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Archive for October 2015

Stick It – Feng Mao

Oct30

Restaurant: Feng Mao Lamb Kebab

Location1: 3901 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 935-1099

Location2: 414 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 388-9299

Date: October 26, 2015 & April 25, 2016 & October 14, 2019

Cuisine: Korean

Rating: Really tasty

_

Los Angeles is blessed with America’s largest Korea-town, and as such we have so many fabulous Korean dining options.

Feng Mao has a tremendous menu of Korean and Korean/Chinese items, including a vast array of things available for grilling.


Notice the built in ducts! (Olympic location).

And the pop up wood charcoal grills.

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The private (side?) room at the Western location.
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The vast menu.

2010 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard. VM 93. Ash, game, tar licorice, incense and dark cherries are some of the notes that emerge from the 2010 Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard. A pretty soft, understated wine, the 2010 also has a hint of wildness running through it. Today, the 2010 is a bit compact, but I very much like the sense of grace here. Sweet floral notes reappear on the finish, adding a burst of freshness and vivacity to a finish underpinned by lovely streaks of saline minerality. In 2010 yields were too low for Kistler to bottle the Cuvee Elizabeth Pinot. The little fruit that came in was blended into the Kistler Vineyard Pinot.

agavin: not bad for a “fake” pinot

Some flavored salt for dipping and a little mini salad.

And various other banchan. Broccoli and garlic.

Bean sprouts.

Shredded pickled spicy radish.

Peanuts.
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More banchan.

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Garlic cucumber. Marinated and with a nice texture.
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Beef and cucumber.
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Numbing stew. Very good with mala.
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And looking close, pig’s blood!
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Spicy beef tendon, but we wondered if tripe, too chewy.


From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage. VM 94+. Saturated ruby. Superripe aromas of blackberry, blueberry, clove, minerals and black licorice. Very ripe but precise and penetrating. At once lush and powerful; seamless but with terrific thrust. Black fruit, flint, spice and dark chocolate flavors offer considerable density and verve. Finishes with substantial noble tannins that arrive very late. Has all the elements for longevity. Give this 10 to 12 years before pulling the cork. This comes across as a bit denser than the young 2001 but not finer. The Chaves clearly did a superb job of harvesting in 2000.

agavin: WOTN for most of us, although the competition wasn’t fierce.

Plate of raw stuff ready for grilling.


And more skewers.

Beef on the left, lamb on the right. The beef was a bit sweet and fabulous. The lamb full of flavor.

2012 Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles. VM 91. Deep ruby. Smoky, oak-spiced blackberry, licorice pastille and olive paste on the nose, with subtle floral and mineral nuances adding complexity. Velvety, sweet and nicely concentrated, offering dark berry liqueur and fruitcake flavors that slowly tighten up with air. Supple tannins come on late, giving shape to a long smoke- and spice-tinged finish. As approachable as this wine is today, I think that it has the material for cellaring.

They do most of the grilling here, which makes it easy.

Pork belly. Eventually this chars down to carbonized bacon.

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Pork belly and lamb spareribs. Both good.

Squab or some other small bird.

Getting there.
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Pork belly wrapped around enoki mushroom.
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More meat and sausages.

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Sausages were great. Squid was icky.

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Sardines!

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Condiments for the skewers.


Steamed egg. I love this kind of simple dish.

2009 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana IGT. VM 91. Deep red with ruby highlights. Reticent aromas of raspberry, red cherry and chocolate. Then large-scaled, fat and chunky on the palate, with highly concentrated red fruit and herbal flavors showing creamy depth and noteworthy persistence. This rather powerful wine stains the palate on the long, ripely tannic finish. I would have liked a bit more finesse, but many drinkers will love this.

Jellyfish salad with meat, veggies etc.

The mustard sauce is mixed in. Great stuff.

2004 Torbreck Descendant. Parker 98. The 2004 Descendant, an old oak-aged blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier from a 12-year old vineyard, offers up notes of blackberries, ink, sweet truffles, and acacia flowers. There are 1,000 cases of this full-bodied, intense, rich blockbuster. It will drink well for 10-15 years.

Bean curd “pasta” with chili. Delicious.

Stir fried mushrooms.

Steamed pork dumplings. Good, although I’ve certainly had better.

Sauce for the dumplings.

2005 Favia Cerro Sur. 93 points. Cherry, bell pepper, cedar, and licorice on the nose. Lot’s of strawberry and cherry jam on the palate which heat/spice from the alcohol. Beware, this is a fruit bomb.

Fried sweet and sour pork. Almost certainly the best sweet and sour pork I’ve had. We got 2-3 orders. Super scalding and delicious.

Purple rice.

Eggs and zucchini. Light and mild.

2004 Sean Thackrey Petite Sirah Sirius Eaglepoint Ranch. 92 points. Color is very dark. Medium legs with a silky mouthfeel. This is the oldest Sirius in my cellar and is drinking really well right now. A classic Thackrey version of petite sirah. Always one of my favorites.

agavin: more balanced and not as overwhelming, good.

Spicy fried eggplant. Yum!

Pan fried pork dumplings. Doughy, but I liked them even better than the steamed.

2010 Saxum Terry Hoage Vineyard. Parker 95+. The 2010 Terry Hoage Vineyard is a blend of 46% Syrah, 33% Grenache, and 21% Mourvedre that comes from Jennifer and Terry Hoage’s west side Paso vineyard. Less gamey than when tasted from barrel, it offers up a pure, beautifully fresh bouquet of red and black fruits, spring flowers, ground pepper, leather, and wet stone-like minerality that flows to a rich, fabulously concentrated, and textured palate. Showing the savory, mineral characteristics of the vintage, as well as noticeable underlying tannin, this gorgeous effort needs short-term cellaring, and will thrill for over a decade.

agavin: needed about a decade more time!

Fish filets boiled in chili oil. Feng Mao’s take on this classic Szechuan dish was awesome.

Lots of numbing chili oil heat! Great with rice.

Glass noodles. Mild and good.

Crispy potato pancake. Like a Korean latke.
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Seafood pancake. Yummy!

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Egg with chives. Awesome. Seems so simple, but tons of flavor.
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Cumin chicken bones. Just ok.

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Shredded pork with cilantro. pretty good.
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Clams with brown sauce.

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Spicy noodle soup. Very nice, with a pleasant, medium spicy broth and nice thin egg noodles.

Fried chicken. This was actually from next door at Da Jeong. Many in our party claim this is the best fried chicken ever.

Overall, this was a great meal. Really tasty and nearly every dish was good. The price was right too, as it was $30 each all in (including tax and tip). Service was great and they have a big menu, so I’ll have to return to sample even more goodies.

The food is partially Korean, partially Chinese — or at least from the border realms between the two areas. Since I love both, that’s all good!

After all, we didn’t even order the bull penis (it’s on the menu).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!
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Related posts:

  1. Nanbankan – Stick with It
  2. Shin Beijing Cubed
  3. Gwang Yang – Beeftastic
  4. San Fran – Feng Nian
  5. Little Sheep Hot Pot
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Feng Mao, hedonists, Korean Chinese, Korean cuisine, lamb, Wine

Sauvage Spago

Oct28

Restaurant: Spago [1, 2]

Location: 176 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (310) 385-0880

Date: October 23, 2015

Cuisine: American

Rating: Great

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Nothing like a Friday afternoon for Grand Cru Burgundy Lunch — and this time at LA classic Spago.

The whole restaurant is lovely, but the private room is the real way to go.

Our special menu.

From my cellar: 2007 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses. Burghound 90. As would reasonably be expected, there is just more here in every dimension with a more complex and more elegant nose that is layered and very fresh and this refinement continues onto the nicely concentrated middle weight flavors that display evident minerality on the sappy, intense and mouth coating finish that lingers and lingers. This is a terrific Savigny blanc and recommended.

agavin: our bottle was a bit advanced.

1986 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet “Morgeot”. 94 points. A single vineyard village, almost 30 years old, and stunning! Lots of nutty richness and good acid.

Buttery puffs filled with country ham. Delicious.

Spago staple, sweet sesame cones with ahi tartar.

Bread.

1996 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle-Chambertin. Burghound 85. Lightish cherry/pinot fruit without much structure or body. Good finesse but that is about the best that can be said for this.

2000 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 92. Much more forward and evolved than any of the preceding wines as the malo finished almost 3 months before the others. Elegant, rich, extremely ripe with somewhat low acidity that is barely able to buffer the powerful flavors yet the wine is also able to effortlessly carry the elevated alcohol. The wine finishes with a touch of warmth but it is not unduly intrusive. This is a surprising wine in that it’s extremely ripe, lavishly rich with very high alcohol yet somehow it remains beautifully balanced. It’s not clear how well it will age but there is enough tannic structure to require 7 to 10 years to resolve.

agavin: spice, lovely.

1999 Bouchard Père et Fils Bonnes Mares. Burghound 93. This is still quite youthful with ever-so-mildly toasty dark berry fruit, earth, wet stone and underbrush-infused aromas leading to rich, full-bodied, powerful and appealingly intense flavors that are blessed with ample amounts of tannin-buffering dry extract that both coats the palate and confers a sappy texture to the beautifully long and still notably structured finish. This may turn out to be even better than my score suggests because while there is not yet outstanding complexity, the underlying material is present that could very well allow the additional depth to develop.

1999 Frederic Esmonin Chambertin. Burghound 89. A noticeable step up in size and volume though not necessarily in intensity or complexity. Earthy and rich with solid power and length to go with medium weight flavors and relatively fine tannins. While this is certainly not disappointing, I was hoping for more.

Grilled Lobster Tail. Herbed Oat Porridge, Glazed Baby Carrots. A big portion of juicy moist lobster. A very lovely dish.

2002 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin. Burghound 91-93. Always one of Faiveley’s best wines and the ’02 is no exception with an incredibly complex nose of damp earth, minerals, game and a slightly wild fruit component followed by wonderfully sappy, deep, broad, muscular flavors and knock-out purity of expression. I very much like this and the finish is long and strikingly persistent.

2001 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 91-94. As it should be, this is easily the biggest wine of the entire line up with robust, intense, broad-shouldered, supremely complex, solidly structured flavors introduced by deeply spicy, quite aromatic and expressive aromas and dramatic finishing intensity. An altogether superb effort that delivers knock out quality.

2003 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques. Burghound 90-92. Interestingly, this is also quite ripe but not necessarily any more elegant though there is perhaps slightly better depth of material and certainly better overall purity of expression and intensity, especially on the superbly long, firm and punchy backend. While this is not classic in style, there is so much explosive energy and verve that this may very well surprise to the upside with time in bottle.

agavin: best wine of the flight right now.

2002 Louis Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin. Burghound 89-91. Noticeable wood spice frames pretty and pure earthy red fruit that highlights the rich, sappy and elegant medium weight flavors that deliver fine length. This is quite elegant yet altogether serious and blessed with plenty of old vine sap and enough structure to suggest that this will benefit from the better part of a decade in bottle.

Cacao Pasta Matlagliatti. Braised Oxtail Ragout, Pecorino Romano.

2002 Domaine Bertagna Clos St. Denis. Burghound 93.  Rich, even extravagant and exotic black fruit leads to round, supple, forward and generous flavors with excellent richness and fine detail. The superbly long finish is impressive for its sheer depth and wonderful complexity and as many of the best ’02s reveal, the tannins here are extremely fine. In sum, this is an absolutely stunning wine with serious potential.

