An meal with very fine wines at Restaurant Rococo, Glasgow

28th October 2005

Pre-SuperBOWL “Super Offline” dinner
28th October 2005
Restaurant Rococo


A dinner, with a vague theme of mature wine organised by Toby Bailey and Bryan Collins.

The menu was as follows:

The salmon and mullet terrine I thought was excellent, and a really interesting terrine, with the whole fillets of red mullet embedded in it.  The pumpkin soup was similarly excellent in all respects.  The veal continued along the same lines: a superb bit of meat, very accurately cooked: the snails were very succulent and tender too, and actually had their own flavour.  Pommes Christian, by the way, would appear to be a cross between a galette and pommes Anna.  The navarin of lamb was fine, though not up to the classiness of the preceding dishes, and a much more rustic dish.  The chocolate tart did not really work for me: they were a bit too large a portion, the pastry was too thick and there wasn't enough of the other components to balance the richness of the chocolate.  Cheeses were in great condition and the walnut bread came in satisfying doorsteps - rather oversatisfying if truth be told!

As in 2004, service was excellent.  I must go back to this restaurant next time I'm in Glasgow.
7+/10

And so, onto the wines:

1981 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises
What a treat! And fortunately, the wine didn't let us down. Very round apples and blackberries on the nose. Very concentrated, with huge depth. Very precise and focussed on the finish with a lovely pear tatin purity. Enormous length. Absolutely Excellent.

1985 Meursault Les Rougeots, J-F Coche-Dury
A smoky, buttery nose, with a hint of fresh-baked bread. Lovely round attack. Then it falls away a bit. But it returns with big flavours on the finish. A real doughnut of a wine! Impressive wine with great length, though it didn't really do it for me 100%. Very Good Indeed.

1986 Corton Charlemagne, Rollin
Very minerally nose. Much more texture on the palate than the Cloche Meursault and, for me, a much more enjoyable wine. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.

1989 Clos St Hune Vendanges Tardives, Trimbach
Powerful, intense minerals on the nose. Lovely round palate with notable depth and purity. Just a touch of sweetness that cuts the Trimbach austerity. Stunning wine. Excellent.

1976 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese, Pauly Licht-Bergweiler
A curious nose, with lots of peaches and talc, but none of the petrolly minerals I'd have expected. But for some reason, I am finding more and more peach in Mosel Auslesen these days. Quite straightforward on the palate, with round, gentle ripeness and soft acidity coming in on the finish. Very good length. Pretty much in accord with other Licht-Bergweiler wines I've had. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.

1991 Chave Hermitage
Fabulous nose - really elegant with vieille prune scents to the fore, ahead of flowery, fragrant violets. Soft and velvety textured on the palate. Good acidity provides a nice freshness on the finish, but overall it doesn't quite live up to its nose. Very Good Indeed.

1991 Côte-Rôtie, Gentaz-Dervieux
An intense, perfumed nose. Sweet and ripe on the attack. Feels really quite young - certainly way younger than the Chave. Also much more animalistic than the Chave. Very elegant. Good length with a sweet fruit elegance. I think this could probably really do with a few more years. Excellent.

1962 Ch. Ausone
A quite astonishing colour - remarkably deep and youthful. Quite spirity and volatile on the nose - initially at least - and quite portlike. Sweet and evolved on the palate, possibly a touch dried out. After some time, it lost the porty notes, but retained some citrussy high tones on the nose.

1990 Dominus
A sweet hedegrow fruit and ashtray nose. Fairly ripe fruit on the attack. Very even, with some very soft tannins. Elegant, yet seems to lack depth and character. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.

1987 Vouvray Brut, Huët
Served to refresh our palates. A decent biscuity nose. Very good mousse. Round and full with nice depth. Notable length, and better after than on the palate. Plenty of life left in it. Very Good+.

1964 Quinta do Noval Nacional
A lightish colour and body. Very spirity nose with lots of prunes and eau de vie de prune. Sweet and integrated on the attack. There's a lot of spirit on the middle, then some lovley dried fruit flavours on the finish, and lingering long after. Very light and elegant. Quite well integrated. Very long, with very dried fruit and chocolate flavours after. Very Good Indeed.

A very nice warm up for the next day's onslaught.

 


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Last updated: 15 December 2005 13:31