Hi all,

It's very ungentlemanly to say it aloud, but SWMBO (AKA 'er outdoors') is
shortly (18th June) to celebrate her official entry into old age.

To celebrate this event, we're having a little party at a local Hotel, where
our friends Alain & Claudine have agreed to put on a special meal on
Thursday, which neatly splits our birthdays (I'm the 16th). Reading Bill's
account, inspired me to tell you what's coming up. Actually, Jacquie thinks
just the two of us are invited there by the owners, and the party is a
surprise for her.

Champagne Franck Pascal Cuvée Prestige '93 (A small producer and friend with
only about 3 Ha. His wine was VERY highly marked by Guide Hachette when
entered for the first time - this champers was one of those which reconciled
me to the genre.) This will be served to our guests while they gather before
our arrival.

Champagne Bollinger Grande Année '90 Magnum. When last we tasted this at
christmas it was in perfect condition. Apéritif when we arrive, and will
carry over to (not) go with the soup.

Potage Crème Dubarry (cream of cauliflower soup)

Fillets of Turbot with sauce au gingembre (I've asked for this to have the
lightest touch of ginger, to go with the wild turbot, Jacquie's favourite
fish, and mine too!). Served with Meursault-Charmes 1996 Millot-Battault.
He's a small producer, whom we've known since the late 60s. He's retired
now, but in '96, was at about his best.

We then move into a hot entrée of a Ballotine de Dinde, farcie aux Morilles,
petits légumes printanières. This is similar to veal olives, but with free
range turkey escalopes, wrapped round a morel stuffing, and served with a
brown reduction sauce, and little seasonal vegetables. Nuits St Georges Les
St Georges '89. Henri Gouges. "Tasting a Domaine Gouges wine is like a
liquid lesson in the appellation" - Serena Sutcliffe - 'wines of Burgundy'.

I've asked for the portions to be small, but if we seem to be flagging,
we'll then have a classic Trou Normand with a tiny glass of ice cold
Calvados De Ribaucourt.

Then comes charcoal grilled lamb chops, with ratatouille, and a couple of
other vegetables as a garnish. I'm taking a slight gamble in the wine being
up to scratch. Côtes de Bergerac Moulin des Dames (Ch Tour des Gendres)
1996. As it's a bit young I'll decant it 2 hours earlier to give it a chance
to expand. Luc de Conti is the best producer in Bergerac, and the Moulin '96
was his best wine, up to then.

Salad & Cheese (the salad lightly dressed with balsamic)

The dessert is obligatory. A birthday cake of a plain génoise (sponge cake)
with a praliné butter cream icing. and that will be served with the
excellent Bera Moscato d'Asti 2003, that we discovered in Lyon a couple of
years ago, and bought this January.

Coffee and tisanes to finish.

Should be fun, and hopefully an agreeable surprise for Jacquie on Thursday.


--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

Hi evereyone,

The event is over and a great time was had by all.


le/on Tue, 15 Jun 2004 12:12:23 +0200, tu disais/you said:-

>just the two of us are invited there by the owners, and the party is a
>surprise for her.

More by luck than by judgement, the surprise was total, right up to the
moment we walked into the dining room!

>Champagne Franck Pascal Cuvée Prestige '93

Claudine had decided to await our arrival to serve this, which is _exactly_
the opposite of what I'd had in mind. However it did enable me to see how it
was. Served in classic INAO glasses, instead of flutes or (spit spit) cups,
the wine was just what I hoped. Fine mousse, lovely nose without too much
yeast. The wine was a perfect "mise en bouche", it wasn't assertive, but
lovely and delicate. I have a horror of champagnes with an aggressive
acidity, and this had none.

>Champagne Bollinger Grande Année '90 Magnum. When last we tasted this at
>christmas it was in perfect condition. Apéritif when we arrive, and will
>carry over to (not) go with the soup.

