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Bordeaux Dinner at By Appointment

I will be presenting a selection of Bordeaux (and other) wines at By Appointment in Norwich on 7th October.

The current line-up is:

Pre-dinner: Michel Rocourt, Champagne "Non dose"
Starter of mackerel wellington with a red pepper pesto: Pezat Blanc and Pezat Rose
Main course of lamb: Pezat Rouge 2005 and Chateau Teyssier 2006
Dessert of lemon curd tart with raspberry coulis and spiced mascarpone/cheese course: Domaine Berthoumieu's sweet Pacherenc wines (Charles de Batz and Symphonie d'Automne)

Post-script (Monday 10th October):

The Rocourt was extremely well received with even those who professed to disliking un-dosed Champagnes admitting they enjoyed this one, probably due to the extended ageing of this wine. It was enjoyed both on its own and with a turnip and vanilla veloute. With the mackerel, the white was well received but the rose was, on this occasion, too soft to cope with the fish (and, perhaps, it was subdued by the white). The two reds served with the lamb were both popular although diners were surprised that there was little between them. I explained that this was part of the reason why I showed these two wines together: in youth, Pezat and Teyssier do look remarkably similar; it is only as they age that the sheer class of Teyssier overtakes the Pezat red. On that basis, I asked diners if they would prefer to drink Pezat or the more expensive Teyssier with its more prestigious label. Most voted with the wallets which is a pleasing response. With the lemon curd tart, diners were evenly split between a preference for the younger, more acidic "Charles de Batz" and the rounder, sweeter "Symphonie d'Automne".

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