We celebrated new years eve last night with a big feast with lots of food to bring us luck and prosperity in the coming year and beyond. Must haves on new years eve include: whole fish, noodles, snap peas, turnip cakes, daikon, nian gao, ba gao, special greens. We also had roast duck, chicken, bbq pork and hot pot with shrimp, beef, pork, mushrooms and veggies. Thanks to S&J for bringing a delicious berry tart from Almandine for dessert. Happy Year of the Rabbit!
 |
| Some of the "lucky" food from upper left, clockwise: turnip cake, ba gao, whole fish, nian gao |
 |
| Special lucky greens and snap peas |
 |
| Appetizers |
 |
| Hot Pot |
We also went through four bottles of wine in our celebration, starting wih the De Chanceny Cremant de Loire, 2005 Macon-Villages White Burgundy, 2008 Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinor Noir, 2007 Casa Lapostolle "Clos Apalta" (Bordeaux blend)
I was not a fan of the Cremant de Loire; it had a rather heavy, clumsy finish that I did not enjoy. I like my bubblies to be effervescent and fun. The Macon-Villages was really good, very complex. I like white burgundies a lot; they are so different from our usual whites which are generally more fruit forward and crisp, like Sauvignon Blancs and Rieslings. This had very little sweetness and very little fruit; it was quite interesting. I really enjoyed the 2008 Belle Pente. This wine has gotten a lot of attention thanks to
Eric Asimov's article a few weeks ago. It had a rather subtle and light nose, but the taste and finish were delicious. It was on the nimble and lighter side, really tasty, with some cherry fruit, but not too fruity or jammy or acidic. Overall, a very balanced and drinkable wine. The Clos Apalta was a little too heavy and dark after the Belle Pente, as well as after a huge meal and lots of wine. It was definitely very bordeaux / Cabernet Sauvignon-tasting. We decanted both the Belle Pente and Clos Apalta, but I think the Clos Apalta could use a few more years of aging to develop a little more depth and complexity.
No comments:
Post a Comment