Often dinner events are limited to serving wines just from a specific wine region or one individual winery. This is especially so for most wine clubs formed as their raison d’etre to focus more intensely only on their main wine theme. The International Wine & Food Society by their nature has been an exception to this general rule being a leader in matching wines from around the world with food courses at dinner events. It has worked out well. However, putting together passionate members of two different wine connoisseur groups like La Commanderie de Bordeaux and Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin was another challenge indeed. Fifty guests (25 from each organization) attended such a joint dinner on April 19, 2022 in Vancouver at the innovative New Fishport Seafood Bistro. The Culinary Director Sam Leung and his brigade did a marvelous job putting together a most interesting Menu to pair with some outstanding wines. Many thanks to the whole culinary team and the compatible organizers from both wine groups who did a great job – especially Kitty Lam.

DRAPPIER NV CARTE D’OR BRUT: 200+ year old Champagne House in Cotes des Bar using 80% pinot noir first press with 40% Reserve wines & only 6+ dosage shows softer easy drinking riper spiced peaches. “Y” D’YQUEM 2015: Shows the improved quality of these dry Sauternes. Here the 75% Sauvignon Blanc picked early (August 25-27) & 25% Semillon (September 3-4) with low 3.2 pH and only has 6 grams/litre residual sugar (similar to the Champagne) is lovely. Exciting geoduck clam starter that was fine with the unique ginger waxy lemony lemongrass wine but difficult pairing with a tad too much pungent wasabi in the special sauce. Recommend buying the 2016 Y one of the all-time best ever made!

SMITH HAUT LAFITTE BLANC 2015 PESSAC-LEOGNAN: Great label celebrating the Cathiards 25th anniversary using 90% SB plus 5 Sauvignon Gris (24 years old) & 5 Semillon showing freshness plus rich intense classy integrated new oak. Matched delightfully with a toned-down yet hot & tangy Portuguese-style blue crab served inside the shell.

CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET 2010 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY (Power couple of eldest son of Marc Colin & wife Caroline daughter of Jean-Marc Morey) two 1er Crus with two excellent snow crab courses.

VIDE BOURSE: North of N6 on downslope from Batard usually rather 4-square but though reductive here shows an interesting character because of the superb 2010 vintage of restricted yields singing with the fresh snow crab claw & caviar.

LES BAUDINES: Superior site at South end above the road adjoining Santenay on the Coteaux (elevation mostly over 300 metres with good drainage) where most of the higher rated Chassagnes exist. Prefer this more elegant complex mineral classy terroir with brighter balanced acidity. Excellent match with the dish especially the cool gelee with lemon & pomelo. A matching hit!

CLOS DE VOUGEOT 2006 – BOTH ALAIN HUDELOT-NOELLAT & MUSIGNI (EN MAGNUM) BY GROS FRERE & SOEUR: You often see duck and/or mushrooms with red Burgundy – or game-birds. Less so with pork and especially Pescatarian options of sea bass and crepe of sole. Provoked some discussions. Before Charles H-N arrived in 2008 from vines planted on .69 ha in 1950 with two choice plots near the Vougeot chateau (sold third plot near RN74 earlier on) using 20% stems & 50% new Allier oak barrels. High quality indeed with deep dense young colour opening fine fragrant classy young fruit bouquet but no rush to open. Impressive. Magnum from Gros has a special site “Musigni” above the chateau below Musigny. Great format but lighter greener herbs & red spicy sappy fruits in a more accessible elegant style with some austerity.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE BARON 2003 & 1989 PAUILLAC: Often see lamb served with red Bordeaux but interesting change here for “hotpot” using quick stir fry rib or mussels followed by Abalone but cleverly fused with ideal porcini. Worked. Concentrated successful hot vintage 2003 has real solid dark ripe sweet tobacco fruit with some vibrant energy despite lower acidity that brings some enjoyment already but needs time to reach a higher level. Tried the two nights previously the 2003 d’Armailhac Pauillac drinking lighter and beautifully already and 2003 Duhart-Milon very underrated classy Pauillac starting on a long fantastic plateau of brilliance. 1989 PLB is a favourite of this scribe and is Wine Spectator Wine of the Year. However bottles here coming from different sources and ours were quite musty and not showing well. Can be an outstanding wine.

