Can you do the cooking? Yes I can! As long as you open a few decent bottles that is! Said and done. Starting of with 2012 Deutz La Côte Glacière – pure and elegant house style with the power and structure of Aÿ Pinot. Followed by 2010 Dom Pérignon served with tartatre of Otoro with mango, avocado and chili, very Dom-like despite its relative youth feeling very Pinot-dominated today. Three whote burgundies to the Turbot in sea urchin beurre blanc and savoy cabbage – 2018 Fontaine-Gagnard 1er Cru Les Caillerets certainly makes you question why we are supposed to age white burgundies if they´re this good young. 2007 Ravenau Les Clos a very complete wine showing all of the positive attributes we talk about in white burgundies and also shows why its worth to age good white Burgundies. 1985 Roulout Meursault Perrières unfortunately dirty and dusty which shows that nothing lasts forever! Last white 2005 Smith-Haut-Lafitte served with a chicken heart and lemongrass skewer, very flinty and toasted with nice layers of tropical sauvignon and a healthy amount of freshness. 1999 D´Angerville Volnay Champans and 2003 DRC Romanée-Saint-Vivant for my pièce de resistance truffled farm chicken from Hagby with a gratin of topinambours, ceps, truffle and Vieux Comté a decadent dish for super refined wines the first very silky, perfumed and harmonious with a perfect drinkability, I would not keep this for longer even if I could. The DRC always shows that extra something, a great presence of ripeness and sweetness typical for the year but so balanced, layered and complex with a humongous length. It´s not easy to be served after a DRC but if anyone wine can stand up after that it would be Latour, a great 2001 being very complete and showing that rare combination of tremendous power and structure, yet the elegance and nuance of the finest, a true thrill. I rarely make desserts – however when I want to drink fine Sauternes I make my Roquefort cheesecake, this time with honey glazed figs – served with two of my favourite sweet wines 2011 Vin de Constance a pure essence of grapes with marvellous bite and zest. 2009 Château Coutet, harmonious, complete, with layers of honeyed stone fruit.
Comfort food at home, a Swedish classic - salted brisket with vegetables cooked in the tasty broth and a horseradish veloutée. A warming autumn dish that I would normally pair with Grüner Veltliner but being in the mood for succulent Pinot I changed my view and grabbed a 2016 Santenay 1er Cru Clos Rousseau from my cave du jour. Remembering the old and charmingly rustic examples from this producer, this is the polar opposite with its pure and glossy perfume brimming with wild berries, pain d’épice and floral notes leading to a super polished palate showing ripe and seemingly sweet fruit, yet being Burgundian earthy and classically dry with good notion of freshness and a very nice length and grip. #homecooking #simplehomecooking #homecomingishomecooking #husmanskost #oxbringa #santenay #santenaypremiercruclosrousseau #camillegiroud #burgundy #pinotnoir #terroir #winelover #winetasting #sommlife #sommelierlifestyle #asisomms #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation
At @zachysauctions anything can happen... #sommelierproblems #francoisraveneau #bouchardpereetfils #chevaliermontrachet #comtelafon #meursaultperrieres #cochedury #meursaultcaillerets #domainegroumier #cortoncharlemagne #fetrimbach #closstehune #domainearmandrousseau #mazychambertin #clossaintjacques #domainemeocamuzet #domainedujac #domaineponsot #lepergoletorte #chateaulatour #chateaumoutonrothschild #chateaucoutet #chateauclimens #seanthackery #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation
Lazy burgundy afternoon! Frying fresh perch and plenty of chanterelles in generous amounts of French butter calls for a decent lunch bottle or? Indeed the 2017 Meursault 1er Cru Goutte d’Or certainly fullfills those criteria showing the boldness and vinosité expected, yet with a very healthy freshness, fine extract and bite with nutty stone fruit and serious length, a great partner for the fish and chanterelles. Another bottle would be nice no? Sure l! 2010 Latricières-Chambertin from Domaine Faiveley, showing a super elegant, floral red fruit nose reminiscent of Chambolle, yet tasting it those finely distributed albeit ample tannins certainly proved that we were in the vicinity of Gevrey - intense, long and powerful. Speaking of Vosne, maybe we should have one or? Ok! 2008 Sylvain Cathiard, a wine I thought I finished long time ago, even after the imposing Grand Cru this showed great structure and persistency and that remarkable perfume that explains why Vosne is the appellation I drink the most. Maybe another one just for fun? Ok! 2011 Domaine de Bellene Les Quartier de Nuits - super complex and perfumed blending sois bois, ginger, truffle, sweet red fruit with powdery tannin and a super silky finish, the most complete wine today in this ensemble! #sommelierproblems #simplecooking #homecooking #burgundy #meursault #latriciereschambertin #vosneromanee #pinotnoir #burgundylover #winelover #sommelierlifestyle #sommlife #asisomms @domainefabiencoche @domainefaiveley @domaine_de_bellene
