Hello;
A chocolate festival took place in Helsingborg this week-end, and one of the
dependable eateries (Sofiero, highly recommended) had a tasting menu based
on chocolate inv arious guises, complete with a wine menu. The infamous
French shelf tasting group could not be dissuaded from taking part.
After a very short tasting of chocolate, watered with Young´s Double
Chocolate Ale (double because it contains both chocolate malt and real
chocolate), we went on to a Champagne from Ay, Gattinoire (???),
non-vintage, made from 95 % Pinot Meuniere (not very usual).
[n]Fresh acidity, ripe apples, bread, a bit perfumed
[p] strongly and robustly acidic, small mineral note, herbs

With a terrine of rabbit and truffles, Albert Mann Riesling Cuvée ALbert
2002
[c] light, w green highlights
[n] intense, exotic fruits (pineapple and mango), black currant leaves, that
red stuff you use to seal christmas gifts and important documents with,
what´s it called?
[p] freshly acidic, residual sugar, slightly astringent, gooseberries and
grapefruit, ends on a sodapoppish note.
Overall impression: This one scored in the Decanter´s <£10 review. More NZ
than Alsace.


With roast lobster and cheek of pig confit Seresin Chardonnay, Marlborough
2003 (NZ)
[n] round, soft, oak notes, buttery fruit, granit? minerals, anyway
[p]buttery, yellow fruits, bit of well integrated oak, ends on roast nuts or
almonds.
Overall impression: TO quote Eva (GWI) this is the kind of wine you offer
people who calim they don´t like wine. My own opinion is that it is a wine
with no hard edges, it is welcoming and cuddly as a 7 month old Retriever
puppy

Mallard under lardo with stuff mixed with stuff, two wines:
Bouquet des Garrigues, DOmaine du Caillou CdR 2001 (?)
[n] dense, rich, cloves, walnuts, prunes
[p] creamy, strawberry juice, chocolate, black pepper
Overall impression: my favorite. Overpowering complexity, a superb pairing
with the mallard.
Zonte´s Footstep Shiraz/Viognier, Mr Riggs
[n] blackberries, smoke, perfumed
[p] allspice, sweetness, high extraction, toasty oak, sandalwood? camfor
cabinet? eucalyptus
Overall impression: final notes of eucalyptus would place it in Australia,
or possibly South Africa. In my taste, much too much of residual sugar and
overripe fruitiness.

The cheese was a roquefort-type (papillon) with a bitter chocolate cream.
With this, a very curious offering (something that might appeal to Mike T,
or then, it might not): Galejades, Canet Valette, St Chinian, Languedoc 1999
Carignan that is left to ripen until the potential alcohol would be 18,5 %,
then is fermented naturally till the yeast dies. Very low yield, natural
yeast only, minimal intervention all the way. Residual sugar is 20 g/liter,
so it´s not extremely sweet.
[n] honey, red currants, oxidization
[p] sweet, baby fat, supple tannines, possibly some fruit
Overall impression: This wine and the blue cheese was as a pairing a minor
catastrophe. The saltiness of the cheese overpowered both the chocolate
cream and the wine - I´d like to try the wine at a later time in other
circumstances.

With the dessert, an Austrian Beerenauslese, Neusiedlersee Heidi Schröck
1999 (Weissburgunder + Welschriesling)
[n] honey, sweaty locker room, musk, fat
[p] intense sweetness, high acidity, the acidity unfortunately of a mineral
character giving an ocverall impression of gherkin pickle.
Overall impression: I much prefer the Beernauslese Schmelzer from the GWI´s.

Evening ended with coffe and a glass of Banyuls, Dom La Rectorie 2001, red
fruits, cold cuts, tobacco, raisins. I, however, was by now slightly
organoleptically inconvenienced and could only contemplate that the Banyuls
maight have been a bit too young.

We have had several tasting menus at the Sofiero, and tasted a lot of
interesting wines - this evening was not one of the highlights. They have on
the one hand changed sommelier, on the other, the sommelier is now working
for the importer that sells them most of ttheir wines, or, rather, almost
all the wines this evening came from that importer. The food was good,
except for the cheese w the chocolate cream.

Self and Xina will this Friday procede to Nice for a week of making our
little apartment habitable.
Stay safe, peace and prosperity, and, of course

Cheers!

Nils Gustaf

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Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se