Please find below our list of wines. But please watch out and be sure to check back – the list is constantly developing.
In September new producers from Bourgogne, Rhone and Portugal has been added. Some amazing wines in the 6-15 eur range and also a top wine from Condrieu. We are so happy with the stuff we found for you.
Click here for my favourites from the selection of Le Caviste : Wine List for Food Wine and Rock´n´roll
Rock on….
“Lost in thought and lost in time
While the seeds of life and the seeds of change were planted
Outside the rain fell dark and slow
While I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime
I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the moment had arrived
For killing the past and coming back to life”
Coming Back to life – David Gilmour 1993
.
Coming back to Schloss Berg is ALWAYS a pleasure. A pleasure because you know what to expect. Outstanding food, – a momentary lapse of time. I was so excited to go here with Gijs a while ago. Unfortunately a flu stopped Gijs from participating. So much more was the excitement of finally being able to show him my favourite restaurant in this world. Gijs like classic food. Classic French, given the choice, but classic as such, being a classic German Sauerkraut, or an Italian dish. As you will know by now Gijs knows his trade. He is a fab amateur chef, with a basic knowledge of food I could only dream to have. In a kitchen we each work differently, but in a restaurant – after 18 months of friendship and many good dinners behind us – we know excactly what the dining partner will highligt, like…not like.
So when this is said – Schloss Berg and Christian Bau is pretty pretty far from classic – but what I knew Gijs would enjoy was the explosion of tastes and respect for the produce Bau most certainly has.
But but but…having wrote so many times about this little “Pearl” in Nennig 
– I will highlight something else today. I have also mentioned this before – but it becomes more and more evident. Bau has the best f…….. sommelier I have ever met in my life. There might be better ones around – but I have never met them. The ones that comes close would be the ones from my dinners in Le Cinq.
Daniel Kiowski, – you are a dream of a sommelier and yet you are still so young. It is not only your knowledge and choice of wines that impresses me, but the way you treat your customers with such confidence and laid back charm. You are a monument, and that at the age of 26….(I think). That calls for a Carlsberg. I mean – I have NEVER seen anything like it. You are at peace. This is your profession and passion for sure.
Gastro, the German equivalent to the Michelin guide says in its 2013 issue something like – “Would we have a price for the best sommelier in Germany, the price would easily go to Daniel Kiowski. Of course it would. Damn you are good Daniel.
This´s ones for you.
King of the world
I will of course show you a few shots of the food tonight…but not all – because I decided this post should highlight the wines of Daniel.
1st wine.
This perfect light, crispy Riesling was to accompany our first amuses… here are a few of those…..
Italy revisited…
Tuna – Germany 10 points.
Bio Egg
2nd wine
Markus Molitor
What a wine – I think Daniel has a weakness for Molitor, and one can understand why.
Japanese Hamachi
What a dish. The Lightness, the freshness. A pure 10.
With this dish I think we got both the wine above, but also another blinder – and no we could not guess it.
Nanbu Bijin
One way to describe this wine in 4 words. Go there, try it.
Fois Gras, from Landes
I LOVE fois gras, and LOVE what Christian Bau do with his Fois Gras dishes. I could eat this every day of the week. To go with it another Riesling- we got that much, but we were far off with the vintage, well Gijs said something like 2007 or 2002, and I said guess older, even before I heard his guess. It was a fresh 1995
2 words. Wauw.
Turbot…
A simple dish, but nothing is really simple here. Everything in perfect balance, the fish cooked to perfection. But in compare to many of the dishes before a much more classic presentation. And today, inside this menu, I think it was the weakest dish.
Back to life…
And back to Molitor. Let me just say I was far off on this one Was this wine full-bodied, rich and a feast for your pallette. Hell yeah.
Dear deer…
An aroma arose from the plate. The reduction done with a twist. Curry. Apart from that, classic German ingredients here, Knödel, cabbage, pear…but with a twist of Asia.
To go with this one…we were both fooled big time, guessing Pinot Noir, I was put back to recent memories where I guessed Bonnes Mares in Lameloise and in the end I was a few miles away, the wine being a Clos de la Roche. Today we were both as it turned out roughly 1000 kilometers away. What struck us most was the freshness of this wine.
