Category: Wine

Wine collecting and tasting

Etretat

We got up at 10:00 am, but I’m going to use the one hour time change between England and France as the excuse.

They have a nice assortment of workout machine on the gym, although I realized that when Linda is on the treadmills she is looking at the view, while I’m looking at the drapes above the window. Anyway, Le Havre is a working port, so the view isn’t exactly scenic.

We met Martin for lunch at the creperie. The crepes were quite authentic, although I need to find a filling better than the overcooked eggplant that was in mine.

Our after noon tour took us north to the alabaster coast, so named for the which chalk cliffs. All five of us were booked for this tour, but Emilio and Audrey missed the message about the time change.

Our first stop was at the Benedictine factory and museum in Fecamp. Benedictine is a liqueur made by infusing alcohol with sugar and herbs. The founder of the company was a good marketer, and used some of the profits to build what amounts to a palace filled with collections of somewhat random objects such as religious icons and metal locks. We toured the museum and the factory, a surprisingly small space considering the make 1.5 million bottles a year. The underground cellars are extensive, since the product needs to be aged for 30 months. Afterward we were able to taste the original Benedictine or B&B, a blend with brandy. There is also a special cask version that is less sweet. Linda and I like it best, but it is only available at the factory shop, and hardly seemed worth the trouble to transport.

Our other stop was at Etretat, the coastal town that is bracketed by arches worn into the cliffs on both side. Linda and I climbed to the top of the 300-foot cliffs and enjoyed the view as the late afternoon sun set.

Back at the ship Martin helped us consume the afternoon’s canapés and then we went to dinner in the main dining room, where we enjoyed the first half of a 2000 Ch. Smith Haut Lafite blanc that was all about passionfruit, and a 2009 Caymus Special Selection that vacillated between chocolate and tobacco. I suspect that in a couple of days the rest of that bottle will be extraordinary.

After dinner we enjoyed piano entertainer Perry Grant in the intimate Michael’s nightclub. His very gay / Judy Garland fixation / interrogation of the audio about their kitchen amenities was quite funny, but could get tiresome if his act doesn’t changes from night to night. Excellent singer and piano player, though.

Southampton

Eddie Manning’s limo service provided our transfer to Southampton, and despite the skepticism with which we viewed the mountain of luggage for the five of us, it fit easily into the back of the seven-passenger Mercedes van. We were at the pier by 1:30, and onboard ship within minutes.

This is our first time cruising on Celebrity, and it’s always interesting to compare ships and lines. The Constellation was built in 2002 and refurbished most recently in 2010. Despite the fact that it’s scheduled for another one in April, everything seems new and shiny.

The layout of the ship makes it seem much more intimate than the 2000 passenger count would suggest. It pinches in at the middle, and there are many public areas where you can see both port and starboard views simultaneously.

This is the nicest suite we’ve ever had on a ship, with excellent fit and finish, and a really nice cabin layout that separates the bedroom, living/dining room and bathroom with a short hall that is also a cleverly designed closet. THe amenities are great except for the wi-fi, which is marginal at best, even on the provided in-room computer.

As with every line we’ve been on (except Costa) the crew is overwhelmingly nice and accommodating, and everyone sees to know your name by the second day.

The five of us got together in our suite for afternoon Champagne and canapés, then went our separate ways.

Linda an I caught an early show in the ship’s theatre, a well designed 4-story space in the bow, that has no columns blocking sight lines. It was a revue of the ship’s performers, and the singing, dancing and acrobatics were impressive, better than I’ve seen on other lines.

After the show we headed for dinner. The food is certainly a cut above Royal Caribbean, the parent company, but not the fine dining quality of Oceania or Regent.

Wine seems to be priced with primarily a fixed markup rather than a percentage, so the more expensive bottles are better deals, although some rare gems listed at great prices didn’t actually exist when I tried for them. A corkage charge is available for wines purchased off-board, a nice feature I haven’t seen on a cruise line before.

We took advantage of the discount available when buying three or more bottles of nice wine to stock up for the trip. The ability to have the restaurants store unopened or opened bottles for you and transfer them between restaurants on the ship is one of my favorite features of cruising.

The Phantom of Westminster Abbey and Clos Maggiore

Linda and I spent today on our own while our friends were off doing other stuff. We slept in and then found a nearby teeny tiny Japanese restaurant, Ichi-Ricki, for lunch. I’m glad the reviews I’d read warned me it was nothing but a door with a paper sign, because otherwise we’d have missed it. The restaurant is actually in the basement, and has only six tables. The sushi was very good.

After lunch we visited Westminster Abbey, which somehow we’ve missed in all our trips to London. There are a lot of people buried here who spent their lives living off public funds. There are also a few people who actually did something useful.

Outside, we walked through the cloisters, the museum and the garden. One of the more interesting sights was England’s oldest door, which apparently dates from 1050 AD, and appears to still be functional. I looked for a Home Depot sticker, but didn’t see one.

In the evening we walked to Her Majesty’s Theatre to see Phantom of the Opera in its original venue. God, I hate that show. Great music, good staging, completely ineffective story telling. My third time seeing it, and I like it a bit less each time, I guess because it seems like such a missed opportunity to tell a great story. The original movie with Charles Laughton is actually much more moving. It paled next to BIlly Elliot, that’s for sure. Not helped by the fact the audience was full of drunk Chinese who couldn’t follow it. The downside of going to a famous show, I guess.

After the show we cabbed it to Clos Maggiore, three times voted London’s most romantic restaurant. My third visit, and it always wows. Not terribly expensive, great wine list, great food and service. Everyone loved it.

We had a 2007 Ramonet Gevrey Chambertin Blanc and a 1999 Pommard by Ferdinand Laurent Pillot. Both excellent. Martin also had a 1995 Rieussec by the glass with his foie gras. But the 1965 Castarde Bas Armagnac I finished with blew them all away. Great meal.

 

Luma

Ron and Bev hosted a dinner at Luma for Allan Frischman, in town from Hart Davis Hart. Also in attendance were Keith and Parlo, and Andres and Paula. Linda had early construction site meetings all week and couldn’t attend.

Because the downstairs was booked, we met in a narrow private room in the corner near the kitchen. It’s separated from the restaurant by a beaded curtain, and was perfect for our party of eight.

Chef Derek really hit it out of the park, with the best food I’ve had at Luma. They should put some of this stuff on the menu. Highlights were the ceviche, pork belly, flounder and filet.

My raw notes:

NV Jacques Selosse Champagne (Ron)
Caramel, Creme brûlée 98

1982 Dom Perignon (Andres)
Nutty, burnt sugar, 97

2006 Ch Grillet (Keith)
Grilled pineapple, butter, spicy oak, smoke, nice acidity, 95

Chick pea soup

2001 Leflaive Batard Montrachet (Ron)
Huge floral nose, passion fruit, resin, pear, chalk, butter, 94

Snapper ceviche

1947 Lafleur Petrus (Ron)
Port-like, pickled vegetables, cherry peppers, a bit sweet on the finish, 95

1959 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse (Steve)
Camphor, slightly corky, lean, gravel, curry, spices, 92

1982 Ch Montrose (Keith)
Mint, tight, 94

1982 Ch Leoville Las Cases (Keith)
Chalk, tannin, corked, no score

1986 Lafleur (Ron)
Big, tannic, tight, a bit short, 94

Deep fried pork belly, soft boiled egg, pickled artichoke – amazing dish

1961 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection
Balsamic, redwood, soy, 92

1985 Heitz Martha’s (Keith)
Big, tannic, meaty, dust, sweet, eucalyptus, 95

Arugula goat cheese and fig salad.

1947 Château Drapier & Fils Richebourg Chevalier d’Or (Steve)
Mint Forrest, sweet fruit, forest floor, damp earth, mushroom, spicy, sweet, cherry, beef bourgignon, cigar, 99

1964 Leroy GE (Ron)
Very youthful, iron, bright cherry fruit, hay, good acid, 97

2007 Bonnes Mares Comtes Vogue (Allan)
Bright cherry, warty, balanced, nice, vanilla, 90

Sweet potato ravioli (agnolotti), cauliflower

Crispy flounder on forbidden rice

1995 Rayas ( Ron)
High alcohol, huge fruit, really young, cigar, cedar, acidic, vanilla,  cinammon, iodine, sea shells 96

1995 Ch Beaucastel CDP (Keith)
Barnyard, earthy, manure, extremely tannic, high alcohol, 88

Thin sliced filet mignon on truffle mashed potato

2001 CDP Tardieu-Laurent (Andres)
Big, sweet, cigars, smooth, tannic, smoke, long, 95

1968 d’Oliveiras Boal Madeira
Perfect balance, citrus, brown sugar, caramel, 95

Peterbrook chocolate mousse

2001 Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta Sparkling Rose (Andres)
Yeast, raspberries, peppery, very effervescent, great acid, 92

1990 Ch Suidiraut (Ron)
Phenolic, soft, medium dark color, a bit off balance, recorked in 2005 (why?) 86

1985 & 1985 Bordeaux

Every year Hart Davis Hart hosts a comprehensive Bordeaux retrospective, and this year’s event focused on 1985 and 1986 Bordeaux. HDH pulled out all the stops, with two bottles of almost every notable wine, including the first growths. There was also a lovely buffet of nice charcuterie as accompaniment.

With only 90 minutes to sample more than 40 wines, there wasn’t time for elaborate notes, but I did jot down scores in the nicely done notebook provided. My general observation was that the 1985 vintage was better than 1986 for nearly all the wineries, with the 85s still having great structure, coffee and other complex earthy aromas, tannins that will allow them to continue to age, and yet still plenty of fruit. The 86s, on the other hand, mostly seemed soft and thin, with some fruit but little structure. Too bad I have more of them than 85s in my cellar!

This event was infinitely more professional and enjoyable than the 1986 Bordeaux event we attended in New York. At that event I felt like the bargain wine was the 1986 Ch. Talbot, and I still felt that way as far as the 86s at this event. It’s not the best, but for the price it’s excellent.

However the 85s were far better, and the clear standouts to me were the first growths, with Mouton, Latour and Lafite at the top, and Haut Brion and Margaux lagging. A surprisingly weak pair from La Mission Haut Brion. The best buy is Lynch Bages, which I rated near the top first growths.