2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 91. A spicy black fruit nose that remains reserved and completely primary leads to rich, full and solidly concentrated flavors that have better definition than what Girardin usually produces and in particular, this is a good deal less fruit-driven as well. Good juice here and one that should age very well yet be accessible relatively early on.

agavin: drinking great now

2001 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg. Burghound 94. A spicy, elegant and very pure nose is just beginning to display the initial hints of secondary development. There is superb precision to the racy, intense and mineral-driven medium-bodied flavors that exude a focused power on the driving and explosive finish. There isn’t the mid-palate fat or velvety texture of the 2002 but this has its own personality and charm and overall, this has arrived at a place where it could be drunk now with immense pleasure or held for another 5 to 7 years. Note that I have had several bottles that did not show as well as the one described above though most bottles have showed most impressively.

agavin: really great right now, prob best of the flight

1996 Geantet-Pansiot Charmes-Chambertin. VM 94. Saturated deep ruby; one of the darkest ’96s I saw in November. Multifaceted nose combines black fruits, violet, licorice, espresso, smoke, gibier and sweet butter. The class of the cellar in terms of concentration, sweetness, finesse and length; in fact, today this wine makes Geantet’s ’95 seem almost heavy in comparison. Lovely roundness and clarity of flavor. Really explodes on the palate-staining finish.

Roasted Rack of Lamb. Cauliflower Flan, Wild Mushrooms savory cabbage, Cabernet Savignon Reduction. You can never go wrong with lamb chops. Well you can, but not when they are done correctly like this.

1990 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares. VM 98. Good deep, dark red. Explosively ripe aromas of plum, raspberry, mocha, mint and fresh herbs. Wonderfully fat and voluminous; in fact, this is downright massive for Bonnes-Mares, offering extraordinary palate presence. Finishes with huge, dusty tannins, outstanding breadth and palate-staining length. Unquestionably the most impressive wine of the tasting, but to my palate not the most interesting wine, as the vintage dominates the terroir But this will go on in bottle for many more years.

agavin: Maybe WOTN, or certainly close.

From my cellar: 1993 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares. Burghound 92. Earthy, deep and wonderfully fresh fruit leads to dense, solidly tannnic, beautifully delineated and focused, rich flavors of exceptional purity and length. While the finish is firm, it is by no means hard and there is excellent buffering sève all underpinned by vibrant acidity. There is plenty of wine here but this is a wine for the patient and it should live for years to come.

agavin: this bottle was sadly just a little corked, not undrinkably so, but enough to steal away the fruit and ruin the experience.

From my cellar (replacing BM above). 1990 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni. 93 points. Powerful fruit, great structure. Just the beginnings of secondary flavors. Rich nose of bright fruits with a smoky undertone. Tastes incredibly fresh for a 19 year old. Bright cherries smoothed by tannins. Very nice. Great burgundy from a great vintage.

agavin: a great wine, in the top 3 or so of the day.

Chef’s selection of artisanal cheese. Nice cheeses, although not enough of them for my taste.
Great fruit bread for the cheese.

I needed a macchiato, it was after all only 4pm when we finished.

Sauvages lunches are always great, but this one like the previous Burgundy lunch was particularly fabulous. Spago is one of the few white table cloth restaurants left in town, and it’s been around for a while, but remains fresh and contemporary. It doesn’t embrace the loud new ambiance like Republique or Bestia, but it does knock the food out of the park, while keeping the look up to date and timeless. The food these days is more Japanese inspired, and less of the California whimsy that Puck originally introduced, but it’s equally fabulous.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or check out other Sauvages meals here.

Related posts:

  1. Sauvage Republique
  2. Sauvage by Moonlight
  3. Spago – 2005 White Burg part 1!
  4. Babykiller Birthday
  5. Pistola with a Bang
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burgundy, Red Burgundy, Sauvages, Spago, Wine

Cotsen’s Again!

Oct26

I was lucky enough to be invited again to a absolutely fabulous wine dinner hosted by Eric Cotsen at his lovely Malibu pad. The group was mostly Hedonists, with a few other pals of Eric’s mixed in. Eric has these diners regularly and they feature an awesome setting, great company, wonderful food, and amazing wines provided by both him and the guests.


You can see the ocean is right there! Like under the house.

The chefs slave away to make us dinner.

Eric has these crazy high tech nitrogen dispensers that preserve (and aerate) the wines. He even has sets of glasses with etched number and letter combos so you can pair to the wines. Tonight there were two white wines in here and a set of 6 reds.

During this early phase of the party all the wine is served as a blind free-for-all. Eric himself served up eight wines (blind) as follows, with the red’s having a secret theme of “1990”.

2013 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard. VM 97. The 2013 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is translucent and weightless, yet also magnificent in its depth. Graphite, slate, smoke, incense, lemon and white peach emerge from the glass, but only with great reluctance. The Ritchie is the most reticent wine in this range, but it is in many ways the most intriguing. Intensely mineral and nuanced, the 2013 Ritchie will thrill those lucky enough to own it for another decade-plus. I can’t wait to see how this develops in bottle. The 2013 was done in 100% new oak, yet there is virtually no trace of oak at all.

2010 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Cuvée Blanche Sta. Rita Hills. 89 points.

1990 Joseph Drouhin Pommard 1er Cru Les Épenots. 84 points. Slight dried blood and beef but just a taint. Stillmostly brambly crush berries and dark red cherries. Showing medium bodied chewy tannins that would help it age another few years easily. Rough and more musculine on the palate than the volnay. This has more structure and extract that does contrast nicely with the volnay. Sappy dark red cherry fruits with pith.

2005 Cos d’Estournel. Parker 97-98. The 2005 Cos d’Estournel is another great success from this property, which is owned by Michel Reybier. A superstar of St.-Estèphe in this vintage, this wine has a dense ruby/purple color, beautiful, sweet cassis and blackcurrant fruit, some floral notes, spice and a touch of oak in a full-bodied, layered, impressive multi-dimensional style. The tannins are surprisingly sweet and well-integrated, as is the acidity, alcohol and wood. This is a beauty and certainly the top wine of St.-Estèphe. Drink it over the next 25+ years.

1990 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 96-97. Interestingly, a bottle of 1990 Lafite Rothschild I pulled from my cellar for a video blog on my web site was still buttoned down, tight, and even with extended decanting was not showing as much as I would have hoped. However, a bottle tasted, of all places, in Seoul, Korea in February, was only a few points short of perfection. That amazing performance motivated me to pull another bottle out of my cellar and follow it over the course of two days. Sure enough, by the second day the wine was roaring from the glass. The 1990 Lafite has turned out far better than my early assessment. While it still possesses some firmness, and performs like a late adolescent in terms of its evolution, it boasts gorgeous aromas of cedar, tobacco leaf, cassis, and lead pencil shavings. The explosive aromas are followed by a fleshy, full-bodied wine that should hit its peak in 5-8 years, and last for 25-30 more.

1990 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 87. The 1990 is not as well-endowed as the 1989. It displays medium dark ruby color and an attractive bouquet of vanillin from new oak, ripe blackcurrants, and spices. Although not as concentrated as usual, the wine does exhibit medium body, some glycerin, and fine ripeness, as well as an overall sense of grace. This stylish wine would have benefitted from more length and intensity. In the context of the vintage, it could have been better.

1990 La Tour Haut-Brion. Parker 85-86. A disappointing example of this wine, the 1990 exhibits a smoky, herbaceous character, medium body, and neither the depth nor richness of La Tour Haut Brions made in the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, and the monumental 1982. The 1990 needs to be drunk up as it is not likely to get any better. The color is already showing considerable amber and brick at the edge. The wine is somewhat superficial, but it offers complex aromatics of roasted herbs, meat, smoke, and spice.

1990 Beringer Chardonnay Private Reserve. Parker 89. Beringer continues to do everything right. Its staff of talented professionals may rank as the best in the business. Beringer’s Chardonnays take advantage of the rich, opulent fruit the warm growing climate and rich soils provide. Since 1991, the top Chardonnays have been 100% barrel-fermented and put through a malolactic fermentation. Both the Private Reserve and Proprietor Grown Chardonnays have soared in quality, with exceptional vintages in 1991 and 1992.

The gang mills around during the early phases.

And the wines that everyone brought are hidden in socks and served in a giant blind free-for-all.


2012 gripes of wrath.

From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. VM 91+. Nose hints at spicy oak and flint. Extremely closed and inexpressive today; in a dry style but quite pure and delicate, with brisk acidity. Best today on the subtle, long finish. A very stylish wine but still stunned by the recent bottling.

2004 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese **. VM 89+. Pale golden-yellow color. Tangerine and apple blossom on the nose. Delicate yet rich in spice and decidedly floral. A salty minerality rather than obvious sweetness graces the finish, but there’s a creamy quality to balance the mineral character. Good length.

2003 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley. VM 93+. Dark red-ruby. Nose shows a slightly porty ripeness, with aromas of candied blackbery, violet and licorice pastille. Huge, velvety and thick, with a candied, liqueur-like quality and great concentration. Distinctly different from the rest of these 2003s, with utterly black flavors of berries and violet. A brooding and very primary wine with a huge structure for aging and rather penetrating acids. This will need many years in bottle to become civilized but may well be a monument of the vintage. The alcohol here is 15%.

agavin: whacky, didn’t even taste like a pinot, almost Syrah-like.

1964 Ducru Beaucaillou. Parker 78. Solid, rustic, amiable, and pleasantly full and firm, the 1964 Ducru-Beaucaillou lacks complexity and character, but offers a mushroom-scented, robust, round mouthful of claret. The fruit is just beginning to fade. All things considered, this was a success for a 1964 northern Medoc.

agavin: our bottle was in great shape, really nice and mature.

From my cellar: 2000 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve. Parker 99-100. The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve (15.5% alcohol; 100% Grenache) is a wine of magnificent intensity as well as majestic texture and richness. Layers of concentrated fruit cascade over the palate. Opaque purple-colored and extremely full-bodied, with a gorgeous nose of minerals, white flowers, black fruits, pepper, and garrigue, this sumptuous, seamless 2000 Chateauneuf must be tasted to be believed. I have had this wine a half dozen times in blind tastings that included some of the finest 2000 Chateauneuf du Papes, and it consistently ranks as one of the top 2 or 3 wines in the tastings. Then again, I’m looking at its overall potential as it is not the most forward or evolved of the 2000 Chateauneuf du Papes. It is a magnificent tour de force in winemaking. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.

1994 Michel Ogier Cote Rotie. Parker 89. Ogier’s 1994 Cote Rotie is one of those elegant, finesse-style wines offering an intense, seductive, sexy, smoky, bacon fat, and cassis-scented nose. The wine hits the palate with a delicate, sweet ripeness, enough crisp acidity to provide definition, and a medium-bodied, well-knit personality. A slight shortness in the finish kept this wine from meriting a higher score. Readers should not be surprised if it fills out over the next several years, elevating my rating. It will offer attractive drinking now and over the next 12 years.

2004 Alvaro Palacios L’Ermita. Parker 98. 2004 was a superb vintage in Priorat and the three entries from Alvaro Palacios are stunning. The 2004 L’Ermita is harvested from a 5 acre parcel of 70-year-old head-pruned vines of which 85% is Grenache, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Carignan aged in 100% new French oak. The color is purple/black and the super-expressive nose offers toast, minerals, kirsch, and blackberry. The wine is full-bodied and seamless with complex flavors and the tannin totally concealed. The finish is very long and pure in this powerful yet elegant offering. It should drink splendidly for 15-20 years.

agavin: our cork was oddly dry and crumbled.

2006 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvée L. 95 points. Dark blackish red with fruit-forward blackberry, delicious and robust with dark chocolate, some oak, spice and deep black coffee Excellent complexity and structure to the wine with delicate tannins. Beyonce power in a more elegant lady.

1995 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard. ST 93+. Brilliant ruby. Outstanding floral lift to the primary red berry and dark chocolate aromas. The palate combines superb thickness of texture and mineral lift, with a flavor of raspberry coulis complicated by coffee and leather nuances. Still remarkably youthful, communicating an exhilarating balance of sweetnes and acidity. Finishes with plush, sweet tannins and terrific floral length. This is still evolving and may ultimately merit an even higher score.

1999 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 94. Very deep garnet-black colour going brick at the rim. Complex, maturing nose with notes of warm blackberry, game, dried plums, moss, white pepper, Provence herbs and a whiff of iron ore. The palate reveals a concentrated, medium to full bodied wine balanced by medium acidity and a medium to firm level of velvety tannins. Very long finish departing with lingering savoury and mineral flavours. Drink now to 2018. Tasted November 2008.