When a friend comes for lunch… IT CAN EASILY TURN INTO SOMETHING OUTRAGEOUS! Like letting two small boys on the loose late Wednesday lunch with a simple theme “make that chicken with the crispy skin please”. Said and done starting out with the 2011 Bollinger James Bond Cuvée, not really easily recognizable as Bollinger at first but with some time in the glass, it showed more of that nutty, profound and ripe Aÿ Pinot Noir still appearing rather youthful. 1996 Salon is certainly benchmark Champagne that shows an incredible power paired with tremendous freshness and all the layers of confit de citron, fresh butter, crushed nuts and cool tropical fruit led to a super harmonious creamy and long palate accompanied by king crab tacos with avocado, mango and chili ketchup. 2013 Emerich Knoll Riesling Smaragd Kellerberg was the pairing for the Sashimi of Otoro with ponzu sauce, rich and bold with layers of unctuous apricot, ripe citrus and a bold yet super fresh palate with immense length. Time for the Poulet that was stuffed with generous amounts of black truffle under its skin, served with potato, ceps, chestnut mushrooms and some that got a healthy treatment in the duck fat spa! A lovely dish you could pair with any serious wine. And serious it got – startin with the 1975 Haut-Brion a sweet nose with ripe dark cassis, liquorice, chocolate and almond notes, perfectly rounded with less of those 75 tannins we tend to feel far north in the Médoc. 1982 Latour – when I put my nose in this I just said whoaaahhh, a great indication of a great wine, this is clearly one of the best wines I ever had and continues to keep that position! Enormously intense and powerful, yet layered, nuanced and elegant with a mind blowing complexity! Qualities only very few wines can brag with. A big surprise was the Mouton 1966, blind I was in Pauillac but opted for something far younger, still a dense dark fruit with the classic cigar box, leather and coffee/mocha notes with great purity and aged sweetness. To finish as this became a Bordeaux theme, the excellent 2017 Château Coutet being one of my favourite Sauternes wines with its impeccable, balance, elegance, freshness, and layers.
Sichuan crusted seared tuna Niçoise an utterly simple and tasty lunch at le Bistro De La Rue du Vigneron. Paired with a splendid 2015 Vaillons 1er Cru showing the classic chalkiness and firmness (in the positive sense of the word), yet with the power and ripeness we saw in 2015, a very vinous texture far from sterile steel only, with fermentation and a few months of ageing on the lees giving breadth and depth. Long, saline and grippy finish... #homecooking #simplehomecooking #homecomingishomecooking #tunanicoise #chablis #chablispremiercru #chablisvaillons #domainewilliamfevre #williamfevrechablis #chardonnay #winelover #winetasting #sommelierproblems #sommlife #sommelierlifestyle #asisomms #sommelier #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation @williamfevre_chablis
As much as I love Italian wine, I drink considerably less of it at home as I don’t cook Italian that often. The remedy is of course to make a humongous lasagne with silly amounts of 24 months Parmesan and the ragoût of healthy coarsely ground brisket that’s braised for hours... however it’s impossible to take nice pictures of Lasagne 🤣 first night 2011 Azelia Margheria is pure Serralunga power with an according to me perfect drinkability (I know we’re supposed to like everything too old but...) the perfect harmony of youthful and elegant red fruit with cherry, rose hip, chocolate praline and the approaching maturity giving truffle, forest floor and spice box with perfectly rounded texture and long lingering finish. Day 2 leftover day! Lasagne is even better and the 2004 Massolino being the last from a case has finally shed its tannin and rigid structure leaving a complex perfume with that cherry liqueur filled praline, truffle and rose petal in abundance. Mature and medium bodied with fine proportions but the last sip showed it’s time to enjoy this today... #simplehomecooking #homecooking #homecomingishomecooking #lasagne #barolo #nebbiolo #azeliabarolo #margheria serralungadalba #massolinobarolo #italianwine #winelover #sommelier #cookingsommelier #sommlife #sommelierlifestyle #asisomms #drinkinmoderation