My scores:

Margaux

1985 Ch. Margaux 92
1986 Ch. Margaux 93

1985 Ch. Palmer 93
1986 Ch. Palmer 89

1985 Ch. Rauzan-Segla 94
1986 Ch. Rauzan-Segla 87

St. Estephe

1985 Ch. Cos d’Estournel 88
1986 Ch. Cos d’Estournel 90

1985 Ch. Montrose 87
1986 Ch. Montrose 85

St. Julien

1985 Ch. Leoville-Las-Cases 93
1986 Ch. Leoville-Las-Cases 93

1985 Ch. Loeville-Barton  89
1986 Ch. Leoville-Barton 86

1985 Ch. Gruaud Larose 92
1986 Ch. Gruaud Larose 89

1985 Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou 86
1986 Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou 84

1985 Ch. Talbot 90
1986 Ch. Talbot 93

Pauillac

1985 Ch. Latour 98
1986 Ch. Latour 92

1985 Ch. Pichon-Longueville, Lalande 94
1986 Ch. Pichon-Longueville, Lalande 88

1985 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild 99
1986 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild 94

1985 Ch. Lafite Rothschild 98
1986 Ch. Lafite Rothschild 94

1985 Ch. Lynch Bages 97
1986 Ch. Lynch Bages 95

Pessac Leognan

1985 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion 91
1986 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion 91

1985 Ch. Haut Brion 92
1986 Ch. Haut Brion 94

St. Emilion

1985 Ch. Cheval Blanc 95
1986 Ch. Cheval Blanc 92

Pomerol

1985 Ch. Trotanoy (corked)
1986 Ch. Trotanoy 89

1985 Ch. Certan de May 89
1986 Ch. Certan de May 90

 

White Christmas in June at Luma

Our wine group met in the private room downstairs at Luma for our first ever white wine tasting. The wines were divided into flights of Burgundy, Bordeaux, and–after dinner–Sauternes. It was fun tho have some great white wines for a change, as these are wines that are ridiculously expensive unless you’re sharing them with a group. It was quite instructional, especially the Haut Brion and Yquem verticals. As it turned out, it also encouraged the group to bring some excellent reds for dinner, and we assembled these into many impromptu flights of related wines.

Luma’s food was top notch, with nearly all of the courses being home runs except a rather limp sous vide quail (I wish that cooking style, which is basically poaching in a boiling bag, would go out of style), and so-so ribeye. The lemon verbena creme brulee was the best creme brulee I’ve ever tasted.

My wine notes:

Starters

2002 Freemark Abbey Gravel Bench Chardonnay, from Andy.
We all loved this very Burgundian California chard. Minerals, oak, gravel, butter with fruit and ash in the finish. 94 pts.

NV Leroy Duval Champagne, from John.
Toasty, nice fruit, 89pts.

NV Ruinart Champagne, from Ron.
Toast, greeen peel, crisp finish, 90 pts.

White Burgundy

1962 Corton Charlemagne, Patriarche, $180.
Although the oldest wine in the flight, this beauty was light straw color and incredibly youthful. 50 years? More like 5! Lemon, ash, a woodsy nose unfortunately developed, probably from a bad cork, tart mineral and lemon finish, very fresh, 91pts.

1971 Chassagne-Montrachet, A. Ramonet, $180.
Amber color, bizarre tomato, bacon and apricot nose, acidic, creamy finish, and awkward wine, 88pts.

1976 Chassagne Montrachet, Les Chenevottes, A. Lichine, $180.
Lovely light straw color, clean vanilla nose, ash on the tongue, tasting very young, the group’s favorite, 92pts.

1969 Chevalier-Montrachet, G. Deleger, $180.
Quite amber, floral, alcohol, geranium, heavy and a bit clumsy, 86 pts.

1969 Puligny Montrachet, Clavoillon, Domaine Leflaive, $180
Astonishingly youthful, bright straw color, ash, minerals a hint of bug spray, clean on the palate with a good balance between acid and fruit, flinty finish, the group’s second favorite and my favorite, 94pts.

White Bordeaux

1978 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $295.
Amber, closed, honey, weeds, bug spray, dust, intense lemon on the palate, rich caramel finish, improved with 30 minutes of air, 92+pts.

1983 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $295.
Spicy, candy, oily, very balanced, good acid, vanilla finish, 95pts.

2000 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $485.
Green, flinty, young, licorice, soft, creamy, lemon finish, 96 pts.

2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $375.
Balanced, creamy, vanilla, apricot, vanilla ice cream, honey, the group’s favorite, 98pts.

Lighter Reds

1981 Drouhin Grands-Echezeaux, Ron
Black olives, cherry beer, peat, balanced, smokey, 95 pts.

2003 Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape, Ron
Meat, berries, dust, spice box, cherries, jam, vanilla, a great CDP, 98pts.

2000 Barbaresco, Marc de Grazia, Dick
Cherries, dried fruit, tar, tannic, 95pts.

1983 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet, Steve
Saddle leather, smoke, dried flowers, 95pts.

1993 Fess Parker Pinot Noir, commemorative Davie Crocket magnum, Andy
Smoke, sweet finish, a really nice pinot, 92pts.

Red Bordeaux

 1983 Ch Gruaud Larose, Ron
Classic Bordeaux nose, nice fruit balance, 92pts.

1986 Ch Gruaud Larose, Steve
Similar to the 1983, but with slightly more structure, 93pts.

1981 Ch. Palmer, John
Flawed bottle.

California Reds

 1981 BV Georges de la Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, John
Waxy, fading a bit, but with traditional GDLT notes. You can tell this was just on the cusp of the winery’s decline, 90pts.

1995 Heitz Bella Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, Andy
A remarkable Bella Oaks, lots of coffee in the nose, and a sweet balanced finish, 93pts.

2004 Robert Young Cabernet Sauvignon, Andy
A pleasant wine with a simple sawdust finish, 88pts.

1997 Grace Vineyard 29, Ron
Extremely Bordeaux like, especially the nose, 94pts.

1991 Dominus, Ron
Still the greatest wine ever made in California! 99pts.

Sauternes

1999 Ch d’Yquem, tenth, $85.
The best match for the lemon verbena creme brulee, but the most out of balance of the three, 97pts.

2000 Ch d’Yquem, tenth, $213.
Smooth and balanced, softer than the 1999, 98pts.

2001 Ch d’Yquem, tenth, $300.
Definitely the best of the three, the most complex and intense botrytis aromas, but is one or two points worth the premium? 99pts.

Cognac

(1929) Tesseron XO Selection Lot 29, $320.
Complex floral, figs, fennel, candy, vanilla, mint, balanced with a long caramel finish. The only Cognac ever rated 100pts by Robert Parker. 98pts.

 

 

 

 

V&A Chef’s Table 60s Bordeaux

Our focus was on Bordeaux from the 1960s at the Victoria & Albert’s Chef’s Table on Saturday. Ron, Bev, Keith, Parlo, Linda and I assembled a collection of wines including some big names from 1961 and 1964. Perhaps it was just the incredible wines we had at V&A last week, but I was a little disappointed that these famous wines didn’t show a little better. Still, it was a fun evening, and true to his word, Chef Scott came up with a completely different ten course menu from the one we had last week.

1998 Le Grand Dame Champagne (V&A wine list $380)
Lemon creamy, surprisingly simple; quite overpriced for what it was, I thought, 90 pts

2002 Perrier Jouet rose fleur bottle cuvée belle epoch (Paula)
Dried flowers, yeast, 91 pts

1994 Ramonet Batard Montrachet (Ron)
Baking spice, intense burnt lemon rind; a stunning wine from a great producer, 95 pts

2005 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne (Ron)
Waxy, soft, butter, great match with the lobster, 92 pts

1964 Ch. Cheval Blanc (Ron)
Iron, herbs, cab franc, tar, rich, marine, iodine, spicy, vanilla; a great wine, but probably not a good example of just how great this particular wine can be,  93 pts

1964 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou  (Steve)
Classic Bordeaux nose, slightly woodsy, emerging floral character, soy; unremarkable, 89 pts

1964 Ch. Mouton (Keith)
not much fruit, coffee, over the hill; possibly not well stored prior to purchase in Italy, I suspect this wine can be better than this, 88 pts

1964 Domaine René Engel Clos Vougeot (Steve)
Bacon, smoke, mint, smoked meat, leather, paint, raisin, earthy; a good but not great Burgundy in the earthy style, 92 pts

1964 Faiveley Latricieres Chambertin (Ron)
Simple and thin as poured, developed a bit of iron, then with some air developed wood and caramel, black pepper, black cherry, game, young, acid, rhubarb; much more fruit emphasis than the Clos Vougeot, 92 pts

1961 Ch Ausone (Ron)*
Youthful, rare meat, graphite, gravel, iodine, chocolate; a great wine but considering the stellar vintage, maybe not as good as it could have been, 94 pts

1961 Château Lynch-Bages (Steve)*
Bug spray (blew off immediately), big dark fruits, mint, coffee, iron, elegant; I’ve had this wine many times, and this bottle was the least impressive in my experience, the wine might actually be in a dumb stage and need a bit more time, 94 pts

1961 Ch Gruaud Larose (Keith)*
Sweet, cherries, kirsch, sawdust, dust, Very integrated, very complex, mint, olive; a truly intriguing wine that was very atypical for Gruaurd Larose, 95 pts

*All three 61s will age many more years, but the Lynch Bages especially is age-worthy. I don’t think it would be possible to duplicate the Gruaud Larose.

1964 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve (Steve)
Cedar needles, redwood, pine, sweet, caramel, youthful, smoke, mint, fruit, raisins; probably the most redwoody BV I’ve had, it’s nice to see this so youthful, as several I’ve tried recently were faded, 92 pts

1958 Biondi Santi Brunello (Keith)
Meat, a bit short on fruit, Acidic; not my style, 84 pts

1975 Ch Ducru Beaucaillou (Keith)
Classic 75 Bordeaux nose, a bit of wax, coffee, tight; will the fruit out last the tannin so this can achieve balance? 90 pts

1975 Ch Pichon Lalande (Keith)
Corked, seems tight, no score

2005 Malescot Exupery (Paula)
Earth, tannin, tar, brush, chewy, feminine, meat, vanilla, needs 10-20 years; a very nice wine, cut down in its youth! 94 pts

1988 Grange (Ron)
Tight, high alcohol, very tannic, not ready to drink yet, good fruit, high acid, a lot of wood; this wine was controversial as Ron like it a lot, but I found it unyielding; it’s so hard to find a Grange that’s ready to drink, no score

90 Ch Suidiraut (Ron)
Medium brown, slightly oxidized nose, Creme, caramel, spicy; a nice enough wine by itself, but it seemed very tired next t the Yquem, 90 pts

96 Ch d’Yquem (Ron)
Lucious vanilla, great acid, long, balanced; well, it’s always superb, isn’t it? 97 pts

The new lobster dish was a hit.

 

This new dessert was beautiful, but I still think dessert is V&A's Achilles heel.

 

This was the busiest I've ever seen V&A. The ordinarily calm kitchen seemed on the edge of frenetic.

 

Victoria & Albert’s Dining Room

We usually go to the chef’s table or eat in the Victoria Room at V&A, but Ron invited us on the spur of the moment to bring some nice wines to Victoria and Albert’s for dinner, and only the dining room was available. As it turned out, the venue was terrific. Israel provided the same wine service we’d get at the Chef’s Table, and Anita was our server. Chef Scott came up with an eleven course menu that was mostly new to us, and every item was a home run. He also indicated that there won’t be many repeats when we return next weekend for the chef’s table, so that will be interesting.

