I joined two buddies, Ash and Lloyd, for an evening of great food and wine at La Colombe. It was my first ever visit to La Colombe, one of Montreal's great "bring your own wine" restos. Lloyd's favourite, I would have to agree that it is amongst Montreal's best, but as great as the food was (my veal shank was stupendous), an amazing flight of wines were the stars this evening...
Lloyd's contribution was a 1995 Grand-Puy-Lacoste (Pauillac). Leafy green notes gave way to unsweetened cocoa, leather, grenadine, smokey black pepper, truffles and pencil shavings - gorgeous! Ever so elegant on the palate, with bright cherry fruit, silky tannins, fresh acidity and a long finish, it was drinking very well this evening but could go MANY more years. A strong case for investing in a wine cellar.
cork, 13% alcohol, Score: 18.5/20
My wine friends rarely taste high-end Malbec so I thought I'd surprise them with my last bottle of 2000 Catena Alta Malbec Angelica Vineyard (Mendoza). A complex and ever-changing nose...beef au jus with a fruit sauce on top...dark cherries, charcoal, flint, undergrowth, cocoa powder and coffee grounds. A palate of crisp, dark cherry fruit and velvety tannins satisfied with a very long finish...even better than last year.
cork, 14% alcohol, Score: 18/20
Ashkan's 1999 Cantina di Montalcino Brunello di Montalcino looked rather suspicious to Lloyd and I, as neither of us had heard of this estate. The mystery continued as this shy bottle took time to open up, later revealing notes of cloves, tobacco, smokey liquorice, and compote. Terrific mouthfeel, all liquorice and velvety tannins dancing across the palate, it may also have been the nicest wine with the food (the decanter emptied first, I believe). IIt might age, but it was drinking So well today.
cork, 13% alcohol, Score: 18/20
Wow, three 18+ wines, doesn't get much better than that...and the food was REALLY, REALLY good.
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6 comments:
Sounds like a great evening. I hope BC at some point lets restos charge corkage and patrons bring their own selections. One can hope.
Hi Shea - I would have thought that wine country (i.e. Okanagan) would already have that going on?
Nope. Can't bring wine to restos in Vancouver.
I hope the 2004 Catena Alta is good, cause I just picked up a bottle based on your review of the 2000 here. Not too pricey.
The Alta Malbec I assume (they have a cab, chardonnay). Not too pricey? It should have been ~$50, correct? I had the 2004 before - great wine - see my Dec. 1/07 post
i guess I meant not too pricey for a high end wine :). Ya I think I paid $60.
I just found out I won dinner with wine educator from Catena Zapata. Should be great.
Sounds like a fun dinner. FYI, I was walking through an SAQ the other day and a couple from BC were chatting with me saying "This place is amazing, I love it" - they were rather less complimentary of BCLC..
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