posted
Another superb lunch today. Text rather than pictures will have to suffice. I was very amused to see smartphones whipped out in synchronised fashion to photograph each dish, quite surreal in that setting. More proof or at least evidence, of the proposition that in modern life, what is not shared, did not happen...
And in that spirit let me share some details: I have lost my menu so this is all from memory. 2 Gruner Veltliners (Gruners Veltliner?) to begin: one 2008, steely and slatey, one 2001 rich, waxy and hints of paraffin. Both *** and unpronouncable. They accompanied a mackerel fillet which combined light, almost sashimi-like texture and purity with smoky, crackly parchment skin. Difficult to describe how delicious this was.
Next up a flight of serious Rieslings. 2001 Wehlener Sonnenuhr (I'm not typing that again) Spatlese from JJ Prum was absolutely on song: big wet stone / petrol nose, so much depth of flavour and just drinking perfectly, rated ****. The Auslese of the same wine, a little heavier, more tightly wound, will be utterly magnificent and smouldered in the glass. I've got 5 bottles left, and will try to leave them for another few years yet. Rated ***(**). 1990 Auslese of same wine sadly corked. 1990 Spatlese of same wine generously and presciently brought by Chris was not quite right, at first a little mushroomy note, very deep colour, worryingly so. This blew off after an hour or so to reveal a slightly sullen, powerful Riesling showing notes of kerosene and linseed oil. Not rated. Finally Egon Muller Spatlese 1999. Mozart to the Prum's Beethoven: pretty, delicate, baby powder nose, like a newborn's nursery, not a threatening bone in its body but oh, such a delicious wine. Undoubtedly will continue to develop but no disgrace to open now; please invite me if you do so. Solid ****.
With the above was a fillet of turbot with new potato and grilled leek: delicious in its own right if a little conventional by Brett's standards but the fish was a little too meaty to work well with the Rieslings.
Next up a pair of Spatburgunders. Opinions varied round the table but my mother always said if you haven't got anything nice to say then don't say anything at all. Served with a roast pork belly and fillet dish with parsnip 'presence' and truffle in perfect balance.
The lunch was rounded off with a rhubarb and custard tart which defies explanation. A fireworks display of flavour. To accompany, a 1978 Austrian Eiswein was copper coloured, smelt indeed of wet copper and tasted almost dry. Very drinkable, not hugely complex, bare ***. Alois Kracher No. 6 'New Wave' (sounds like a perfume) TBA 2004 was the full symphony: rich, thick, loaded with marmalade sweetness and real complexity for such a young wine. ****(*)
Platefuls of perfect souffle were a delightful and unexpected surprise. The cheeseboard was excellent, but wholly unneccessary and led to a Glenfiddich or two to settle the stomach in the pub afterwards. I now feel completely sober and satisfied.
Excellent company as ever and plaudits to Don, and all the team at the Ledbury.
posted
Yes, extremely cheerful and utterly delicious. Very many thanks to everybody at the Ledbury above and below stairs for their support for WIMPS over the years, and today was a lovely way to finish. It would be hard to enjoy any wine more than the Maximin Grunhauser Abtsberg Auslese 1983, only one of many delicious bottles.
-------------------- ITB (or Sir Ian as he now is) Posts: 350 | From: Basingstoke or Burgundy | Registered: Feb 2009
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Belly and haunch of aged middle white pork with parsnip emulsion and nashi pear cooked in truffle juice
2006 Moric Blaufränkisch Neckenmarkter - Austria, Burgenland, Mittelburgenland, Neckenmarkt Funky, sharp, medicinal, powerful, some Loire like bite, not refined, but I love it
2009 Becker Estate Pinot Noir - Germany, Pfalz Another prickly entry, burnt, sharp, the sweetness somehow a bit hollow
posted
Today really exemplified why Wimps had to sadly come to an end at the Ledbury with a couple of diners having to sit aside and wait fir their table to become free.
It is though with happiness that they have seen such success and the quality of food and service does deserve the full restaurant that they are experiencing now at mid week lunches.