CLIMENS 2009 BARSAC: This property run by Berenice Lurton presently is making outstanding Sauternes. 2009 is in that pure rich but rounder style from a hotter year resulting in only 2 picks (tries) with the first one providing 90%. There is botrytis and Barsac always seems to have that needed underlying balanced acidity. Glorious now with the ginger & rose petals of the dessert but will blossom even better from a few more years in the bottle. Big success with somewhat biased discussions depending on which Group you are a member of – either Bordeaux or Burgundy. Luckily your scribe is a member of both so remained neutral but was highly enthusiastic about the top wines from both regions! Wonderful idea for a stimulating event!

Question: What is the correct temperature at which you should serve your Champagne?

Answer: Difficult to answer this question definitively because it really comes down to individual personal choice. The Comite Champagne (or Champagne Bureau) recommends service at 47-50F (just under 10C) which is a good guideline but seems a little cool. Your scribe usually tries for a range around 50-54F (10-12C) for vintage Champagne and prestige cuvees. However, remember that the bubbles start to warm up rather quickly right after pouring the Champagne into your glass. IMHO the higher the quality and the more expensive the bottle the less chilling is required, This rule of thumb should apply as well to all Sparkling wines but some with higher acidity or residual sugar benefit by being well chilled. Experiment by monitoring service at different temperatures to find the best window that you personally prefer. Enjoy!

We are indeed fortunate here on the West Coast of America to have a variety of wonderful seafood available. Your scribe was reflecting on this incredible pleasure last week while enjoying two home cooked dinners featuring mains of fresh delicately nutty Brill (Petrale) Sole and one of thick firm sweet Halibut – first of the season! These dinners were delicious but helped out by the magical matching of two excellent Grand Cru Chablis Les Clos from Domaine Christian Moreau of 2012 & 2010. That 2010 again showed sensationally (written up here last year on May 31 & November 22) and is a proven testimony to the rewards of patience by storage of top quality wines. IWFS Vancouver Branch has been active yet careful in holding interesting events even during difficult continuing pandemic circumstances. Their latest one was held on April 12, 2022 for a seafood dinner plus Shellfish Masterclass at Fanny Bay Oyster Bar (part of the Taylor Shellfish Family of Farms) with a motto of “From Tide To Table”. You will see from the Menu that there were lots of varieties served to study and enjoy. The live large saltwater Pacific Geoduck (“gooey-duck”) Clam had admirers. Dungeness crab is always so special with those outstanding sweet flavours and unique textures. The simpler the dish the better the crab IMHO. Crab cakes can be tasty but often use a filler (not here) that makes them seem drier and less succulent. On December 15, 2021 note here Q&A Ask Sid: Best Wine Pairing With Dungeness Crab but the 2019 Ken Forrester Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc from the Helderberg region in South Africa would have been a brilliant answer. Perfect complementary touch of ripe fruit sweetness with complex balanced acidity works marvelously together enhancing that cast of crabs.

A main class focus was on 3 different types of oysters served on a Tower:

1. Taylor Pacific Smalls, Puget Sound Washington, USA: Salty briny sweet with a distinctive cucumber-like flavour.
2. Fat Bastard, Willapa Bay, Washington, USA: Bigger sized Shigoku with smoother shells richer taste almost melony chestnut.
3. Devil’s Bandit, Cocagne Cove, New Brunswick, Canada: Crisper (colder waters?) has attractive umani taste with a touch of miso-honey.
   

What is your favourite oyster variety?