However this completely eclipsed it - it would have been sad had it not.
Again, a very long, fine mousse, very slightly biscuity, though with no
trace of oxidation. Good freshness and fruit. VERY long and mouthfilling.
Actually, it went better with the cream of cauliflower soup than I'd feared.

>Fillets of Turbot with sauce au gingembre

Fish perfectly poached, decorated with some chives and surrounded with a
lightly gingered white wine sauce. A delight of a dish. The wine was
gorgeous and the marriage all I could have hoped, with each enhancing the
virtues of the other. Hints of white stone fruit on the Meursault, with a
lovely freshness, that gave no hint of the fact that the wine had spent 18
months in oak. As the wine warmed up, the charactistic hazelnut nose
developed in the glass.

>We then move into a hot entrée of a Ballotine de Dinde, farcie aux Morilles,
>petits légumes printanières.

For us, this was the least successful of the dishes. It was lovely, but the
turkey fillets were stuffed with a turkey forcemeat, lightly seasoned with
morels, and served with a creamy morel sauce. It wasn't exactly what I'd
expected, when I discussed the menu, and in fact, it was a tiny touch over
cooked, and the forcemeat was quite delicate in flavour. Also the portions
were too big. The accompanying vegetables - peas, & asparagus were perfect.
Had I known more accurately what Alain had in mind, I'd have served a white
hermitage, "Mule Blanche", which would have been a perfect match, IMO.


> Nuits St Georges Les >St Georges '89. Henri Gouges.

This was decanted 1 1/2 hours beforehand and had opened up beautifully. A
perfect burgundy red, with no trace of purple left, yet without having gone
bricky at all. That augured well. On the nose, hints of cherries and
undergrowth, game. Quite light textured in the mouth, but with oodles of
flavour, good level of acidity, cherries again and a lovely aftertaste of
wild bilberries. I found hints of beetroot, and a sort of truffliness with
it, but I was alone in this.

>Then comes charcoal grilled lamb chops, with ratatouille, and a couple of
>other vegetables as a garnish.

We had a carrot purée that was a real delight, and stuffed tomato, though
I'm not too sure what the tomato was stuffed with, some kind of puree,
possible a bean puree. The chops (only one per person, thank heavens) were a
bit thicker than I'd expected, but that meant they could be _perfectly_
pink. The ratatouille wasn't a proper one (long, difficult and painstaking
recipe on demand) but a garnish inspired by it, with tiny cubes of the
vegetables lightly sautéed in the faintest hint of olive oil. Lovely.

> Côtes de Bergerac Moulin des Dames (Ch Tour des Gendres) 1996. As it's a bit young I'll decant it 2 hours earlier to give
>it a chance to expand.

A lot of people were very dubious about the wisdom of serving a Bergerac
after a top Burgundy - "wrong order", "it will be eclipsed".

Well it wasn't. Very dark in colour, still with a faint purplish hint, this
wine was decanted at 7.30 pm, and we drank it at around 10.30 or so. Huge
legs. On the nose, blackcurrants galore, with blackberries and plums backing
up, no secondary aromas yet. The same fruits came through on the mouth,
which was very dense in feel. It didn't have the subtlety, nor the
complexity of aromas of the Nuits, thank heavens, but in its power it was a
perfect accompaniment to the lamb, with the fruit cutting through the
deliciously crispy fat from around the chop.

We then went on to cheeses (never Alain's strongest point, though the Cantal
I took finished off my Moulin des Dames very nicely) and a green salad.

And then the cake, a birthday cake of a plain génoise (sponge cake)
with a praliné butter cream icing.

Gorgeous, and exactly what Jacquie loves with plenty of butter cream icing
and three layers of the lightest and most fluffy sponge cake imaginable.

>excellent Bera Moscato d'Asti 2003, that we discovered in Lyon a couple of
>years ago, and bought this January.

