Last night my lovely girlfriend organised my brithday dinner- keeping it a surprise from me until the last minute.

It started off at 4.30 in the afternoon opening up some Daniel Le Brun 1997 Vintage bubbles.

Daniel Le Brun 1997 Vintage

Lovely light straw colour with a tinge of peach brushing the edges of the glass. The nose was yeasty and full, with some subtle notes of citrus and apple wafting through. The palate was quite austere for a vintage Pinot dominant bubbles with good acids creating a harder palate than expected. I was a little disappointed as this is one fo my favourite producers and their vintage wine is normally much creamier and rounded than this example expressed. Still a very good wine all the same 89 points.

We waited for the cab to arrive, and while we did we popped another bottle of bubbles from the cellar. This time a Cloudy Bay Pelorus 1996 Methode. What a contrast!!!

Cloudy Bay Pelorus 1996 Methode

The wine was heading towards deep gold with small consistant bead. The nose was elegant and was dominated by honey, vanilla, marmite (yeasty notes of a more warm sort for those that don't know marmite.), and small amounts of toffee. The palate was full and comforted the whole mouth, however the edge was a little thin suggesting it was ont he downward haul. Still far superior to the Daniel Le Brun. 93 Points . Only three bottles left so will consume these soon.

The cab arrived and we cruised off to the far side of town to Chandelier Restaurant- I didn't know we were going there. Debby told me the cabd river to head towards SPQR. Chandelier is a restaurant established after the owner's other restaurant (SPQR)became more casual. Chandelier is attached to SPQR. SPQR is THE late night place to be seen in Aucklands scoialite world. I was worried we were going to be dining there as it is NOT the palce for a romantic and quiet dinner. AS we passed the SPQR people were dancing (keep in mind this is 6.00 o'clock in the evening ..still the middle fo summer.) in the restaurants spare spaces. I started sweating, thinking about how I could steer us anywhere but there.

Debby directed me towards a beautiful marble entrance bordered by Velvet curtains that hung from the ceiling. We were greeted by a lady in a long black dress and shown through the curtains. It was like entering another world.

The floor was black marble with white threads, the tables were all polished oak, the walls were painted dark dark purple, and the only lighting was candle light (all in beautiful antique silver candle holders) and beautiful 1930's full covered crystal chandeliers. The lighting was dim and with the succulent velvet curtains, dark red victorin patterned seating , the dark walls and the beautfil but quite gothic artwork, it was like entering a Vampires tomb.

This was further eccentuated by the staff all being women and wearing long black open cleavege dress's with long open backs.
Add to this that they were all gorgeous and the thing took on a whole other almost sureal feeling.

For all this warmth and no windows the place was wonderfully airconditioned. Unnoticabely comfortable in fact. We were asked politely if we would like a drink before diner, to which we agreed.

The bar and lounge area at the back of the restaurant was slightly more modern with a little yellow and gold creeping into the furniture. The bar was awesome. And again no harsh lighting. While all the wine was visible it was obviously lit with a lights covered in smoky frosted filters, thus creating a softer dusk lighting on the displayed bottles.

Being offered the wine list I in turn offered it to Debby. She order a bottle of 2002 Felton Rd Dry Riesling.

Felton Rd Dry Riesling 2002
The colour was hard to determine in such dim lighting , but the nose was hard, racy, with steel and minerals being th most noticeable characters. Some lime and pear crept into the aromas but were more like background to the harder elements first noted. This wine was the driest wine I have ever tried including some Sauvage I have tried from France. The acids were searing and created tighteness in the mouth that is hard to vocalise or put words to. As the palate adjusted the wine showed through with pineapple and lemon. 94 points.

All in all this wine was amazing but a very hard wine to consume more than a glass of.

That was until I saw that Debs had organised some oysters for herself (I love oysters but am slightly allergic to them.) and for me a small number of scallops, fresh from there shell served raw with some light lemon sauce. Together with the wine it was sublime. As we made small talk and looked at the surrounding art and people watched a bit (which was cool because everyone talked in hushed tones- it really was like a the crypt scene in Interview with a Vampire at the Theatre de Vampir- I glanced over the wine list. All of the wine was NZ except for the Champagne and the Desert wines. And all 300 or so wines including the 1988 Krug were available by the glass!!!! The was the cellar list as well, but I thought that that would not be needed noting the names like Yquem, Krug, Dry River, Stonyridge and others all available on the standard list.

We finished our first glass and asked to be seated, the wine following us to the table. We were seated at a wonderful booth where silver cutlery and white linen created a atmosphere of intamacy in all the dark colours surrounding us. A beautiful five point silver candle stick with full length yellow candles was lit and we browsed over the menu. I didn't have to go far- Foie Gras and Brioche with Onion Compote.

The waitress then asked if I would care for a glass of Sauternes to go with our foie gras. To which Deb's replied we would. Smiling I accepted the list of Sauternes- yes they had their own list for Sauternes alone!. I said we would like a glass each of the 1990 Yquem.

As we waited for our entrees the waitress returned. I expected to here how there was none left but was happily surprised with what actually happened.

"Excuse me sir, I understand it is your birthday. yes?"

I nodded.

" A friend of yours in the kitchen would like to offer two glass's of the 67 Yquem for your birthday. Would this be acceptable?"

Well needless to say I was stunned. I discovered one of my former chefs from the VBG was now the head chef here and he was happy to pay for two glass's of this exquisite wine. I happily agreed and explained to Deb's just how great a wine the 67 Yquem is (thank you David, Boardo and others for encouraging me with this knowledge- prior to these boards I always believed 1921 and 1927 to be the best.).