The food was excellent today and whilst the turbot and leek didn't pair well with the Rieslings, they did work brilliantly with the subsequent pork dish and I was very happy to see the respect shown for Turbot in cooking it classically and simply with only three or four flavours on the plate.
Some really nice wines, I do think Riedling benefits from being served quite chilled as that freshness is exceptional and as it warms you see a nice a rich quality develop.
-------------------- www.winebear.com - Great Wine, Every Time! Posts: 8182 | From: London, UK | Registered: Mar 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Rupert Yardley: 1998 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube - Lay Riesling Auslese[/URL] - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer Crisp, youthful, some sweetness, but yet austere, grand and very fine
Funny enough I drank bottle of this on Monday, lovely stuff, not released until 2011 I think, not sure why.
Posts: 14130 | From: UAE | Registered: Sep 2004
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Many thanks to Don for arranging this last lunch at the Ledbury, to Brett, Anja and all the staff who make these occasions so special. Very generously soufflés were distributed as an extra after the amazing custard and rhubarb tart - both disappearing remarkably rapidly as wonderful a ccompaniaments to the very generously provided magnum of Kracher from the absent Stepehn Coleman.
I was on a jolly table with lots of knowledable Riesling drinkers which made for stimulating and enjoyable company. Topics of conversation included some of the more colourful of Marco Pierre White's antics and Chinese New Year traditions, as well as the interesting speculation that German Riesling would have been a lot more popular and mainstream had Eiswiens, BAs and TBAs not been made. It may be true but for me the world would be poorer place without them, though undoubtedly I would have a lot more spending power for other wines.
Rupert's customarily admirable notes mean others on the table don't have to work too hard to set their thoughts out, but I will add a few comments in case anyone is out there and reading this. Firstly I think the lunch showed how beautifully off dry German Rieslings partner good food. And it is not just with what many think of as the obvious choices that this is so. The more mature wines, such as the wonderful Abtsberg Auslese 1983, the Egon Muller Spatlese 1995, and to a lesser extent the Prum WS Spatlese 2001 were fantastic with the pork dish. But then Riesling and pork's affinity is well known by anyone remotely interested in wine. But older Riesling goes beautifully with certain game and even non game red meats.
Secondly I thought it was striking how different the wines were to one another. Of the two Kabinetts the Donnhoff Leistenberg, surely one of the most reliable purchases you could make year in year out, was from 2010 predictably a bigger version than usual, but it showed the telltale Donnhoff richness and fruit profile that veers towards the exotic. The Muller 2011 in contrast was more about steeliness, or maybe rather slateyness, but also a big Kabinett ( as is surely usually the case with Muller). But the delicious fruit was more grapefruit than peach, apricot, mango of the Nahe wine and the acidity more noticeable, so that overall the wine was more precise. With the scallops first course Jasper and I disagreed as to which Kabinett worked best, he nominating the Donnhoff and me the Muller; but on further consideration we agreed, I think, that it depended on how much of the blood orange you took with scallop. So less orange favoured the Muller and more the Donnhoff. Little things like this do maybe influence our impressions of wines more than we think and could therefore explain some of the variance of views on wines we share.
But it was in the next flight where the contrasts and terroirs showed through so clearly. The Prum WS 2001in contrast to Rupert's note I found marginally disappointing. The Wehlener Sonnenuhr character was there, as was the Prum nose for sure (!), but it lacked the vibrancy of other bottles I have drunk. I know Ian, who kindly brought this wine, agreed it was not a top showing of what will,with more years, be a top notch spatlese. The Muller Scharzhofberger Spatlese 1995 was very much of the Saar, though super charged, and the Abtsberg 1983 showed all the herbal, rocky character of its site, with its usual wonderful acidity. I think Von Schubert's wines are amongst the world's greatest wines and certainly some of the most under-appreciated wines.
Thirdly, the one dry German Riesling at our table, the Lowenstein 2004, assuming it not to be atypical, and I know it isn't from drinking other Grosses Gewachs wines, made it abundantly clear that for the disenchanted (because of premox and high prices) white Burgundy drinker dry German Riesling should be given serious consideration. A super wine, as were the Prum 1998 and the Kracher. But I do still find the magic in off dry Rieslings and since nowhere else in the world can do what Germany does with this style it would be a huge shame to see too many dry versions.