Did you like this one Gijs? Hell yeah.
Gijs claimed afterwards – I will never forget this wine. And I know he won´t. He had never been as surpriced anywhere, anytime, anyhow…;-) He loved it.
Black Forest Cherry
- and to go with that the final wine of the day – oops…no picture but it was another perfect Riesling, a 1999 Auslese, Von Hövel.
and sweets -
Cheese cake
Last man standing
.
Conclusion:
Of course the judgement of Gijs was more or less decided after the first amuse. This is as good as it gets. The chairs, the ambience, even the new young waiter – when he opened his mouth to present a dish the first time – nothing is left to coincidences here. Everything is in balance, the service the food, the wine. The food – the wine – well of course that is why we are here. And it is – stunning. So, Gijs happy. Me happy. Some dishes always get to you more than others. That was also the case today. But as I said in my long intro. Daniel. Today you outshone it all. You are a fucking rock star. Or you are Picasso. Or Beethoven. You certainly are on the top of your game. I have two words for you. Rock on.
Gijs, I am glad you like Schloss Berg as much as I do. Your opinion is weighting a lot in my book and you know that. And I am glad you now know why the missus and I keep coming back to this one. Even if its not classic
We adored the food, the wine – the service. Thanks for having us. Be sure to find us back. As for Gijs, I know he will pass on my recommendation to his family and friends, and they will all be there at Schloss Berg before you can say Blueberry Pie.
My rating of this visit: Hell yeah….
“I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the waiting had begun
And headed straight..into the shining sun”
Coming Back to life – David Gilmour 1993
The Fox Force Four was back in Beaune, back at the beautiful Hotel de Remparts in the center of the city. Good to see the old friends, good to be back in Beaune. We were spoiled with 26 degrees celcius and sunshine, allowing us to spend a wonderful evening at the terrasse of a little place I found last year. Nothing fancy – but decent food. Uffe and I ordered 2 starters and waited a good 90 min for the Norwegians to arrive.
We had 5 tastings planned for the coming days, among those three new smaller wineries – with amazing wines as we would discover.
As it turned out the tastings were very successful, meaning there was a slight logistic problem, which good friends Pernille and Patrick solved by letting the Northern friends have a few square meters of their garage for a while.
Here are some impressions from the trip
Athos, D´Artagnan and Porthos at the cellars of Michel Caillot.
Aramis at the vineyards of Michel Caillot
“Brigitte Bardot” at our service…
Between two tastings we went back to the hotel and opened a bottle of red – well Julie (almost) did. Julie was besides being very pretty, also a sweet and service minded receptionist, – bus as we learned, – soon to go back to her real line of business, – a travel agent. So, the day we left it was also her last day at work 
Kjetil entertaining a group of very kind American and Canadian tourists.
As always the last evening we had our last dinner at Lameloise. I love Lameloise. I will never get tired of dining here. Its like coming home. The familiar faces of the staff and the warm welcome by Frederic Lamy.
Home sweet home…
We had hoped to find the nice Chicago couple we met at Cave Madeleine the evening before, because we understood they were set to dine here. I suspect an audible error – and they might have been dining at close by Levernois, I guess for an American – the twang – those can easily be mistaken – Levernois – Lameloise – but food wise – there is no compare. And we were in for the better part of that comparison. Still I hope you had a great stay and dinner dear Mary and Frank.
The top moment of the entire trip occured when Hubert, the sommelier asked us whether we had made our wine choices (from the great wine list).
I answered him, we will like the same as last year. A big smile was his reply, and he elaborated – I was hoping for that. Now that meant we gave him free hands too arrange some bottles to be tasted blind, and within a certain total price limit. He said, I have been thinking about it all day, which wines to choose etc. Now that is – beside the effort of checking or remembering – an outstanding level of service – and you are bound to feel special, and so we did.
Here are some shots from the menu
Champagne…
A little fois gras lollipop
Third round of amuses
Scallops and crab – still not started the menu.