One of the reasons for the event was so that Ron and Bev could use an overnight stay they bought at a charity auction. But the other reason was to get together and enjoy the “other” Burgundy. By “other,” I’m referring to the remaining wine from a pair Ron bought from a store a number of years ago. The first, an 1899 Clos Vougeot, was the greatest wine I ever tasted. Its mate, an 1893 Corton, was a wine we’d long anticipated sharing. I did my best to match it, with a 1929 Bonnes Mares, but there was no stopping the Corton. It has been elevated to my new bench mark for best wine ever. You can tell from my notes that there was no stopping it. For three hours it evolved in the glass.

Of course, we still haven’t learned our lesson to serve the Burgundies after everything else, and some otherwise great wines, like my 1959 Lynch Bages, paled in comparison. Oh well, a good problem to have.

It was a great evening, and I’m sure we’ll repeat this approach, since the dining room worked out so well. What a terrific restaurant.

2006 Leroy Duval Champagne (purchased from the wine list)
Beautiful bottle, a bit of toast, green fruits, 93 pts

2007 Lynch Bages Blanc (purchased from the wine list)
Sauvignon blanc nose, soft on the palate, flinty, lemon, chalk, soapy floral finish, 92 pts

1939 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve (Steve)
Medium garnet, delicate old fruit, varnish, medium bodied, sawdust, leather, gained in weight with some air, 90 pts

1893 Corton (Ron)
Lemon, vanilla, caramel, ash, Twix bar, fig newton, full of fruit on the palate, charred green wood, like drinking caramel sauce, soy sauce, floral, cherry, orange rind, very long, amazingly youthful, perfect balance, bacon, 100 pts

1929 Boisseaux-Estivant Bonnes Mares (Steve)
Iron, chocolate covered cherries, dust, huge fruit, blackberry, beef blood, drinking like a 1980, 98 pts

1955 Château Lynch-Bages (Ron)
Corked, excellent fruit very youthful, no score

1959 Château Lynch-Bages (Steve)
Very young, extremely balanced, meat, vanilla, coffee, meat, tobacco, cigar box, short, 92 pts

1978 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (Ron)
Very pronounced Cabernet Sauvignon character, peppers, coffee, chocolate, mint, vanilla, red fruits, cherry, 95 pts

1990 Ch. Suidurat (Ron)
Balanced, honey, great match to the apple dessert, 93 pts

Four Decades of Margaux

It had been many years since we did a vertical of a first growth. Linda and I have been collecting Chateau Margaux for almost 30 years, and decided it was time to give them a try. I split our collection into two tastings. This first batch begins in the middle, a tough time for Bordeaux and Margaux in particular.

We tasted the wines in reverse chronological order, from 1975 to 1949. Margaux was a property in decline during the 60s and 70s, and the first seven wines really reflected this. Even the 70 and 75 were uninspired. The 75 is probably the worst price performance ration of the bunch. The 66 and 64 were the first wines I would actually have consumed!

The reward was at the end While the most famous Margaux is perhaps the 59, it has never blown me away, but this was an excellent example. However it was eclipsed by the other three. 62 is an often overlooked year, having occurred in the shadow of the great 61s. This 61 did not disappoint. Despite an extremely low shoulder, it was a beautiful wine with many flavor profiles. But the stunner was the 1949, an extraordinarily fresh, feminine and complex wine that evolved in the glass for hours. A real treat to end on.

In September we’ll complete this tasting with vintages from 1977-1990.

1975 Ch Margaux Smoke bacon, tart, sour finish 84pts 432
1973 Ch Margaux Overripe fruit, stewed, sweet finish 85pts 175
1972 Ch Margaux Sawdust, oak 88pts 286
1971 Ch Margaux Face powder, cherry, balanced, coffee 89pts 225
1970 Ch Margaux Bug spray, ashes 88pts 212
1969 Ch Margaux Candy, funky, chemicals 83pts 220
1967 Ch Margaux Madeirized, bacon 84pts 158
1966 Ch Margaux Eucalyptus, mint, dust 89pts 188
1964 Ch Margaux Big fruit, wood finish, much disagreement about mildew, chocolate, caramel, the group was vehemently split on this wine, with some hating it 90pts 293
1962 Ch Margaux Fruity, young, violets, red fruits 94pts 629
1961 Ch Margaux Extremely low shoulder yet beautifully fresh, roses, sawdust, soy, earthy, waxy 97pts 910
1959 Ch Margaux Young and fresh, smoke, waxy 93pts 1,167
1949 Ch Margaux Cherries, bright fruit, light color, cinnamon, crisp, apple 99pts 1,643
6,538

Other wines:

2008 “Y” Steve botrytis, very fruity, dry but doesn’t seems so, semillon 99pts
1981 Alzeyer Sybillenstein Spatlese Ron medium amber, mint, floral, surprisingly sweet 89pts
2006 Adobe Road Pinot Noir Steve Varietal, cherries, leather 90pts
2006 Chateau Beaucastel CNDP Dick Cherries, vanilla 92pts
2000 Clos de Papes Ron Menthol, tar, cherries 94pts
2001 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello di Montalcino Dick tar, chewy, black fruits 95pts
2006 White Oak Syrah Andy Vanilla, meat 90pts
2001 Marquis Phillips S2 John Syruppy, canilla 90pts
1999 Pride Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Ron Wood, a bit uni-dimensional considering its pedigree 95pts
2002 Torbreck “The Factor” Ron Black fruits, vanilla, bacon 92pts
1992 Hacienda Henline Conquistador Port John This wine was made in 1992 by John Henline from grapes from a vineyard at Martin’s old house that were planted by Steve, Linda and Martin. It is no longer a port, although I don’t know where the sugar and alcohol went. It’s now a medium weight fairly dry red. Amazingly, the Conquistador has retained its color, and the wine was quite drinkable, an impressive feat for such an old hybrid. 83pts

Lunch at Capital Grille

A typical 5-1/2 hour lunch with Ron & Bev at Capital Grille. Also in attendance: Andres, Paula (for 20 minutes!), Keith, Parlo, and Carter. Thanks to Ron for setting this up, and to everyone who brought phenomenal wines. A great afternoon!

The wines:

96 Krug (Ron)
Green apple, bread, cinammon raisin buttered toast, really long, 99 pts

87 Fiorano Boncompagni Ludovisi (Keith)
Nutty, dried honey, maderized, 90 pts

2003 Georg Breuer Berg Schlossberg Rheingau
Petrol, almonds, dry, good acid, orange peel, 92 pts

2007 Ch “Y” (Keith)
Floral, minerals, spices, super complex, pumpkin, fat, menthol, cocoanut, super balanced, 99 pts

2002 Corton-Charlemagne Bouchard Pere & Fils (Ron)
Apricot, candy, floral, mineral, lemon custard 94 pts

1998 Vietti Barolo Rocche (Andres)
Pine needles, chewy, tar, tannin, 91 pts

89 Ch Bahans-Haut Brion (Steve)
Classic graves nose, chocolate, tobacco, coffee, 94 pts

69 Romanee St Vivant Domaine Marry-Monge (Ron)
Dried cherries, brush, wood 97 pts

69 Leroy Echezeaux )Steve)
Raspberry, cloudy- shaken up, tomato, shipwreck, 92 pts

89 Ch Lynch Bages (Keith)
Tight, huge, chewy, tar, long, mint, not ready, 94 pts

86 Ch LaFleur (Ron)
Double decanted 7 hours
Tight, tannic, closed, 96 pts

98 L’Ermita Priorat (Keith)
Chewy, ripe, good acid, meat, 95 pts

83 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Emidio Pepe (Andres)
Sweet and sour cherries, balanced, vanilla, citrus, 95 pts

66 La Mission Haut Brion ( Ron)
Huge, dust, very ripe, fresh, tar, sweet, charcoal, inky, smoke, black fruits, 99 pts

2001 Solaia (Keith)
Dusty, very tannic, chocolate, black fruits, mint, 93 pts

83 Diedesfelder Pfaffengrund Auslese (Steve)
Fairly sweet, orange rind, spearmint, minerals, medicinal, 93 pts

1995 Ch d’Yquem (Ron)
Figs, balanced, candy, 97 pts

2004 Jos Christoffel Jr Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling
Musty petrol, 88 pts

An Evening with the Sommelier

Last night was the bi-monthly Vine and Dine at the Rosen Everglades restaurant. Linda, Matin, Dani and I attended.

This is always a fun event because of the dedicated staff. I think Chef Fred enjoys getting to try some different things, and always come up with one or two home runs. This time it was the cheese and dessert course.

The wines were better than usual, and the event was moderated by DLynn Proctor, an interesting guy whose progress toward the Master Sommelier title is chronicled in an upcoming indie movie called SOMM. We had a nice chat, and I think he’d enjoy attending one of our non-Syndicate events.

This was Dani’s first chance to attend a vine and dine event with us since turning 21, and we all had a good time. She even won the raffle, and took home a bottle of Beringer 2009 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, which she’s asked me to put in the cellar for her. Unlike the Knight’s Valley, this one definitely needs some time.

The menu:

Welcome Reception

Penfolds “Thomas Hyland” Riesling Adelaide 2008
(Rated 90 pts Wine Spectator & Top 100 Best Values) .

First Course

Heirloom Beets, Goat Cheese and MicroGreens Pistachio Vinaigrette
Matua “Paretei” Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough New Zealand 2008
(Rated 92 pts Wine Spectator)

Second Course

Seared Sea Scallop, Celery Root Cream and Candied Grapes
Chateau St. Jean “Belle Terre” Chardonnay, Alexander Valley 2009
(Rated 91 pts The Wine Advocate & Margo Van Staaveren, voted 2008 Winemaker of the year by Wine Enthusiast)

Third Course

Elder Blossom Sorbet

Fourth Course

Filet of Beef with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Cipollini Onion Ragout
Smoked Tomato Grits and Grilled White Asparagus
Paired with two wines to contrast Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa & Sonoma:
Beringer “Knights Valley” Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma 2009
(Rated 91 pts The Wine Advocate)
Beringer “Napa” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2009
(New Release not yet rated. Past wines scores in the 90’s)

Fifth Course

Penfolds “Club” Tawny, SE Australia
Paired with Duo Dessert plate to contrast one wine with two different food pairings:
Artisan Cheeses & Engadiner Nut Torte with Chocolate Truffle

 

Aged Rioja

Keith Edwards organized a stellar tasting of old Spanish Riojas. The event was held at the Bull & Bear restaurant at the Waldof Astoria. Attendees included Keith and his wife Parlo, Russell Edghill, Ron and Bev Siegel, Linda and I, plus industry guests Dhane Chesson from Vibrant Rioja, and Master Sommelier Andrew MacNamara.

