Food, Wine & Friends Page 273
We celebrated the 2015 Birthday of Henry! Moore.
Gathering in Woodside, California, Henry's wife Alexia prepared a nice little
fest.
The table was set and all we needed were some guests to arrive...
Beryl was intrigued by the Venus Fly Trap hanging in the
kitchen.
Henry! then got busy and opened a bottle of Agrapart's 7 Crus
Champagne.
Crudites and an artichoke dip, with some Smithfield Ham, biscuits and Alexia's
Jezebel Sauce.
The Agrapart was its usual classic self...really crisp and
bone dry, nicely yeasty...very fine.
Since we'd drained that bottle, Henry! opened another Champagne...
Daniel Ginsburg...an American who was a major baseball fan and who wrote a book
called "The Fix is In," about gambling scandals in baseball. He
also owned a share of a minor league baseball team and, as a wine geek, bought
the Champagne firm of De Meric.
Ginsburg passed away a few years ago, but his wine business is still viable and
making wine bearing his name.
This bottling is an oak-aged cuvee...a bit rounder and softer than the Agrapart.
The Lubins.
A nice mildly spicy soup with a crostino topped with guacamole and fresh
tomatoes.
The two Sauvignon Blancs were good...2013s from Frog's Leap (crisper, mildly
citrusy) and Howell Mountain Vineyards (North Coast, a shade softer, lightly
herbal).
We enjoyed two really splendid Bordeaux with the main
course...
1979 Domaine de Chevalier and the 1978 Domaine de Chevalier.
In their youth, the 1978 was touted as the superior vintage. A warmer
year, the 1978 was good, but you can sense it's at its end. Fully
developed and nicely earthy...while the 1979, a cooler vintage, was more fruity
and lively.
Both wines were good, matured Bordeaux.
Coincidentally, later the same week I saw Olivier Bernard and his son Adrien
(owners of Domaine de Chevalier these days). Adrien was not surprised to
hear the 1979 today over-shadows the 1978.
"The 1979 vintage was very good," he explained.
For dessert, Alexia whipped up a Chocolate Cake and paired it
with some 1994 Graham's Vintage Porto.
Classic!
Then it was time for a couple of birthday cards and gifts.
A book about the history of Woodside, written by Thalia!
Since Henry! often prepares dinner utilizing his smoker, there was a box of
various kinds of wood chips...
And with that, we adjourned the proceedings!
Many thanks to Alexia Moore for hosting such a lovely evening.
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