Fois Gras with oxe-tail
Second best dish of the evening, what a dish.
Saint-Pierre
Lobster
The last piece of the best bread in the world.
As mentioned in my prior posts about Lameloise. This bread is to die for.
Langoustine
Lamb
Lameloise & Lamb – a perfect marriage. Always. Best dish of the evening.
At this point a personal issue arised – known by insiders as “The Chagny Situation” – the cheese would be my last dish of the evening. No sweets for me tonight – which is probably good for my hips – but cheese at Lameloise, is also always perfect selection and perfect maturity.
Kjetil choosing his selection.
What a drop, best wine of the evening. I almost had it, guessing Bonnes Mares.
So, dear Frederic Lamy and all your exceptional staff. There were absolutly no flaws this evening. Everything was perfect and as always, I hope to be back rather sooner than later. Please extend our thank you to the whole team. Eric Pras, thank you for a great meal. As good as it gets.
So this wraps up a great trip – well almost – because the following morning we had a last tasting at Mischief and Mayhem in Aloxe Corton where good friends – wonderful Fiona and warm Michael Bragg had prepared a brunch to go with their exceptional wines.
What more do you need a Sunday morning.
So, this was it – I shall leave you with a picture to fit the situation, Athos checking out…
The Three Musketeers..
Thanks for your friendship guys…see u around.
“I am going, I am going
Any which way the wind may be blowing
I am going, I am going
Where streams of whiskey are flowing”
Streams of Whisky – The Pogues 1984
Just around Christmas time I ran into a friendly guy at the local Supermarket. He attracted my attention – because he was standing in front of a large selection of Malt Whisky – a drink I have enjoyed on many evenings in front of the open fire – back in the days where we had a cottage in Denmark. The perfect threesome in my opinion, Malt Whisky, Cold weather and open fire.
The name of the friendly fellow was Herman, and he was in fact representing the Whisky Club Luxembourg. We chatted a bit and the following day I received an invitation to a Gastronomic dinner at the beautiful Chateau Bourglinster hosted by WCL
I have not been back here for a long time. It is among the best set restaurants, when you cross that small bridge to the Castle, you feel transported a few hundred years back in time. The new chef René Mathieu has been awarded with a michelin star a few years ago.
Chateau Bourglinster
Herman was there on chilled evening, in quilt and all – and greeting meant welcoming a good 100 people that was coming to the event.
Herman in the left middle
The dinner was set up with a 6 course gastronomic menu with a corresponding Whisky to each dish. No wine. No wine. No wine. That was quite a challenge for a wine lover. I was excited to see if it would work, and if I would cope without the wine.
After a glass of a Luxembourgish cremant, and looking at the Whiskies on display we were shown to our table, that apart from Gijs and I consisted of 2 young Scandinavians, a youngster from Belgium and 2 mixed couples. One of the mixed couples – had litterally just arrived in Luxembourg – 4 days before. I can barely remember that feeling – a good 24 years ago a young slim man flew in with great expectations, but I dont think he ever imagined he would still be here 24 years burning down the road. Good luck to the both of you – it was a pleasure meeting you.
I shall show you some of the dishes but not go too much into details.
Saumon…
The second best dish of the evening and a good start. The salmon worked very nicely with the Whisky.
Fois gras poelé
The best dish of the evening. My photo does not give full credit to the dish, I forgot my Canon and had to use my old I-phone.
Next up was a funny dish, Gambas in a letter. Well it might be a funny presentation if you are a smaller table, But we could see the waiters struggling with the opening of 96 envelopes – and that did effect the presentation of the dish in some cases. But funny it was.
Un envoie recommandé
and voila…
Next up was the veal, not an outstanding dish, and by this time Gijs and I were REALLY craving wine….I know now how lucky I am to be able to drink a glass or three every evening.
Veal
Herman was a great host, coming over to our table, being only one of 20 tables or so – to make sure the dishes and corresponding whisky was explained in an understandable language. He never seemed stressed, I am sure he was. Great respect goes to you my friend.