Keith is quite the scholar, and he prepared an amazing booklet to accompany the event, with notes on Rioja and pictures of the wine labels. The wines came from Keith, Ron’s cellar, and I contributed the oldest wine, a 1925 Marques de Riscal.

Andrew moderated his event, and poured the wines in reverse chronological order, an approach that I have also been gravitating to of late.

This was an eye-opening tasting, because Rioja wasn’t really on my radar, and I was shocked to find that after 20 years or so it has much in common with our old favorite, BV Georges de la Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that was only interesting prior to the 1980 vintage. This is curious, since Rioja is mostly Tempranillo, but it is probably due to the American oak barrels and a certain amount of oxidation.

What a great discovery, because it now means we have a whole new category of interesting, old, and fairly affordable wines to look for!

Tasting

The Rioja was poured in three flights. Linda observed that, unlike in other areas, there seemed to be no relation between price and quality.

The first two flights were interesting, but the third flight was stellar! I believe my rankings were almost identical to Ron’s ad there was surprising consensus amongst the group.

My notes:

Flight 1:

2001 Vina Ardanza $50?

Stewed vegetables, dill (the result of the oak), spices, 88 points

1999 CVNE Imperial $50.97

Stewed, dill, 89 pts

1997 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 $49.98

Extreme dill pickle, pepper, 90 pts

1991 Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Gran Reserva 79.50

Balanced, wood, higher acid than the 1981, but similar BV style, 94 pts

1985 Bodegas Montecillo Vina Monty Gran Reserva $50

Corked

1982 Muga Gran Reserva Rioja $159

Oak, figs, gravel, 89 pts

1981 Bodegas Montecillo Vina Monty Gran Reserva $50

Very reminiscent of BV, slightly light on fruit, 92 pts

Flight 2:

1978 Marques de Caceres Rioja Gran Reserva (Ron) $50

Sweet, balanced, woody finish, almost too clean, 100% French oak, 89 pts

1978 Castillo Ygay $214.20

Caramel, raisins, volatile acidity, 87 pts

1976 Lopez de Heredia Vino Bosconia (Ron) $120

Big mint, graphite, 91 pts

1973 la Rioja Alta Gran Reserva Cuvee Centenario (Ron) $125

sweet, balanced, coffee, 92 pts

1976 Muga Gran Reserva $199.99

Dust, raisins, coffee, 89 pts

1970 Lopez de Heredia Vino Tondonia $191.22

Good acid but rough wood, 87 pts

1970 Faustino I Gran Reserva $104.54

Dates, 90 pts

Flight 3:

1968 Vina Valoria Rioja (Ron) $100

Chocolate, cherry, candy, caramel, mint, very balanced, 95pts

1968 Lopez de Heredia Vino Bosconia $416.49

Smoked meat, oak, gun oil, mint, floral, oak, 97pts

1964 Faustino I Rioja Gran Reserva $168

Smoke, sweet, creamy, chocolate, 94pts

1964 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 $257

Sweet, smoke, balanced, dust, cooking spices, 95pts

1961 Lopez de Heredia Vino Tondonia (Ron) $150

Tart cherry, vanilla, perfume, outclassed, 89pts

1925 Marques de Riscal (Steve) $252

Perfect color, youthful, great fruit, waxy, balanced, chocolate covered brandy marinated cherries, charcuterie meats, smoke, dust, balsamic, candy finish, held up in the glass for 3 hours, a remarkable wine, 99pts

For a detailed analysis of the wines, visit Keith Edward’s blog.

Dinner

Following the formal tasting, a terrific dinner was served by Arnaud, including:

 Steak Tartare

Best version I’ve ever had, served with an herbal sauce, and minced perfectly, with a wonderful crunchy/salty component as well. A new invention of the restaurant, and a great dish.

Corn Soup

With caviar and truffle. Creamy and wonderfully complex.

Escargot and Mushroom Gnocchi

Served in a rich and delicious buttery flan. I don’t even like gnocchi, and this was great.

Steak and Filet of Sole

This was actually the weakest course! The steak had that gamey, stringy texture from dry aging that I don’t like, and the fish was extremely salty, probably the result of a mistake.

Dessert

A nice assortment of cheesecake, creme brulee, and a couple others.

Other Wines

Of course 20 Riojas was just the formal tasting. Then there were the wines passed at dinner!

Jacques Sellose Champagne (Ron)

Superb as always, toasty, perfect, 96pts

Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne 2002 (Keith)

Creamy, citrus, crisp, 94pts

2009 Adobe Road Sauvignon Blanc (Steve)

Served blind, and caused quite a discussion. Unidentifiable as SB, but great. 95pts

1999 Domaine Francois Raveneau Butteaux, Chablis Premier Cru (Ron)

Sublime Chablis, creamy and smooth, complex, toasty, 98pts

1995 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 (Dhane)

From magnum. Tart, off balance, high acid, salty, musty, 86pts

1978 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, Médoc (Russell)

Superb Bordeaux at its peak, like driving down a dusty road in a bell pepper field, 95pts

1959 Nuits St. Georges, Naudin (Ron)

A superb old Burgundy that I wish had been served before dinner, as it got a bit lost in the shuffle. Burnt orange rinds. 95pts

Pommard Les Rugiens, Montille (Keith)

Potentially a great bottle, and the nose was good, but sadly undrinkable.

1999 Barolo, Rinaldi (Keith)

Caramel, spice, sweet chocolate, floral, cigar, nuts, 92pts

2000 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee da Capo (Ron)

100 point Parker wine. Smoke, meat, cherries, 95pts

 2004 Grange (Keith)

Another wine that sadly got lost in the shuffle. I wish this had been served with the meat, but it came after dinner and was immediately faced with sweet wines. Tarry, figs, tannic, drinking very young but more accessible than most young Grange, 94pts

1971 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Pedro Ximenez Gran Reserva (Andrew)

A remarkable dessert wine, with huge acid to offset its sweetness, and wonderful complexity. Drinking very young. Grape jam, figs, raisins, very balanced, 97pts

1999 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume, France, Loire (Andres)

A Sauternes-like wine from the Loire. Great botrytis and apricot nose, but off balance, 89pts

1927 Alvear Solera (Steve)

Rather simple and cloying after the 1971 PX, 89pts

1989 Angelus (Ron)

A massive wine, not within 20 years of being drinkable. Inky, chewy, tar and tannins. Impossible to score at this point.

Wow, what a great evening! Thanks to Keith for setting it up, and to everyone for their thoughtful comments throughout the tasting.

Amaros

Amaros are Italian digestifs that are an herbal combination of bitter and sweet. They are made by adding herbs and sugar to grappa, a rather nasty spirit distilled from the dregs of Italian wine-making. I first encountered them at The Stained Glass in Evanston, and have since had them in a few other restaurants, including a flight at Marea in New York. They are flavored with different herbs, including cardamom and rhubarb. Each producer has their own unique recipe.

In the picture above, they are arranged , more or less, from bitterest to sweetest, with the one on the right more like a liqueur. My favorite is still the first one I ever tasted, Amaro Nonino.

The one on the extreme left is too bitter for me to drink, but the rest are all interesting and good. Since they are simultaneously bitter and sweet, most work either before or after a meal.

The Table

The Table is a unique restaurant in the Dellagio complex on Sandlake Road. The Table offers up to 18 guests seating at a single table, similar to a dinner party. The experience begins at 7:00 p.m. with wine and passed hors d’oeuvres. That’s followed by a five course dinner with wine pairings. The cost is $100 per person, including tax and gratuity.

The table is owned and operated by Loren and Tyler Brassil, chefs who are also culinary instructors. You eat whatever they decide to serve. They claim to never prepare the same dish twice, and they use almost exclusively local foods. In fact, they almost never order food. Instead, local providers deliver organic produce and proteins and they work with what is available. For example, a local farm delivers a box of greens, a local dairy provides heavy cream with twice the fat content of normal heavy cream, and so on.

The Table is normally only open Friday and Saturday nights, but Martin and I attended a special event on Tuesday, hosted by Foxen Winery, a top-end producer from Santa Maria Valley, one of my favorite wine areas.

The meal was quite spectacular. You can read the menu in the picture of dessert.

The food perfectly matched an impressive array of wines, presented by Winery owner Jenny Dore. The top end Foxen wines are in such short supply that the leftover bottles were sold at the end of the meal (Martin and I bought the rest of the Bien Nacido Pinot Noir), and I asked to be put on the waiting list for Foxen’s Anchor Club.

Lange Estate Winery and Vineyards at Everglades

The Vine and Dine events at the Rosen Centre Hotel are always fun. We enjoy the home grown atmosphere, and Chef Fred Vlachos rises to the challenge with some interesting dishes that I suspect are a stretch for him, but almost always delight.

Lange is a highly regarded Oregon Winery, and the winemaker, Jesse Lange was a cheerful host. The wines were sound, and matched the food for the most part (although pinot noir does not go with chocolate). It was a bit weird to have a wine dinner where three of fice wines were pinot noir. And I have to say that after drinking some great Burgundies, Oregon wines are… well, boring.

Still, a lovely evening, and a great bargain at $65.

Welcome Reception
Lange Pinot Gris ‘Reserve’ 2010
grapefruit, lime zest 87

First Course
Roasted Onion Soup with Smoked Rainbow Trout Sausage
Lange Three Hills Cuvee Chardonnay 2009
Lime, flint, butter, ash, long 92

Second Course
Grilled Coho Salmon
Rye Berry and Artichoke Ragout served with whole grain mustard sauce
Wow! The rye berries were the highlight of the dinner!
Lange Pinot Noir “Willamette Valley” 2009
Spritsy, burnt wood, leather, berries, cola, licorice, old world Pinot 89

Third Course
Cranberry and Port Sorbet

Fourth Course
Herb-Crusted Bison Strip Loin
Roasted Root Vegetables and Madeira Foie Gras sauce
Lange Pinot Noir “reserve” 2009
Baking spices, Fairly big and tannic, smoke, tannic, new world Pinot 90

Fifth Course
Chocolate Mousse and Ganache Tart
Port Soaked Figs
Lange Three Hills Cuvee Pinot Noir 2006
Fairly big, chocolatey, blackberry, earthy, black pepper 90

Adobe Road at Luma

Luma and Adobe Road put on what was perhaps the best food and wine pairing dinner I’ve ever attended. It was held in the private room in the basement, which had been cleared out to accommodate more than 30 guests at a single, large table (a collection of smaller tables “Tetrissed” together, according to our waiter).

The event was hosted by the very personable Kevin Buckler, a race car driver (and now manager of a racing company with 23 drivers). I had assumed Kevin just owned the winery as a trophy, but he’s actually very involved in all aspects of the operation, and determines the styles of the wines. He has some opinions about styles that are not in sync with the mainstream, but I completely agree with him. For example, he uses year old Chardonnay barrels on his Sauvignon Blanc, which produces a wine much more like an elegant white Bordeaux (think Laville Haut Brion) but with some new world fruit including citrus and pear.