On Pinot noir and Germany and Austria I need more persuasion I'm afraid!
Posts: 1298 | From: london | Registered: Nov 2009
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posted
Good notes Jonathan. The 2001 Spatlese was showing superbly on our table. I will be looking out for some to buy on the strength of it, so I agree perhaps yours was a slightly off bottle.
Posts: 549 | From: wherever! | Registered: Apr 2004
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As I was on Brecht I have the advantage of the younger Mr Hopwood's notes to play with: these days I find my journey home so tiring that my former prowess at getting notes up that evening no longer appears feasible.
Both GVs were very nice, but I'm a big fan of Knoll (along with one or two others here). The Vinothekfullung bottling of the 2001 Smaragd too a while to show it's oily complexity but it did.
TCA aside, the Riesling flight with one reserve brought into action proved the flight of the day. That was never in doubt. Prummish sensibilities were pampered by a Kabinett-erring Spatlese 01, delicious on our table, and a "coiled spring" (Spenser?) Auslese of massive potential. And we should not forget the youthful '99 from Egon. Altogether satisfying for almost everyone on our table as a flight.
Now, the reds. Wimps can be many things. Sometimes it's a competition between the finest of wines and sometimes some attendees attempt to mix things up with something interesting. Two of us decided to do this today. We both blame Don as he was the first to list a red for this event. Needless to say that both culprits (myself and one I shall not name for the sake of his superior reputation) were embarrassed to have failed the table (and my bottle came very highly recommended for being ready to drink).
The sweet wines were a simple but nevertheless very drinkable '78 Eiswein and a beautifully complex and unctuous ("it's a ") Kracher. I am a big Kracher fan, and indeed drank a Tba N-Vague 06 GC from the 2001 vintage about six weeks ago. But I've never seen this in magnum, where it was youthful and fresh but also poised and concentrated. The gift of this wine was a very generous gesture, thank you.
The food was great, I can't fault anything. The pork was my dish of the day though. But also, that one new potato - wow, perfect, and the leeks as well, char-grilled, delicious. So often the simple things are transformed by Brett into something out of the ordinary.
I would like to thank Anja. She was very much in evidence today and confidently ran things, combining professionalism with an abundance of good humour. She has put up with a lot from us lot (as have former Ledbury Soms), and I think Anja's leg has been pulled rather a lot. I hope she knows it's because we all hold her in both high esteem and affection.
So, that's it, no more Ledbury Wimps (unless Brett leaves and the economy collapses totally, we can only live in hope ). But, of course, Wimps has existed now for (how many?) years because Don has been prepared to put in so much work.
Cheers - here's to our years at The Ledbury and here's to the future of Wimps at L-T.
-------------------- "I see Angels on Ariels in leather and chrome; Swooping down from Heaven to carry me home; He gave her one last kiss and died; And he gave her his Vincent to ride" Posts: 20132 | From: East Sussex | Registered: Feb 2007
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Yes, David, you are quite right to single out Anja. She is a lovely person and I think a brilliant sommelier. Clearly she is very sad we are off - though why anyone would be is beyond me!
Posts: 1298 | From: london | Registered: Nov 2009
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Very good thread, makes me understand food and riesling a lot better.
Posts: 5991 | From: edmonton alberta | Registered: Jul 2004
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It has been a few months, apart from the Christmas take-over, since I’ve made it to a WIMPS lunch and what struck me about the Ledbury even in this short time was how much the character of the lunch crowd has changed. There were business meetings at every other table, which I’ve never noticed before. It did underline why it is the right time to move on. I hope to think that the Ledbury has got as much from us as we have from them over the years, and Anja was eager to remind us that we are welcome as tables of 8 any time.
