Dinner at Sjömagasinet, Gothenburg

The restaurant Sjömagasinet in Gothenburg is one the best restaurants in Sweden. It had one star in Michelin Rouge up until the spring of 2011 when the prevoius owner sold the restaurant and it lost its star, according to the Michelin rules. But I guess the new owner will get it back. I was there last autumn and the quality was at the same high standard last week when I revisited.

We started things of with some rosé champagne while browsing the meny.

NV Bruno Paillard Premièr Cuvée Rosé
A fine, elegant, earthy nose with notes of fresh raberries, dry licorice and a nice minerality. Very fresh and succulent on the nose.
The taste is equally fresh and elegant with a high, lovely acidity. Very nice notes of red currants and rasberries. Finish pure and salivating.
92p   (tasted 2011/11)

I then ordered the Wagner meny, named after the owner Ulf Wagner. They describe it as classic with tastes that both will surprise and are recognizable.
The amuse was a cold pumpkin soup with crab and lime - so tasty!
The first course was salad on Swedish lobster with roasted pine kernels, pistachio nuts, yellow raisins and a parmesan dressing. The flavours were precise and the lobster was lip smacking good!
The next course was a poached filet of turbot with a brown butter- and oystersauce, a baked egg yolk and a fried anchovy. That turbot was the most perfect fish I have tasted in some time.

With these two first courses we had:
2005 Pouilly-Fuissé Terroir de Vergisson, Verget
I really like the Chardonnays from Verget, and this was no exception. A fine, steely nose with lots of sweet lemons and limes, gun smoke, licorice and a touch of vanilla oak. Very good.
The taste is young, tight and promising with relatively high acidity and sweet yellow fruit. Same note of gun smoke as on the nose. Needs a couple of years to unfold.
89p   (tasted 2011/11)

The third course was a grilled monkfish "Rossini" with madeira sauce, grilled foie gras, mushrooms and truffles. It was a great dish but the turbot outshined it on this night. Since this dish was little heavier, I thought it needed a red Bordeaux.

2004 Château Belair
I have not tasted a Belair since the 1982, which I have found memorys of. I guessed that this bottle, given the vintage, would be on the lighter side, and complement the fish, not kill it.
A cool, somewhat shy nose with notes of fresh stables, blueberries, dry tobacco and some leather aromas. On the lighter side but with a nice character.
The taste is a little withdrawn with lingonberries, a dusty summer road and dry autumn leaves. Very nice with the fish but a tad dry on its own. Not a wine I will remember but it did good on this night.
84p   (tasted 2011/11)

The dessert was a yummy cremè brulée with a pear sorbet.
I slept well that night...