LA VIE EN LAROSE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IJzYAda1wA

Tonight we had dinner with our holiday neighbours Murray and Christine. They have a holiday house near us in McLeod Bay. As Lynn and I are working in Auckland each week our house, whilst not intended to be so, is by default our holiday house where we try and spend each weekend.
Now you would think that early January would mean that dinner would be a BBQ , eating on the deck after a swim in the water across the road but not this Summer. It has rained all day with strong cold winds. This is the same weather (but colder) that we have experienced through Christmas and New Year.
Dinner then is an in-doors, sit-down affair at the dining table and will be oven baked fare - venison, roast beetroot, Dauhinoise potatoes etc. followed by a fruit and custard tart. So. What to drink with this. Fortunately Murray, last weekend, gave us two bottles to 'stand' ready for the Saturady night dinner. He is one of the lucky few who each year manage to get their hands on Stonyridge Larose. It was Murray who provided the 2009 and 2008 vintages we drank ast year see: A Special Treat

2007 and 2009 Larose rady for imbibing

This year we had the 2007 and the 2009 vintages to compare. The 2009 was not much changed from what it was like last year. Big, bold, tannic with dense and still subdued fruit. This is a keeper and will take a while to hit its straps. The 2007 was more approachable and elegant. It too has dense fruit but some lighter edges and a bit of greenness. It will also keep for a while but perhaps not as long as the 2009. We were a bit geekish and got our guests to fill out tasting sheets (Lynn's idea - honest) which was a good exercise in evaluating the wines properly. This was done before dinner and before the Pool challenge so sensory evaluation was possible and fairly accurate. During and after dinner though we consumed a bottle of 1998 Penfolds Bin 389, a bottle of Moet and a bottle of Johanneshof Gewurtztraminer. Oh, did I mention the Seresin Chardonnay? Well, we only consumed half a bottle of that before the red wine tasting.

The Pool challenge was a draw this year - 1 game each - the wine kind of overpowered the stamina and ability to play.

It is a slow morning here, but, as it is still overcast with a bit of rain, a good morning to watCh television. I just saw "How to look at a landscape" - a brilliant essay on New Zealand painting.
I couldn't find an image of Robin White's stunning 'New Garden' but here is a classic Colin McCahon one.