After the veal, we were getting really tired, I had a rough night with no sleep before and we were just about to say our goodbyes, but Herman managed to convince us to stay for the dessert and the following digestive, the 30 year old highlight of the evening.
Dessert – if you zoom in you can red thel full menu and the corresponding whisky selection.
Conclusion:
A great evening. Hats off to the event manager WCL, check them out at http://www.whiskyclublux.com/
If I have any complaints about the night it would be that it was even more difficult for me on a personal level to dine without wine. I know Gijs felt the same or even worse lol.
Some of the dishes went well with the whisky, some were more well borderline. I know many of the dishes would have improved with a glasss of the right wine, but was it a funny experience. Yes indeed it was. And I again met some beautiful people I hope to see again, and apart from the whole dining experience I think that is what good food is also about. For what is good food without friends, and new friends.
I shall not rate the food and restaurant as such. Serving 96 people at the same time in a room laid out for that does not give a fair impression about what the kitchen and chef is all about. The food did not scare me away for sure, and one fine day I will return to La Distellerie with a more private setting.
I was impressed by all the different whiskies – all provided by a good friend of mine – Rossi.
One thing I did take away from this evening, was my urge to swap that Grappa di Prosecco out once in a while with a good malt. So, Herman, my friend – I am sure you will be happy to hear that since that night in March I have aquired meself a bottle of Glenmorangie Sherry Cask and a bottle of Caol Ila.
Slainthe Herman 
“They prosecuted some poor sucker in these United States
For teaching that man descended from the apes
They coulda settled that case without a fuss or fight
If they’d seen me chasin’ you, sugar, through the jungle last night
They’da called in that jury and a one two three said
Part man, part monkey, definitely”
Part Man Part Monkey – Bruce Springsteen 1990
Celebrating the end of 3 succesful tasting days at Prowein 2013 – my first but not last showing here – the two Akkermans and I thought we needed to spoil ourselves.
Akkermans discussing the wines of the last 72 hours – and there were a few.
Most of the pictures in this review have a red shine, most of that shines comes from the bar, and secondly because the lights were dimmed romantically low. Well with this crowd romance was not the first thing on my mind, but good food was.
Having heard many good things about the Monkey West it was a natural choice. The Chef here – Christian Penzhorn - has last year been awarded with the first michelin star – and I am quite sure to predict – it is not gonna be his last.
The restaurant is build together with a cosy bar with funky lights and a huge wine refrigerator, showing (off) many nice drops if money is not a problem. The wine list is indeed ok, if not out of this world.
The menus let you swap around and starts with 4 courses for 80 eur. A bargain.
Here are 2 more shots from the funky bar.
Showing off
Pre-dinner toast in Domaine Gauby
19.00 – and we were ready to hit our table….
GREAT selection of GREAT bread.
Amuses first round – 3 different tastings.
Amuses – round two – Different preparations of rabbit.
The rabbit being wonderful, and all in all I think this is what you can and should expect from a 1 star michelin restaurant. Nothing outstanding, but meaningful presentations. The bread came with a marmelade (!) and a fresh cheese creme, but no butter – which we asked for ourselves. I think I speak for all when I say the bread really impressed us.
Fois Gras
We all had this one, I loved it. Clearly with an eye for detail on the plate but not too much. Just about how I like a dish to look. 9p
Quail with truffles
Again a great presentation, but all in all I think this for me was the weakest of the dishes tonight. 7p
Langoustine
And right here and then…back on track. This was probably the best dish of the evening. Everything perfect here. 9.5p
Loup de Mer with Artichoke
Gijs and I chose this one – and just as the dish before, the fish cooked to perfection the arrangement wonderful and the different texures of the artichoke a great companion. Now wait…this was probably the best dish of the evening lol 9.5p
Veal for Chris…
Guess a solid dish is the right word. It looks a bit heavy when the large piece of the filet is served like that. Two smaller pieces would have made it a nicer presentation. I did not taste it, but I heard no complaints and also no wauw´s from Chris. Maybe he was just tired at this point. I know I was.
A little something as pre-dessert – with rhubarb.