2008 Torbreck The Pict. Parker 94. Very deep garnet colored with a hint of purple, 2008 The Pict offers expressive notes of ripe mulberries, kirsch, dried plums, Ceylon tea, tobacco, spice cake and fertile earth. Full bodied, concentrated and firmly structured, it has a firm level of chewy tannins and racy acid supporting the generous fruit, finishing long. This vineyard clearly coped extraordinarily well with the heat-wave and produced a superb wine! Drink it now to 2020+.

2007 Kapcsandy Family Winery Estate Cuvee State Lane Vineyard. Parker 96. The 2007 Estate Cuvee State Lane Vineyard (a 750-case blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) boasts an inky/plum/purple color as well as a complex bouquet of melted licorice, chocolate, creme de cassis, mocha, and sweet forest floor aromas. Full-bodied and layered with exquisite purity, texture, and length, this large-scaled offering reveals a supple texture along with 20-25 years of drinkability. It is a seductive yet extraordinarily complex wine that should prove to be a future super-star.

2001 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. Parker 97-98. From the undeniable first-growth quality site comes the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard. When the fruit from this vineyard is handled properly, the resulting wine often flirts with perfection. Hobbs’ 2001 boasts a dense blue/purple color along with an incredibly pure nose of spice box, cedarwood, creme de cassis, blueberry pie and subtle smoke as well as graphite notes that could easily pass for a first- or second-growth Pauillac. Broad, expansive, full-bodied flavors reveal stunning purity, amazing depth and richness, and a finish that goes on for nearly a minute. Still youthful, but oh, so impressive, it is hard to resist now, but it should be even better in 5-8 years, and keep for 30-40+ years.

2008 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz). Parker 97. Also deep garnet-purple in color, the 2008 Astralis is a little reduced and brooding on the nose showing aromas of dark berries, meat, licorice and dark chocolate. Big, full-bodied and rich in the mouth it has balanced acid along with medium-firm grainy tannins. It finishes long and balanced. Drink it now to 2028+.


1990 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. 92 points. Another good, mature Cabernet from Mayacamas, showing peppermint, cassis, licorice, oak, pine needles, molasses, pepper, leather, dirt, and plum. Still plenty of tannin to resolve. I’d say it’ll go another 10 years or so.

2011 Peter Michael Winery Les Pavots Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 92. The 2011 Les Pavots (3,086 cases) is composed of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Its chocolaty fudge-like notes intermixed with espresso roast, black and red currants, smoky barbecue and underbrush are followed by a deep, rich, full-bodied, outstanding red wine that should drink well for 10-15 years.

1977 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon York Creek. 91 points. Very cool. Color was dark red/ black. Classic Cali cab with smooth tannin. Cassis and red fruit with some tertiary development. I really love 70s Cali cab.

During this early phase, there are a variety of munchables:

Various cheeses.

An homage to Spago, with crispy sesame cups filled with salmon tartar, caviar, and bonito flakes. Delicious.

And a slightly different version with grav lox. Stronger in flavor, but equally delicious.

Ham and cheese panini with manchego and jamon de Iberico!

A white fish with yuzu, cilantro, and red peppercorns. Bright and delicious.

Mushroom ravioli.

Sun dried tomato ravioli.


Dinner itself was enjoyed here at the outside table and its warming firepit.


Mushroom soup.

Wasabi mashers.

Grilled vegetables.

Beef. Tasty, but salty. There were two types.

Gravy. Super salty.

2007 Château Coutet. VM 92. Full medium gold. Pineapple, orange, toffee, nutty oak and a whiff of spun sugar on the enticing nose. Sweet but youthful and tangy, with lively acidity and underlying minerality giving an incisive quality to the bright core of pineapple and apricot fruit. At once rich and sharply focused, finishing with excellent length and verve. This should evolve slowly.

Berries.

Whipped cream.

And deconstructed smore.

Finished out with graham cracker and seared marshmallows.

Then topped with the fruit and cream.

Just a bit of wine — 27 bottles!

Overall, another fun evening. Lots of great wine, company, and food. What more can you ask?

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: cotsen, Eric Cotsen, hedonists, Malibu California, Wine

The Martian – Saving Private Damon Again

Oct23

The_Martian_film_posterTitle: The Martian

Cast: Matt Damon (Actor), Sean Bean (Actor — Ned Stark!), Drew Goddard/Andy Weir (Writers), Ridley Scott (Director)

Genre: Science Fiction

Watched: October 22, 2015

Summary: Sensible, well executed, gripping, yet slightly mechanical

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I haven’t written a film review in a while — mostly because I watch more TV these days, plus the movies I do catch in theaters are mostly for 6 year-olds. But I was also lazy, and should have reviewed the awesome Fury Road.

Anyway, of course I had to see the Martian. Even though it’s yet another movie about rescuing Matt Damon, it’s also a space epic and directed by Ridley Scott. Sure, Prometheus half sucked (details thru the link), but hey, Blade Runner and Alien bought him at least 50 years of good will.

The Martian bears some considerable resemblance to 2013’s Gravity. Both are about space disasters and trying to get back to earth. Like other “lone survivor” movies a single actor dominates in both. Stylistically the two are extremely different. Gravity is very focused and intense, with an extreme (and awesome) visual style, very few actors (about 1.3), and constant unrelenting tension. The Martian is more cerebral, conventionally emotional (although not as adrenaline focused), problem oriented, conventionally shot, and probably more science grounded. They are just different. The Martian lacks the extreme visceral reminder of the scope of indifferent natural forces arrayed against the protagonist. I lay this fault on the Martian‘s staid soundtrack, and fairly staid visual style. Mostly soundtrack. Music is one of the keys to cinematic emotion and it isn’t used here to embrace the raw power of nature. Just not what Ridley Scott seemed to be going for this time around (although he’s gone that way before).

the-martian-01Damon does a good job, being mostly “good Matt Damon,” with only a few glimpses of that “evil and slightly annoying Matt Damon” we occasionally see (like in Interstellar). The other actors are all pretty solid, if occasionally formulaic. Some of them like Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ned Stark — Sean Bean, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Pena are very well cast. Although the flight crew, notably Kate Mara, feel underused. They’re kinda missing during the first half of the film (after the intro).

The rest of the crew is underutilized

The rest of the crew is underutilized — and two of them are much prettier than Damon

The ground crew gets ample time, although these segments sometimes feel a touch formulaic and replete with mandatory cheer leading — still they work. Although I have to take the time to point out one of my “world building beefs”, that being the depiction of future earth. The film never says what the year is, but obviously it needs to be 2030+, probably even later. That ship with the rotational gravity rings is a LONG way off. I mean, we could build it, maybe, if we got off our human asses and devoted some actual serious resources to space. But at the current rate… many decades. So given that, the filmmakers barely bothered to change anything up. A little building spruce up, some big touch screens, but clothes are the same, cars look the same, and at the end Matt Damon even drinks a Starbucks from a cup with one of those recyclable insulating wraps. I guarantee those will be gone by 2040!

This is about as much future as we get

This is about as much future as we get

Also worth mentioning the transparent pro-China plug. I’ll bet you $10,000 that this film had major Chinese investors. Now, it’s a perfectly reasonable speculation to imagine that in 20+ years the Chinese will be a huge super power, they are well on their way, and I’d put my money on that. But they in The Martian it just came out of nowhere and grabbed an odd amount of gratuitous screen time. Nothing is ever an accident in a Hollywood script: Chinese investor back pat!

Visually, really solid work. Mars looks great. The ships looked great. But somehow it just didn’t take my breath away. Maybe because Mars looks the same everywhere? Or maybe it was the workmanlike visual style or even more likely, the subdued, or 70s oriented, soundtrack. Gravity on the other hand an amazing Soundtrack by Steven Price.

Mars is a little too orange to take our breath away

Mars is a little too orange to take our breath away

One of the best things about the film is it’s straightforward problem solving style of narrative. Problems come up, and the characters work through them, MacGyver Style. Plus the science is good, with no obvious “totally impossible” bits — thank the lord. Overall, this is a very solid Science Fiction film, impeccably executed, which somehow stops short of being “great” because of some slightly mysterious lack of style or wow factor. Still, it’s much improved over the kind of nonsense that permeates Prometheus and has a much better message than Matt Damon’s last SciFi outing Interstellar. In the Martian, good old human ingenuity, persistence, and drive save the day instead of a mysterious faith based Deus ex Machina.

Find more movie reviews here.

Surely, this guy will never eat a potato again!

Surely, this guy will never eat a potato again!


Related posts:

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Movies
Tagged as: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig, Manned mission to Mars, Matt Damon, Michael Peña, Ridley Scott, The Martian

Little Sheep Hot Pot

Oct21

Restaurant: Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot

Location: 140 W Valley Blvd #213, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 307-1901

Date: October 18, 2015

Cuisine: Mongolian Hot Pot

Rating: Middling quality hot pot

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Hot Pot is an ever popular style of Northern Chinese / Mongolian food. Basically a pot of boiling broth is used tableside to cook various foods.

Little Sheep is a small chain, the name refers to the prevalence of lamb in Mongolian cooking. Fortunately it’s not, “Little Marmot,” as the squirrel-like rodent is common on the Mongolian steppes and has been known to end up on the cook fire.

The interior is fairly modern.

The menu, somewhere in the middle of our markup process. You have to understand that you basically order plates of stuff, which you add to your hot pot.

Little Sheep does have a sauce bar. It’s not nearly as extensive as the one at Hai di Lao, particularly as the left and right halves are the same, but it’s still more than sufficient to make a great sauce.


These are my sauces. On the left is a richer sesame paste one, on the right a lighter ponzu style.

There are two broth types here, “plain” and “spicy.” This is spicy, which isn’t actually that spicy unless you eat the chilies — but good luck avoiding them all!

2009 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Ten. VM 89. One of the Sea Smoke flagships, the 2009 Pinot Noir Ten impresses for its depth and sheer power. Layers of flavor flow through to the huge, dramatic finish in a full-bodied, intense Pinot. Once the intensity of the fruit fades, there is not much development in the glass, which results in an overall impression of one dimensionality. The Ten is one of Sea Smoke’s flagships. It is made from all ten Pinot clones planted on the property. While a solid effort, I expected more from this offering, which also happens to be the wine through which I discovered Sea Smoke years ago.


Supreme lamb shoulder.


Premium Lamb leg.


Supreme angus beef.

USDA Choice rib eye.


Beef of an indeterminate nature.

Pork belly. Look at all that fat.

Free range chicken. Surprisingly good, for chicken.

2009 Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard. VM 93. The 2009 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard once again shows the richness and heft of the clay-rich soils in this site. This is an especially dense Pinot, even by Aubert’s standards, that needs another year or so in bottle to start shedding some of its baby fat. Despite the wine’s richness, there is more than enough underlying minerality to give the wine a sense of proportion and harmony.

Lamb meat balls.

Beef meat balls.

Pork meat balls.

Luncheon meat. A.k.a. spam. Delicious.

Pork sausages. Little wieners.

From my cellar: 2004 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. 92 points. #1; COLOR-nice golden; NOSE-burnt BMX tires meets peaches, apricots & pears; spritzy; TASTE-beautiful bluestone; gorgeous dried Apricots; viscous & oily; gorgeous peach juice; very polished; great, great wine; very delicate; nice floral aspects; subtle cactus juice & on the finish; a concoction of Cantaloupe & dandelion dancing on the back-end; very complex; great balance of acidity & fruit; great structure; absolute elegance at it’s finest; DS-92; GV-92.

Scallops. Total fail here, these were not fresh.

Shrimp. These were fine.

Calamari (squid).

Crab legs. Got a bit mushy in the pot.

Fried fish cakes. Pretty tasty, with an interesting chewy texture.

2010 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Meursault Les Narvaux. Burghound 89-91. An elegant, pure and cool nose of white flower and citrus leads to minerally and well-concentrated middle weight flavors that possess a racy, intense and well-balanced finish. This dry and relatively forward effort should offer 2 to 3 years of upside development if desired.

Miscellaneous vegetable plate.