I certainly had better Tempura, especially at the top establishments in Japan. However for an improvised lunch at home I’m quite happy with the result. Sweet potato, aubergine, mushrooms and broccoli, served with a kind of ponzu with some ginger and Chili for extra bite, heat and freshness. Oh yes speaking about freshness - this dish certainly calls for a wine with plenty of that particular quality! The 2018 Pouilly-Fumé from Comte Henry D’Assay is a style quite opposed to the green and “stereotype” Sauvignon that wine lovers love to hate. This is rather on the yellow fruit, textured and broad side, yet with a good dose of that flinty freshness we associate with the appellation... #cooking #homecooking #simplehomecooking #tempura #japanesecuisine #homecomingishomecooking #pouillyfume #sauvignon #vinsdeloire #comtehenrydassay #terroir #silex #sommelierproblems #sommlife #sommelierlife #sommelierlifestyle #sommelier #winetasting #wine #winelover #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation
There´s something about Kellerberg. Indeed one of, and often considered THE best site in the Wachau. Certainly one of the best site for dry Riesling in the world. As much as 2018 was a hot and dry year, there´s still a wealth of freshness, grip and extract giving a lift to the unctuous apricot, crushed stone, lemongrass and floral flavours. Impressive texture with breadth and superior length. A tremendous vinification by the Domäne Wachau! The only thing I might regret a tiny hint is that I already drunk half of these bloody magnums I just bought. Well, wine is made to be drunk in the end. Accompanied by some spontaneous and simple home cooking – a baked loin of loup de mer with a crayfish beurre blanc, a fistful of butter sautéed chanterelles and salt cucumber. A nice definition of Swedish late summer flavours. #simplecooking #homecooking #homecomingishomecooking #riesling #kellerberg #domänewachau #vineawachau #rieslingsmaragd #austrianwine #wine #winetasting #winelover #sommlife #sommelierlifestyle #asisomms #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation @domaenewachau
Light summer lunch on the terrace, corn fed French chicken, moist meat and crispy skin with Asian style salad. Once again I’m so impressed about Portugal’s potential for cool climate style wines. Maestro Niepoort has integrated the minerality, freshness, extract, discreet oak and expressive zesty fruit that offers both nuance and drinkability... #lebistrodelarueduvigneron #homecooking #simplecooking #asiancooking #niepoortvinhos #douro #rabigato #malvasia #codega #terroir #portuguesewine #winesofportugal #sommelierproblems #sommlife #sommelierlifestyle #asisomms #winelover #wine #winetasting #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation
Spontaneous lunch à la maison. An abundance of chanterelles with baked ling, crayfish beurre blanc, salted cucumber and pickled red onion, nice rustic Swedish late summer flavours. Paired with the extraordinary Conciso Branco from Dão made by the extraordinary Dirk Niepoort. Old vines of Bical, Encruzado and Malvasia with intelligent oak treatment barely noticeable blending zest, lemongrass, wild herbal notes with more exotic yellow fruit notes as the wine opens, everything with that mineral (sorry if we’re no longer allowed to say mineral) sensation leading to a very long and concise finish. Stylish, precise and bloody enjoyable! @dirk.niepoort @niepoortvinhos @wickedwine_sweden #simplecooking #simplehomecooking #cookingathome #homecomingishomecooking #niepoortvinhos #dao #homersimpsonsfavouriteappellation #bical #encruzado #malvasia #oldvines #winesfromportugal #vinhosdeportugal #terroir #winelover #sommelierproblems #asisomms #sommlife #sommelierlifestyle #anotherharddayatwork #lebistrodelarueduvigneron #drinkinmoderation
The perfect summer lunch! A grilled dry rubbed skirt steak with kind of Asian salad - bean sprouts, cucumber, red cabbage and fresh onion dressed with a fiercely hot red Chili, garlic, ginger, scallion, brown sugar, soy, lime, fish sauce and sesame dressing. Food requiring Riesling! I could easily have opted for a slightly sweeter style considering that sweet/sour/hot flavour profile, yet didn’t have one at home so I settled for nothing less than the 2016 Mordthal Erste Lage from Fritsch in Wagram. This wine boasts all of the qualities you expect from an Austrian Riesling - lush and ripe yellow fruit with a bold spiciness, powerful and structured with a magnificent structure, purity and freshness, very long, grippy and finely spicy finish, drunk way too fast unfortunately but bloody hell what a pleasure! Served in some of the most beautiful Austrian glasses ever made #riedelgrunerveltliner @maxiriedel #lebistrodelarueduvigneron #homecooking #lunchonthebalcony #simplehomecooking #cookingathome #asiancooking #homecomingishomecooking #riesling #austrianwine #austrianriesling #wagram #terroir #mordthal #weingutfritsch #rieslinglover #sommelierproblems #sommlifestyle #sommelierlife #asisomms #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation
