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A Night of Indulgence
Wines for Lovers on Valentine's Day
by Sue Courtney
8 February 2006

First of all a disclaimer. My Valentine's Day is held a week earlier than most other Valentines celebrate the lover's day. That's because my Valentine and I were married on the 7th February. Our lover's day is our wedding anniversary and this year it was a major major one - our 25th. We decided to make it a night of indulgence with some very special wines.

We met up with our bridesmaids and were offered a glass of Grove Mill Marlborough Riesling 1994 . It was rich and golden coloured with delicious honeyed lime and apricot characters. It was made in a medium sweet style but with high acidity that made it seem drier than it was, when young. The acidity has made the wine age gracefully and it was drinking superbly.

Caught a cab (taxi, not a wine) to one of the best BYO's in Auckland, New Zealand - St Tropez in Parnell. Enjoyed the food last time we were here although the Maitre d' spoiled the evening by refusing to give us good glasses to go with our wine. That really p…ssed Neil off and he wasn't keen to return. We even thought about taking our own glasses, but I said to Neil, "we shouldn’t have to". It seems that we were not the only customers that the Maitre d' upset and he was long gone. Tonight, the all women service crew were excellent and the good glassware automatically came - new glasses that perfectly suited each wines, without even asking.

We started with Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Vintage Reserve 1998, onion skin gold in colour, youthful in its mouthfilling richness with deep bready flavours bubbling up with the fizz from the base of the glass. Even garlic bread could not subdue it.

For our entrée course we opened a Drouhin Pouilly-Fuissé 1996. According to the Berry Brothers and Rudd online vintage chart, 1996 gets a 10/10. Found an old Parker review and he said of this wine, "drink by 2002" however another review said of the 1996 Pouilly-Fuisse's generally, "drink between 2003 and 2010". The wine suited the occasion, good not great, and definitely not past it. It was light gold in colour, youthful for its age, no distinguishable fruit but the flavour broad and the texture creamy. Lovely with my Scallops (complete with roe as we do in NZ), wrapped in bacon and served on a chardonnay cream sauce but even better with Neil's Chevre Frais - Goat Cheese "aux herbes", wrapped in chargrilled eggplant and served with crispy pear & walnut greens with a honey dressing. This dish bought out a very pleasing nuttiness in the wine. One of the bridesmaids had a Steamed Ravioli of Prawns, Coriander & Cashew Nuts served in a citrus light Broth with Spring onions. Melt in the mouth stuff and excellent with the Chardonnay. The other bridesmaid had mussels, but I don’t eat mussels so didn’t try them.

For the main course we took along a wine we had bought 10 or so years before, saving it for a special occasion when the wine had matured a little. If this wasn't a special occasion, there would never be one. The wine was Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux from the 1993 vintage, the cheapest one from this famed Burgundy estate. Wasn't 1993 the vintage Parker wrote off? Before the wines were even made?

My heart sank as the capsule was removed to show a pile of gunk on top of the cork, and it sank even more as the cork extraction process started and I could see the cork had a pinky colour, right to the top. But the bottle showed no ullaging and the cork itself was only felt wet to 3/4 of the way up. Neil took a sip, he slowly nodded approval, his eyes rolled in a dreamy fashion and the smile grew on his face. DRC Échézeaux 1993 showed good colour for a 12-year old wine. I had long ago been led to believe a Burgundy of this age would be dominated with brown hues, but not this Échézeaux. Pinky red-brown garnet was the colour with more pinky red than brown in the light of the restaurant. As for the experience of tasting this wine, the texture was silky and the flavours savoury and earthy without being dirty, with a concentrated infusion of cherry, beautifully integrated oak and a long savoury finish with that pinot intrigue that just goes on and on. It tasted as I expected a good aged Burgundy to taste though much more youthful, however.

My dish of choice was Confit of Duck in a red wine and rosemary jus with orange essence. Neil and one of the bridesmaids had a Rump of lamb roasted medium rare with a herb crust while the other bridesmaid had French Lamb Casserole w Glazed Mushrooms, Baby Onions, Bacon, Potato Puree & Truffle Oil. All perfect matches for the wine that delivered on the night.

Last but not least, the evening finished with Chateau Sahuc Lès Tour Sauternes 1996, bright lemon gold in colour, tasting much drier than I expected with a honeyed butter and mellow citrus/lime zest character running through it, a delicately viscous texture and a beautifully balanced sweetness coming through on the finish. The bridesmaids shared a cheese platter while Neil and I shared a Crème Brulee flavoured with fresh vanilla and lemon zest. Perfection.

© Sue Courtney
8th February 2006.