Of BBQ and wines

It was a long time coming, the idea of doing an 'atas' BBQ has floated in my imagination for eons. With Chef Maurice and Marcus, we finally got down to it. Along with food, there was great wine!! Shown here one of my favourite wines of the night, a Sauternes from Chateau de Fargues!

Menu

• Plain Cibata / baguette from Cedele, with roasted garlic (~1.5hours in 200C), mashed with generous dose of fresh oregano herbs and a dash of virgin olive oil. Fantastic Home-made garlic bread!
• Ebi prawns with orange peel, basil, sea salt. Pan fried over BBQ fire. Super twangy taste the prawn, wonder if any 'injection' or any other treatment was done to it.
• Scallops (in half shell), with 3 part sake, 0.5 part japanese shoyu, 0.5 part sesame oil ~ 2 hours marination. Delicious.
• Salmon fillet, with lemon zest, mint & parsley, olive oil, ~2 hours marination. Direct BBQ failed (sticks to the grill, should oil the grill more?) Didn't taste too well.
• Oil fish, with lemon zest, sea salt, rosemary. Direct BBQ or pan fried over BBQ was absolutely delicious. Salmon and Oil fish were both ~2 -3cm thick!
• From Chef Maurice: vegetables, portobello, pork belly, rib eye steaks and a special 'silver pillow' of golden mini mushrooms with baby asparagus and shitake mushrooms. A dash of truffle oil would have made this perfect.

The alfresco mood !

Chef Maurice with the Silver Pillow

Planeta Alastro 2006 - not very balanced.
Chateau Segur Haut Medoc 1986 - Classic Paulliac
Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 - Big and smooth.
Chateau Haut Bages Liberal 1985 - Pencil lead, felt like merlot/right back, chewy tannins, good stuff. Perfectly drinking now.
Barton & Guestier Chardonnay Brut NV - Toast/nuts, reminiscent of Epernay, but this is not from Champagne, hence it's just a 'Chardonnay' Brut. Superb value for money.
Gewurztraminer 1967 - Honey/apricot nose of gracefully aged white wines. Fruits a little fading, guess Pinot Gris/blanc type. Too old to really tell. Acids/tannins virtually done.
HJ Shiraz - Pretty modern and forward Shiraz. Classic Mclaren vale.
Saint Joseph - Peppery/lavender nose. Really beautiful to nose all day. Palette pretty pleasant and decent finish. Contender for WOTN.
Chateau Monteil Sauternes 1971 - Honey/Apricots. Going to be the end phase. No sign of 'spice', hence not a great year for Sauternes?
Chateau de Fargues Lur Saluces Sauternes 1980 - Honey/Apricots, completely mature, with some acid/tannins to firm up the while. Not tiring to drink. Would have preferred this house at 20-25 yrs old. Could be on the down slope from here.
Meursault - Interesting. Japanese maker buying grapes form Meursault and creating a Burg wine.

First, First, and first.

How often do you get Latour 64 and 96 at the same table? And throw in a Lafite 64, it was a night of stars. What a privileged night to celebrate my birthday!

My birth year! Not a great vintage for france but this Grand Puy du casse is great! Thanks TK!

Colour of a wine is important, here's Marcus analysing the pigments within a claret.

One of the great things about wine and dine is food pairing.
A memorable moment: Cold crab + plenty of roe and Spatlese from Egon Muller.

Surprises are one wine buff's favourite haunt, a creamy, complex Chardonnay from Lucien le Moine. The most VANILLA flavoured nose in a wine I've ever had!!

A rare Clos Saint Dennis from Camille Giroud.

lafite 1964, salty, fermented nose of Soy. Result of heat damage? Or not enough decanting? Harvest was done during the rainy portions of 1964, hence losing out to the neighboring rivals Latour.
Latour 1996, youthful, complex, layers. Didn't quite wow me.
Latour 1964, dark ruby, looks like a 10 year old wine. Not particularly ready.
Tattinger 85, honey, pineapple nose. Little bubbles left. Palette smooth but didn't follow with the huge nose. Didn't know what to expect for such an old champagne but pretty satisfied with this.
Henry Boillot Puligny Montrachet 2009: White flowers, acidic nose, prefer with raw seafood.
Grand Puy ducasse 1979: Elegant, classic paulliac. Enjoyed this more than the 1sts. Super value for money!
Lucien le Moine Corton Charlemagne 2006: Creamy, complex, layered. Generous services of Vanilla on the nose and some on the palette. Only the finish is lacking.
Prunotto Barolo 1971: A very very much alive 40year old wine. What a privilege to try a Barolo of this class. Delicate is hardly the word for Barolo but this was what it was. Finesse, balance, never overpowering at any moment. Very fitting wine amongst the big Bordeaux this Italian was!
Louis Trapet & fils Chambertin 1983: tried this in a Riedel Sommieler Burgundy: Nose had hint of rose, perfume. Tannins rough and hint of bitterness.
Camille Giroud Clos St Dennis 1976: Delicate, approachable.
Egon Muller Spatlese 2003: Ripe, rounded, would prefer a bit of acids at the end to balance the wine.


Pedigree/class/provenance/bottle variation - The ups and downs of wines, especially getting a very aged one.

Food pairing, decanting, type of glassware, serving temperature - Dozens of factors to affect a wine.

The chase for the illusive drops of God---> Continues!