Monday, February 01, 2010

Bottles, Conversation & Friends

Sunday is a great day for bottles of wine & good friends. Just recently we had our friends Rusty, Glenda, Elizabeth & Steven over for a nice meal.



I tried my hand at making some fresh pasta as you can see from the picture above. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite so well so I had to ask Kelly to run to the store to pick up some Barilla linguini. It was perfectly delicious with my braised lamb.

I did make some fresh pasty dough & that turned out wonderful!



I baked the pastry & filled it with a vanilla mascarpone cream & blueberry-kirsch compote.



Elizabeth poached pears & stuffed them with cranberries, walnuts & blue cheese & served them over arugula. So incredibly delicious.



I tossed the braised lamb with linguini, roasted garlic, mushroom duxelle, caramelized onions, tomatoes & truffle butter.



Rusty & Glenda brought along some bubbles to start us off.



Oregon makes some of my most favorite wines. This Argyle bubbly was crisp, nutty, creamy & delicious.



Elizabeth brought along a delightful Domaine Carneros Brut 2005 that was bright, full of fruit & had a luscious texture.



She also popped open a super yummy Logan Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 2006. It was rich but not heavy & had a perfect balance of acidity & a creaminess that didn't weigh down my palate. Delicious.



Sam, I thought of you when we opened this bottle. Your beloved Burgundy. I think I get why you love them so. Thank goodness I hung to this as long as I did because it was magically delicious & I imagine that it wouldn't have been this good if we drank it when it was young. It was earthy, brooding & very sensual.



This gorgeous Bordeaux was fantastic. All kinds of clove, tart dried cherry, leather & a dried meat element.



Rusty & Glenda had another surprise for us. A Lost Highway 2002 from Barossa Valley. It had a port-like aroma & a rich concentrated blueberry note on the palate. I imagine that this bottle was difficult to drink when it was young but with a little age it had calmed down. Quite a powerhouse.



Lastly, we finished ourselves off with a Seven HIlls Merlot 2007 Seven Hills Vineyard. What a beautiful bottle. Merlot in Washington State is something so different than I've had from elsewhere. This was bold, dark & laden with plum & baking spices with a nice earthy note on the finish. I can't wait for the Seven Hills dinner at Napa Cafe on Feb 11!

5 comments:

Term Papers said...
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Samantha Dugan said...

Michael,
So sweet that you thought of me while drinking that Gevrey! An aged Burgundy is exactly what you said, sensual...man, that balance of refinement and wildness, delicate fruit and smoke or meat...power and grace. Nothing like it. Great recap of what looks like a wonderfulk evening!

Michael Hughes said...

Sam-I wish I had more bottles of that! Stunning, truly stunning.

thomas said...

Seven Hills is a really great producer. Washington reds are absolutely amazing! Looks like you guys had a great time. Cheers~

Michael Hughes said...

Thomas- yes we had an excellent time. Whats better than great friends, good food & outstanding bottles, right? I adore WA state! Such delicious & expressive wines. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.