This was a really particular wine lunch at In Den Rustwat (IDRW) in Rotterdam, organized by Fred Nijhuis. Fred is a wine author who focuses on Italy and was the information for the wine journeys to Lombardia, Piemonte, and Campania. For this wine dinner he chosen 37 bottles of outdated and really outdated vintages, all from the earlier century, starting from 1999 to way back to 1953! Fred calls these dinners Ouwe meuk of oude meesters, which could be translated to one thing like “Previous items of shit, or outdated masterpieces”. It’s because a lot of these bottles could also be well past their prime (and thus an outdated piece of shit), however some could turn into a masterpiece that also stands in any case these years.
It’s typically stated that wines enhance (and grow to be extra priceless) with age. This isn’t true for the overwhelming majority of wines (actually not for many you should purchase on the grocery store), and even wines that may and even must age, will attain a peak after which begin to decline. Wines with extra tannin, acid, and particularly sugar are inclined to age the perfect.
For the reason that wines weren’t actually paired with the meals, I’m describing the meals and the wines individually. The wines have been organized in 6 flights of 6 wines (with one bonus wine within the 4th flight), making a complete of 37 wines. There was additionally a pleasant glowing metodo classico from Veneto to begin with.
The primary flight was a mixture of dry Rieslings and a few miscellaneous wines. Discover the colour of those white (!) wines. All wines, each white and purple, in the end find yourself with a brown coloration.
- Pazo de Barrantes, Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain, 1996, half bottles: the bottles have been fairly totally different, one in every of them had a really good caramel aroma.
- Château Grenouille, Chablis Grenouille Grand Cru, France, 1995: full-bodied, balanced, nutty, like an Amontillado sherry.
- Schloss Saarstein, Riesling Spätlese, Saar, Germany, 1993: good aroma, nonetheless contemporary however not very advanced
- Kuehn, Riesling, Alsace, France, 1982: brown coloration, acidic
- Jean Paul Hüber, Gewurztraminer Kaefferkopf, Alsace, France, 1982: straw yellow, understated gewurz aroma, light-bodied, however nonetheless standing
- Hugel, Riesling Cuvée Custom, Alsace, France, 1982: gone
Riesling has a fame for growing older effectively, however the Gewurz had aged so much higher than the 2 Alsace Rieslings from the identical classic. The Albariño demonstrated that bottles from the identical classic, even when from the identical case and saved collectively beneath the identical circumstances, can age fairly in another way. Smaller bottles age extra shortly than bigger bottles, as a result of they get extra oxygen relative to the quantity of wine.
The second flight have been 5 candy and 1 dry Rieslings from Germany:
- Graf von Neipperg, Schwaigerner Ruthe Riesling Spätlese, Württemberg, 1999: aroma of lovage, candy & bitter, contemporary
- Graf von Neipperg, Schwaigerner Ruthe Riesling Spätlese trocken, Württemberg, 1997: acidic, outdated.
- Zach-Bergweiler-Prüm Erben, Bernkastler Badstube & Johannisbrünnchen, Riesling Spätlese, Mosel, 1961: sherry.
- Kellerei Mainz, Niersteiner Hipping Riesling Auslese Natur, Rheinhessen, 1959: unbelievable that this wine is 65 years outdated, appears younger, contemporary, good stability between sweetness and acidity, mint aroma.
- Gunderloch Lange’schen Intestine, Madenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Spätlese, Rheinhessen, 1957: brown, acidic, outdated.
- Heinrich Seebirh, Niersteiner Rehbach, Riesling Spätlese, Rheinhessen, 1953: not as good because the 1959, however remarkably contemporary and fruity for a 71-year outdated wine.
This flight demonstrates the ability of sugar for preserving wine, as candy Rieslings from the 50ies had held up higher than dry Rieslings from the 80ies within the earlier flight in addition to the dry Riesling from the 90ies on this flight. It will be enjoyable to incorporate the 1959 Riesling in a blind tasting and ask the classic — I guess that many (together with myself) would guess a classic from this millennium and be off by 40 years or so.
The third flight was purple wines from Spain:
- H.nos Perez Pascuas, Viña Pedrosa, Ribera del Duero Crianza, 1991: lovely fruit aroma, nonetheless various tannins, acidity, contemporary.
- CVNE, Imperial Rioja Reserva, 1991: oak, contemporary, light-bodied, acidic.
- CVNE, Imperial Rioja Reserva 1989: extra physique and tannin, than the 1991, however much less advanced.
- Fariña, Gran Colegiata, Toro Reserva, 1989: nonetheless loads of coloration (Toro is understood for having deeply coloured reds) and tannin, mint aroma.
- La Rioja Alta, Viña Ardanza, Rioja Reserva, 1985: advanced aroma with some caramel, brown-red coloration, acidic.
- La Rioja Alta, Viña Ardanza, Rioja Reserva, 1981: brown-red coloration, nonetheless loads of tannin, acidic.
This flight exhibits that these Spanish reds can age for 40 years or so, though I believe all of them have been higher after they have been youthful.
The 4th flight was a combination of Tuscany (Italy) and France, with a Pomerol from ‘my’ classic 1974 as a bonus:
- Castello di Ama, Vigneto la Casuccia, Chianti Classico, 1994: mild coloration, contemporary, smooth tannins, appears a lot youthful.
- Avignonesi, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, 1993: extra coloration than the Chianti, fairly a little bit of tannins and acidity, developed aroma.
