Solstice

After a couple of days in the city it was wonderful to finish of with another stellar dinner at Kris & Ken’s house. Because it was a weeknight, Kris kept it “simple” which for them means only three courses and five wines. Here’s what we had:

For an aperitif, a glass of Planeta “La Segreta” 2005, followed by a 2002 Chablis grand cru Valmur by William Fevre that was a beautiful accompaniment to shrimp on wilted cabbage and coconut with hot curry spices.

With the main course- rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and peas- we tried my bottle: a 1990 Olga Raffault Chinon “Les Picasses” that was elegant, mature, and almost Californian or Châteauneufian in its hot Earth flavors. Moving on from there, Kris pulled out a 1999 Vincent Girardin Chapelle-Chambertin that wasn’t fully open; after the Chinon it felt tight and cranky, though still offered a lot. So for the cheeses (Comté and Selles-sur-Cher) he went back and grabbed a 2000 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru “Les Fontenys” by Roty that had the most gorgeous nose of sandalwood with just a hint of cherry and licorice at the very end. In the mouth, different- elegant and austere but supple and seamless. We agreed that it was almost better as incense; it’s a wine you want to swirl and smell, then put down again. Drinking it is almost an afterthought (but not really.)

We finished the night with a little Paul Giraud 1er cru Grande Champagne VSOP Cognac that was perfectly delicious. Dinner with these two never fails to be as good as food, wine, and company gets. And best of all, by the time I left their place, it was Spring.