Miscellaneous mushroom plate.

Soft tofu. I love it, but hard to get out of the pot.

Hot Pot Dumplings. Chewy, tasty. Not sure what if anything was actually inside.

Udon noodles. Again hard to get out of the pot.

Fresh egg noodles. I loved these. Mixed with the sauce they made one of those tangy/spicy Chinese noodle dishes.

Glass noodles. Also great.

Chinese donut. Not actually sweet at all, but with a very nice crunch.

Mongolian bread. Hot from the oven and nice. Who says Chinese don’t make bread?

Mongolian beef pie. This one was delicious. We had a second that was a bit overdone and wasn’t so great.

2010 Copain P2. 89 points. Neither red, white nor rose. Slight tannins from red give body and structure while the pinot gris gives a fragrant juciness that allows it to go with so many modern foods, especially on a warm day with a slight chill.

Lamb dumplings. A little weak.

Pork dumplings. Same. Just kinda soft without too much flavor.

Lamb skewers. With the usual cumin.

Beef skewers.

Chicken skewers.

At the end, the cooling sauce is starting to congeal.

Overall, Little Sheep is a decent hot pot place. The broth was good, the sauces good, and many of the ingredients like the meat and breads quite good. The seafood was fairly lousy, and the dumplings weak. They also don’t have a ton of broth choices and you have to share the pot with about 4-5 people.

Now I’d place it about Hot Pot Hot Pot (with a 8+ person per pot and no sauce bar), but below Hai di Lao. However both of the first two have a bit more variety of non hot pot ingredients than Hai di Lao.

After, we wandered downstairs in this monster Maxi-mall (which also includes Spicy City) and checked out this bakery.

A couple of us got this layered Crepe Cake. It’s just crepes and custard, chilled. Mild, sweet, milky and delicious — like a sort of crepey tres leches cake.

Another mild cakey thing.

And they also have various teas and slushies. On the left a milk tea, on the right a mango slushie.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bake Code, Bakery, Chinese cuisine, Dessert, hedonists, hot pot, lamb, Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, Mongolian cuisine, Riesling, Wine

Tapas at Manchego

Oct19

Restaurant: Manchego

Location: 2518 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 450-3900

Date: September 19, October 2, 2015, and February 21, 2016

Cuisine: Spanish Tapas

Rating: Very tasty

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My wife and I are both fans of Spanish food, so we decided to try out Manchego in Venice.

Somehow in 7 years I didn’t even notice it existed, despite it being in an area I frequent.

The frontage is pretty subtle.

The interior is small and cute.

They even manage to make the electrical boxes on their patio into a bit of “decor.

Anyway, we ordered some Spanish wine and a couple tapas off their mostly traditional menu.


Beet salad. avocado, feta cheese, pomegranate. Bright flavors, very tasty.
IMG_4832
Beet salad with burrata (a variant on some other night).
IMG_4723
Kale salad with pomegranates and cheese.

Boquerones. marinated white anchovies with toast, tomato pulp, Spanish peppers, and avocado. I love the vinegar tang of boquerones, and these didn’t dissappoint. In fact, the traditional peppers, the California nod (avocado) and the tomato, really notched them up too.


Goat cheese and figs tostado. honey and truffle oil. How can you go wrong with cheese, bread, and fig?
IMG_4724
Jamon, burrata, toasts.

Spinach croquetas. béchamel. Or fried béchamel?
IMG_4834
Paella croquetas. Fried rice.


Croquetas de bacalao. Cod version. Even better, softer and more béchamel.
IMG_4725
Deviled eggs.
IMG_4831
Jamon wrapped dates. Got to love these salty sweet bundles of joy.
IMG_4835
From my cellar, some Spanish red of course. 1994 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Tinto Pesquera. 92 points. Very dark red with only a touch of brick rim. This wine is not changing fast. Starts out with gorgeous barnyard nose with dark red fruit (ripe but not overripe), charcoal and spice. Little rustic but complete wine. Over an hour the wine evolved to a nose of earthy notes, forest floor leafy complexity, black fruit with barnyard notes in the background. The palate is quite complex, balanced, very fine tannins are still there though balanced by the fruit intensity. This wine is still improving.

braised lamb empanadas. saffron aioli. The heaviest dish we ordered, these were full of meaty flavor.


Gambas al ajillo. Garlic shrimp. I love this classic dish. This one was nice. Not the best I’ve ever had, and the shrimp, while large, did require some shelling, but still these were great.


Wagyu meatballs. Fenugreek and cream sauce. The sauce was great, like a nice light curry.

IMG_4833
Mac & cheese. Good food.

Lamb popsicles, with yogurt and capers. Very tender and tasty.

IMG_4830
Brussel sprouts with bacon. The bacon totally made the dish.
Overall, this was a nice little meal. Service was good. We did make the mistaking of asking for 2 minutes at the beginning, which as usual when you do that earned us 10-15 without a service — but after ordering things came at a breakneck pace.

Food was bright, quite Spanish, and very tasty. Manchego has rapidly become a family favorite.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Manchego, Spanish Food, Venice Los Angeles

More Meat at Totoraku

Oct16

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Location: 10610 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Date: October 14, 2015

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

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About twice a year my Hedonist group makes a regular pilgrimage to Totoraku, LA’s “secret beef” restaurant.  Toto (as its affectionately known) serves a refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

We often oscillate between 30 person mega dinners — quite the madness — and more intimate 10-15 person affairs. This was the later, with about 10-12 drinkers, and I much prefer this size. You can talk to everyone, bottles go all the way around, and the quality of the wines is generally more consistently higher.

The outside is basically a shell. The “Teriyaki House” has nothing to do with the food within, and the phone number is incorrect. The place is like a beef speakeasy!

The interior is a tad “minimalist.”


Here, chef Kaz Oyama, himself a part time Hedonist, sharpens his knives. Uh oh!

Bonus from my cellar: NV Vilmart & Cie Champagne Grand Cellier Brut. VM 92. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint, crushed rocks and almonds are some of the notes that meld together in the NV Cuvée Grand Cellier. The flavors are brisk, nuanced and pure in this refreshing, saline-inflected Champagne. Chardonnay plays the leading role in the Grand Cellier, and that comes through in the bright flavor profile. This release is 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, 50% vintage 2010 and 25% each 2011 and 2012.

The appetizer plate. Lots of yummy little tidbits.

Uni risotto balls.

Salmon wrapped in daikon, stuffed with avocado and other vegetables.

A very soft gelatinous thing that probably had some crab in it, certainly veggies.

Fish with tomatoes.

2005 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard. VM 95. It’s interesting to taste the 2005 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard next to the Lauren. Here the flavors are quite a bit more mineral-driven, with plenty of graphite and crushed notes. Hints of orange peel and white truffles add the final layers of nuance. The 2005 Ritchie is a bit more forward than the Lauren, and has also aged with a bit less overall finesse, but that is a pretty small critique at this level.

Egg with pear, potato, and some kind of crisp.

Foie gras, some kind of fruit.

A white fish sashimi.

Shrimp with caviar.

Sesame tofu with pea.

Scott brought: 1977 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Vino da Tavola. 91 points. I’ve never had a Sassicaia this old and at first it was a touch thin, but it really opened up and was quiet nice and interesting.

Beef carpaccio with special salt, flowers, and some onion family derivative. Very yummy. This is eaten raw.

1988 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Vino da Tavola. 90 points. Perfectly matured yet fresh Cab nose, lovely red fruits, mineral, also cassis, lead pencil, strong presence of iron which is different than the last bottle, a hint of ash and tar and flower. Medium concentration, silky palate, strong presence of iron/mineral, nicely integrated tannins and seamless long finish. Other than a hint of tar, I would guess it as a perfectly mature classic cab if served blind. Lovely.

agavin: consensus at our dinner was that the 77 was a bit better than the 88

Two kinds of beef sashimi, eaten nearly raw. On the left beef tataki (rib eye) and on the right (in the cup) beef throat sashimi. Also on the plate is a bit of Korean style hot sauce (the red stuff), some intensely strong garlic (yum) and micro julienned ginger.

The throat was very chewy, more about texture. The rib eye soft and more flavorful. All went well with the garlic and ginger — I particularly liked the garlic.

From my cellar: 1986 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 100! The late Michel Delon always thought that this was the greatest vintage he had produced. We often tasted it side by side with the 1982, because I always preferred the latter vintage. Of course, the two vintages are quite different in style, with the 1986 a monument to classicism, with great tannin, extraordinary delineation, and a huge, full-bodied nose of sweet, ripe cassis fruit intermixed with vanilla, melon, fruitcake, and a multitude of spices. The wine has always been phenomenally concentrated, yet wonderfully fresh and vigorous. The wine still seems young, yet it is hard to believe it is not close to full maturity. It is a great example of Leoville Las Cases, and another compelling reason to take a serious look at the top Cabernet Sauvignon-based Medocs of 1986. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035.

agavin: really fabulous. Super smooth and balanced, mature with a youthful power. Long way to go here.

A raw beef dish. Marinated raw beef is seen here with ginger, raw egg, cucumber, daikon, pine nuts, and something orange. Apparently, this is a Korean dish called Yukhoe. Actually, I’ve had it at Korean places, but in any case it’s delicious.

The elements are mixed together and then eaten. It’s hard to describe why it’s so good, but it is, with a very complex flavor and texture interplay.

The tabletop grill we cook the rest of the dishes on.

Mark brought: 2000 Vega Sicilia Unico. Parker 93-98. In the absence of a 2001 Unico, Vega Sicilia has re-released the 2000 Unico which I reviewed in Issue 189. The 2000 Unico is deep crimson-colored with an ethereal perfume aided by its extended upbringing. Aromas of Asian spices, lavender, incense, truffle, and confiture of black fruits are compelling. Sweet, forward, rich, and hedonistic, it nevertheless has the balance and structure to continue evolving for another 5-10 years. In strong vintages Vega Sicilia drinks well at age 50 and I would expect the same of the 2000.

Beef tongue with salt. After cooking, you dip it in lemon juice.

Don’t put your tongue on the grill!

Larry brought: 2001 Penfolds Grange. Parker 98+. It is always a treat to taste Australia’s most famous wine, Penfolds’ Grange cuvee (the word Hermitage has been dropped because of legal issues). The 2001 Grange is one of the few vintages of this cuvee to be composed of 100% Shiraz (the others being 1951, 1952, 1963, 1999, and 2000). Aged 17 months in 100% American oak, and tipping the scales at 14.5% alcohol, the 2001 is undeniably one of the top examples of this wine. At this stage, it appears to eclipse the 1998 and 1996. Inky/blue/purple to the rim, with a stunning perfume of blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, graphite, and earth, it boasts good acidity, huge tannins, magnificent concentration, and a multilayered, textured mouthfeel. It is a big, but impeccably well-balanced Shiraz that should shed some of its structure and tannin over the next 4-5 years, and be at its best between 2010-2030+.

agavin: regarded by most at our dinner as the WOTN!

Filet Mignon with bell peppers, onions, and sisho pepper.

Filet on the grill.

2008 Penfolds Grange. Parker 100! Very deep garnet-purple in color the 2008 Grange reveals a truly decadent nose with tons of spices, fruit cake and black & blue fruit compote notes along with nuances of chocolate and potpourri. The full and rich, multi-layered palate has a little oak still showing, it is going through a little bit of a structural stand-out stage, but it doesn’t detract on the long and complex finish. It still needs a good few years to develop, though this very opulent, expressive Grange shows the very best of this vintage and the vineyards it hails from.

The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon. The vegetables do help to move along the fat and protein heavy meat.

They are served with this spicy sweet miso dip.

Momotaro tomatoes with a vinaigrette. These are supposedly incredibly good tomatoes, as a hater, I didn’t try them. I think Oyama-san gets them from some special place in Orange Country.