Well this was a lovely lunch indeed. We turned in an all-white performance on our table and what struck me was how adaptable the wines were between courses – I saved and returned to glasses throughout proceedings, and everything seemed to be sympathetic to everything else, with no great problem even moving between the sweet Germans and dry Austrians as the courses progressed.
There seemed to be a common view on our table that the wine most open for businesses was the complex sherbet-fresh 1995 Zilliken Auslese, and following that the 1989 Karthäuserhof Auslese GK Auktion was a real vin de contemplation with a mesmerising cabbage patch creaminess supporting a spectrum of white fruits.
Brett did us proud with particular mentions for the brilliant pork dish, generously covered in shavings of winter truffle, and the delicious tribute to Roobarb and Custard, with marmalade ice cream. I suppose I won’t have the pleasure of encountering a magnum of Kracher again anytime soon, but if I do I can’t imagine a finer accompaniment than the generous surprise soufflé. A fine finish indeed.
Au revoir Ledbury, until next time.
[ 28. February 2013, 10:37 PM: Message edited by: Daniel Brown ]
Posts: 1054 | From: London | Registered: Sep 2010
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posted
A sad farewell to the Ledbury yesterday. To be honest not the greatest of WIMPS, the food was sublime, a reaccquaintance with the Mackerel dish and a new star of the highest order in the Pork two ways, with a good Turbot dish and a very good and clever, desert.
The problem was the wines and the mismatches between them and to a lesser extent the food. Dry Gru-Vs followed by high acid, high sugar, Prums and Mullers, followed by red Spatburgunder, and then less intense desert wines was never going to be easy.
The two Gru_Vs were very pleasant, the younger being my favourite, the older maybe a bit past its best and quite short on the finish. I enjoyed them more than many Gru-vs I've had, but I still think for me its a minor aromatic grape alongside the likes of Muscat, Sylvaner, PInot Blanc and Auxerrois, not one of the major players like Riesling, Pinot Gris or Gewurtztraminer.
Then the flight of Prums, the 01 Spatlese being my favourite as I was lighter and racier than the others more kabinett-like. I'll be honest and admit the 01 Auslese was rather wasted on me, I liked it less than the equivalent Spatlese. Chris's first bottle was corked and the second was initally a bit "dirty" whether cork or something else only a chemical analysis could tell! However, it cleaned up or the fruit and sugar masked it and it became quite a decent older wine and the best match with the Pork.
The Schwarzhoffer was the first Muller I've drunk and I was intigued by the stinky, iron-y nose. A very individualistic wine and I can see why people rave after them, I liked it and would happily drink a glass or two but again I realise others appreciate these wines far more than me.
These wines are for me palate (and teeth) killers, I could taste them, maybe in my mind, for hours afterwards and my teeh are still feeling sensitive. They are undoubtedly impressive and I like them in small quantities but for me they need to be drubnk in isolation. I'm afraid I'm with the majority of the German people themselves, in that for me the greatness of German wines lie in the trocken wines, the Erste and Grosse Gewaches.
The two Spatburgunders suffered after these, however probably not as much as decent Burgundy would. The 08 Baden was all ripe cherry fruit on the nose, and probably on the palate too. It reminded me a bit of a low mid-range Kiwi pinot and was priced as such. The 07 reeked of coconutty oak, and was sweetish (perhaps) on the finish, though had a dry tannic finish. But tbh it was pretty hopeless trying these after the Prums.
I thought the 78 Esiewein was a pleasnt old sweet wine, not much complexity but perfectly enjoyable. The Kracher I was less wowed with, it seemed to get wow comments from most, but frankly I though it lacked punch and cut. It was pleasant but so are £5 bottles of TBS from Aldi! Again I'll admit that the Prums and Muller had probably seen these wines off too.
As Joel stated the Cheese Board was an unnecessary indulgence, delightful at the time but a few minutes later whilst walking to the pub causing an almighty bout of indigestion which caused me to forgo that pleasure. Not wanting to face the tube and it being a bit cold for waiting around I hopped on the first bus that came along, which quite coincidently and bizzarely ended up in Turnham Green at La Trompette! So I've sussed the lie of the land around there for future reference.
