2010 Simple Wine Dinner Series No 5 :: Gary's Birthday Dinner (Part 1/4)

Venue :: Jade Palace Seafood Restaurant @ The Forum Shopping Mall, Orchard

Date :: 11-June-2010

Theme:: Same wine in different decades with below grape varieties

Flight 1 :: Champagne

Flight 2 :: Chardonny

Flight 3 :: Pinot Noir

Robert Arnoux Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 2001

Robert Arnoux Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1995

Robert Arnoux Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1978

Flight 4 :: Cabernet-Merlot blends

Flight 5 :: Syrah or Syrah-Grenache blends (changed to 'something else')

Flight 6 :: Sweets

This theme is tough! It is easy to source for same region, different decade, or same region, different producer etc etc. To source same maker, same wine, different decade is not an easy job. However, the outcome was great!

I was stuck at work so I was late for the dinner. When I reached there, the gang was enjoying the fame Jacque Selosse Contraste and Raveau, and eying for my portion of crispy roast pork, fried oyster and deep fried salted Alaskan Crab! LOL

Here is the line up::

Flight 1 :: The rare and great Jacque Selosse Contraste!
Flight 2 :: The fame Chablis maker - Raveneau 00,02
Flight 3 :: The benchmark Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Suchots - Robert Arnoux in 3 decades - 78,95,01

Flight 4 :: The long lived Barolo in 4 decades - Pio Cesare Barolo 57,64,71,82
Flight 5 :: The 1 Washington State Cult - Quilceda Creeks 91, 00
Flight 6 :: Rising star of Mosel - Willi Schaefer Spat GDR GK 07
Flight 7 :: Sauternes - Raymond Lafon 98

Flight 1 :: A very rare champagne from Selosse which annual production is 2500bottles. 100% Pinot Noir from Ay and Ambonnay, from vintages 2002 & 2003. Served together with crispy roasted pork & Fried Oyster (wasn't able to shoot photo as too hungry, when I realized for photo shooting....... they were in my stomach.....)

1. NV Jacques Selosse Contraste Brut Champagne

Alcohol: 12.5%
Bright light golden. Broad and deeply intense nose of slight oxidize, honey, honeysuckle, yellow florals, with underlying citrus note. Precise! WOW! The palate is tightly knit, mouth coating intensity, great depth with crystalline acidity giving great transparency along with lemon, citrus, grapefruits, adding extra layer with its huge minerality which giving great complexity and very long persistent finishing, with pear, citrus stone fruits and spicy undertones keep lingering! A perfect marriage with fried oyster, YUM! Sheer class, very very young.

Flight 2 :: The fame Chablis producer - Francois Raveneau with his best 1er Cru, Montée de Tonnerre, paired with Steamed egg white and alaskan crab. Yum.

Steamed egg white and alaskan crab

2000 & 2002 Francois Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru, Montée de Tonnerre

2000 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre, Chablis, Burgundy, France
Alcohol: 13%
Light golden. Very special cold fresh nose of cold herbs, steel, mint, wet stone, some white flower. Steely on the palate, light but concentrated, however, the long lingering oaky finishing is kind of disjointed from the mid palate. Advanced and Smoky with some alcohol, showing sign of pre-mox. Argh!

2002 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre, Chablis, Burgundy, France

Alcohol: 13%

This is bigger and riper than 2000. The nose is still very tight, didn’t get much of the fruits flavor, cold steely but not overly so, in fact, seductive. Intense and deep! Huge extract and very musculine. Fresh, more intense and riper stone citrus fruits than the 2000 and balance very well with its bright acidity. A very firm wine and great structure. The finishing is long and linger with spicy ginger notes. This is still so young to kill now and need a lot of time!