We were stunned by how good the food was. It was like Luma had turned into a completely different restaurant. Apparently Chef Bernard devised the menu, but wasn’t there to prepare it. Whoever did it was very talented. And I’ve never had better food and wine matches, especially the first two courses. Martin and I brought some old Adobe Road from our sellers, which Kevin and those seated near us enjoyed comparing to the new vintages.

Great winery, great restaurant, and a great event for $140 a head, that’s for sure!

Stone Crab

2009 Adobe Road Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc
Pear, citrus, 1 year old chardonnay barrels, vanilla, Ash, like a tropical Laville Haut Brion blanc, 92 pts

Rabbit Sausage

2008 Adobe Road Sonoma Chardonnay
Spice, vanilla, perfect balance, buttered toast, longest Chardonnay I’ve ever had, 95 pts

Smoked Salmon

2007 Adobe Road Sonoma Pinot Noir
Dust, dried cherries, black fruits 89 pts

Duck Confit

NV Adobe Road Red Line
Zin and Cab blend, bright berry fruit, hint of cinammon 85 pts

Braised Short-Rib Ravioli

2007 Adobe Road Knights Valley Babarian Lion Cabernet Sauvignon
Slight hint of geranium (sorbate), Great melted mint chocolate finish 91

2003 Adobe Road Cabernet Sauvignon (brought by Steve)
Meaty, mint, meat, terrific structure 95

2004 Adobe Road Cabernet Sauvignon (Martin)
Road tar, less tannic than 2003, Bordeaux like, gamy 93

Chocolate Mint Ganache

2007 Adobe Road Dry Creek Kemp Vineyard Syrah
Vanilla, game, berries, cinammon 90 pts

2008 Adobe Road Beckstoffer Cabernet Sauvignon
Balanced, peppery, vanilla, spices, surprisingly light and drinkable 90 pts

Scott Joseph’s Supper Club at Taps Wine, Beer and Eatery

Scott Joseph’s Supper Club is a group that meets at different restaurants around town. It’s usually a fairly upscale wine and dine experience, so I was a bit surprised when this event was posted at a wine and beer bar. But the intriguing thing was the format: five courses, each paired with a wine and beer. I thought it would be interesting to see which matched each course best, and indeed it was.

Most wine events start out with everyone attentive, and then devolve into chaos, where the participants can’t hear the moderators over the chatter in the room. This didn’t happen at Taps, due to the fact that the room was already in chaos at the start of the event! Fortunately, the servers were able to clue us in to what we were eating and drinking, because otherwise we would have had no idea! Still, it was a fun and entertaining event, and we enjoyed Chet and Loren and Martin’s company. I think this was the first event like this that Chet had been to, and he was a good sport about some new dining experiences.

The wines, beers and courses were:

Paco & Lola Albarino
Blue Point Toasted Lager
Bruschetta trio

Kendall Jackson Avant Chardonnay
Radeberger Pilsner
Tuna tartare

La Crema Pinot Noir
Xingu Black Beer
Cheese Quesadilla

Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon
Tommyknocker Maple Brown Beer
Italian sausage slider

Frontera Moscato
Magic Hat #9
Apricot Bread Pudding

The wines and beers were all good products, except for the Moscato, which was too low in acid to bother with. In each case I preferred the wine, but didn’t think it was well-selected to match the food. So all five times I found myself drinking the beer with the food. The last course was a particularly challenging match, and although I didn’t like the beer by itself, the match was masterful.

Several of us liked the black beer the best, although I would have liked something even closer to stout. Surprisingly, Linda–who isn’t a beer drinker at all–liked the yellow beers, particularly the first lager.

All in all, an interesting and fun (if noisy) experience.

Berns Burgs

Last night we explored some old Burgundies at Berns Steakhouse in Tampa, with our friends Ron and Bev Siegel.

Our tasting began before we even arrived. Our driver Angelica picked us up at 4:45 pm and we met up with Ron and Bev at Champion’s Gate, where we transferred to Caesar’s van for the trip to Tampa.

On the way we enjoyed a Krug Champagne from Ron’s cellar. It was toasty, and seemed food friendly, but not nearly as complex as the “wine of the night 1996 Krug we had a couple of weeks ago.

We arrived at Berns at 6:30, just as Drew–Ron & Bev’s favorite server–came on. Drew kept us well stocked in all the Berns staples throughout the evening, as we dined on caviar, soup samplers, Caesar salad, and steak (or in my case big eye tuna).

Brad Dixon acted as sommelier throughout the evening. The night was a bit more challenging than usual, as in early December David Laxer, owner of Berns, had raised the price of many of the old Burgundies, in a lot of cases doubling them. So it took some hunting to find the best prospects on the list.

We began with 2005 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses Clotilde Davenne. It offered lemon, minerals, and butter, but at $130 I didn’t feel it was as good a value as Les Clos. 92 points.

1961 Echezeaux Pierre Ponnelle was a beautiful garnet, drinking very young, with a nose of meat, iron, smoke, and fat; sweet cherry on the palate, finishing with Asian spices, mushrooms, soy sauce, curry, and a lingering herbal character. At $400, it proved to be the wine of the night (a bit unfortunate since it was the first red, and we could never top it!) 97 points.

1953 Corton Clos du Roo Domaine Ponnelle should have been the best wine of the evening, but it struggled to overcome a closed nose. Garnet brown, its nose was iron, minerals, and earth, somewhat herbal, with some red fruit on the palate and a chocolate caramel finish. Probably not worth $600. 93 points.

1961 Vosne Romanee Les Beaumonts Charles Noellat was a lovely youthful wine, but it nose of leather, mint, bacon, and cinnamon, and its sour cherry mouth didn’t come close to the complexity of the other two Burgs. Still, a good deal at $230. 91 points.

We also opened a 1918 Vougeot and a 1964 Drouhin that were not drinkable, and were rejected by Brad on nose alone. Too bad about the 1918, which eventually developed a very intriguing nose, but was mysteriously turbid, top to bottom.

1953 was a great year in Burgundy, but 1961 was not the stellar year that it was in Bordeaux, so I had experienced few of these wines before, but I think I will return to this vintage, as the wines were very youthful.

With the main course we shifted from Burgundy to Bordeaux when Ron spotted a 1945 Ch Grand Puy Lacoste on the list for about $600. This was the year of the century in Bordeaux, and the bottle was in pristine condition. Lacoste is a Pauillac, and sometimes drinks like Lafite. This one was deep dark ruby, tannic on the palate, with a traditional dusty nose. There were also meat and vegetables, and the characteristic candle wax. A lovely wine, not a first growth, but very food friendly. 92 points.

After dinner we adjourned to the upstairs dessert rooms for some Madieras from the early 19th century. I particularly enjoyed my 1839 Verdelho, which was served from a brand new bottle. Verdelho is off-dry, so you want to drink it before, not with dessert. I’d never had a Madiera at Berns from a freshly opened bottle, and the fresh citrus in the nose was lovely. This is pricey at $44 a half ounce, but through a mix up my pour was about three times that, making it a deal.

As usual, Ron and Bev closed the place, and we found ourselves alone in the lobby at 1:30 am. Having brought pillows, we dozed on the drive back, arriving home at 3am on the dot. Quite an excursion to celebrate the end of 2011!

1996 Champagne at Vintage Vino

Ron arranged this tasting and dinner at Vintage Vino in Kissimmee, and provided nine Champagnes from the classic 1996 vintage. Our group of eight included Ron, Bev, Keith, Parlo, Andres, Paula, Linda and me.

We began with sushi, a cheese plate (delicious lemon Stilton), and caviar on blinis. The warm up wines were 2003 Ch Carbonnieux (Ron) and 2003 Smith Haut Lafite blanc (Steve). The Smith Haut Lafite was drinking much younger.

Then it was on to the Champagnes.


Flight one:

1996 Pol Roger Cuvee Sir William Churchill Brut (WA 95, IWC 95 )
Toast, cream, lemon, gardenia, candy, green apple, fruitiest of the three, 97

1996 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne ( WA 96 JG 97+)
Super toasty, crisp, butter pecan, caramel green apple, roasted buttered corn, earthy, 96

1996 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses (WA 96, IWC 95, BH 97)
Green, plastic, very tart, oxidized, ripe apple cider, 93


Flight two:

1996 Dom Ruinart Brut Rose Grand Cru (WA 93, IWC 94+)
Soft, restrained, watermelon, bubble gum, quite dry, simple, 89

1996 Deutz Cuvee William Rose ( WS 94 )
Vanilla, bread, yeast, rhubarb, oxidative, roses, 93

1996 Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Rose ( WA 97, IWC 95)
Very Dry, dusty finish, armpit, grainy, 91


Flight three:

1996 Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon ( WA 98, IWC 94, BH 97)
Vanilla, Creme brûlée, green, roasted smoky nuts, 97

1996 Louis Roederer Cristal (WA 96, IWC 94+)
Green, creamy, tart, slight oxidation, 92

1996 Krug Brut (WA 98, IWC 99+ )
bread dough, toast, tart, high acid, steel, walnut, Asian dices, bone marrow, really improved as it warmed up, 99

Dinner was prepared by Chef Josh from The Ravenous Pig.

Roasted Tomato Soup with basil oil and buttery parmesan croutons

Warm Red Leaf Lettuce and Bacon Salad with hot bacon vinaigrette, tomatoes, and gorgonzola

Low Country Pickled Shrimp with lemon and pickling spices (this was a terrific course, served in a jar)

Mac and Cheese with shaved prosciutto

Butter Poached Lobster served with truffle parmesan grits and grilled tomatoes.

Tiramisu

Quite a few wines accompanied dinner:

1996 Corton-Charlemagne (Keith)
Cinammon, brown butter, vanilla, Balanced, 94

1959 Nuits les Vaucrains Misserey & Freres (Ron)
Tight, tarry, mushroom 94

1964 Clos Vougeot Musigni (Steve)
Bacon, smoke, spicy finish, oatmeal cookie, 96

1961 Gruard Larose (Keith)
Cigar box, tar, minerals, brush, 97

1964 Ducru Beaucaillou (Steve)
Woodsy (corked), metallic, fruity, 89

1978 Castillo Ygay Rioja (Keith)
Cherry, pipe tabacco, youthful, 92

2000 Ch Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape (Ron)
Meat, herbs, cherry, vanilla, brambles, cigar box, mint, 99

1991 Dominus (Keith)
Tarry, coffee, gravel, Bordeaux like, chocolate, black fruit, jalapeños, 98

2000 Cote Rotie (Andres)
Meat, metal, earthy, cigar box, 92

2007 Bacio Divino (pair at the next table, purchased from the shop)
Big fruit and alcohol, mint
92

2004 Domaine Pegau Chateaneuf du Pape (Terrence, at the next table)
Soft, fruity, 90

It was interesting to taste so many great Champagnes side by side. I was surprised by how uninteresting the Blanc de Noir flight was compared to the others, because usually I have the opposite impression. Some of the Champagnes would probably have been much better with food, and it was a shame that more glassware wasn’t available, so that we could have saved some of them. To me, the standout wines were at the very beginning and end, the Pol Roger and the Krug.

