WineLovers Discussion Group

Last night our supposedly Bordeaux group did our annual sushi and Champagne dinner at Mishima. A nice lineup:

Flight 1
2005 Pierre Peters Chetillons
I thought this was great - young but already showing complexity. A-

2004 Bollinger Grand Annee
In comparison to the Peters I thought this slightly ponderous, but a nice fuller styled Champagne,B+/B

Flight 2
NV Marie Courtin Concordance (disgorged 1/13)
Sans soufre. Very fresh, bright, alive, B+/A-

2002 Moet and Chandon Dom Perignon
I loved this last year, but this bottle was a sulphur bomb. Very full underneath, but sulphur dominated. Maybe the comparison to the Courtin made it more apparent, but this still was sulfury an hour later. B-

Flight 3
1996 Dom Ruinart Brut
This was good, but maybe a slight disappointment on my expectations of ‘96 tete de cuvees. Liked more on second pour . B+

1998 Dom Ruinart Brut
Well balanced, nice length. B+

2002 Dom Ruinart Brut
Selfopening bottle, but Jay reacted and saved. Some sulphur, though not like the Dom. Not as appealing as most wines this night, but suspect it will improve. B


Flight 4
1999 Taittinger Comtes des Champagne
Pretty classic showing for a full bodied BdB, balanced and long. A-

1999 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses
Edged the Comtes for my WOTN, long, complete, best Champagne I’ve had this year. A-/A

Nice wines with a fun group

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Sorry to hear about the sulphur in the 2002 Moet and Chandon Dom Perignon, Dale. I bought some of this upon release when I was at the Moet facility. My purchase was not bottled for export so perhaps it is different enough to have avoided the sulphur. I plan on opening in two years.

Pierre Peters is making a serious run at being my favorite Champagne producer.

I had not heard of the Concordance. The other Courtin bottlings I have tasted have all been excellent.

David M. Bueker wrote:Pierre Peters is making a serious run at being my favorite Champagne producer.

I agree, but the 2004 Bollinger Grande Annee is a great Champagne.

How did the Champagne pair off with the sushi, Dale? I never have luck pairing anything but beer or sake with sushi

I am certainly not kicking Bollinger to the curb. Although I am more focused on the 2002.

Jacques Levy wrote:How did the Champagne pair off with the sushi, Dale? I never have luck pairing anything but beer or sake with sushi

I don't think I've ever tried, maybe some other sparkling wine. I can't remember. But in my mind's palate it sounds perfect and makes me think I should try it soon.

Jacques Levy wrote:How did the Champagne pair off with the sushi, Dale? I never have luck pairing anything but beer or sake with sushi

Well, to be accurate we had more sashimi than actual sushi. Tuna tataki, 2 courses of sashimi, a course of nigiri, then maki. Sushi can be tough if the rice is too vinegary, but this was pretty light touch. Some things did great with Champagne (uni, aji, yellowtail), other things are harder matches (especially mackerel of course). I like rose with things like unagi or anago, but we had a theme. No bad clashes.