Brock brought for Crystal: 2007 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero. VM 96+. Vietti’s 2007 Barolo Riserva Villero is a flat out stunner. Dark red fruit, Villero spices, leather, tobacco, smoke and menthol come alive in a rich, sensual Barolo that captures the essence of this site. Rose petals, mint and sweet red berries flesh out on an inviting wine loaded with class and personality. Over time, the powerful, explosive style of the year becomes more evident. The fruit turns darker, more balsamic and also more intensely mineral.

agavin: too young, but you can tell it was an enormous and balanced wine.

Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.

The outside rib eye on the grill.

After being flipped, green onion is added.

Yarom brought: 2001 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard. Parker 98. Having performed spectacularly well last year in the retrospective of ten-year old Napa Cabernets, this 2001 remains incredibly young, with all of its potential waiting to burst forth. Its dense purple color is followed by notes of mulberries, creme de cassis, blackberries, licorice, graphite and subtle smoke. The wine reveals fabulous fruit along with full-bodied power and a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood. Forget it for another 4-5 years and drink it over the following 25-30 years.

agavin: really nice “for a California.” Very balanced and smooth.


Inside rib eye.

The inside rib eye on the grill. Probably my favorite cut.

Another bonus from my cellar: 2010 Dominique Lafon Meursault. 92 points. The 2010 Meursault emerges from the glass with notable elegance and class. This is a slightly more restrained, nervous style than fans of Comtes Lafon have become used to over the years. The 2010 is made from parcels in Petit Montagne, Charmes and Narvaux that belong to Dominique Lafon and that were once used in the Comtes Lafon Meursault.

As any regular Totoraku goer knows, any new dish is a big deal here, as the menu is very consistent. This is one of TWO new specials chef Kaz whipped up for us tonight, Sawara, a kind of Spanish Mackerel. It is considered the best kind of Mackerel in Japan. Not only it is a big variety, but its comparatively white flesh is succulent in almost any kind of cooking! Here we have it miso marinated and raw. We lightly seared it on the grill and enjoyed!

Awesome and very rich! One hell of a piece of grilled fish.

Kirk brought: 2002 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch. Parker 100! The 2002 Madrona Ranch possesses an opaque blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, enveloping, massive aromatic profile consisting of spring flowers, charcoal, lead pencil shavings, blueberries, raspberries and blackberry liqueur. In the mouth, there is sensational texture, full-bodied intensity, and terrific freshness, precision and vibrancy, despite what is undeniably a massive, rich, intense wine that should age well for another 25-35 years. The 2001s were about as profound as I have ever tasted from Abreu, but the 2002s may be even sexier since they are slightly more evolved.

“Special” beef. I think it was a form of sirloin. It was certainly good, very salted.

Grilling.

Brock brought: 2003 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 95-98. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin is a blend of 40% Mourvedre, 40% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 10% Counoise (normally this cuvee includes 60% Mourvedre and 20% Grenache). A 50-year effort, it is closed, backward, and formidably tannic at present, but the color is a deep ruby/blue/purple, and the nose offers up scents of graphite, blueberries, black truffles, earth, smoke, and licorice. Ripe, full-bodied, and powerful, but searingly tannic, it will need at least a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050. The irony is that in spite of the much higher percentage of Grenache, it is still extremely tannic and backward, even more so than the 2001, 2000, 1999, or 1998.

You have to special order the lamb, which like all of Kaz’s meats, is pretty wonderful.

On the grill.

One hell of a chop.

We char broiled it.

So much so that ash rained down from our efforts.

Brian brought: 2012 Sine Qua Non Grenache Stein. Parker 97-66. Starting with the Grenache release, the 2012 Grenache Stein is a blend of 76% Grenache, 16% Syrah and 8% Mourvedre, aged in 14% new French oak (15% was in concrete), that comes mostly from the estate’s Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, but also includes grapes from the Cumulus, Third Twin (Syrah) and Bien Nacido vineyards. Checking in at 15.7% alcohol, it’s no lightweight, yet it has considerable elegance in its sweet blackcurrants, white pepper, licorice, baking spices and hints of violet-like aromas and flavors. Possessing the hallmark purity of the estate, it’s full-bodied, concentrated, rich and textured, with sweet tannin barely noticeable on the finish. I don’t think it’s one of the greatest Grenaches from the estate, yet it’s still an incredible effort that will benefit from short-term cellaring and have 15-20 years or more of overall longevity.


Skirt steak.

On the grill.


Toto serves homemade ice creams and sorbets as dessert.


So chaotic was this giant night that they brought out all five flavors on each  plate and just placed them about the tables. I like the ice creams better than the sorbets here. The white chocolate was fantastic. Still, it’s all great.

To show the epic white chocolate raspberry, I had to turn around the plate.

This place is all about the beef, which is arguably some of the best I’ve ever had. Certainly the best yakiniku/Korean BBQ I’ve ever had. There is a perfect tenderness to every cut that’s fairly transcendant. I’m not even that much of a steak fan — but I’d take this stuff any time over even a spectacular cut from Mastros or Cut. The food here does not vary much from visit to visit. There is no menu. The quality however is utterly consistant. So while it isn’t an everyday sort of dining experience, perhaps once every 6-9 months, I love to return for my fix.

This evening was quite awesome. We had a smaller party (12-15), with a few non drinkers. Thus every wine easily made it all the way around. Additionally, everyone really stepped up and we had some pretty epic grapes. At least 3 official Parker 100s!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.


Related posts:

  1. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  2. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  3. Totally Totoraku
  4. Epic Hedonism at Totoraku
  5. Totoraku – Secret Beef!
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, bbq, hedonists, Japanese cuisine, Kaz Oyama, Totoraku, Wine, Yakinaku

Renu Nakorn

Oct14

Restaurant: Renu Nakorn

Location: 13019 Rosecrans Ave #105, Norwalk, CA 90650. (562) 921-2124

Date: October 11, 2015 & September 16, 2018

Cuisine: Thai

Rating: Far, but really great Thai

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I’m always up for some Thai adventures and Renu Nakorn, although very far and deep down in the inland empire off the 5 is the seed restaurant that gave birth to Lotus of Siam.

The strip mall they used to be in rebooted up into this bigger 2006 mall. The Chutima’s ran it back in the 90s and in 1999 solid it to their friends Pharchumporn Shonkeaw and Umpa Sripetwannadee. Named after the Renu Nakhon district of northeastern Thailand, it serves up Northern Thai cuisine.

2011 Domaine des Baumard Savennières. 89 points. Quite creamy on the nose with subtle, slightly funky aromas of animal hide, papaya and fennel. Medium-bodied and slightly soft with savory, flinty flavors of grass, hard lemon candy and tangerine.

Fried sweet corn special. They made this up for us special. Absolutely delicious. Crunchy and sweet.

Rose

Renu Nakorn Sausage. Grilled sour rice sausage, served with fresh chili, ginger & peanut. Sausage was super tasty, although very salty.

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Northern Thai Sausage (9/16/18), a slightly different more aromatic variant.

2005 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Spätlese. VM 91. Pale golden yellow.Subtle bouquet of pineapple, nut oil and lemon zest.The luscious yet crisp papaya fruit is brightened by a refreshing mineral character.Deceptively light and wonderfully drinkable.A charming riesling with a sweet/salty finish.

Nam-Prik-Noom (Green chili dip). Roasted green chili, garlic, onion and tomato pounded in mortar. One of the most popular dip of Northern Thailand, eaten with sticky rice, fried pork skin and fresh vegetable. Lots of flavor, not super hot by my standards.
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The red chili dip (9/16/18) version of the same dish.
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Some kind of special beef salad (9/16/18).

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Larb koong (9/16/18). A northern style larb.
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Stuffed chicken wings (9/16/18). Super awesome, we ordered 2 or three times!
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Classic papaya salad (9/16/18).
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Coconut chicken soup (9/16/18).
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In the bowl.


2001 Weingut Johannishof (H.H. Eser) Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Spätlese. 89 points. Peach, grapefruit and brown spice in the nose. Enormously rich and peachy in the mouth, expansive and bright across the palate. Effusively fruity, honeyed and spicy in the finish.

Special apple salad with salmon. The salmon was perfectly cooked, very mild yet flavorful.

2000 Erben von Beulwitz Kaseler Nies’chen Riesling Auslese**. 93 points. Sweet but not cloying.

Nam Kao Tod. Minced Issan sausage mixed with green onion, fresh chili, ginger, peanuts, crispy rice and lime juice. Super delicious, but incredibly salty.

2003 Le Haut-Lieu Vouvray Moelleux. 93 points. Sweet, with perhaps a touch of funk.

Nua Yum Katiem. Charbroiled spicy beef topped with fresh garlic and spicy sauce. Super delicious, and our spicy one actually had some heat (from those peppers). Lots of good garlic and acidic flavor too. The texture of the meat reminded me of tongue (in a good way).

2002 Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Icewine. 93 points. Very nice. Few bubbles left, but what was left added just the right spark. Deep color. Flavors very concentrated. Probably near it peak, but showed zero hint of oxidation, so it may last quite a bit longer.

Northern Larb. A completely difference from the Is-san larb in taste, this Northern style larb (ground pork) is cooked with Northern Thai spices and no lime juice. Garnish with fresh herb and vegetable. Lots of flavor, a bit of heat, and extremely salty again.

2010 Rhys Pinot Noir San Mateo County. VM 94. The 2010 Pinot Noir (San Mateo County) is simply fabulous. Rich dark cherries, crushed flowers, mint and spices burst from the glass. This is a hugely delicious wine from Rhys. The 80% whole clusters are nicely balanced by the sheer depth of the fruit. This is a flat out stunning wine from Rhys. In 2010 the San Mateo is the entry-level Pinot. The 2010 is bottled under San Mateo appellation, as it includes fruit from Bearwallow (in Anderson Valley) rather than the more typical collection of sites from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Once again, one of the appellation-level Rhys Pinots shines.

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They prep the next dish.

Khao soi. Northern red curry with chicken and flat noodles.

In the individual bowl. I loved this, but I LOVE red curries, and I love noodles, so go figure.

Condiments for the curry.

2012 Horsepower Vineyards Syrah The Tribe Vineyard. 96 points. Total rocks rockstar. If you want to show someone Rock terrior, this is about as good as it gets. Super clean, but showcasing that ethereal burn olive and blood flavor. Good acid on the palate for being obviously higher PH. Long finish.

Drunken noodles, combination. Good stuff, we went through the noodles fast.

2007 Carlisle Syrah Bennett Valley. 91 points. Drinking quite well. Most of the group enjoyed it even more than I. Plums, black raspberries and some black pepper on the nose. Tannic. Good fruit but certainly not uber ripe. Starting to show some complexity, but certainly no hurry at all. It really is a beautiful wine.

 

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Pork stew Northern Style (9/16/18).
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Spicy Young Jackfruit Curry (9/16/18). Interesting flavors.

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Seafood Chili Mint Leaves (9/16/18).
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More fried rice (9/16/18).
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Red chicken curry (9/16/18). Classic and delicious.


Special green curry (2015 & 9/16/18) with pork, extra spicy. Loved this stuff, with a nice coconut flavor.
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BBQ beef in spicy sauce (9/16/18).
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Pad See Ew (9/16/18).

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Catfish (9/16/18).
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Crying Tiger Beef (9/16/18).


Bannana fritters with coconut ice cream. I only ate the ice cream, which tasted like ice milk or frozen coconut milk. It was okay.
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Made by me for 9/16/18.

Cherry Cough Syrup Sorbetto – Amareno Cherry and Creme de Cassis Sorbet! — so intense — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #SummerTime #cherry #amareno #Sorbet #cassis

Passionape Sorbetto – Passion Fruit and Aperol Sorbet — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #SummerTime #Sorbet #PassionFruit #Aperol


Food was excellent, if a touch salty. Service was excellent. Only minus was the drive.

I still like Jitlada a bit better. Renu Nakorn has a different, more northern style, however. It also isn’t nearly as spicy. We asked them to give us nuclear hot dishes and they were only “hot”. My scalp never got sweating like it does at Jitlada.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!
Extra wines from 9/16/18:
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1A0A7464
1A0A7465
1A0A7466
1A0A7467
1A0A7468
1A0A7469
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Related posts:

  1. Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka
  2. Ruen Pair Rules
  3. Hedonists in Vegas – Lotus of Siam
  4. Jitlada Overkill
  5. Quick Eats: Chan Dara
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: curry, hedonists, Renu Nakorn, Thai cuisine, Wine

LaLa – Valentino

Oct12

Restaurant: Valentino Santa Monica [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 3115 Pico Blvd  Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 829-4313

Date: October 8, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Good, if a touch slow!