Keith’s 61 Gruard Larose was a particularly impressive example of that wine, and his 91 Dominus amazed, as always.

I’m also particularly glad that I have more of that 64 Burgundy.

My Wine of the Night was, surprisingly, Ron’s 2000 Ch Rayas. Thanks to Ron for setting it up, and providing some amazing Champagnes.

Rocco’s Italian Grille

Bev, Bandit, Rocco and Ron (sounds like a polka band)

It had been a while since we’d been to Rocco’s. The food is always great, but we’d had some disastrous wine service during a Wine Syndicate event, and hadn’t been back. Saturday Ron and Bev invited us to join them, and Rocco pulled out all the stops, serving an eleven-course dinner. I brought a couple of 1961 Bordeaux reds, still my favorite vintage. The stars of the night were the 61 Grauad Larose, 93 Haut Brion Blanc, and, funnily enough, a Cardamaro bitter digestif that I poured at the end.

George Gardet Rose Champagne (Ron)
Dry, dried floral arrangement  90

2010 Mudbrick Reserve Chardonnay NZ (Steve)
Ash, tropical fruit 90

1993 Haut Brion Blanc (Ron)
wax, cumin, green veggies, limestone, lime, caramel 98

1961 Talbot (Steve)
Medium brown, low fill, curry, Georges de La Tour style maderized nose 91

1959 Talbot (Ron)
Murky, pronounced iron nose, sweet, plums, blueberry pie ala mode 89

1961 Gruaud Larose (Steve)
Garnet, youthful despite low fill, sawdust, meat, smoked sausage 95

1959 Corton Charles Vienot (Ron)
Young, rich, velvety, almost gritty, bacon, smoke, chocolate coated raisins, 93

1957 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve (Steve)
Redwood nose, black berry finish,  91

1979 Castello di Neive Barbaresco Santo Stefano (Steve)
Bright garnet, peppers, spices 90

1990 Gaja Barolo Sperss (Ron)
Chocolate coated mushrooms, vanilla, wood, 93

1982 Bodegas Toro Albala Montilla-Moriles Don PX Gran Reserva (Steve)
Super ripe raisins, citrus, 90

Cardamaro Amaro (Steve)
cinnamon, bitters  92

Some of the most interesting wines

Not wanting to drive home in the weekend-long deluge, Linda and I had booked a room at the Best Western Mount Vernon Inn–not exactly the Ritz, but it was only a couple hundred feet from the restaurant. As we curled up in bed five minutes after leaving the tasting, this seemed like a really good move.

Queenstown

We arrived at the Queenstown airport (actually in Frankton) about 6pm, and as predicted no one was there except security and the janitor. Since our luggage had magically preceded us, we were in Queenstown within minutes.

The Crowne Plaza Queenstown has a great location on the harbor, and our room offers a dramatic view. Full from lunch and tired from a busy day, we did some blogging and hit the sack without dinner. The morning in Queenstown dawned with scattered rain, making for a dramatic panorama from our balcony.

At breakfast I discovered that our arrival in Manapouri had, indeed, made the newspaper.

First stop for the day was at the jet boat ride, but because it was billed as very rough, and there was a cold drizzle, only three of the group wanted to try it. The gorge on the river was a beautiful spot, but it seemed tasteless to me to spoil it with a stupid thrill ride. I’d much rather have simply enjoyed the view, which is what most of the group opted for. Dani shot some good video of the boat’s gyrations, though, which she posted to youtube.

Next stop was Kiwi Bird Park. This is a family run operation that has been dedicated to conservation for twenty-five years. They breed Kiwi birds and other endangered birds for release into the wild.

Owner Paul and zoologist (also) Paul gave us a tour and showed off many of their animals, including a Tuatara, which looks like a lizard, but is apparently its own dinosaur-like branch.

After our tour they prepared a delicious lunch, with home baked bread and grilled, grass-fed rib eye steaks from a producer a couple of hours to the South.

Then owner Paul gave us a preview of his new city tour, a 45-minute drive around Queenstown with an interesting history presentation. We were the first guests to take the tour, but no reporters showed up for this event!

After thanking Paul for his hospitality, we boarded the gondola next door for a ride to the top of Bob’s Peak, 1000 feet above the city.

At the top you can eat in a restaurant, bungee jump, drive a “luge” down one of two courses (and take a ski lift back up to do it again), or shop. We did the latter.

And the view was pretty good, too.

Waiheke Island

For our first day on the Tauck tour we met our group at the bus at 8:15 and headed to the ferry dock for the 40 minute trip to Waiheke Island. The island is a beautifully unspoiled place, with 8500 residents who live on the lush hills overlooking more than 50 coves, each with its own sandy beach, and separated by dramatic headlands. Across the bay Auckland sparkled in the intermittent sunshine. Some of the hills are planted to vineyards, and others to olive trees, but much of the vegetation is indigenous, replanted when the island was converted from farming to tourism in the 80s and 90s.

A local coach driver picked us up at the dock and gave us a guided tour. Our first stop was at Rangihoua Estate, an olive grower. There was an interesting tour of how the olives are harvested, crushed, and the oil centrifugally extracted. This was followed by an olive oil tasting. It was interesting to compare the four different kinds, made identically from different olives.

Next we visited Mudbrick Winery for a delightful lunch, accompanied by a tasting of four of their wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, a Merlot/Cab blend, and a Shiraz. I was impressed that Dani correctly identified all four by smell alone, while I had two reversed. Pretty impressive considering we weren’t even told what they might be.

Our touring companions are a sociable bunch, if not exactly gourmands, and we enjoyed the lunch conversation.

After lunch I tried the reserve tasting in the cellar door (as they call the tasting rooms here) and ordered some wine shipped to the US. These were, on the whole, better wines than we had in the Hunter Valley, and it will be fun to have something you can’t get in the US.

Then we returned to the dock for the ferry trip back Auckland. Our driver, Andy, dropped the two of us on Parnell Street where we did a bit of shopping, waited out a light drizzle (mostly) in one of about a hundred coffee shops (Esquire, a Starbucks-like chain) and then walked about a mile back to the hotel through a large park and recreation area called the Domain.

For more details, see Dani’s blog.

Hunter Valley Wineries

This post was shamelessly cribbed from Dani’s blog.

Today we went to the Hunter Vally wine country. This was exciting for Dani because it was her first time on a wine tour someplace where she’s over the legal drinking age.

At 8:30 we met both Pamela and our guide/driver for the day, Trevor. Trevor loaded us into a fairly comfortable four wheel drive SUV and set off for wine country. There was some confusion over names at first (Trevor started calling Pamela “Barbara,” and she started calling him “Henry”) but after the first few kilometers everyone was properly sorted.

The drive up was very scenic, even though we kept on the main highway to save time. Large swaths had been cut through sandstone mountains to make room for the road in spots. When we asked Trevor why one side of the bluff had so much water running down it and the other side was bone dry, he proved very knowledgeable and explained how water collected on internal deposits of clay and lime stone, only to trickle out. The other side was dry because it got the brunt of the sun everyday and dried out quickly after rainfall.

Trevor was very knowledgeable about everything from wine, to geography, to history. We’re looking forward to our trip up to the Blue Mountains with him on Tuesday.

We arrived in wine country by 11:00 and Trevor knew his way around brilliantly. Our first stop was Audrey Wilkinson. They had several very nice whites, including a semillon and a very nice lightly-oaked chardonnay with a nose that smelled smoky, almost like a smoked sausage. The reds were a little disappointing, more a sour cherry style than the big Aussie fruit bombs we expected.

The view from the winery was spectacular. The “cellar door” (in the US it would be called a tasting room) was on top of a hill overlooking the valleys on both sides. Trevor told us that during the summer when there are lots of leaves on the vines to provide shade, kangaroos come out and lie in the vineyards on the slope.

After that we went to Brokenwood winery. This was a very nice winery and the girl at the counter was very knowledgeable about exactly where the grapes for the various wines were grown, what kind of soil they grew in, and what that did for the flavor/smell of the wine. She poured us lots of different wines to compare. Brokenwood was also nice because they have a US distributor, which means that we could actually order some wine shipped home.

After Brokenwood we took a break from wine and went to “The Smelly Cheese Shop.”

As it turned out, it wasn’t actually that smelly (all the cheese had been wrapped up). We selected some triple cream brie to take to Pamela’s cousin’s for lunch. Her cousin, Janis, and her husband Adriaan had graciously invited us over for lunch.

They live on a unique property. It is a residential winery. Everyone who lives there owns a share of the grapes produced. Their house was just lovely. The view was beautiful, Adriaan’s garden was in full bloom, even in winter, and their kitchen reminded us of ours at home. Janis set a table outdoors on the patio in the shade. The weather was just perfect for an outdoor lunch, 70s and a light breeze.

Janis downplayed her cooking, saying lunch was “only a light salad” but what she made was so tasty! The salad had prawns, pineapple, lychee fruit, cucumber, diced red onions, avocado, mayonnaise, mustard, cream, and a dash of olive oil. It was just delicious. This was accompanied by fresh seeded bread from the market in Cessnoch and a selection of cheeses. Adriaan opened a couple of bottles of wine from their winery, Kelman, which were just delightful and refreshing (a semillon and a semillon/sauvignon blanc).

We only had an hour to spend with Janis and Adriaan, but they were simply lovely people. Janis is originally from Australia but Adriaan is actually Dutch, though he grew up in Brussels. They met while Janis was traveling, married, and lived in Banyuls France. About five years ago they moved back to Australia and built their house on the winery. Now they’re thinking of moving in closer to Sydney, though they still love their winery.

Trevor collected us again and took us to two more wineries, Pepper Tree and Tower Winery. Pepper Tree was in a lovely spot, but their wines were the weakest offerings of the day (although they had a well structured merlot).

Tower had some shiraz that was a bit bigger, but we finally decided that the Hunter Valley style is simply lighter. In fact, our discovery of the day was that Hunter Valley’s styles for all their varietals is very consistent from one winery to the next. A semillon from Audrey Wilkinson tastes very similar to a semillon from Tower, and so on.

The traffic getting back into Sydney in the afternoons can be beastly, so Trevor warned us that we needed to leave the valley by about 2:30. We dropped Pamela off at her new apartment on Breakfast point, just north of Sydney, and then returned to the hotel.

Trevor will be taking us to the Blue Mountains next Tuesday. We were struck by how he didn’t require us to pay for today’s excursion, but just shrugged and said we could pay for both next week. It’s a great country.

For dinner we walked a few blocks over towards The Rocks, a trendy shopping and dining district, and sat outside under the heaters, sharing an Italian salad and Marguerita Pizza.

