What a tasty--relatively affordable (~$100) --Bordeaux from an excellent vintage! This wine showed its age while still being youthful (a very agreeable quality). Initially I tasted it following a potent sazerac, and was worried that it had passed its prime or developed a vinegarish quality. But as I ate (and cleared my sazerac-laden palate), the wine opened up and demonstrated a complexity hard to find in more youthful wines. It was also more well-rounded and subdued than the California Cabernets I've been drinking recently (and forever). The wine was full bodied, yet restrained. I would not hesitate to buy this and let it age another 7-10 years. The 2000 Smith Haut Lafitte definitely equals beauty in a bottle.
This wine goes remarkably well with rich seafood dishes. I drank it with a tomato, shrimp, and lump crab meat salad with mayo and a horseradish vinaigrette. (It's already tomato season in New Orleans, so don't think snide thoughts!) Individually and paired with the salad this wine proved quite tasty. Following the salad I had crispy eggplant with crab meat and mushrooms. This dish was pretty rich, and went well with the wine. The eggplant had a powdered sugar component that I found a little overwhelming.
For dessert we all shared a simple creme brulee. The custard was tasty and the burnt sugar topping was neither overly burned nor tasting like propane. Well done.
After dinner, at home, we had Armagnac. My mother opted for the simple Chateau de Laubade X.O. that showed nice, rich caramel notes. I chose the more complicated 1977 Domaine de Peyrot. My Armagnac may have had more complexity, but it also came with more alcoholic overtones.
On the whole a nice and tasty evening! (Please note the Fleur de Lis on the wine bottle!) So:With a tasty wine, and a tasty dinner, and a playoff game looming, I say: Who Dat?!!
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1 comment:
How is $100 a relatively affordable bottle of wine?! Were you drunk when you wrote this post?
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