Again, some of my friends thought I was mad serving a Moscato d'Asti.
"where's the champagne?". Well, after one sniff, and then another astonished
one, and a delighted sip, they were all converted. The wine with it's
freshness and sweetness stood up to the creaminess of the icing, and
although I don't think the wine was positively improved by the match, it
most certainly held up to the cake, and at the same time, helped to clear
the palate between mouthfuls of cake and enhanced the pleasure in eating the
latter. Good match again.

A lovely evening, our friends clubbed together to give Jacquie a combined
DVD player and Video recorder and I even got to give a speech!

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 12:24:59 +0200, Ian Hoare >
wrote:

>Hi evereyone,
>
>The event is over and a great time was had by all.

Wish I was there. A big kiss to Jacquie


>>Champagne Franck Pascal Cuvée Prestige '93

I have also grown to love this champagne, very delicate and excellent
in the non-dose' version.


>And then the cake, a birthday cake of a plain génoise (sponge cake)
>with a praliné butter cream icing.
>
>Gorgeous, and exactly what Jacquie loves with plenty of butter cream icing
>and three layers of the lightest and most fluffy sponge cake imaginable.
>
>>excellent Bera Moscato d'Asti 2003, that we discovered in Lyon a couple of
>>years ago, and bought this January.
>
>Again, some of my friends thought I was mad serving a Moscato d'Asti.
>"where's the champagne?".

I have always wondered what to serve with Gianluigi's Moscato, or with
any moscato. I just saw him last monday, picked him up in Turin and
chatted during the hour long drive to his winery at Canelli, where we
had some local sausage, robiola di Roccaverano cheese and a glass of
his Dolcetto 2003, and if you ask me his reds are very good, even
better than his moscato. In a land devastated by heavy use of
pesticides and herbicides, his is an oasis of purity on top of a hill
with a breathtaking view, far above the cropdusting helicopters down
in the valley...

Sponge seems indeed the best choice to match Moscato, though I would
almost be tempted to serve a very plain sponge, maybe with some icing
sugar and some fruit (not at my 60th bday though, bring out the
praline!). The wine is quite pleasant, but still very very sweet.
Bera's is indeed very good, far better than most. BTW, we are talking
about the Vittorio Bera winery at Canelli, very small and organic, not
the F.lli Bera winery of Neviglio, far better known and not
necessarily bad, but not quite the same thing....

I am not a great fan of muscat, but here we have one that has none of
the heavines or gross aromas of so many muscats. I just wish that he
could keep the sugar down a litlle, in order to let the underlying
freshness come through, and to keep that nice persistence going. The
nose is superb, the balance could be improved.

Bera makes a great Barbera too.

Cheers Ian, and happy bday Jacqui !!!

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France
email link http://www.tommasi.org/mymail

Ian Hoare wrote:

> Hi evereyone,
>
> The event is over and a great time was had by all.

Congratulations to you both, Ian! And you can tell Jacquie that I think
she's exaggerating her age. ;-)


> Had I known more accurately what Alain had in mind, I'd have served a white
> hermitage, "Mule Blanche", which would have been a perfect match, IMO.

??? Who makes the "Mule Blanche," Ian?

>>Nuits St Georges Les >St Georges '89. Henri Gouges.
>
>
> This was decanted 1 1/2 hours beforehand and had opened up beautifully. A
> perfect burgundy red, with no trace of purple left, yet without having gone
> bricky at all. That augured well. On the nose, hints of cherries and
> undergrowth, game. Quite light textured in the mouth, but with oodles of
> flavour, good level of acidity, cherries again and a lovely aftertaste of
> wild bilberries. I found hints of beetroot, and a sort of truffliness with
> it, but I was alone in this.

*drool* That sounds marvelous.

>
> A lovely evening, our friends clubbed together to give Jacquie a combined
> DVD player and Video recorder and I even got to give a speech!
>

They let you give a speech? Friends indeed, Ian! :P

Thanks for the lovely notes, and congratulations to you both once again
on what sounds like a tremendously sucessful event.