Loved this one, would have liked for the rhubarb pieces to be more prominent. I love rhubarb. 7p
Chocolate and Mango
I am a sucker for mango – and with chocolate, what more can you ask for. The details on this dessert send memories to some 2 or 3 star restaurants – and any 1 star michelin restaurant in the world should be proud if they can present a dessert like this. In my humble opinion. 9.5p
So where we done…not quite….after the pre-dessert, and dessert first little arrangement was presented…
Say chocolate…
My selection
and finally the last serving of tonight arrived
Over and out…
Conclusion:
I was actually amazed about the quality of food, the service, all the pretty waitresses walked gracefully through the room. Especially Kathleen (?) was a wonderful head-waitress (I presume). Tobias Kühne was a great maitre – all of the staff un-pretentious, which I like. Some of the male waiters had a more “monkey” way of walking, but I guess it fitted the room or concept. But all staff was on their toes on a busy night and with very few flaws and nothing worth of mentioning here.
The ambience, the bread, some of the food, the service – all that actually was at least 1 star menu tonight. Some dishes showed that there is room for more development in that respect. Meaning we have had less good experiences in both 2 and 3 michelin star restaurants. Respect.
The wines we chose tonight were a white Puligny-Montrachet from J. Prieur – did it have a flaw ? I was not sure, but a bit disappointed with its flatness – and a wonderful Arlaud village wine from Chambolle-Musigny. Tobias threw in a blind glass – a light Riesling Auslese for the dessert, and that too was a perfect match. And guessing it made it taste even better.
One complain only would be the list of digestives, which we found very simple and not up to par with the rest. But – having a London Blue Gin in the selection is on the other hand always a plus….
Mr. Akkerman and Mr. Akkerman – it was great fun – I have never walked so much in my life in 3 days. I have never tasted so many good wines. Gijs, – I cannot wait till we get some of these wines to Luxembourg – our clients will be amazed – but I guess the Prowein story is worth another post in its own right, so I shall get back to that. Chris and Gijs, thanks for your friendship. Rock on.
It was time for these 3 monkeys to leave the herd and hit the road and go back to Luxembourg.
Thanks to all the staff at Monkey´s West for a wonderful time spent. Be sure to find us back.
My rating for this visit: Food 9p (10), service 4.5p (5), ambience 5p (5), Total Score 18.5p (20)
*
“Well did God make man in a breath of holy fire
Or did he crawl on up out of the muck and mire
Well the man on the street believes what the bible tells him so
Well you can ask me, mister, because I know
Tell them soul-suckin’ preachers to come on down and see
Part man, part monkey, baby that’s me”
Part Man Part Monkey – Bruce Springsteen 1990
“Old friends
Winter companions
The old men
Lost in their overcoats
Waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city
Sifting through the trees
Settle like dust
On the shoulders
Of the old friends”
Simon & Garfunkel 1968
Luxembourg city was showing itself from its prettiest side on a Saturday morning where we were again invited behind the curtains of our favourite local restaurant, the pride of the city – Restaurant Clairefontaine. Parking below the market, I just had time to shoot a few shots of one of the greatest thing city life has to offer – Saturday markets.
The Saturday market at Place Guillaume
Say Cheese !
The Cathedral
And below the square, the morning sun on Clairefontaine.
So – old friends gathered at 10 am, greeted by Arnaud and William, waiting to see what there was expecting us today. Input had been given but apart from that we really do not know what awaits us on these cooking sessions. Catherine, Susanne, Morten, Torben, Klaus, Gijs and I were so ready and happy to be back.
As it turned out today – we were gonna make
Frog legs Parisienne – classic but deconstructed with Carrot mash, Parsley and Garlic
Scallops Parmentier with smoke
Sweetbreads of Veal with Morilles
Grand Marnier Soufflé
Lets start with some frog legs ….not my favourite by far – but hey we are here for the fun and to learn.
Legs all lined up,….
Torben doing a Man´s Job.
William showing us how to prepare the other ingredients…
The girls chatting…
Legs in the pan…
The parsley creme almost finished. WHAT A COLOUR !!!
Table 8 almost ready to go….
