We had an offline get together with Paul Campbell and his wife, visiting from
the States. The identity of the restaurant will not be disclosed to protect the
innocent, but the chef made adventurous, if not always successful efforts with
the food, and I'll note down what we were eating as I go.

Actic Char ceviche with preserved lemon and avocado-chile aioli - very nice.

1990 Moulin Touchais - I've had this Coteax de Layon in 1949, 1959, 1964,
1970, 1976, 1979 vintages, and except for the 1947 "Le Haut Lieu" Vouvray by
Gaston Huet, it has offered my most interesting 'Old Loire' moments. This one
is a veritable youth, but is now light amber in colour, bit reticent on nose
with some peach and orange peel and only medium sweet, though the excellent
acidity can fool you. Good length and smooth feel.

Juniper and thyme consommé with black truffle dumpling - and me without a nice
Sercial in the house (or even a good Fino)

Crab ravioli with tomato water and goat cheese

1995 Drouhin-Laroze Bonnes Mares - turbid from being carried to the event, but
I doubt that affected the experience of the wine. It surprised me a bit with a
definite cedar nose, and it still has lots of tannin and enough acidity to work
well with the food. Drinks well now but no rush.

Tenderloin of pork with timbale of woodland mushrooms (a natural with the Burg)

Jumbo prawn with leek frittata - well, as a palate cleanser this sure beats the
ubiquitous and wine-unfriendly sweet sorbet!

1993 Chapoutier Hermitage 'La Sizeranne' - I knew what the wines were going to
be, and thought we should at least have a basis of comparison for the
California Syrahs to come. Pepper and leather in the nose, smooth and resolved
in mouth, but has time, and the cassis note from the nose kicked in again at
the end.

Lamb rack with grainy mustard on carrot rosti

Spicy seafood terrine with cilantro and mussel cream - the sauce on this was
much too salty, but the people that still had Hermitage in their glasses
(laggards!) said it helped with the saltiness.

Oyster on half shell with lime jalapeño slush - a strike with this one - sweet
slush absolutely killed any pleasure from the oyster and would have worked
against any wine.

1999 Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet - this was absolutely lovely. Dark rich
vanilla and tar nose, with some cocoa, very smooth and harmonious on palate,
with good length. Tasty - what I'd call a 'complete' wine, and more elegant
than you'd expect from this origin.

1999 Shafer Hillside Select - as it happened, I'd had the 1991 Hillside Select
the day before, so it was fun to compare. Dark wine with huge fruit and big oak
and a slight capsicum element in the nose, sweet in the mouth, excellent
length, with persistent sweetness that lingered on the palate. It surprised
Paul that I preferred the Araujo, and I think he was even more surprised to
admit that so did he! This was a pleasurable wine, though, and I can see it
taking on more complexity and eventually becoming more like the 1991.

Poached Angus beef tenderloin with tempura soft shell crab - heck of a version
of surf and turf, made up for the stumble in the previous courses.

2001 Behrens & Hitchcock Chien Lunatique Syrah - OK- this was just bizarre!
With 16.1% alcohol, it was essence of syrah, sweet, hot, also sweet and hot and
ripe in the mouth, and a very curious wine. The killer Jack Russell on the
label added a certain je ne sais quoi to the experience (I saved the label for
a dog lover wine friend).

2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante Syrah - from the ridiculous to the sublime. This
14.9% offering was night and day different. Very classy mushroom and violet
nose with some iron in it. Smooth sweet feel with absolutely great length. I'd
been having a discussion about Syrah with Bill Dyer the day before and he
agreed that to get the Cote Rotie sort of violet element in the nose of a
Rhone, you need the Viognier component. Remembering that, I looked this wine up
and indeed it has 4% Viognier. This was one of the best American Syrahs I have
had the pleasure of tasting. Thank you, Paul!

2003 Iniskillin Dark Horse Riesling Ice Wine - sweet simple nose, overly sweet
on palate, even with the high acidity. What I call a 'soda pop' wine.

1999 13th Street Wine Co. Sandstone Select Late Harvest Riesling - ahh - the
contrast was remarkable. Classic petrol nose, and the RS level and balance of a
decent Auslese. If more Canadian dessert wines were like this, I wouldn't be so
hard on them.

Valrhona chocolate soufflé with ice wine anglaise

Cheese plate

Fun event - come back any time, Paul ;-)