By Paul Hunter

To be read with the menu.

Aperitif
Cremant de Bourgogne, Charton, Clos St Nicholas
Bright gold colour, soft fruit & good bead.
From Co?tes de Nuits, Chardonnay, 13.5% alc.
A perfect starter.

First Courses
Floc de Gascogne White
From Bordeaux region Aquitaine, Appellation Floc de Gascogne.
A blend of three whites: Colombard, White Ungi & Gros Manseng,
and some Armagnac to give 16.5% alc. A dull gold colour and a sweetness, probably from the Manseng.
Most thought it went well with the first courses.

Hot pot Foie Gras
Domaine du Salvard, Le Vieux Clos, Appellation Cheverny, Loire Valley, 2006, 12.5 alc.
Blend of Sauvignon 85% & Chardonnay 15%, this blend is not usual in Sancerre. Pale gold colour with the Sauvignon fruity nose/palate & mild acid finish.

Shiitake soup & Coral trout
Trousseau, Rolet Pere et Fils, 2003, 13% alc.
From the Arbois AOC in Jura – east of Burgundy.
Brick red colour, light fruit nose & palate & a soft acid, tannin/acid finish. A good light red for the soup & fish.

Lamb shoulder
Les Allees de Canetmerle, 2002, 12.5% alc.
From young vines in Haut Medoc, AOC, Bordeaux. Bright red colour, oakey nose, soft fruit & a grippy tannin finish. The lamb would have supported a bigger red.

Frome d’ Ambert
Floc de Gascogne Red 16.5% alc.
The red version of our first wine. A dull red colour with a sweet spirit nose & big mouthfilling fruit. Goes well with dessert.

By Paul Hunter

To be read with the menu.

Aperitif
Philippe Gonet Brut Rose? NV 12% alc.
This wine is 100% Pinot Noir grown in Vertus, the southern most Premier Cru in Champagne. The wine was a bright pink colour with a floral nose and soft pinot fruit on the palate. Good bubbles and a clean finish.

Scallops
Runchet, Bianco di Merlot 2005, 12.5% alc.
A white wine made from Merlot (without the skins), Pinot Grigio & Chardonnay by Eredi Carlo Tamborini in the Italian speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland.
A bright light gold colour, served at a perfect temperature. The aroma reminded of sweet grape juice. It was a big bodied wine with a good balance of acid and fruit.

Shark Fin and Chicken in Claypot and Cold Lobster Salad
Pouilly Fume? 2006, 12.5% alc.
From the most eastern part of the Loire Valley, across the river from Sancerre. Made from Sauvignon grapes in the Domaine Serge Dageneau and Daughters. The soil on the Pouilly side of the Loire river imparts a flintiness to the wine which gives a light smokey (fume?) aroma which is often hard to detect, but the Pouilly producers use this characteristic to differentiate their wine from Sancerre.
The wine had a rich tropical fruit nose – not fume?! (This is unusual in the Loire and is found more in New World Sauvignons). Lots of mouth filling fruit with enough acid to hold up the fruit on the finish.

Sea Garoupa and Abalone and Sea Cucumber
Pinot Noir 2004, 13% alc.
From the Chorey Les Beaunes appellation in Burgundy. This appellation is in the Co?te d’Or between Beaune and Nuits-Saint-George. It is on the east side of the main road on the Soane Plain which is alluvial soil and produces a lighter and less complex style of wine than the Grand Crus on the limestone slopes on the west side. These wines are considered very good value for early drinking. Betrand Machard De Gramont of Domaine Machard De Gramont was the winemaker from a well known Bourgone family with a somewhat ‘scandalous past’.
The wine was bright red with a pink rim. There was soft fruit on the nose and a pleasant acid / fruit palate. The finish was short with light tannins.

Chili Crab and Red House Fried Rice
Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, Chateau Charmail 2004, 13% alc. 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet, 15% Cabernet Franc.
Parker describes this wine as one of the most consistent Cru Bourgeois over the last 10 – 15 years.
The Chateau is on the left bank of the Gironde river and is owned by Roger Se?ze, it is well placed near the Grand Cru producing Chateau Margeaux.
The wine was inkey red colour with rich fruit aroma. The palate was somewhat austere lacking the promise of the nose and the finish quite short.
2004 was not a great year in Bordeaux with a lot of rain at harvest time.

Mango Pomelo in Light Sago
A ‘grappa’ style liqueur 43% alc. from Marc Josmeyer in Alsace. Gewurztraminer was noted on the label; presumably it was distilled from this grape. It was clear water in colour with hot alcohol in the mouth.