The sunny mountain

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Now that we're neighbors with the Zhongmeister and Winnie the Chew, I have tried to occasionally see if we could meet up over a bottle of three. I had recently acquired a batch of wines at very affordable prices - most of which were unfamiliar to me – so I was particularly eager to find excuses to pop some open. My original plan was to see if my new neighbors would be up for a casual drink after dinner, but they took this in a slightly different direction…

Dinner at Hiyama (日山) was proposed, and suddenly my friend offered to bring a bottle that cost 10 times the price of the bottle I had envisaged opening. Well, then… I needed to bring something to match! The casual bottle can wait until after dinner.

What we didn’t count on was a typhoon coming our way.

Even though I had never been, I had known about Hiyama in Tokyo being known for their beef. As we were drinking some nice bottles, it seemed only appropriate that we opt for the Hiyama premium dinner set (日山特撰).

Kuruma prawn, sea urchin, baby peach, ume somen, bonito sauce (先付：車海老、雲丹、若桃、梅そうめん、鰹だし) – it’s always so nice and refreshing to start dinner with cold somen (素麺) in warm weather. The green peach (若桃) was very sweet and nice.

Sashimi platter 3 types (刺身：特撰刺身三点盛り) – we have a Samurai Gold oyster from Niigata Prefecture (新潟県), along with young yellowtail (ハマチ) and medium fatty tuna (中トロ).

A5 wagyu chuck roll, figs, fresh yuba (煮物：A5和牛肩ロース、いちじく、生湯葉) - the sweetness of the fig tempura worked well with the sesame sauce.

Abalone karaage, sea urchin shiso tempura (揚物：鮑の唐揚げ、雲丹の紫蘇巻き天婦羅) - the sansho (山椒) sauce was nice with the abalone tempura.

Sea urchin wrapped in perilla leaves and deep-fried as tempura is always a crowd-pleaser.

We were next shown the beef for our next 2 courses, which came from Fuji Farm (フジファーム) in Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県). First up was rib eye.

Sukiyaki: selection of A5 wagyu rib eye 1 piece, assorted vegetables, Japanese rice, assorted pickles (すきやき：本日の特選A5和牛 リブロース1枚、野菜の盛り合わせ、国産米ご飯、漬け物) – I’ve always loved how they serve up a nice slice of beef over rice, with the sweet sukiyaki (すきやき) sauce blending well with raw egg yolk.

Next up was the sirloin.

Shabu shabu: Selection of A5 wagyu sirloin 1 piece, assorted vegetables (しゃぶしゃぶ：本日の特選A5和牛 サーロイン1枚、野菜の盛り合わせ) - the dashi was a little smoky, which was a nice surprise.

Cold inaniwa udon (冷たい稲庭うどん) - this came on the side with the shabu shabu, and I’ve always been happy to eat cold udon or soba.

Seasonal fruit (果物：マンゴー、パインアップル)

We opened a pair of wines from Jean-Louis Chave tonight:

1988 Chave Hermitage Blanc - started drinking around 30 minutes after opening. The nose was initially kinda closed and showed some marmalade and a little beeswax. The second pour some 20 minutes later was pretty cold, and this showed that the wine was weak and short on the palate. The last pour was drunk more than 5½ hours after opening. By now the nose was really open, showing apricot in addition to the marmalade and beeswax. Unfortunately it remained short on the palate.

1999 Chave Hermitage Rouge - started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening without decanting. The nose was kinda nice but felt a little muted. Showing some leather, plum, and a bit of acidity. Some 3 hours after opening this was very nice and fragrant, with woodsy notes.

As the typhoon continued to approach, we decided to adjourn to our place for some more vino. I had already decanted the first bottle, having read the domain’s recommendations that it be decanted at least 1-2 hours.

2016 Château de la Gardine L’Immortelle - started drinking some 2½ hours after decanting into the Daniel Ricciardo shoey decanter. The first pour was very muted, almost not showing anything on the nose. After a few minutes in the glass this got a bit funky and stinky, which was actually a bit better. Another hour later the nose yielded some stewed prunes. Was this still tight and needed more time?

1990 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - started drinking 15 minutes after decanting. This was really nice and smoky, showing grilled meats, pencil lead/graphite, and tobacco. Reminds me of a Pauillac.

By now the Typhoon Signal No. 8 has been hoisted, and it was time to call it a night. It’s pretty nice to have old friends as neighbors, and hopefully we can do this more often.