There’s nothing like homecoming imbibing the scents of roasted chicken, those grilled côtes des bœufs or those lovely and healthy frites sizzling in duck fat over the fire...#sommelierproblems #latupina #ruegourmande #bordeauxmaville #sommlife #lacuisinehonnete #honestcooking #realffod
Just came home from my first trip in a long time. After some classic Bordeaux food and wine decadence for 8 days, quite a a relief to eat spicy Asian flavours with a supremely invigorating Austrian Riesling on the balcony. Chicken leg marinated in soy/ginger/garlic/chili with broccoli, fresh red onion, bean sprouts and mango, delicious and juicy. In the glass - 2016 Riesling Privat Ried Pellingen from @weingutnigl a lovely definition of how good Riesling can get! An extraordinary purity with crushed stone/ flint and then an abundance of lime, lemongrass, mango, peach and floral notes. Great bite on the palate with good extract, mouthwatering acidity, layers of exotic fruit and a tremendously long lingering finish. Even if Wachau is the star, Kamptal boasts the big famous guys , Kremstal is still in my mind seriously underrated. #simplehomecooking #homecomingishomecooking #asiancooking #weingutnigl #kremstal #riedpellingen #riesling #rieslinglover #winelover #sommelier #sommelierproblems #asisomms #sommlife #sommelierlifestyle #austrianwine #drinkinmoderation
I was excited! Bollinger releases a new cuvée! Must be a Blanc de Noirs I thought! Indeed it was! Indeed it was a tremendously good one too! Kind of a little brother to the rare and precious Vieilles Vignes Françaises! Price wise certainly a small brother even though the quality is of the highest pedigree! Sourced mainly from Grand Cru Verzenay with a dash of Aÿ and Tauxières this pure Pinot Noir is made up of 50 % 2015 with the rest being reserve wines from magnums down to 2009 of which half was vinified in oak. First impression on the nose was Bollinger! There´s certainly a DNA of this house champagnes with powerful pinot dominating, yet I found more chalkiness and minerality that I normally pick up in BdB, however that´s rather the cooler style of Verzenay speaking. Aromatically red berries, plum with some tropical notes I think of as confit d´abricot with roasted hazelnut and the lovely autolytic notes of fresh brioche and French (yes French butter). Powerful palate with an opulent fruitiness, certainly on the darker fruit spectrum with wild raspberry and promiscuous apricot with a nice creaminess and underlying vibrant acidity. I really like the dryness, a dosage of 7 grams balances it nicely as the finish is perfectly dry and nicely biting, long and powerful! Certainly a style for long ageing but I must confess that I could easily drink tons of this already today! I was asked to summarise this in one word and the best creative word I could come up with was powerful-pinot-perfection! #powerfulpinotperfection #puissantpinotperfection #sommelierproblems #anotherharddayatwork #bollinger #bollingervz15 #blancdenoir #champagne #champagnelover #winelover #pinotnoir @champagne_bollinger
No champagne! Having to wear this bloody mask! However, getting to travel for the first time in 4 months ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️#traveller #dreamer #sommelierproblems #airfrance #france #bordeaux #bordeauxmaville #tastedbyandreaslarsson #blindtasted #coronahippie
When a friend helps you with a favour… you have to thank him or sort of bribe him in a way… money? Boring. Lunch with a bottle of Château Latour? Always. Said and done. Aperitif Etienne Calsac Blanc de Blancs Les Rocheforts – pure and vinous grower style with ripe chardonnay, citrus, chalk, hazelnuts, creamy and complex with low but balanced dosage and healthy freshness. When it comes to food, I´ve had the question a thousand times, what would you drink with this wine? The answer is always – with great and complex wines opt for simplicity and avoid complicated flavours, especially in the scorching summer heat simplicity was the keyword. First serving 2014 Pauillac – a lovely summary of what the appellation is about combining a ripe almost Napa-like nose with cassis, dark cherry, aromatic herbs like sage and mint, pure and balanced yet with the structure and length we expect from Latour. Accompanied by Pata Negra from Montarraz and then chicken heart lemongrass skewers (sounds rather exotic but works well I can assure you). The main course is a kind of love affair to me - my dearly beloved chicken, today