

Wild mushroom risotto with truffle cream

1954 Lafite (double magnum) - correct! The birth year wine!Medium garnet. Notes of cigar box, cedar, fig, coffee, gamey and mushroomy…….with just a whiff of volatility initially. Silky on the palate, still holding its structure well, albeit in a lighter frame. A languorous finish……marred by just a hint of acidic kick at the end. For me, as I was enjoying it rather slowly….it came through rather well and its best pair was with the mushroom risotto! If your bottle is a 750 ml version, I would be drinking this very soon! 16.5/20

1953 Lafite (magnum) Quite a change from the 1954. This was vigorous, still bursting with blueberry fruit, complementing notes of violet, sweet tobacco, spice and sweaty saddle. A lovely concentration of flavours, intense and powerful at the same time. Drinking perfectly now, and over the next 8 – 10 years! 19/20

1982 Mouton Rothschild (magnum and bottle) Unfortunately the magnum was mildly corked  (but we finished it all the same!) The bottle was amazingly youthful (in fact not quite ready if not aerated properly - I would give it another 5 years before trying again)! Cedar, blueberry, blackberry, violet….medium bodied.

1983 Yquem Amber-gold colour. A rich and intensely complex nose of ripe peach, honey, marmalade and rye bread. Lusciously sweet but deftly balanced by firm acidity. The palate was weighty, but it did not feel heavy at all. The freshness was so remarkable that it was almost irresistible! Awesome! Drink now with a massively long life ahead! 18.5/20


1955 Taylor’s A medium brown colour. Raisin, hazelnut, fruitcake like aromas. Very spirity finish. Perfect with cigars! This might not be the best example of this port, as we had expected more freshness. 16/20


What an indulgence! And the parties continue.......with a friend's 40th to look forward to next month!

Note: There were 14 of us to help us with this line-up! Apparently, a few of us were still thirsty afterwards and enjoyed a digestif or two with the birthday boy! I admit not having the stamina to keep up with this lot!


The following day, we had a bottle from the birth year as well: 1954 Boal! Amber-tawny colour, medium sweet on entry, with a dry finish. Lovely nutty and slightly caramelised notes with a hint of ginger! I loved it with cheese!