Question: What do you call those vineyard wide temperature swings?

Answer: Wide temperature swings in vineyards can be an important factor in helping grapes reach a better balanced even ripeness. The heat from higher daytime develops sugar levels while cooler lower nighttime helps maintain the natural fresh acidity. The word DIURNAL is used to capture these changes or fluctuations in day and night temperatures. The DTR or Diurnal Temperature Range is used as the difference between the daily maximum and minimum temperatures.

Devoted fan for many decades of the lesser-known grape variety Semillon. Followed it closely in Bordeaux as the prominent one used for rich Sauternes but also as a key blending component in dry Graves and Pessac-Leognan. Always liked Michael Broadbent’s description in Wine Tasting (1968) that it “has quality and style, a ‘SOFT LANOLINE NOSE’, but somehow lacks fruity acidity, which is why it is usually vinified alongside Sauvignon Blanc.”

Your scribe is a long-time admirer of the Semillon produced in the Hunter River, New South Wales, Australia by the Tyrrell family – particularly Vat 1. Tyrrell’s swept the awards at the recent Royal Sydney Wine Show with 2013 Vat 1 Semillon. Still available in Canada directly from their agent Select Wines before switching to 2015 when 2013 is sold out. For a lot less money at BCLDB is 2019 Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon $26.99 reduced to $19.97 until April 30. This is their flagship legendary product. Remember tasting old vintages with first Murray Tyrrell during the seventies plus more recently with son Bruce carrying on this wonderful tradition. Always stunned in disbelief by the depth, rich textures, and unique complex honey intense flavours of these marvelous older white wines. Referenced it on this Blog January 25, 2016 as an example of “dry whites out there that seem to age forever.” Semillon in Australia started out in the early sixties named Hunter Valley Riesling (until 1990) on vines planted in 2 unirrigated close blocks called Johnno’s (from 1908) & Short Flat (planted 1923) on sandy loam soils. Attended a Sydney Wine Show many years ago where winemaking legend Brian Crozer awarded again top Semillon wine to Tyrrell’s Vat 1 and commented that “the Hunter should be growing only their outstanding Semillon vines there and nothing else”. Remarkable indeed how they can handpick in this very hot region the Semillon grapes so early at low Brix, ferment in stainless, bottle soon for freshness, and wait for amazing bottle age development of complexity. Last one tried a few years ago was a bottle of the youthful excellent 1998 at only 10.5 abv. What a wine!

In British Columbia we have been experimenting with Semillon for some time. It is wonderful when used in a Bordeaux blend but seems a harder sell to the consumer than 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Vancouver Sommelier of the Year in 2010 Kurtis Kolt helped the focus through Okanagan Crush Pad’s “Wine Campus” program to support BC Hospitality Foundation in choosing for his limited release winemaking prize a spotlight for ‘Kurtis Wild-Ferment Semillon”. Others have tried 100% Semillon with mixed results. Most successful by far has been Bartier Bros with their outstanding under-the-radar Semillon grown since 1999 on similar sandy loam topsoil on granite glacial till with some limestone & calcium sulphate. It is a limited production wine of 300+ cases from the Cerquiera Vineyard on Lower Black Sage Bench in Oliver BC showing early on as surprisingly fruity well balanced with waxy sesame seed
marzipan-like sage citrus notes. Not really lacking in fruit acidity as noted by Broadbent. Also have been monitoring older vintages and cellaring time is truly worth it too. Just enjoyed 2013 (12.9) & 2012 (12.7) that continue to evolve to an admirable more complex level of depth lusher textures. Well done! Recommend checking out their new $23 release 2021 at 12.5 abv for 325 cases harvested October 1, using whole cluster pressed grapes fermented at 15-17C in stainless for 5 months. Versatile on its own or matching so well with food dishes. Perfect to try some bottles young, vibrant & fresh but to cherish later on some older bottles you have put away for a special occasion. Smart value move.