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For some time my Hedonist gang has been arranging this special dinner of all Guigal single vineyard Côte-Rôtie, known affectionately as the LaLas (as they are named La Landonne, La Mouline, and La Turque).

The wine service for this was extensive and expertly handled. We had glasses for every wine and they were opened, tested, decanted, poured all in advance and delivered in neat flights.

Our special custom menu.

Ron brought as a bonus: 2004 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 96. I am thrilled with the way the 2004 Comtes de Champagne continues to evolve in bottle. A few years ago, the 2004 was quite focused and linear, in the style of the vintage, but more recently, the wine has begun to fill out beautifully. The 2004 remains bright, with a full range of citrus, white flower and mineral nuances that dance on the palate. A brisk, saline-infused finish rounds things out beautifully in a Comtes that impresses for its crystalline purity. I expect the 2004 will always remain a bit cool next to the more opulent 2002, but it is still drop-dead gorgeous.

Parmesan crisps.

Another Ron bonus: NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.

agavin: our bottle was mildly corked or funky. Still drinkable, but not up to its usual standards.

Caprese skewers.

Bonus from my cellar: 2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru en Remilly Cuvée Nicholas et Mathis. 94 points. Precise, delineated, a bit reductive, with tons of fabulous acid.

Fried potato puffs with tomato sauce. Very nice.

Ron also brought: 2013 Samuel Billaud Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. VM 93. Pale, bright yellow. Rather exotic aromas of orange peel, musky ginger and curry powder. Large-scaled, broad and deep, with a distinctly old-viney creaminess and superb mineral depth to the explosive flavors of soft citrus fruits and ginger. The mounting, palate-staining finish shows a youthfully aggressive quality but does not go heavy. The crop level here was just 30 hectoliters per hectare, according to Billaud.

agavin: a nice screaming young Chablis

Crudo al cucchiao. Tuna with pineapple. The sweet / salty pairing here is very nice.

Grilled pizza margarita.

Involtini. Eggplant wrapped around soft ricotta cheese.

Breadsticks.

Now we get to the LaLas.

1990 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque. Parker 98. The 1990 La Turque offers an opaque purple color, and an overwhelming perfume of jammy black cherries, cassis, toast, and minerals. With its sweet, generous, incredibly harmonious personality, it is an unforgettable wine.With sweet tannin, low acidity, and one of the most velvety-textured, decadently rich palates I have encountered, this fabulous wine has a finish that lasts more than a minute.

agavin: good, but not nearly as good as the 91

1991 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 99. The 1991 La Landonne will provide multimillionaires with plenty of pleasure over the next 20 years. They can also debate whether it or the perfect 1990 is the better wine. The 1991’s bouquet offers huge, smoky, new saddle leather, licorice, Asian spice, meaty, and cassis scents. Black in color, with layers of richness, huge body, massive extraction, and a phenomenal finish, it is another legend from Marcel Guigal. It will be the least precocious of the 1991s, needing until the turn of the century to open and develop; it should keep for 25-30 + years.

agavin: WOTN, really gorgeous

Warm beef carpaccio. With parmesan, cappers, etc.

1995 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 95-97. The brawny, black/purple-colored 1995 Cote Rotie La Landonne reveals the animal, sauvage side of the Syrah grape. Licorice, prune, iron, and vitamin-like aromas compete with copious quantities of black fruits and smoke in this complex, structured, muscular, massive Cote Rotie. It will require 5-6 years of cellaring, and should keep for 30+ years.

1995 Guigal Cote Rotie la Mouline. Parker 96-100. The 1995 Cote Rotie La Mouline (11% Viognier included in the blend) was scheduled to be bottled (unfined and unfiltered of course) in February, after 42 months in 100% new oak. This is one of the most extraordinary wines made in the world. As I have said many times, if I were ever stranded on the proverbial desert island with only one wine to drink, it would have to be La Mouline. A compelling perfume of violets, black raspberries, coffee, pepper, and pain grille soars from the glass. Medium to full-bodied and lush, with a terrific multi-layered texture and outstanding purity, this is a phenomenal example of La Mouline. It possesses enough structure and substance to last for two decades, although it will be delicious upon release.

agavin: my favorite of this awesome flight.

1995 Guigal Cote Rotie la Turque. Parker 98-100. The 1995 Cote Rotie La Turque (about 7% Viognier in the blend) possesses a dense ruby/purple color, and roasted herb, olive, and Asian spice characteristics. It exhibits exceptional concentration and is velvety and concentrated. The fabulous 1995 La Turque is a virtually perfect wine with flamboyance, harmony, and remarkable opulence and length. It should drink well when released, and last for two decades.

Sea scallops in porchetta, wrapped in pancetta with a red wine sauce. It’s unusual to have such a “red” scallop prep, but it totally worked and made for a solid Syrah pairing.

From my cellar: 1998 Guigal Cote Rotie la Mouline. Parker 97-100. The awesome 1998 Cote Rotie La Mouline is a seamless, full-bodied classic with many characteristics of the 1997 La Landonne , but more structure, tannin, and muscle. It will need two years of cellaring, and will last for twenty years. Stylistically, it is reminiscent of the 1988.

agavin: another amazing flight

1998 Guigal Cote Rotie la Turque. Parker 98-99. The 1998 Cote Rotie La Turque may end up being a perfect wine. Its smoky black fruits intermixed with licorice, roasted meats, cassis, and flowers create an explosive, exotic perfume. The wine reveals considerable tannin, immense structure, and potentially legendary depth as well as intensity. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2022.

1998 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 100! The 1998 Cote Rotie La Landonne is a perfect wine … at least for my palate. Its saturated black/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of smoke, incense, tapenade, creosote, blackberry, and currant aromas. It is densely packed with blackberry, truffle, chocolate, and leather-like flavors. The wine possesses high tannin, but perfect harmony, impeccable balance, and gorgeous integration of acidity, alcohol, and tannin. It is a tour de force in winemaking. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.

Calamarta with porcini duck ragu. A lovely pasta, although a few complained that theirs arrived cold (mine was fine).

Jeff brought this bonus: 2003 Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 97. Revealing more structure and definition than the regular bottling, the 2003 Cote Rotie La Landonne offers more scorched earth, camphor, blackberry, and roasted meat characteristics. Last year this cuvee displayed no acidity, but that is not the case from bottle (perhaps the use of 50% stems helped). Rostaing admits that analytically, there is practically no acid in this wine, so it will age on its extraordinary extract and richness. This blockbuster should drink well young, yet age for 12-15 years.

agavin: warming us up to 2003

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 100! The 2003 Cote Rotie la Landonne continues to blow me away every time I taste it and it’s a desert island wine for me. One of the stars of this extreme vintage, it offers sensational levels of fruit and decadence, perfumed, intense aromatics, beautiful freshness and a to-die-for texture and finish. Still youthful, with masses of sweet tannin, it’s nevertheless a a heavenly drink today.

agavin: brooding monster, needs at least 10 years

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie la Mouline. Parker 100! A desert island wine (as is just about any top vintage of the cuvee) and a gorgeous showing, the 2003 Cote Rotie la Mouline is drinking beautifully, yet is still young, loaded with fruit, and possesses over-the-top richness. Giving up notions of plum, liquid flowers, potpourri and smoked meats, this puppy is full-bodied, massive and layered on the palate, with a stacked mid-palate, thrilling amounts of texture, and a blockbuster-styled finish. There’s nothing classic about it, but it’s still as good as it gets.

agavin: another monster

Risotto with wolfe ranch quail. There was pretty solid agreement that this was a great dish. The quail was nice and flavorful and that jus was fabulous. The risotto was mild but great with the Jus.

1999 Guigal Cote Rotie la Mouline. Parker 100! The 1999 Cote Rotie la Mouline is straight-up awesome on all accounts. Drinking beautifully, with explosive aromas and flavors of blackberry, smoked meats, pepper and exotic flowers, this puppy hits the palate with full-bodied richness, beautiful concentration and a seamless, sexy and oh, so fine texture that is the hallmark of this cuvee. This is another wine that will continue to evolve gracefully, yet I’ve been lucky enough to have it multiple times recently, and when a bottle is drinking this good, don’t miss it by always waiting for another day.

agavin: up there with the 91 for WOTN, and up against stiff competition

La Bistecca: Prime New York Steak “Tagliata” with sea salt and Mosto Cotto Reduction. This wasn’t everyone’s favorite, and it was fairly fatty. It did have a nice, if salty, flavor.

2005 De Suduiraut. Parker 93. Tasted blind at the 10-Year On Tasting in Sauternes. The 2005 Château Suduiraut seemed a little out of sorts at first, although it comes together with honey, barley sugar, orange blossom and mineral scents that become more delineated as its aerates. The palate is very intense on the entry. There is a beautiful line of acidity that cuts through the viscous fruit, though the finish does not quite exude the precision of a top vintage, but still delivers that sense of class one expects from this address.

agavin: very nice, clean and sweet.

Feast of Artisanal cheese with traditional complements. Good but small — I’d hardly call this specific dish a “feast.”

1978 Rieussec. 91 points. Honeyed color. Very pretty nose of apricot and dried peach. In the mouth, viscous and pretty, with wonderful balance and a lush presence, unfolding apricot, butterscotch, and dried fruit notes. A moderate spike in acidity remains. Smooth finish. Not quite the concentration or persistence of a great Sauternes, but this is really excellent. A testament to their ability to age and the enjoyment they afford when mature.

agavin: I thought there was a lot of acidity and apricot — really enjoyed this older wine.

Assortment of Desserts: Panna cotta, chocolate tart, pear gelato. All very tasty.

Let’s breakdown the parts overall:

Wine Service: A total 10. One guy (pictured at the top of this post) was there the whole time. He ordered (with Jeff Leve and Larry), opened, decanted, poured everything. We had glasses for every wine and it was served efficiently in neat flights. He was really on top of it. Bravo.

General Service: Certainly they were very nice as always. A couple guys gave me the eye at being stopped to photo the passing appetizers — but well, you can’t really blame them 🙂  In general service was quite excellent as it usually is at Valentino, but there was one glaring problem tonight: The food took forever to get going. We waited about an hour for a few passing apps, then those (and they were great) dragged out for about an hour themselves. The first official course came in the middle of them — but itself very late. There was a little trouble getting the dozen or so down real fast too. The second course took a real long time too, but after that it sped up. Some people reported their pasta course was cold. Handling of details like the credit card were excellent. I think the trouble was that they had at least one, and maybe 2 other wine dinners going. My friend (and often Hedonist) Kirk was at a Vega Sicilia dinner. He came and joined us after his was finished and around the time the pace really picked up.

Food: Somewhat contentious, but most of us thought the food was good, although not blow you away. I’d say that the food was an 8, with several great dishes and a few that were just fine (like the beef). There was plenty of it too.

Wines: Through the roof. We had no bad Lalas (just the slightly off rose champ). All were in great shape. The 91, all 95s, all 98s, and the 99 were all amazing. 99-100 points for sure. The 2003s you could tell were amazing, but they are so big they need at least another decade.

Value: Excellent!

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Valentino – 2004 Red Burgundy
  2. Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 1
  3. Epic Ocean Party 2015
  4. Valentino – 2005 White Burg part 2!
  5. Nanbankan – Stick with It
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cote Rotie, Guigal, hedonists, Lala, pasta, Valentino, Valentino Santa Monica, Wine

Krug at Il Grano

Oct09

Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: October 7, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome night! Krug & Sal both rule.

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Sage Society’s Liz Lee has been planning this epic dinner for a long time. She’s a huge champagne fan, and Krug is one of her favorites. We are joined by Mike Hoagland from Moet Hennesy, representing Krug. Plus lots of Krug itself!