Debs removed herself to the ladies to do whatever it is ladies do int he ladies, and I approached the bar to ask over how they kept so many wines fresh. He explained they had a nitrogen system , meaning they could store all of the wines open. I was impressed to say the least!!

The foie gras arrived and the wine was bought out a moment later.

1967 Yquem- ahh yeah damn awesome. A beautiful golden colour tinged with slightly more aubern edges (easier to work out with the direct candle light and white linen!.) The nose was distinctly nutty/truffley, vanilla with more subtle aromas of apricot, hazelnuts and something else that was just too subtle for my nose. The texture of this wine and its exquisite length blew me away!!! I don't know about 100 points but it was about as close to it as I have ever come. 99-100 points.

With the slight salty rich foie gras it was divine indeed.

The restaurant was looking fuller now but the noise was hardly above a murmur, everyone spoke so quietly and in turn it made you talk quietly. It was so unique.

We had ordered Venison Cutlets Medium Rare with spinach, pinenuts and Stilton. I ordered a bottle of Cornish Point Central Otago Pinot Noir 2002 with this. For a start the venison was game venison not farmer and so required a fairly robust and forward wine. For those that don't know Cornish Point it is the top pinot produced by the family of Felton Rd for friends of the family, although I do believe the 2001 and 2002 were produced at comercial levels- so possibly a little myth thrown intot he marketing so to speak.

I had bought some a while back but the restaurant owner obviously was a very good friend of the family as every vintage of Felton Rd Pinot, the Block 3 and Block 5 were all listed.

Cornish Point 2002 Central Otago Pinot Noir.
A rich purple red wine with wonderful forward fruit of black cherry, licorice, strawberry and hints of cedar and spice all playign around the rim of the glass. As the wine entered the mouth the forward part of the mouth came alive as the sweeter forward fruits came into beign in the mouth. As the wine disappeared down the throat, the acids and supple tannins created a legnth and finish that was indeed impressive.This wine was damn good , however did need some age to be drunk on its lonesome. 93 points.

With the venison however it was spot on the harder edge helping soften the texture of the venison (game venison tends to eb a little tougher from my expirience.). We finished our meals, and supped on the wine. Although desert menus were offered we felt our selves too engorged on the food of the evening and so instead opted for a small cheese selection focusing on our favourites- Gorgonzola, Stilton and White Castello. They arrived and we ordered some other wines to go with them. I opted for a glass of Vintage Armagnac - Cles De Ducs limited release 1962, while Debby opted for the 1957 Mazurans Fortified wine- a wine from Auckland. I recieved a sip of this lush and rich wine. Very powerful and sweet.

We retired ot the lounge area to finish our wines after finishign the cheese off where Debs brother showed up and drove us home. A wonderful and unforgettable night!!

Holy cow, Jeremy! That sounds like an absolute perfect evening. Thanks for the write up and once again Happy Birthday! I know you had a great one.

i am hungry(and thirsty) just reading that. sounds awesome. happy b-day, dude!

All I can say (apart from Happy Birthday) is you are a lucky man - what a night!

vtyro

Jeremy... WAKE UP! You're dreaming. Either that or you have died and gone to heaven. I hope this isn't true. If it is I must say they have a good internet connection up there.

That was a wonderful review. I almost felt (at least wished) I could have been there. The only thing I would do different would be to get a glass of the 1921.


Happy birthday you happy, spoiled [censored]

Hell of a birthday, young man!
Glad you enjoyed it!

what a way to spend you b-day. congrats my upside-down friend

she sounds like a keeper, jeremy . happy birthday again

Great write up, Jeremy. You paint quite a vivid picture. Sounded like a fantastic evening.

jb

Jeremy, my hats off to ya. That is one expertly composed view of your evening's experience. It is so artisanaly crafted that it is most certainly no dream, regardless of what Pops says, it's the real deal dude. I bow down to your pen and say all that anyone else could really say---

'We're not worthy!'

Are you sure you weren't watching "Eyes Wide Shut"?

A great write-up for a great evening. I can almost taste that d'Yquem.

Again, Happy Birthday!

Quote:

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We waited for the cab to arrive

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Why did you want some cab when you had perfectly good Champagne?

Quote:

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no harsh lighting

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The words flowed so beautifully until I came to this word. It made me stop for a second. It is way to harsh a word for this smooth reading piece. Besides you should turn the sentence into a positive. What you are really saying is that the lighting was as smooth as a virgin's ass or something like that.

Sounds great...Nice write up...

Well what do you want me to say? Smooth as a donkey's ass?

Jeremy,

Truely, as I stated up near the top, this was a wonderful piece (so to speak).

Wow! A great write up and an incredible evening! Congratulations, Jeremy!

I wish I can have a birthday like this someday!

Thank you all so much. It really was one of my most special dining expiriences. And it was easy to write because the memories came back so vividly.

Virgins ass.......hmmm that puts a new spin on it.

Wow, what a night. It reminds me a little bit of the Seinfeld episode where George gets into this fantastic nightclub filled with beautiful women, but later gets tossed out and when he goes back the next day the place is gone.

Hey Rothko,
How ya been? I've been waitign for all the jibes about how we lost the America's Cup with a boat that sunk!

Jeremy-
Sounds like a fantastic evening. Thanks for making me ravishingly hungry at 9:00 AM!