Christmas Gala Dinner at the Phoenicia Hotel on the 12th of December 2023
The wines and menu for this event was a joint effort between Daniel, Nick and myself. We all agreed to ask our friend Michael Tabone to supply the main wines for the dinner itself while the aperitif and the after dinner port was from S. Rausi. The aperitif was a Bernard Remy Blanc de Noir Brut. This Champagne has won a few awards and is a reliable ‘workhorse’ that delivers what is expected from it, the characteristics of a good sparkling wine from Pinot Noir and very good value at the club discounted price of €31.35.
The white wine that accompanied the butternut squash carpaccio and burrata and the prawn tartare was a Lions de Suduiraut Blanc 2021. This is a 48% Sauvignon Blanc and 52% Semillion blend fully dry white from the reputable Sauternes Premier Cru producer Ch Suduiraut. I found this to go well with both dishes having a fresh, crisp and lively shot of lemon and grapefruit flavours yet having a medium bodied mouthfeel with peach fruit flavours ending with again a citrus finish. It consistently gets high votes from critics averaging 90/100. It is also reasonably priced at €20.
The red wine that was paired with the roasted fillet of beef was a Chateau Rochebelle 2011. We could not go to Michael and not seek a good St Emilion to accompany the main course and this Grand Cru ( the following year it was promoted to Grand Cru Classé status) did not disappoint. The 2011 Bordeaux vintage was generally considered poor in comparison to the brilliant 2010 and 2009. This was attributed to the weather throughout the growing season which was very atypical. Both the winter and spring were dry with the latter becoming very hot in places, prompting an extremely early budburst. Unsurprisingly, the harvest was smaller than usual, with some producers recording it as their tiniest ever. However the better (and/or luckier) houses still managed to produce a good wine and Chateau Rochebelle was one of them producing a wine that was awarded an average of 90/100 which is not far from their usual 91/92 points in good years. On the nose it had floral and sour cherry notes with a hint of cloves and vanilla. On the palate I found it medium bodied with notes of sweet spices such as nutmeg, chocolate, ripe cherries, and finishing with a good length. Considering the prices St Emilion wines are reaching, a price of €55.00 is now par for the course and considered fair compared to other GCC houses
The chocolate dessert was accompanied by a LBV port from Dow, a 2017 one. Dow's is a family-owned Port house that has been producing traditional-style Port for more than 200 years and their LBV is considered one of the top 10 late bottles vintage ports which at a cost of €17.75 is again very good value and has an average critics review of 90/100. The style of the port, as is typical with Dow's, is on the dry side, giving structure as well as pure dried fruits and tannins. That suggests this LBV could age even if it was already at the ideal age in 2023.
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Iro
