Half bottles for Thai food 28 November 2009

HALF BOTTLES FOR THAI FOOD
Siam Thai Restaurant, King's Heath, Birmingham
28th November 2009

A small scale wine evening at the very enjoyable Siam Thai restaurant in King's Heath.

Lovely, very homely Thai food. But unfortunately the homeliness means that the food's not very photogenic, so the food porn this time is limited to this one reader's wife snap of a chicken custard dish, that is much more delicious than my description might suggest.

Not all half bottles, but predominantly so.

N.V. Champagne Raymond Boulard Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut
Very rich nose with some pear fruit. Very good palate. Worked nicely with Thai chicken cakes. 91/100
2008 Pieropan Soave Pieropan
From a half botle. This has a lovely nose - melony, fragrant, with hints of cucumber and green pepper. There is a lot more to this than I had expected. There's nice fruit on the palate, fairly ripe and tropical, yet still delicate and with good acidity. 91/100
1960 Léon Beyer Riesling Reserve
From a half. A very riesling nose with petrol and raisin fruit. Odd palate. It's obviously very old, and unfortunately it's now so very tired as to be dead. 81/100
2002 Georg Breuer Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Auslese
8.5% From a half bottle.
A light, delicate riesling nose. Delicious palate. Very, very fresh, yet also with a delicious balanced sweetness. 92/100
1996 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese
From a half bottle. This is much lighter and fresher than the much younger Breuer, though the nose is rather indeterminate. There's massive acidity - much more prominent than in the Breuer. 91/100
2006 Cline Cellars Viognier, California
14%. A half bottle.
This is powerful stuff. Peaches and pears on the nose. This was served at the wrong point in the meal. But unfortunately, on the palate, it's rather dull, lifeless and flabby. 86/100
2000 Velich Chardonnay Tiglat Apetlon, Burgenland, Austria
There's a lot of charry, toasty oak going on here, along with almonds and a curious hint of formaledehyde. On the palate, this is a big, oaky chardonnary, but it works well, and there's nice fruit concentration. 89/100
1990 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre
There's a bit of buttery, lychee gewurz nose here, but it's very muted and flat. Good balance on the palate, but it's flat and very ordinary feeling.
Returning to this bottle the next day, it was very clear that this bottle was corked, although it was far from obvious when first opened.
2000 Château de Chamboreau Savennières Roche aux Moines Chevalier Buhard Cuvée d'Avant Doux
13.5%. 500ml (1300 bottles produced)
This feels slightly flabby and musty on the nose. Flabby palate. Really rather sweet and syrupy with nothing to back it up. 82/100
1983 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Mülheimer Helenenkloster Riesling Eiswein
A very deep, hazed appearance. Apples and raisins on the nose. This is a rich, yet delicate old riesling. It feels older than it should. Bit of a superannuated feel. 87/100
1999 Feiler-Artinger Ruster Ausbruch Essenz, Burgenland, Austria, 9%
There's botrytis immediately evident on the nose, alongside a slight grapiness. The essence of botrytis. The grape is almost incidental. This isn't quite as interesting as the last bottle (half bottle, that is). But it is absolutely glorious. Left overnight, it's become more complex. 94/100

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Last updated: 14 Jan 2010