Frog legs, classic but deconstructed…
I was really happy to see the trick with the foam, the parsley creme was amazing in taste and colour, and I am sure I am gonna reproduce for some of my dishes. Frog legs as such remain something I would never order in a restaurant.
Next up was a favourite of most of my friends. Scallops.
Arnaud learned us how to read and understand the label.
Morten looked and acted like he had never done anything else. Respect.
Taking out the delicate piece…
– and voila.
Scallops in the pan
Gijs checking the reduction..
Come together 1
Come together 2
– 3
Table 8 ready ….
Result -
Scallops on leek, with potato creme and potato chip – truffles and a beef reduction.
This was a brilliant dish, and great to see Arnaud cooking the scallops to perfection, see the smoke canon in use, seeing the wonderful potato creme done from scratch with a secret ingredient…hey we are not giving it all away
Next up was the sweetbreads, who some of my friends had a slight “issue” with.
Cleaning the ris de veau…
Cooking them for 10 min. on one side only.
make them look a lot nicer and taste stunning.
Arranging the “risotto” with morilles -
Adding the morilles sauce and wauw.
Ris de Veau with Morilles
In the end all tasted the result and I think I speak for all when I say that this is a pearler of a dish. I have never had a better sauce in my life I think. Well at least this morilles sauce is as good as it gets. The sweetbread cooked to perfection.
As for dessert, Arnaud and William showed us quickly how to make the souffle. The result was perfect, great taste. lovely presentation. Not a dessert man – me – but still I was amazed of what you can do with basically just an egg and alcohol.
Grand Marnier Souffle.
There was a certain vibe in the room today. I think everybody enjoyed being back, Torben joked around, Gijs took notes on his mobile, Klaus served the wine in the kitchen and we all enjoyed the fact that by now – Arnaud and William are pretty confident in letting us participate when we want to, but also letting it be when not – like me. After seeing another friend of mind – Claus – struggling with the scallops a few weeks ago, I felt no need to fight these.
We all had our favourite dish today I think, for some it was the frog legs, some the scallops and some the sweetbread. But in the end we again learned a little something in a few hours. Something we can reproduce, develop or use in other dishes. We also learned tha we have to have two or three more applicanses in our kitchen. And Christmas is far away.
Well the 16th of March was Christmas in some fashion. Thank you Arnaud and William for inviting us again. Thanks to my friends for coming along on this train. And yes – maybe next time we should work on presenting a menu for our hosts. I think that sounds like a plan. Also thank you Julien. Again you succeeded in great wine matches to the dishes. You are one heck of a sommelier and friend.
What a great day it was. Old friends.
“Once we made a promise we swore we’d always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Blood brothers in a stormy night
With a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender”
Bruce Springsteen – 1984
*
It is always great fun to cook with my lifelong friend Torben. Besides being my friend and “partner in crime” on many wine tastings, he was also my partner on the German television show, where his great performance almost brought us to the final.
It somehow flows when we are in a kitchen. He was always as wild as me – trying out strange combinations. They did not always work, but like me he seems to avoid recipes, and like me he collects cooking books mainly for inspiration.
I always thougt I was better chef than him, but these days I think that is very well balanced out. His cooking has really improved rapidly the last few years, and the most apparent place he needs me these days is in arranging the food.
Lunch on this day was supposed to happen 12ish, and I entered the house a good hour before to see “what was cooking”.
My role today was merely helping arranging and being spoiled with good food and great wines.
Slices of Salmon & Spinach Pancake on a salad of young peas.
First up a GREAT colourful starter. It worked so well Torben. Go green. 7.5p
A Benjamin Romero effort…
I had this one before, and found it more interesting the first time. But it opened up a lot in the glass and shows that BR knows his trade.
Peking Duck
The missus of Torben prepared this favourite chinese dish of mine. Mrs. Torben – this was the best peking duck I have ever had. Using the confit de canard instead of the breast is a GREAT idea. 9.5p
Argentina…
Great label, great fruits, I think it was 100% Malbec. A very good product. Malbec not being my favourite grape, but Argentina being Torben´s favourite spot on this planet. I would love to see those wineyards with you one day mate.
