A Pre-Christmas Get-Together: 1996 Dom Perignon Oenotheque best wine of the evening!

15 December 2013: A pre-Christmas dinner with a few drinking buddies. Our venue this time was The Coterie, a private kitchen/Swiss wine specialist partnership between Damien Fleury and chef Jacques Kägi. The Coterie recently featured in the 2013 Louis Vuitton guide as a recommended private kitchen in HK. We all had the Louis Vuitton Tasting Menu.

As aperitif, we had a 2004 Cuvée des Caudalies, de Sousa. A Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, vinified in oak, and with malolactic fermentation. Pale lemon. Very fine bubbles. Toast, honey and pear notes on the nose, with mineral nuances to match on the palate. Racy acidity, fine balance and vigour, delivered with the creamy mousse. Finishes long and almost salty. Much better served in a white wine glass. This would be perfect with caviar or oysters! Not bad too with the salmon tartare (half of us had the salmon tartare and the other half the Welsh lamb tartare). 18/20

Salmon tartare

Welsh lamb tartare

Next wine was the 1999 Chevalier Montrachet, Etienne Sauzet. Pale gold. Toasted almonds, pear, smoke and honey on the nose. Plenty of freshness and energy on the slightly waxy palate. Long minerally finish, with just a hint of astringency. This is drinking very well now and will continue to drink over next 8 - 10+ years. 18/20

Gooseliver Chawanmushi with Sea Urchin

1996 Dom Perignon Oenothèque: An awesome champagne, that has so much detail, precision, power and elegance. Served in a white wine glass, the seductive bouquet was toast, nutty, lemon confit with savoury notes. There is a superbly refine structure underneath the medium/full body, vibrant acidity, minerality that is reminiscent of crushed stones, and bubbles of such finesse. Still tasting very youthful and full of tension. A mesmerising experience. This went beautifully with the '‘Gooseliver “Chawanmushi” with Sea Urchins " - warm foie gras 'custard', topped with a serving of very fresh sea urchin. Divine! 19.5/20

Bretagne blue lobster "sous-vide", beurre noisette, with Schabziger

Then we compared a pair of Lafites: 1966 (half) and 1978. I only got a tiny sip of the 1966 but I found it too musty and very weak in structure - past its peak. 14/20 The 1978 Lafite showed a very mature bouquet of leather, tobacco and cedar, with some remnants of red fruit. Almost sweet on entry. Rather light frame, but still retaining a reasonable structure and silky texture, though drying finish. This was a good effort for the vintage, but from this experience, I would drink this up pretty soon! Perhaps the larger formats could see through their 40th birthday!  Nonetheless a fine old-styled claret.  15.5/20

After the cauliflower, truffle soup, the next course was "Bretagne Blue Lobster “Sous vide”, Beurre Noisette with Shabzieger" - lobster cooked sous-vide with tomato and Schabziger cheese (a cow milk cheese made with skimmed milk and a herb called blue fenugreek). Very intense flavours here, and great lobster texture. Beautifully executed. We tasted the 2003 Richebourg, A-F Gros. This had been decanted for about an hour but could probably do with more bottle age before trying again. Today, this was not a good expression of the Burgundian terroir - it did not deliver the finesse and elegance one normally expected of Bourgogne wines, but the signs of the vintage were all there. The nose was very ripe black cherry, earth, fig, with some sweet spice. Almost full bodied, lowish in acidity, with a slight bitterness at the finish.  16/20

Iberico pork, potatoes dauphinois, with racelette

The main course of "Iberico Pork, Potatoes Dauphinois with Raclette" was tasty but perhaps a touch over-cooked? The meat was a little tough. A slower temperature and just pink might be better for the pork. For the wines, we compared the 1997 Henschke Hill of Grace with 1989 Penfolds Grange.

1997 Henschke Hill of Grace: Very ripe fruit filled the bouquet of bramble pie, black cherry, blackberry, dried fruit, roasted herbs and sweet spices. Full-bodied, very ripe soft but chewy still tannin. For me, this lacked a bit of acidity. I would wait a few more years before trying again....Drink now and over next 10 - 12+ years. (On reflection, this might have benefitted from some decanting time.) 17/20

1989 Penfolds Grange: 91% Shiraz, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon. This showed some signs of maturity: meaty and savoury notes, slowly revealing layers of sweet boiled fruit, black pepper and spice. Fleshy but firm structure, with grippy tannin and a good dose of refreshing acidity. Drink now and over next 10 - 12+ years. 17.5/20

2006 Opus One: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec. Aged in new French oak for 17 months. Decanted for almost 2 hours. Blackcurrant, blackberry, bramble, liquorice, roasted herbs, with chocolate and mocha notes. A bold and masculine wine, with ripe chewy tannin and medium acidity. Not an elegant expression, rather a big structured wine that would benefit from more years in bottle. Drink now and over next 15+ years. 17.5/20

We all had a wonderful and indulgent evening and it was a great discovery of venue too! I highly recommend The Coterie if you are looking for an unassuming yet sophisticated intimate venue - only 2 private rooms! Very friendly chef Jacques who is Swiss-Chinese and he even comes out to greet us in Cantonese! Damien and his wife looked after us extremely well! (And he has a very good stock of Swiss whites for your next fondue/raclette party as well as some delicious Syrahs (Cayas) by Jean-Rene Germanier and his divine dessert wine called Mitis. Damien's website is: www.theswisswinestore.com) Just one tip: if you're planning to serve some old bottles, it might be a good idea to bring your own Durand.....