Mark Lipton

Salut/Hi Mike Tommasi,

le/on Fri, 18 Jun 2004 14:22:57 +0200, tu disais/you said:-

>>The event is over and a great time was had by all.
>
>Wish I was there. A big kiss to Jacquie

Passed on with enthusiasm, and returned with interest. Honestly, my only
regret was that I simply _couldn't_ invite more people. First of all there
was the limit ot the number of spaces in their banqueting dining room, and
there was also a question of budget! There were several people from far away
that I really would have liked to invite, for Jacquie to see again, but it
would have been really hard to make sure that it remained a surprise!

>>And then the cake, a birthday cake of a plain génoise (sponge cake)
>>with a praliné butter cream icing.
>>
>>Gorgeous, and exactly what Jacquie loves with plenty of butter cream icing
>>and three layers of the lightest and most fluffy sponge cake imaginable.
>>
>>>excellent Bera Moscato d'Asti 2003, that we discovered in Lyon a couple of
>>>years ago, and bought this January.

>I have always wondered what to serve with Gianluigi's Moscato, or with
>any moscato.

Well, accepted wisdom - for those who like this style of Muscat based wines
- is simply to drink it on its own. Imagine a sunday afternoon, looking out
over the sea, or over the hills, with a glass of that, accompanied perhaps
by some little palets bretons, for example. But you have to be able to enjoy
an uncomplicated sweet muscat sparkler as I do.

>Sponge seems indeed the best choice to match Moscato, though I would
>almost be tempted to serve a very plain sponge, maybe with some icing
>sugar and some fruit (not at my 60th bday though, bring out the
>praline!).

I wonder if the (merciful) residual acidity wouldn't be too high with sponge
cake on its own. I felt that the _main_ reason I enjoyed the match so much,
was that the acidity cut through the richness of the unctuous butter cream
icing. remember this was at the end of a pretty substantial meal, too.

> The wine is quite pleasant, but still very very sweet.

I rate it higher than that, finding the sweetness well balanced. For me it's
just a gorgeous uncomplicated quaff.

>I am not a great fan of muscat, but here we have one that has none of
>the heavines or gross aromas of so many muscats.

I have some sympathy with that view, finding that 90% of southern french
muscats are cloying and unbalanced. One reason I like Beaumes de Venise is
because they manage to keep some balancing acidity and some subtlety.

> I just wish that he could keep the sugar down a little, in order to let the underlying
>freshness come through, and to keep that nice persistence going.

If he had, it would have been less good with the sponge! So I was happy with
it as it was. (;-))

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

Salut/Hi Mark Lipton,

le/on Fri, 18 Jun 2004 10:08:17 -0500, tu disais/you said:-

>Congratulations to you both, Ian! And you can tell Jacquie that I think
>she's exaggerating her age. ;-)

Thanks very much, Mark. BTW, we have it on medical authority, she's "bien
conservé". I passed on your message. I should also say that last night at
the party she most certainly did NOT look her age.

>> Had I known more accurately what Alain had in mind, I'd have served a white
>> hermitage, "Mule Blanche", which would have been a perfect match, IMO.
>
>??? Who makes the "Mule Blanche," Ian?

Jaboulet.

>> A lovely evening, our friends clubbed together to give Jacquie a combined
>> DVD player and Video recorder and I even got to give a speech!

>They let you give a speech? Friends indeed, Ian! :P

They were too busy chattering to notice. (;-))

Seriously - I made a fairly quick, jokey speech, and as it was the end of
the meal, people were probably too full of good food to be critical!

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

Salut/Hi Mark Lipton,

This is another one that's been niggling away....

le/on Fri, 18 Jun 2004 10:08:17 -0500, tu disais/you said:-

>> Had I known more accurately what Alain had in mind, I'd have served a white
>> hermitage, "Mule Blanche", which would have been a perfect match, IMO.
>
>??? Who makes the "Mule Blanche," Ian?

Should have read Crozes-Hermitage. Sorry.

I still would have served it, though perhaps the white Bergerac we had in
New Zealand might have been as good, given a couple of hours' airing. Ch
Masburel.
--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website