An oldie…
I have fond memories of Pichon-Longueville. Pauillac being my favourite area in Bordeaux. This was a host gift from an earlier occasion from business partner and friend Gijs to Torben and I. And since Gijs was “in da house” – it seemed very appropriate to open it. For my taste it was over the hill. I do like the vibrant young good Bordeaux´s – not the brownish silky old ones. Not a bad drop, but I would have enjoyed it more 5 years earlier Im sure.
Parmesan crusted Cod on Jerusalem Artichokes with a cauliflower creme….
Very nice presentation, everything worked, except I would have added a small crunchy salad on top. I got the chance to use my sauce dispenser which Torben gave me last year for Christmas. 7p
Another Spanish gem…
Torben has a few of those Spanish gems in his cellar. This was stuning. What a damn nice wine. I could drink that one every Sunday.
Iberico Porc with Tortilla and Oyster mushrooms
I think this has to be one of the best dishes I have ever had at Torben´s place. Stunning meat. And that with the above wine was simply heaven. The tortilla spot on. 10p
Say cheese….
To go with this little selection of cheese – Torben opened another stunner. We were not hungry or thirsty at this point, but there is always room for some cheese…
As good as they come…
I have been lucky to try Opus One on a good five occasions. I always loved it. It was the wine of the day. For me its like a Chateau Margaux or Sassicaia, laid back and straight elegance. Not overpowering, never too much, but very complex.
My conclusion:
Today´s lunch was way up there with my best private meals. It was balanced, surpricing and some of it damn good.
Torben, I appreciate our friendship, I respect your cooking skills, and I hope for many more of these improvised sessions. You are not only a sarcastic mf´er – you also care about your friends and you know how to spoil them. Here´s to our friendship. Rock on.
“Lazy Sunday afternoon
I’ve got no mind to worry
I close my eyes and drift away”
Small Faces 1968
*
I was happy to be invited to cook for a group of wine lovers. The theme being 1st growth from Bordeaux, and the admission was – bring a bottle of those of your choice. Christoph not only asked me to cook, but also participating in the the dinner and the tasting. My admission thus was the time I spend cooking.
Bordeaux was one of my first loves – wine wise. In the early nineties I was lucky to have a good friend whos cellar as in regard to top Bordeauxs had everything you could ever imagine or wish for,
So – expectations was high, and my cooking was adjusted, meaning less pepper and spices than normally, – I did not want to disturb the delicacy of those drops too much.
Here is some shots from the event…
Our own wonderful Mandois, Cuvee Victor 2002
I love this Champagne, and it was a good companion to my small amuses
Smoked Trout Creme with creme fraiche, aneth and horse redish…
Mr. and Mr. Akkerman
3 of the best “noses” in Luxembourg…
Chateau Haut-Brion 1994
One of my favourites of the day, still vibrant.
Chateau Ausone 1985
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2001
Having had 3 bottles of this in my own cellar, it was nice to revisit – and to actually feel , I drank it when it presented more of what I like in a wine. Elegang power and energy. In my eyes it was still a nice drop of course. It just hadnt improved.
A little lamb “cous cous” thing…
Chateau Cheval Blanc 1997
Chateau Margaux 2002
What a brilliant wine.
Roast beef a la Jamie Oliver
I love this dish, saw it one night on the telly. Added slices of raw mushrooms.
Lafite Rothschild 2002
Probably the best wine of the day. And the only one where you thought…this one needs more time…well in my eyes. I like them young. This was so amazing, and full of energy waiting to develop. What a nice drop.
Iberico porc, with roasted garlic and truffles…
Say cheese….
A few more bottles landed on the table, the tired Danish chef was happy people liked his food.
As for the wines….well how could you not like them. I was happy to have had the chance to participate in this extravaganza of top wines. I thank you Christoph for inviting me – here´s to our new friendship. Rock on. And for those of you that was not there on that Sunday. Well, you missed an outstanding tasting.
As for me, I met some interesting new people and that is what counts the most. I still prefer my wines younger, and was confirmed in that opinion.