a French corn fed one I stuffed with truffle under its skin and then brushed it with my butter/Dijon/soy glaze. Served with new potato and ceps cooked in duck fat and fresh summer vegetables with just a light velouté from that lovely chicken juice. This was of course accompanied by the Grand Vin 2006. Decanted two hours before it showed a nice aromatic complexity and layers, very pure and stony with finely tuned oak, fine tobacco, dark chocolate, cassis and dark plum. Once again an impressive palate combining tremendous power and freshness, perfectly ripe and grainy tannin contributing to a fantastic length, all the qualities and complexity expected, a bit young some would say, bloody good anyway, I would say. To finish. A red berry crumble with the best possible essence of the muscat grape - 2011 Vin de Constance #sommelierproblems #homecooking #poulet #patanegra #chateaulatour #pauillac #grandvindechateaulatour #grandvin #vindeconstance #asisomms @chateau__latour @kleinconstantia
When a friend comes for spontaneous lunch... and I don’t yet feel at ease in the kitchen after moving houses... yet I had some tapas prepared so I said let’s make it a simple one, and a Spanish one... said and done first aperitif was an extraordinary rare Fino from Sanchez Romate approximately 60-80 years old, consequently I tasted rather Palo Cortado Muy Viejo than fresh and tangy Fino, lovely nutty, spicy and complex, a very rare treat. Moving from the shady balcony to the sunny one, La Goya XL Manzanilla Pasada went with the jamón, sardinas, tortilla y gazpacho. For main course inside to escape the 30+ degrees a lightly salted cod loin seared in olive oil with chick peas boiled with chorizo and grilled vegetables - a very suitable fish dish for the rich and ample red wines that followed. 2007 Viña Bosconia - benchmark classic style with lovely complexity, charm and character, one sniff and you’re in Rioja, really couldn’t be anything else. 2006 Trasnocho from Rémirez de Ganuza - rich and complex having reached a good level where mature spice is paired with a rigid and savoury dark fruit. Most impressive though the 2015 Muga Selección Especial - an enormous wine being dark fruity, ripe, spicy and meaty, yet with plenty of layers, nuance and finesse, yet incredible power! For my Swedish friends, this can be bought at Systembolaget right now for 299 SEK. A steal just buy it! #lebistrodelarueduvigneron #liljeholmskajen #simplehomecooking #homecomingishomecooking #lacocinaespañola #bodegassanchezromate #fino #macharnudo #bodegasdelgadozuleta #manzanilla #viñabosconia #bodegaslopezdeheredia #bodegasmuga #bodegasremirezdeganuza #riberadelduero #rioja #tempranillo #vinosdeespaña #sommelierproblems #sommlifestyle #sommelierlife #sommelier #winelover #anotherharddayatwork #drinkinmoderation @bodegasmuga @delgadozuleta @remirezdeganuza @lopezdeherediaoficial @sanchezromate
Enjoying some tasting leftovers from Languedoc-Roussillon... 2018 Ventenac Camille - a cooler style where Syrah with Cab and Merlot gives dark digest fruit with a fine herbal spiciness, mild tannin and juicy finish. 2018 La Racine Carrée is powerful Roussillon fruit yet a wine continuing to gain nuance and finesse with much more careful oak treatment. The George Bertrand certainly shows why Corbières-Boutenac is a Cru in its own right, dense and ripe with plenty of layers and a lovely peppery spiciness and serious length. These paired with a spontaneous and simple dinner - dry rubbed and grilled skirt steak, black bean salsa, ripe tomato and red onion plus the must have avocado cream in tortillas. Decadence and simplicity indeed... #lebistrodelarueduvigneron #homecooking #simplecooking #homecomingishomecooking #skirtsteak #tacodinner #sommelierproblems #languedocroussillon #laracinecarree #coteduroussillon #domainedeventenac #domainegeorgesbertrand #gerardbertrand #grenache #syrah #carignan #mourvedre #vieillesvignes #sommlifestyle #asisomms #sommelier #winelover @gerardbertrandwines
Leftover lunch... cod and mussels with white beans cooked with fennel and shellfish broth with some chilli and coriander... sort of Portuguese inspired... I thus looked for an Alvarinho but my cave du jour didn’t boast one... therefore I went for continental rather than Atlantic freshness in the shape of 2018 Nigl Riesling Urgestein... lovely match as the rich, warm and rustic flavours neede the tangy bite from the Riesling displaying line, citrus, lemongrass and pale stone fruit with an adorable freshness, bite and length... now siesta time! #cookingathome #simplehomecooking #homecomingishomecooking #cod #mussels #weingutnigl #kremstal #austrianwine #riesling #rieslinglover #wine #winelover #sommelierproblems #asisomms #sommlifestyle #sommelierlife #drinkinmoderation