- Pech Redon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vin de Pays d’Oc, 1988: lot of coloration and tannin, pencil aroma.
- Col d’Orcia, Brunello di Montalcino, 1987: mild, acidic, mint aroma.
- Col d’Orcia, Brunello di Montalcino, 1979: nonetheless fairly a little bit of physique with tannins and acidity.
- Château Haut-Marbuzet, Saint-Estèphe, 1973: outdated, acidic
The Château La Croix de Homosexual, Pomerol, 1974 deserves a separate picture solely as a result of it’s from ‘my’ classic. No surprises there, I already knew very effectively that 1974 doesn’t have a superb fame in France or Italy, and this was no exception: outdated and acidic.
The ultimate purple flight is all Nebbiolo from Piemonte, Italy. Spanna is a synonym used for Nebbiolo in Alto Piemonte.
- Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco, 1993: light-bodied, acidic, aroma of pencil
- Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco, 1992: a bit extra physique than the 1993, however in any other case very related
- Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco, 1991: aroma of bitter cherries, tannin nonetheless current
- Cantine Rion, Spanna, 1974: brown-red, acidic
- Cantine Rion, Spanna, 1970: brown, aroma like madera
- Cantine Rion, Spanna, 1967: brown, aroma like madera
Because the Spanna from Gattinara (Alto Piemonte) from 1957, ’58, and ’61 have been the Previous Masters of the earlier Ouwe Meuk dinner, it was a bit disappointing that this time round, they have been kind of gone. It was additionally clear that 1991 was a greater (if not nice) classic than 1992 and 1993 for the Barbaresco. So despite the fact that it’s 1-2 years older, the 1991 was extra alive than the ’92 and ’93. It was very nice to have the ability to do a vertical tasting of such outdated Produttori wines, though in fact it will even have been nicer to take action with higher vintages.
The ultimate flight was principally fortified wines:
- Ruffino, Croce d’Oro, Vecchio Salento Bianco, 1971, darkish brown, candy and bitter
- Ruffino, Croce d’Oro, Vecchio Salteno Bianco, 1958, darkish brown, sweeter however due to this fact extra balanced, extra full-bodied and extra advanced than the ’71
- Ruffino, Croce d’Oro, Vecchio Salento Rosso, 1959, darkish brown, extra acidic than the opposite two, and with a little bit of an ‘ouwe meuk’ aroma
- Caveau des Byards, Cuvée du Bicentenaire, Côtes de Jura, NV, golden coloured, fairly acidic
- Cantina Sociale Vernaccia Oristano, Sardinian Gold, Vernaccia di Oristano Pale Further Dry, NV, amber coloured, outdated
- Blandy’s, Duke of Cambridge, Verdelho Medium Candy Madeira, NV, brown, candy and bitter
Ruffino is a producer from Chianti in Tuscany that right here has used grapes from Puglia to make the candy fortified wines. They have been aged in picket casks and bottled later. A bit like PX, however much less candy, and extra acidic. The Jura improved a bit with white-mold or Comté cheese. Vernaccio di Oristano is just like sherry and from Sardinia. Since it’s NV the age is unknown, however this one appeared to have aged a bit an excessive amount of. The identical goes for the Madeira.
This was one other very fascinating tasting session of very outdated wines. There have been just a few wines that I might have favored to complete a glass (or bottle) of, but it surely was actually an amazing expertise. Fred talked about that his provide of outdated wines is operating low, so it’s uncertain when or if there may be going to be a subsequent session.
Now now for the meals. When you see this picture, it’s exhausting to consider that IDRW by chef Marcel van Zomeren is positioned throughout the metropolis of Rotterdam. Rotterdam was nearly utterly destroyed in 1940, however the restaurant is positioned inside this inn from 1597. We had the 5-course Alliance tasting menu (85 euros). The meals you see on this weblog is what additionally, you will get if you happen to go to the restaurant (till the menu adjustments, clearly), however the wines have been introduced by Fred and usually are not on the wine record of the restaurant.
We began with two amuses: a tortilla with zucchini hummus (that in accordance with the reason additionally included orange and mint, however I couldn’t style these) and a really good kimchi soufflé with porcini mushroom.
Subsequent was haddock with smoked eel, kohlrabi, tomato, and couscous. The fish had an ideal cuisson, however this was my least favourite dish of the menu as a result of I didn’t actually get the mixture of elements.
Subsequent was the perfect dish: completely cooked plaice with leeks, lime jelly, and Mouclade, which is mussels with a creamy saffron sauce from Charente-Maritime in France. This paired very properly with the 1959 Riesling Auslese, in addition to with the 1982 Gewurz.
Subsequent was eggplant with shiitake mushrooms and a candy and bitter ponzu sauce. This might additionally pair effectively with among the Rieslings.
The primary course was backstrap of roe deer venison with a gyoza full of meat from the shoulder of the roe deer, cauliflower, and jackfruit. In keeping with the menu there are cassis berries and oil from the department of the cassis, however that didn’t stand out for me. The venison was completely tender and medium uncommon.
We ended with cheese as an alternative of dessert, to pair higher with the ultimate flight of wines. A white mildew just like uncooked milk Brie, a smooth goat cheese, 4-year outdated Comté, blue cheese, and 8-year outdated Gouda.
The service was glorious and the meals very good. The restaurant is hoping to get its first Michelin star, let’s see what occurs.