Yorktown and Clamagore

Dani was up late editing her Duchess of Malfi video, so she slept in, and when she got up we walked a few blocks to The Pit Stop Deli for some tasty sandwiches. Then we drove across Charleston’s impressive Bridge to Patriot’s Point to see the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier and the USS Clamagore submarine.

The Yorktown offers a half dozen self-guided tours. We wandered through many levels, seeing the mess, galleys, bunks, sick bay, surgery, x-ray room, radar rooms (one full of giant racks, one with red lights and many small screens), navigation room, bridge, helm, and flight deck. It was neat to see all this sixty year old high tech equipment. The tour is definitely not ADA compliant, as there are many ladders, both up and down, and many water tight doorways with six inch sills.

On the other side of the quay we descended into the USS Clamagore, the last of the navy’s diesel powered submarines. This was an even more interesting sub tour than the U-boat in Chicago, because it is nearly unaltered from its original condition. That means you have to swing up and through the many watertight hatches that separate the compartments. I think this sub is similar to the one Tom Gottshalk served on. I can’t imagine how crowded it must have been with a full crew, as some of the corridors were so narrow that both my shoulders touched.

Both ships were really interesting tours, and the breeze from the ocean kept the 90 degree day pleasant.

Dinner at Peninsula Grill in our hotel, voted Charleston’s best restaurant every year since 2001, was very good. The highlight was the Madeira tasting flight:

  • 1969 D’Oliveiras Sercial Reserva
  • 1981 Barbieto Verdelho
  • 1968 D’Oliveiras Boal Reserva
  • 1875 Barbieto Malvasia

Bull and Bear

Ron organized a last dinner before my trip to Evanston, and we met at The Bull and Bear at the Waldorf Astoria. Dani flew in Friday, so she was able to join us. The five of us spent a lovely five hours in the private room, with great service by Arnaud. Even though Chef was out of town, Arnaud found plenty of interesting selections to keep the courses coming.

The Wines

We need to stop pouring the Burgundies first! These were mostly great wines, but the memory of the 49 Burgs blew everything else away. Those two continued to evolve for hours. I selected six wines from our cellar, and Ron matched them:

Mumm de Cramant Champagne (Ron)
Citrus, cream, 93

2005 Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne (Ron)
Ash, vanilla, floral, lemon, hibiscus flower petal flavor, expect butter but ends with citrus peel, 96

2001 Ch. Carbonnieux (Steve)
corked

1949 Liger-Belair Charmes-Chambertin (Steve)
Earth, complex, bacon fat, campfire smoke, iron, mushroom, citrus, forest floor, dried fruits, vanilla, dessert room at Berns (bananas foster and barrel), slightly faded, 96

1949 Ponelle Corton Clos de Roi (Ron)
Cherries, rose petals, soy sauce, meat, mint, sawdust, fruity, smoke, fresh, 98

1955 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve (Steve)
Young, peppers, fruity, leather, 95

1965 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon California Mountain (Steve)
Dusty, wax, musty, black pepper, 88

1962 Château Gruaud Larose (Steve)
Leather, worchestshire sauce, soy, complex but unusual, (low fill) 90

1966 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion (Steve)
Lead pencil, peppers, tobacco, 95

2000 Ch. Pavie (Ron)
Parker 100
Meaty, vanilla, chewy, lanolin, very tannic, candy, a huge wine, drinkable in 2044, 96

1983 Ch. Suideraut (Ron)
Peach, citrus, dried orange peel, 90

1982 Bodegas Toro Albala Montilla-Moriles Don PX Gran Reserva (Steve)
Syrup, chocolate, raisins, 92

Blind Misconceptions

For our Wine Syndicate group’s quarterly dinner we challenged ourselves to correlate price with quality. We failed.

Meeting at The Capital Grille, we poured six pairs of wine, completely blind except for knowing the wines’ prices, but not which price went with which wine. The results were eye opening. Here are the six flights, and how things turned out:

1988 Haut Brion Blanc ($490) vs. 2006 Ramey Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay ($50)

The group unanimously preferred the Ramey (ash, oak butter, opulent, 95 pts), and thought it was the better wine! After a couple of hours the Haut Brion became a lot more interesting (waxy, candy, minerals, gigs, nuts, vanilla, honey, 90 pts), but my scoring was unchanged. No one caught the almost 20 year spread between the wines, and everyone thought the Ramey was a white Burgundy.

1973 BV Special Label “Burgundy” ($75) vs. 1983 DRC Echezeaux ($680)

This was the only flight where the group was evenly split as far as popularity. Most identified the true Echezeaux (mint, delicate, 93 pts), and Debbie named the BV Special Label (redwood, sweet, 92 pts). Good job Debbie!

1979 Opus One ($357) vs. 1979 Inglenook Petite Sirah ($30)

The group unanimously preferred the Inglenook (paint thinner, wood, figs, 89 pts). This was the first vintage of Opus (mint, vanilla, pencil shavings, 87 pts), and it was the worst wine of the tasting.

2007 Jean Royer Chateauneuf Prestige ($40) vs. 1989 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle ($230)

The group almost unanimously preferred the Hermitage (meat, smoke, bacon fat, mint, 90 pts) which was correctly identified by Ron. Good job Ron! The Chateauneuf was odd (candy, berries, fruit wrap, jam, smoke, 88 pts).

1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild ($900) vs. 1991 Dominus ($220)

The group unanimously preferred the Dominus (green pepper, gravel, lead pencil, mint, 97 pts) and thought it was old world and the more expensive wine! The Mouton (coffee, smoke, tar, green peppers, rubber, bacon, smoke, 95 pts) was a Parker 100 point wine that everyone thought was new world! To make matters worse, Ron, Bev, Linda and I had tasted both of these wines at events within the last two months, and none of us identified them or had them associated with the correct continent!

1963 Graham Port ($300) vs. 1992 Guenoc “Port” ($20)

A solid majority identified the real port (soft, delicate, complex, red-wine nose, 92 pts). The Guenoc (woody, 90 pts) was a fine product but was overshadowed by a great vintage of the real thing.

The Bottom Line

Out of six flights, we were unanimously wrong half the time, identifying the cheaper wine as the more expensive! Spend those dollars wisely, folks!

The Science of Wine

This fund raiser for the Orlando Science Museum was everything we hoped the event two weeks ago at Dellagio would be, but wasn’t. There were over 100 wines arranged around the fourth floor of the museum. Each table had 4 to 8 wines, and the event, while well-attended, was arranged in such a way that it was easy to get any wine. The wines were better quality than at most such events. A few favorites:

  • Roederer Estate Brut
  • Biltmore Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Coppola Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Beringer Knight’s Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Quite a few restaurants participated, and the food was top notch. Highlights were:

  • Bang bang shrimp from Bonefish
  • Smoked Salmon from Stonewood Grill
  • Sushi from The Fresh Market
  • BBQ pork slider from BB King’s

The event included two seminars presented by Luis Torres from Constellation Wines. We attended the second, which challenged us to taste the difference between mountain and valley grown wines from Sonoma and Napa. This was the best wine seminar I have attended. Torres is an exciting speaker, with great presentation skills and technology, and even though his audience had been drink for two hours, they were quiet and attentive. This event was the exact opposite of the boring and chaotic seminar two weeks ago. Torres divided us into groups to evaluate eight characteristics of each wine, and then showed how those characteristics were the result of the growing region, as demonstrated by satellite imagery.

The seminar wines, in order of quality:

  • Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa mountain grown)
  • Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa valley grown)
  • Clos Du Bois Marlstone (Sonoma mountain grown)
  • Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma valley grown)

There were also other educational exhibits around the room, including a demonstration of sugar fermentation in their lab space.

This was an excellent event, and I believe the first time they’ve done it. I’ll be sure to watch for it next year.

1982 Bordeaux

Ron organized this 1982 Bordeaux tasting at Bull  & Bear. Words cannot express how much better a tasting this was than the 1986 Bordeaux event in New York last week. That said, I still don’t see what all the fuss is about 1982 Bordeaux. There are many better years.

There was almost unanimous agreement on the best wine of each flight; this almost never happens. The highlight for me was to have the different flights organized by region, and really be able to see the consistency between them.

It was also great to have such exceptional palates at the table. Attendees were: Ron, Bev, Steve, Linda, Keith, Parlo, Russell, Andres, Paula, Rafaelle and Audrey.

My wine of the night was the Pichon Lalande. Other standouts were the Gloria, which was way out of its class, the Yquem, and the Armagnac.

The food was, as usual, far beyond that of a normal steakhouse, and everyone chipped in with some exceptional wines. Great service by Arnaud.

35 wines, 11 people: sounds about right.

The wines and food:

Warmup Wines

96 Perrier Jouet – Rafaelle
Pleasant, high acid, 92

NV  Brut  Jaques Selosse Initiale – Ron
This was my WOTN from the Dominus tasting, and it came close again tonight.
Yeast, peel, perfect balance, 98

2003 Bruno Giacosa Extra Brut – Andres
Fresh, vanilla, 100% chard, 90

Flight 1

82 Certan de May (Pomerol) – Keith
Medium garnet, Smoked meat, ash, lime, red berries, oily, 94

82 L’ Evangile (Pomerol) – Keith
Chalk, restrained fruit, nuts, potpourri, smoked meat, took a few moments to open up, iron and glycerine finish, 96

82 Latour a Pomerol – Andres from Ron’s cellar
Youthful, floral, smoke, tomato leaves, not Pomerol- like, 92

Flight 2

82 Leoville Barton (St Julien) – Keith
Green vegetables, soil, mint, forest floor, rich, 90

82 Gloria (St Julien) – Steve
Lightest color, Smoke, fruity, low acid, high fruit, bacon, mocha, mint, Burgundian, coffee, elegant, really interesting wine that was easily the best bang for the buck, since it is an unrated growth, 95

82 Leoville Las Cases ( St Julien ) – Russell
Dark, Chocolate pudding, flan, chewy, very young, structured, fruitcake, pine, sawdust, wax, 97

Flight 3

82 Montrose (St Estephe ) – Russell
Plastic, slightly musty, vegetables, rust, metallic, I’m not a Montrose fan, but this seemed off even for Montrose, 90

82 Cos d’Estournel  (St Estephe ) – Ron
Vanilla, meat, spice box, bacon, smoke, 96

82 Calon Segur – Andres from Ron’s cellar
Light, earthy, iron, blood, like.  Rhone, soy sauce, cedar, 92

Flight 4

82 La Legune (Haut Medoc) – Rafaelle
Bubble gum, toothpaste mint,  a bit short, this flight was quite different from Flight 3, into which this wine was originally mistakenly poured, a good lesson, 92

82 Pichon Baron ( Pauillac ) – Steve
Hint of the bubble gum, disappointing 91

82 Pichon Lalande ( Pauillac) – Ron
Roasted peanuts, meat, smoke, mint, WOTN! 98

Flight 5

82 Haut Brion ( Graves ) – Steve
Oxidized, Cinnamon toast, goes on forever, butter, vanilla, flawed bottle but a great wine, only Linda and I could get around the oxidation, everyone else disliked it, 95?

