Last night my lovely and talented wife made me a great, multi-course birthday dinner: appetizers, warm goat cheese salad, BBQ-ed salmon, polenta, asparagus, a cheese plate and then, of course, birthday cake.
The wines I selected were:
Pol Roger Champagne Extra Cuvee Reserve Brut 1999
Rich, dark yellow in the glass.
Good streams of fine bubbles.
Nutty, spicy with toast on the nose.
Good mouthfeel, medium weight, tangy, lemon and apple, nutty, spicy, quite rich, clean and refreshing, showing some nice mature flavours.
Mouthwatering, with lemon on the finish.
Purchased at $82.95 (Canadian)
Cousino-Macul Antiguas Reservas Chardonnay 2007
Maipo Valley
Dark yellow in the glass.
Spicy, citrus, honey and slightly vegetal on the nose.
Medium weight, juicy pear, peach, orange, lemon, lime, peppery, good acidity, quite refreshing, very full in the mouth, creamy, intense and complex.
Mildly mouthwatering on the finish.
Purchased at $14.95 (Canadian).