Il Grano’s private room. We drank from the special Riedel Joseph Krug glasses the house had specially made.

2006 Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. 94 points. A yeasty nose that is at once fresh yet carries hints of secondary development is attractively complex and layered with mostly floral and citrus notes that are trimmed in a brioche character. The secondary aspect carries over to the equally yeasty flavors that are supported by a moderately fine mousse that adds a sense of lift to the dry, clean and utterly delicious finish without being aggressively effervescent. This is almost invariably a very good cuvée and the most recent release is consistent with this admirable track record. Note that while this could easily be enjoyed now I would be inclined to hold it for at least another 3 to 5 years first though this of course depends greatly on how you prefer your Champagne.

Tuna tartar.

Corn pudding and oyster leaf. Kind of slightly weird, and hard to get the leaf off the spoon.

Truffle potato croquetas. Like a truffled tater tot.

Cutterfish fritto. Salty, tender, delicious.

Our special menu.

Our chef Sal Marino, always an amazing host.

Liz Lee of Sage Society, who organized this whole thing.

Mike Hoagland is a Champagne Specialist at Moet Hennesy, which means he evangelizes Krug (along with Dom P and others).

He explained the different wines in a fascinating way. I had long wondered about how champagne houses make such quantities yet keep quality and consistency. Apparently, Krug buys and grows about 400 separate parcels of land, mostly 1re and grand cru Champagne (well all Champagne). 150-200 or so of these are blended together every year to make the Grand Cuvee, and this gives them a tremendous toolbox to mix up a really stunning blend. Plus, they don’t just use one year, but as many as 11 different vintages — although there is a “main” base vintage (usually about 10 years prior to release). Below is the “re-created 2006”, just released.

2006 Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. 94 points. A yeasty nose that is at once fresh yet carries hints of secondary development is attractively complex and layered with mostly floral and citrus notes that are trimmed in a brioche character. The secondary aspect carries over to the equally yeasty flavors that are supported by a moderately fine mousse that adds a sense of lift to the dry, clean and utterly delicious finish without being aggressively effervescent. This is almost invariably a very good cuvée and the most recent release is consistent with this admirable track record. Note that while this could easily be enjoyed now I would be inclined to hold it for at least another 3 to 5 years first though this of course depends greatly on how you prefer your Champagne.

1990s Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. 96 points. This mid 90s grand cuvee was much more amber, deeper, richer, nuttier. Really quiet lovely and in great shape. Apparently it contains a blend of different vintages some as old as from the 70s.

Wild Japanese Snapper Crudo. Tomatoes from Sal’s garden.

Moving into a little more wine discussion, vintage Krug is a blend of vineyards all from a single year.

2003 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 95. Light yellow. Powerful, complex bouquet evokes fresh peach, pear, floral honey, green almond and smoky minerals. Deep, palate-staining citrus and orchard fruit flavors show outstanding vivacity for a hot vintage, picking up ginger and talc notes with air. The strikingly long, sappy finish features zesty orange pith, smoky minerals and an echo of honeysuckle. I’d be in no rush to drink this one. Speaking of waiting, I had the chance to revisit the 2000 Vintage Krug and it has begun to pick up the smoky, weighty and nutty character that long-time fans of this producer crave. It’s still plenty young but already unmistakably Krug, with a chewy texture and a sexy floral nuance dominating right now.

agavin: very approachable right now

2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 95. Brioche, dried pear, smoke, almonds, chamomile and wild herbs are all laced together in Krug’s 2000 Vintage. A wine of striking depth and resonance, the 2000 is absolutely gorgeous today. The first signs of very early tertiary complexity have begun to appear while the acidity is softening, both of which make the 2000 delicious today. At the same time, there is no hurry. I imagine the 2000 will still be gorgeous 20 years from now. Slight elements of reduction linger on the close. The blend is 43% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir and 15% Pinot Meunier, a rare vintage in which Chardonnay is quite high.

agavin: taught and more acidic, but very deep.

Sea bass, cauliflower mushroom, oven dried tomatoes. Blistered almonds and basil salad was tossed in pistachio oil and was raw. Delicious!

1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 94. Bright gold. Ripe orchard fruits, peach pit, toffee, marzipan and dried flowers on the pungent, smoky nose. Broad and fleshy on entry, then tighter in the mid-palate, offering palate-staining pit fruit nectar, apple pie and brioche flavors, enhanced by a toffeed quality. Closes spicy and very long, with resonating smoke and toasted hazlenut qualities.

1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 98. The 1996 Vintage is magnificent. A towering, explosive Champagne, the 1996 delivers the house’s signature breadth in a full-bodied, structured Champagne with enough pure density and acidity to age well for decades. Warm nutty and spiced overtones add nuance on the finish. The 1996 is just beginning to enter the early part of its mature stage, where it is sure to remain for several decades. Krug’s Vintage is one of the truly epic wines of the year.

agavin: a massive powerful acid bomb of a wine!

Poached Main Lobster. Roasted Squash, Lobster Sauce. A really lovely bit of lobster with that bisque-like sauce.

Guinea Hen Consommé, autumn vegetables. Savory and lovely.

Below we are lucky to try side by side two variants of 89 Krug, the “original” which was released perhaps around 2000, and the “collection” which is the same blend, but sits on the lees two years longer and then is held at the house for many many more years. It therefore represents a perfectly stored example.

1989 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. BH 96. While the ’89 is not a current release, I happened to have the opportunity to taste it again in August so I included the note here: a positively spectacular nose that is now fully mature and quite yeasty with real breadth and depth leads to rich, fresh, sweet and intense flavors that also seems to have loads of barely concealed reserves of power and depth, finally explode on the hugely persistent finish. I’ve had better Champagnes but not many and this is a seriously impressive effort that can be drunk now or held for years to come.

agavin: I loved the nutty mature quality of this. Liz’s bottle was in amazing shape.

1989 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut Collection. AG 96. The 1989 Brut Collection is all of the things a gorgeous, mature Champagne should be. Autumn leaves, tobacco, mint, licorice, dried pears and sweet, exotic spices all waft from the glass in this totally complete, layered wine. The 1989 is a big, huge wine, rather it is a Champagne that impresses with exceptional overall balance and total finesse. I have had the 1989 Collection several times, but this is by far the finest bottle I have run across. When Krug is firing on all cylinders, there really is no substitute.

agavin: slightly more refined and younger than the non collection version, but very similar.

Tagliolini.

With fresh white truffles. Simple, but a lovely champagne pairing.

1979 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. JK 95. Start with a hint of oxidation but with air got fresher and richer. Brioche, baked apples, orange peel and anise. It displays rich palate and thoroughly enjoyable.

agavin: Wow. Maybe the best champagne I’ve ever had. A monster, and so fresh, although certainly “mature” tasting.

1966 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 100. One of the most gorgeous, viscerally thrilling wines I have ever had the privilege to taste and drink. Where to start? Impossibly finessed, crystalline and weightless, the 1966 captivates all the senses with its breathtaking beauty. Hints of apricot, wild flowers and chamomile grace the palate in an utterly exquisite, textured Champagne that still retains surprising freshness and clarity for its age. The 1966 is simply timeless. There are only a handful of Champagnes that play in this rarified stratosphere. Many of them come from the Krug cellar in Reims.

agavin: mature and in great shape, not as wow as the 1979, but still a stunner.

Pheasant, sunchoke puree, speck polenta. Mild and perfectly cooked juicy poultry.

Krug Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 94. The NV Brut Rosé is brilliant and finely-sculpted in the glass, with floral aromatics, pulsating minerality and chiseled fruit. Less austere than it can be, the Rosé impresses for its combination of tension and textured, phenolic weight. There is so much to like. This release (ID 213027) is based on the 2006 vintage. The blend is 59% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 8% Pinot Meunier. Disgorged Spring 2013.

older Krug Champagne Brut Rosé. AG 95. An older bottle, I’m not sure how much older, obviously made in a different year from a different blend. More mature and salmon colored, but not even slightly faded.

Look at the pale rose colors. This photo is fairly faithful.

Lamb neck Osso Buco. Bone sucking good. I was literally sucking at it for a while. Super tender and flavorful. Paired well with the roses too.

Selection of cheeses. Small, but very nice, particularly the blue.

Another stunner of a dinner.

Food was right on point. Perfectly paired (thanks Liz and Sal). Really great stuff. Sadly, Il Grano is closing at the end of 2015, after 18 years. Chef/Owner Sal wants to try a new concept as people don’t seem as enamored of fine dining and white tablecloths as they used to be. Sigh.

The Krug was amazing. I have a newfound respect for Krug. I will be buying more, as it’s a seriously likeable champagne and really made with the kind of exquisite care that typifies the best wines in the world.

Also, Mike Hoagland from Krug was fabulous company. Very educated, smart, and interesting. He regaled us with all sorts of stories and details about the winery. I really learned a lot more about how champagne is made, particularly blended champy.

Thanks Liz!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long journey through Northern Italy.

Related posts:

  1. Never Boaring – Il Grano
  2. Eight Legs at Il Grano
  3. Il Grano part 2
  4. Il Grano – Only 19 courses?
  5. Il Grano Birthday
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Champagne, Il Grano, Krug, Liz Lee, Sage Society, Sal Marino

Viet Noodle Bar

Oct07

Restaurant: Viet Noodle Bar

Location: 3221 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA90405. (424) 299 6360

Date: August 18, 2015

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Good, but not typical

_

Santa Monica has had a lot of openings recently, and in multiple classes of restaurants. Viet Noodle Bar is a lunch focused (at least to my mind) casual Vietnamese “Pho” place. Except not exactly.

The frontage on pico (right near Valentinos) is almost invisible.

The interior is minimal and as you can see in the middle of the lunch rush, not exactly crowded.

The menu.

While very Vietnamese, they seem to eschew the “classics” like regular beef Pho. They even note that they DO NOT offer the regular garnish of basil, hoisin, etc. Bizarre.

Rice Noodle Omelet. Sort of a Viet okonomiyaki. I had similar things in Vietnam. It was tasty with that slightly pickled flavor coming from the vegetables on top. Even better with hot sauce.

Spicy Sardine Banh Mi. Green onion. Cilantro. The menu doesn’t even call it Banh Mi, but it is of course. This was very tasty with a bit of mild heat and umami brine quality from the sardine.

Turmeric Fish Salad. Lettuce leaf, fish tomato, red onion, bean sprouts, daikon, carrot. Very nice turmeric flavor and soft savory fish. Nice rice noodles and interesting interplay of crunch.

Ginger fish Pho Noodle Soup. White fish, bean sprouts (I left them out), crispy shallot, green onion, cilantro. A very pleasant mild ginger broth with tender white fish. Lots of rice noodles. I asked for hoisin to jazz it up — found they didn’t have it — and got their peanut sauce instead. This version of peanut sauce turned out to be sort of hoisin-like so it worked out.

Overall, the flavors here are very Vietnamese, but the items avoid the “classics” people might expect and lean toward “California healthy” with a lot of light, vegetarian, etc. Less beef, pork, pate, and other heavy meats. Still a nice place to have around and I’ll be back — although they barely had any customers and so I hope they survive. They need much better signage and some serious word of mouth / advertising.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or my survey of real Vietnamese (in Vietnam).

Related posts:

  1. Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc
  2. Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka
  3. Lucky Noodle King is the Dan Dan Emperor
  4. Hawaiian Noodle Bar
  5. Adventures in Street Food
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Santa Monica, Viet Noodle Bar, Vietnamese cuisine

Beijing Pie House

Oct05

Restaurant: Beijing Pie House

Location: 846 E Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91755. (626) 288-3818

Date: May 5, 2015

Cuisine: Beijing Chinese

Rating: Pies were great

_

I’ve been wanted to try the infamous “pie house” for quite some time. Clearly a lunch place — or even better, a hangover joint.

The usual facade.


The menu.

The tiny Garvey Blvd interior.

Corn soup. Pies apparently come with this bland yellow soup. Straight up it tastes like liquid polenta (i.e. almost like nothing). Add some sugar and it tastes like… sweet nothing.