82 La Mission Haut Brion ( Graves ) – Ron
Tight, tar, olives, sweet soy sauce, tomato paste, meat, I expected this to be wotn, but it was disappointing, 92

Dinner & Wines

82 Laville Haut Brion blanc – Ron
Oil paint, linseed oil, pineapple, mineral finish, slightly corked, would have been a real standout without the TCA and the stiff competition, 92

2000 Ch. “Y” – Ron
Paint thinner, citrus, intense tropical flavors and apparent sweetness on the palate (elicited a long discussion about fruit vs sugar), wax, sawdust, New World style, 97

1999 Ch Beaucastel – Andres
Vanilla, restrained fruit, caramel, 89

Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle – Rafaelle
Balanced, green, vanilla, toast, great match to sorbet, 93

Marinated salmon
Red pepper sorbet – this was amazing!

Escargot with gnocchi – perhaps the best escargot course I’ve ever had

82 Giuseppe e Figlio Dardi Barolo – Steve
Oxidized, iron, vanilla, 89

82 The Magician Cantina Delatorre del Mago Aldo Barolo – Ron
Spice, youthful, figs, wood, 92

Foie Gras on brioche with orange compote – great dish

82 Feeemark Abbey Johannisberg Riesling Edelwein Gold – Steve
Medium brown, pears in syrup nose, botrytis, great acid balance, fantastic with the foie gras, this later faced the Yquem and took no prisoners, I wish I had more, 95

99 Brunello – Russell
Mushroom, Eggnog, dirt, vanilla, char, 92

Diver’s scallops with cauliflower

71  Vosnee Romanee Bouchard Pere & Fils – Ron
Fresh Pinot, pomegranate, cherries, dried out, I expected more of this since it’s a good year, vineyard and decent producer, disappointing since it was the night’s only Burg, 90

Abacus, ZD (solera) ninth bottling – Keith
Big cherries, vanilla, wood, butter, this wine is a true solera, with the new vintage added to the old each year, very interesting, 95

2004 Barbaresco Bernardot Bricco Asili Ceretto – Raffaele
Vanilla, meat, 93

1993 Chateauneuf du pape, Mathieu Pierre Anselm – Andres
Vanilla, Very Burgundian, tasted blind everyone thought it was pinot noir (although I thought it was pinot meunier), 90

Steak, carrots, potato puree, mac & chesse with bacon (amazing) and sauces

82 Kenwood Artists Cabernet Sauvignon – Steve
Cedar, cherries, better than I expected by far, 92

90 Pichon Lalande (rated 78 by Parker) – Keith
Vegetal, didn’t deserve a 78 but not a good wine considering the great year, they must have picked too early, 87

Lemon peel, cooked and cream filled – a wonderful dessert, and actual lemon that was steeped in gran marnier until the peel was an edible container.

2007 Hermitage Perrin – Rafaelle
Vanilla, Bacon, lime, an interesting wine, but should have been served with the meat to really enjoy it, 94

82 Joseph Phelps Insignia – Ron
Dried cherry, served too late to really appreciate it, it needed an hour to evolve and we didn’t have an hour, 92

82 ch d’Yquem – Ron
Very balanced, botrytis, citrus, vanilla, spice, great with the dessert, 98

82 Labordole Bas Armagnac – Steve
Chestnut, vanilla, floral, this is the armagnac we had at Robouchon, but an even better year, a great finish to a great evening, 98

 

Eleven Madison Park

A jam-packed day of culinary adventure in New York City!

The City’s Top Rated Zagat Restaurant — But Why?

Our day began with Lunch at Le Bernardin, the city’s top rated food according to Zagat, the only place rated 29/30. We’d been to Le Bernardin before, and didn’t like it, but Ron and Bev wanted to show us how good it could be. Indeed, we had a much better meal. The service and appetizers were wonderful. It still probably wouldn’t be a place I’d take the time to revisit, with so many other choices available. The fish isn’t remarkable enough on its own to draw me back. Linda described her entree as a dish well suited to a retirement home! The preparations just lack the extra layer of genius that transcends good and takes it to superlative (as we were later reminded at Eleven Madison Park, but I’m getting ahead of myself).

1986 Bordeaux Retrospective

Our next stop was the original reason for this trip: A 1986 Bordeaux Retrospective put on by Executive Wine Seminars in Tribeca. 39 attendees shared two bottles each of 13 different wines. We were interested to collect some ideas for our own Wine Syndicate events, but in this event actually turned out to be a bit less profession, formal and polished than we were expecting. Basically it was a couple of tipsy guys pouring wine, and a lot of people with opinions but very little sign of good palates. Still, it was interesting to have four first growths side by side, although the Talbot actually edged out the first growths in my notes:

Vieux Chateau Certan (Pomerol)(Parker 92)
Pine, black pepper, thyme, 88

Rausan-Segla (Margaux)(P96)
Tar, Smoked meat aftertaste, tight, 91

Pichon Lalande (Pauillac)(RP96)
Floral, balanced, structured, most fruit of the first four, 90

Cos d’Estournel (St Estephe)(RP95)
Perfume, chalky, tannic, anise, tight, 88

Ducru-Beaucaillou (St Julien)RP92
Tannic, mint, corky finish, flawed bottle, 90?

Graud-Larose (St Julien) (RP94)
Big, structured, long smokey finish, jammy, old style, 93

Leoville Las Cases (St Julien)(RP98)
Chewy, tight, mint, balanced, elegant, herbs, died quickly, 94

Talbot (St Julien)(RP96)
Coffee, balanced, scorched earth, toast, cranberries, 97

Haut-Brion (Graves) (RP93)
Chalk, gravel, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, mint, perfume, 96

Margaux (Margaux) (RP96)
Cheese, tight, 91

Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac) (RP99)
Lead pencil, vanilla, 93

Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac) (RP100)
Smoke, herbs, figs, tight, tannic, veggies, mint, 95

Climens (Barsac) (RP)
Apricot, low acid, pleasant, 90

Bottom line is that Parker really overrated the Lafite and underrated the Haut Brion (as usual). The only two of these wines I’d buy are the Talbot and the Haut Brion.

The Greatest Dinner of My Life

We finished this busy day with dinner at Eleven Madison Park. We’ve tried Michelin three star restaurants around the world, and dined at the kitchen tables of some very famous and talented chefs, so we’re probably a bit jaded as foodies. It was therefore a complete and delightful surprise to experience what we both agreed was the best meal of our lives!

A relaxed and friendly atmosphere, very professional service, and superb winelist and wine service all helped to make the evening special. But it was the food that stole the show. Course after course, every bite surprised and delighted. There wasn’t a weak entry in the lot, and we tried essentially everything the kitchen offered. At the middle of the meal we visited the kitchen for a demonstration of molecular gastronomy using liquid nitrogen, and then ate the result.

This list cannot capture the amazing flavors of every bite of this meal:

  • Halibut tea with nori lavash
  • Fluke sashimi and scallop sashimi, both with citrus
  • Goat cheese lollipops coated with beet dust
  • Sea urchin panna cotta
  • Smoked sturgeon sabayon
  • Fingerling potato with caviar
  • Foie gras terrine with pickled onion
  • Seared scallop with Valencia orange
  • Roasted cauliflower curry
  • Braise pork with peas and mint
  • Wagu beef with smoked potato puree
  • Egg cream
  • Chocolate with popcorn ice cream
  • Mignardises

Wow, just typing that list I can taste each one of those again!

Our sommelier, Rob Kihlstrom, provided superb advice. The wines:

Claude Jenet Champagne (comped by the restaurant)
Balanced, creamy, good food wine 92

1996 Nuits-Saint-Georges Meo-Camuzet Aux Boudots
Smoke, dried cherries, vanilla, leather, 95

2005 Reisling Auslese Schieferterrassen Heymann-Lowenstein
Minerals, pears, perfect balance, 96

1997 Clos de Tart
Tar, meaty, bacon, smoke, earthy, mint, anise, vanilla 95

1989 Hermitage Sorrel la Greal corked (2 bottles)
We gave up on this after two flawed bottles and changed to…

1989 Chateauneuf du Pape, Vieux Telegraph
Vanilla, cherries, chocolate, big, chewy, 93

1975 Leoville Barton
(a taste sent from Keith Edwards, who happened to be there the same night with Parlo, Russell and Nicole)
Classic old Bordeaux, 92

Guillon-Painturaud VSOP Cognac Grand Champagne (comped by the restaurant)
Pleasant, citrus, 92

We closed the place at 1am. What an amazing restaurant. We can’t wait to return!

 

13 Vintages of Dominus

Ron Siegel set up this tasting at Vintage Vino in Kissimmee, with dinner provided from the restaurant next door, Chef John’s Lakeside. We were joined by Keith and Parla Edwards. I contributed a bottle of the 1986 Dominus.

I hadn’t ever had much Dominus except for the 1991, so it was fun to trace the development of the wine from the first vintage to the most recent. Wisely, Ron had us taste the three youngest wines first, then we skipped back to the beginning. This essentially arranged the wines in order from least to most interesting.

NV Duvall Leroy Brut Champagne
Pleasant, astringent, simple, 88

2007
Chewy, cherries, mint chocolate, 96

2006
Tight, floral, perfume, tannic finish, 93

2005
Very tight, chalky, vanilla, tannic, 92

1983
Very aromatic, floral, figs, vanilla, tannin, tannin, meat, 91

1984 (first release, even though it was the second year)
Coffee, menthol, earthy, slightly short, 93

1985
Coffee, burnt, still tight, tannic, 96

1986
Stewed vegetable, old bay seasoning, curry, long 96

1987
Coffee, curry, short, black pepper, 94

1992
Vegetal, thin, short, 90

1996
Mint, coffee, vanilla, 92

1990
Tight, green, 90

1991
Coffee, ripe fruit, tobacco, like the 1985, vanilla, opulent, ash, 99

1994
Bay seasoning, curry, like the 1986, pepper, spice, 98

Note to self: Buy more 85, 86, 94

2002
Dauvissat les Preus Grand Cru Chablis
Oak, vanilla, chalk, dried fruit roll up, 94

NV Jaques Selosse Initiale Brut
Wow! WOTN. Toast, yeast, buttered toast, vanilla, oxidation, 98

1978 Chambertin Jaboulet Vercherre
Disappointing. Nose of dried roses but tight and short, 88

1976 BV George de la Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (from Keith)
Perfect bottle. Youthful , cedar, 98

2004 Domaine Pigalle Chateauneuf du Pape
Soft, vanilla 91

1989 Hermitage Domaine J L Chaves
Bacon, traditional old Rhone, smoke, 93