In finishing I must thank Don, Brett and all over the years at the Ledbury for some memorable times. But, and as much as it pains me to say it, Richard is right, it is time to move on.
I've seen the Ledbury full before, but yesterday was another thing, it seemded there were more tables in there and the atmosphere bordering on the manic at times with the waiters and maitres buzzing around non-stop. Us being there in those circumstances was no doubt stressful both for the restaurant and oursleves. Onward to La Trompette!
-------------------- Gareth.
Say blah blah blah to chavs. Posts: 5825 | From: Fareham, England. | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Sitting between Jonathan and Rupert with that Jasper chap nearby was a crash course in riesling and red underwear. From a neophyte's perspective, the notes seem spot on. I did get some noticeable spritz from the Donnhoff and the 2001 Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr, which also had a salty tang. The Muller Scharzhofberger Spatlese 1995 was notably darker and for me had an interesting herbal/fennel/white pepper thing going. The reds were massively overshadowed and it was all a real treat. Schubert as above, just wondrous. I am trying without success to post a picture of Don receiving the last symbolic drops from the Kracher magnum from Anja as WIMPS last rites.
Posts: 358 | From: London | Registered: May 2010
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I very much agree with the, ahem, points you make. These wines can make a perfect accompaniment to meats, especially pork and there was an amazing variety across the seven rieslings we had.
Posts: 648 | From: Reigate and Highgate | Registered: Jun 2004
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Oh, that's a decent camera. I've bought two of them, although neither for me. If funds allow I should get one. It seems to me that Canon are undisputed leaders in that sector.
posted
Your photos Rupert are brilliant. It is always such a good thing to have a visual record of what we had to eat - something Phil Wilkins has so often very kindly and superbly done.
Alistair's crash course in red underwear I have absolutely no recollection of.
Posts: 1298 | From: london | Registered: Nov 2009
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posted
An end of an era for sure, and what a fitting way for it to end. Wonderful food and service as always from the Ledbury. The pork dish may be the best course I have eaten in a long time, slightly reminiscent of an almost equally good pork dish at Medlar awhile back. Everything else was tasty as well, with the surprise addition of their famous passionfruit souffle to round things off. It is sad to think we won't be able to congregate here as a large group anymore, but it is perfectly understandable as mentioned by others on this thread. Judging from the cooking at La Trompette yesterday, there is no need to be worried about the state of Wimps in the future!
As to this fine institution, we all know it wouldn't be possible without The Don. Thank you so much for organising all these lunches at the Ledbury, and also many thanks for continuing to do it at our new home. You are a true Gent!
Finally, thanks to my tablemates for their company and generosity in bringing such lovely wines. I loved Christopher's 95 Zilliken, and thought we did consistently well in nearly all our wines. Strangely, it's my first time coming to a German Wimps, but it certainly won't be my last.
Also, a final thank you to Stephen Coleman for such amazing generosity to share his magnum of Kracher without actually being there to enjoy it! Above and beyond the call of duty, and we all owe you a glass of something special.
Posts: 3275 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2008
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Although The Ledbury can justifiably no longer accommodate us, I am sure that we have been almost as good for them, on many levels, as they have been to us. I like La Trompette and I hope that by broadcasting our acclaim, and testing their kitchen and staff to the full, we shall be able to have a similarly positive effect down there.
By the way Bobby, glad to see you survived, at least long enough for a post.
-------------------- "I see Angels on Ariels in leather and chrome; Swooping down from Heaven to carry me home; He gave her one last kiss and died; And he gave her his Vincent to ride" Posts: 20132 | From: East Sussex | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
Some more photos to compliment with Rupert's excellent photography...
-------------------- What a game, what a result!!!!! London Broncos 21-14 St Helens. Next London Broncos home game v Bradford. Challenge Cup 5th round - Twickenham Stoop - Friday 10th May 2013 - KO 20:00. Posts: 8689 | From: Deepest, darkest Cambridgeshire | Registered: Apr 2004
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who's who
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). But, of course, Wimps has existed now for (how many?) years because Don has been prepared to put in so much work.