Pork Soup Dumplings. XLB are great as always. These weren’t the BEST XLB I’ve ever had, but they were certainly yummy.

The sauce was awesome.


Condiments to knock up your sauce if you like.

House Special Pie. These hockey puck-like disks of greasy goodness sure were delectable.

Crispy skin covered pork, egg, and green onions. I’d like to try the straight pork and leek and the lamb and leek.

Lamb and leek pancake. Similar ingredients, and you could taste the nice lambiness, but the ratio of dough to meat favored too much dough. I bet the lamb and leek pie is way better.

Overall, We just began to sample this “cuisine.” Clearly the pies are the way to go. The skin was great and lots of room for meat. Next time I’m ordering all the meat pies.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Beijing Tasty House
  2. Hedonists go to Beijing
  3. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  4. Mark’s Duck House
  5. The Crack House
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beijing Pie House, Chinese cuisine, Meat Pie, Monterey Park, pork

Meat under the Moon

Oct02

Chef: Andrew Greene

Date: September 27, 2015

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome meats

_

Jake and Elizabeth’s yard has been the site of several awesome Hedonist gatherings, and tonight is no exception.

It’s a gorgeous warm night and twenty-some of us are ready to chow down.


The chef tonight is Hedonist veteran Ron’s son, Andrew Greene (with the beard), shown here with a bunch of other chefs in attendance, including Kaz from Totoraku! Andrew is the chef at Troya in San Francisco and he’s prepared some epic meaty feasting for us tonight.

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.

Salami. Out in the beginning are a few nibbles.

Cheeses.

2004 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. VM 97.5. Racy, silky and vibrant in the glass, the 2004 Dom Pérignon is all about energy. Here the flavors are bright and delineated throughout, with veins of acidity and minerality that give the wine its sense of drive. Mint, rosemary and yellow-fleshed fruits linger on the finish with the classic DP reductive overtones that are such a signature. Once again, the 2004 Dom Pérignon truly shines. The 2004 Dom Pérignon is a wine to treasure over the next thirty or so years.

More cheeses.

Crackers.

From my cellar: 2004 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 95. Knockout nose combines pineapple, orange and spices, with a subtle leesy suggestion of nuts. Wonderfully sweet, supple, fine-grained and full, with a captivating sugar/acid balance and an intriguing suggestion of exotic fruits. Extremely broad, silky, palate-saturating wine of great purity and persistence. I underrated this when I tasted it from barrel a year ago. From Domaine Caillot vines located high on the hillside. A great Batard.

hamachi with fennel, pickled with ponzu, Persian cucumbers.

This was a nice sashimi starter.

2010 Marcel Deiss Schoenenbourg. VM 94+. Bright straw-green. Spicy aromas of lime, honeyed peach, anise and quinine. Dense on entry, then spicy and vibrant in the middle, displaying juicy, fresh flavors of peach, flowers and earth. This structured, very long wine magically combines an impression of strong extract and a weightless quality. Very impressive.

Uni. Isn’t much of a looker on the plate.

But sure tasted great on crackers.

w

Mushroom dashi. A lovely light soup of bonito dashi and various mushrooms.

2008 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine. VM 94. Glass-staining ruby. Highly perfumed, precise aromas of cherry, blackberry, licorice, herbs and violet; much darker in character than the preceding wines. Sweet and firm on entry, then fresh and aromatic in the mouth, with strong cherry and dark berry fruit supported by a firm spine of minerality. Finishes sweet and long. This is built to age.

agavin: ain’t no Burgundy!

2006 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Elizabeth Bodega Headlands. VM 94. Deep red. Energetic red and dark berries on the nose, with sexy notes of potpourri and blood orange adding complexity. Lively raspberry and blackberry flavors stain the palate, taking on a richer mocha quality on the back. The red fruit repeats strongly on the strikingly pure and precise finish. An impressively tangy, pure expression of pinot, with the balance and intensity to reward cellaring.

Tomato corn salad.

From my cellar: 1995 Louis Jadot Echezeaux. 92 points. Deep colour, wonderful fruit (black fruits) and sweetness. Very long. A really pleasant surprise, and a perfect companion for salmon teriyaki. A true grand cru, excellent value for money. No hurry to drink the rest.

1990 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 96. Two great back to back vintages are the 1990 and 1989. The more developed 1990 boasts an incredible perfume of hickory wood, coffee, smoked meat, Asian spices, black cherries, and blackberries. Lush, opulent, and full-bodied, it is a fully mature, profound Beaucastel that will last another 15-20 years.

Lamb bacon. Chunks of tender lamb meat reduced and smoked. Very chewy, and amazingly delicious.

2001 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 95. The classically styled 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape has plenty of the telltale kirsch and sweet spice notes that always seem to be present in Avril’s wines. Showing more mature notes of truffle, olive, licorice and garrigue as it sat in the glass, it’s medium to full-bodied, elegant and balanced, with a great texture and finish. It has solid mid-palate depth, as well as sweet tannin, so, while there’s no harm enjoying bottles today, it has another decade of longevity.

braised oxtail.  Tender meaty oxtail.

Warm humus.

1991 Beringer Chardonnay Private Reserve. Parker 96. The second largest production of Beringer’s Private Reserve, the 1991 came in just behind the 24,000 cases of the 1997. Interestingly, these are among the greatest Private Reserves made, and as Ed Sbragia told me, it was just one of those perfect vintages. One of the longest and coolest growing seasons in the history of California, it was marked by cool temperatures throughout the summer and a perfect Indian Summer. The hang time of the grapes, ranging from the date of flowering to the date of harvest, was historically long (I do not believe it has been equaled since). The Cabernet Sauvignon came from the same three sources as the 1990, Bancroft Ranch, the Home Vineyard in St. Helena, and Chabot Vineyard, and the tiny dollop of Cabernet Franc was from the Bancroft Ranch site. I’ve enjoyed many bottles of this spectacular effort, which still possesses a dense ruby/purple color as well as a sumptuous nose of spring flowers, graphite, loamy soil, creme de cassis, black cherries and blackberries. With sweet tannin, a full-bodied mouthfeel and incredible purity as well as youthfulness, this wine has another 15-20 years of life left in it. If this were a Bordeaux, one would think it was 8-10 years old, not two decades. There are no hard edges, and the seamless integration of all the component parts make it one of the prodigious Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserves to drink now as well as over the next 20 years.

fig marmalade. These four, the bacon, oxtail, humus and marmalade were served together.

Things are cooking!

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis. Parker 96. A wine I’ve been lucky enough to have numerous times recently, the 2003 Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis is an off-the-hook effort that gives up plenty of plum sauce, smoked duck, licorice, tar, vanilla bean and violet aromas and flavors. Never acidified, it has awesome freshness and focus to go with full-bodied richness, a hedonistic texture and a blockbuster-styled finish. While it’s not for those craving delicate-styled aromas and textures, I think it’s a gorgeous effort that will continue to drink nicely over the coming decade or more.

Salmon with tomatoes and onions.

2007 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino. Parker 95. The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is gorgeous. Dark red cherries, plums, spices, leather and tobacco wrap around the palate as this dense, powerful wine starts to open up. Expressive aromatics are woven throughout, giving the 2007 a measure of polish and sophistication that is not always present in this wine when it is young. Finessed, suave tannins reinforce an impression of elegance. The 2007 can be enjoyed with minimum cellaring, but it will also age gracefully for many years. Readers who want to try the 2007 today should give the wine plenty of air, as the more refined qualities only emerge over time. When tasted next to the 2006, the 2007 shows redder tonalities of fruit and less sheer muscle. Hints of tobacco, crushed flowers and spices wrap around the sensual finish.

2010 Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown. 92 points.

Venison loins.

Seared venison. Incredibly tender slices of venison.

Some Turley Petite Syrah. I don’t usually bother with these monsters.

Served with blueberry demiglase.

2000 Pavie. Parker 100. Just beginning to come around and strut its enormous potential, this wine at age 15 has been evolving like a glacier. The wine has an inky, opaque, plum/purple color and a stunningly rich nose of mulberries, bramble berries, blackberries, licorice and incense as well as touches of toast and graphite. Fabulously concentrated and full-bodied, with a multidimensional mouthfeel, this profound Pavie is in mid-adolescence. It should evolve and continue to drink well for at least another 30-40 years. This is clearly the first compelling effort made by the Perse family.

agavin: bottle was empty before I got to it 🙁

Maitaki mushrooms.

1996 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 94-96. This estate’s staff believes that the 1996 Mouton-Rothschild is very complex. I agree that among the first-growths, this wine is showing surprising forwardness and complexity in its aromatics. It possesses an exuberant, flamboyant bouquet of roasted coffee, cassis, smoky oak, and soy sauce. The impressive 1996 Mouton-Rothschild offers impressive aromas of black currants, framboise, coffee, and new saddle leather. This full-bodied, ripe, rich, concentrated, superbly balanced wine is paradoxical in the sense that the aromatics suggest a far more evolved wine than the flavors reveal. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030. By the way, the 1996 blend consists of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc.

Smoked fingerling purée. These mashed potatoes were insane, particularly with the blueberry sauce. Tasted like BBQ or something.

2005 Rol Valentin. Parker 92-94. A sexy, full-bodied, very drinkable style of 2005, Eric Prissette’s 2005 Rol Valentin displays loads of black cherry fruit, licorice, Christmas fruitcake and spice. Full-bodied and opulent, it can be drunk over the next 10-15 years.

Duck confit. One of the best duck legs I’ve had — not quite Peking duck, but what is?

2001 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 100! The 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is the first of these back-to-back perfect wines from Shafer that, at age 13, is still a baby, but, wow, what an amazing wine. A fabulous growing season produced a wine with inky/purple black color, stunning crème de cassis notes, with additional hints of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, cedar wood and forest floor. It is full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. This is a great, monumental Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that is still an infant, at age 13, going on 14. This has got at least three decades of life left in it, and probably won’t hit its peak for another 5-7 years.

agavin: slut!

Veggies cooked in duck fat.

2006 Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles Reserve. 93 points. Massive, complex fruit, with a nice layer of tannin. This is a whopper, with plenty of time left. Highly enjoyable now with a some air. Very masculine.

From my cellar: 1973 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia. 93 points. This is quite dusty but really complex. Coconut, sweat, mushroom, strawberry, cranberry and dark cherry flavours. The palate shows a strange lactic note that borders on yogurt and egg yolk which is a bit distracting but in the end, flavours of earth, mushroom, cherry, sweat, herbs, leather and cedar round this wine out and make it quite enjoyable. The finish is medium+ with moderate complexity but is really earthy which is just so captivating.

Charred fennel purée. Good stuff.

1932 Massandra Red Port. 94 points. Tawny in color, with a complex nose of smoke, caramel, butterscotch, toffee, coffee ban, banana and wild strawberries. The wine had great freshness and ample sweetness, but the nose was better than the palate, due to the shortness of the finish. But then the wine was close to 85 years of age. Massandra is not a wine I see often, making this a rare and interesting treat.

agavin: Joseph Stalin probably tasted this wine many times.

1999 Fred Prinz Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese. Really nice.

Kumefe (Turkish filo dough with cheese), with Meyer lemon syrup, hazelnut crumble. I’ve had this in Turkey a number of times. Great stuff with an interesting crispy/gooey texture.

Some extra hazelnut crumble.
It should be noted that we were able to see the “super blood moon” (super moon in eclipse) right as we ate.

Overall an incredible evening of amazing food — and way way too much of it too — and tons of great wines. We rolled out of there. The meats were super flavorful and extremely well cooked. They probably “suffered” slightly too from the family style plating, as I can imagine individually plated with all the elements integrated they would be even more impressive — and they were fabulous as is. Mmmm, lamb bacon.

For more LA dining reviews click here.


Related posts:

  1. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  2. Forget the Duck Soup, More Meat!
  3. Spear your Meat
  4. More Meat – Chi Spacca
  5. Lasagne Bolognese Minus the Meat
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Andrew Greene, duck, hedonists, Meat, super blood moon, venison, Wine
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