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Yay for Yaha – Crawl part 2

May31

Restaurant: Yaha

Location: 983 S Glendora Ave, West Covina, CA 91790. (626) 480-7130

Date: April 23, 2017

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Solid

Tonight’s Sunday excursion to the SGV is a crawl — a multiple stop Chinese Food extravaganza. I was caught at work and couldn’t get out in time for part 1 (of 4) which was supposedly just so-so, but made it in time for this place.

Located in a far (an extra 15 minutes east) mall in Covina, Yaha is some kind of western/northern Chinese restaurant.

Crunchy cucumbers.

Spicy beef tendon. Not bad for this typical dish.

The menu.

XLB. This dish never disappoints, even when medium level. These were good, probably a 7/10 for XLB, which means 9/10 on the normal food scale!

NV Bruno Gobillard Champagne Vieilles Vignes Brut. BH 92. A very fresh and expressive nose combines notes of green apple, white flower and yeasty hints that carry over to the moderately effervescent flavors that possess fine detail and solid precision on the still developing finish. To be clear, this is certainly more than one-dimensional at this point but it seems clear that it’s likely to produce notably better depth in time.

2012 Xavier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Anonyme. 91 points. Ruby in color with and a light red rim. On the nose it was very soft, subtle with a definite grape juice quality. Also, obvious hints of blueberries, cherries, plums, spices, pepper, and some faint licorice. A medium bodied, smooth wine, with acidity due to the high alcohol that never really dissipated. Great long legs.

2008 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Richard Dinner Vineyard. VM 91. Hazy gold. Pungent aromas of orange and grapefruit peel, smoky minerals, honeysuckle and spicecake. Juicy, intense and nicely focused, with very good extract to the smoky flavors of pit fruits and citrus pith. The wine’s lively acidity adds intensity to the long, sappy and penetrating finish.

Twice cooked preserved pork. Salty, but very tasty.

Garlic eggplant. Tasty, although I’ve had better (and spicer versions).

Meat pie. I always love these.

Fried dumplings. Solid too.

From my cellar: NV Drappier Champagne Rose Brut Nature. VM 90. Pale orange. Mineral-accented red berries and citrus fruits on the nose, complemented by hints of candied rose and white pepper. Stony and precise, offering lively strawberry and orange zest flavors that expand slowly with air. Closes spicy, stony and tight, with very good clarity and floral persistence.

We only had a few dishes at Yaha, but what we had were all very tasty, so they seem to have a solid kitchen — and rock bottom prices. The above was $9 a head including tax and tip!
The full crawl consists of these visits: Yaha, Broiling Pit, Duck House

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, food crawl, hedonists, SGV, Yaha

Seconds at Chi Spacca

May29

Restaurant: Chi Spacca [1, 2]

Location: 6610 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 297-1133

Date: April 17, 2017

Cuisine: Italian Steakhouse

Rating: Rich but delicious, a carnivore’s paradise

The little Mozza empire on Melrose now includes the Pizzeria, the Osteria, Chi Spacca, and Mozza 2 go. They do a great job with all their restaurants but their annoying corkage policy (2 bottles per table!) has limited my ability to attend. I only go to this sort of place with my wine groups (my wife being a near vegetarian) and so the limits make it near impossible. But anyway we managed to organize a small group after months of planning.

Chop chop.

The menu.

The small room.

The smoky in the room grill.

I ordered this off the menu.

2015 Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica. 91 points. Bright and crisp, very minerally. Nice summer wine. Great food wine too.

Grilled Octopus. pureed & fried ceci, parsley leaf. Very soft tender octopus. Basically as good as grilled octopus gets (which is pretty good).

From my cellar: 1974 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo. 95 points. One of the stars in this tasting, the 1974 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is quite a bit fresher and also more powerful than the 1971. A huge core of fruit hits the palate, followed by savory herbs, leather, tobacco and smoke. The 1974 remains powerful and virile, with fabulous intensity for a wine of its age and a compelling interplay of tertiary nuance, dense fruit and plenty of structure to back it all up. Readers lucky enough to still own the 1974 can look forward to another 5-10 years of very fine drinking.

Focaccia di Recco. Fett’unta. Super light, crispy cheese “pizza.”

See the cheese, feel the cheese. Very very salty though.

Smoked burrata & roasted parsnips. garlic, thyme, honey. Okay, but arguably the most disappointing dish tonight (most were awesome).

1995 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. Big!

“Moorish” lamb shoulder chop. mint yogurt, cilantro.

mint yogurt.

A special salad of citrus, kiwi, etc.

2005 Château Cos d’Estournel. VM 97. I have been fortunate to taste the 2005 Cos d’Estournel three times in recent weeks and it has never been anything less than stunningly beautiful, as it is once again on this night. The interplay of dark, ripe fruit and the more mineral, savory-inflected nuances typical of Saint-Estèphe yield a compelling, wonderfully complete Bordeaux that simply has it all. An exotic mélange of graphite, gravel, smoke, cured meats and dark-fleshed fruits flow through to the explosive finish. Riveting today, the 2005 Cos will continue to thrill those fortunate enough to own it for several decades. Given its price vis-à-vis many of the high-flying wines of the year, the 2005 Cos remains a terrific relative value in its class.

Costata alla Florentina. Dry-aged bone-in New York steak. Solid beef.
2000 Harlan estate. VM 93-96. he 2000 Harlan Estate is in a beautiful place today. Soft, open-knit and nicely mellowed by age, the 2000 is absolutely gorgeous, with soft contours to match is engaging personality. Mocha, black cherries, leather and spice are all quite forward in this succulent Harlan Estate. The 2000 might not be a profound Harlan Estate, but it is a striking wine that is peaking today and that should continue to drink well for at least another few years.

Tomahawk Pork Chop. fennel pollen. The top (far) part is the pork chop itself, wonderfully tender and with a lovely flavor. The bottom long parts are the pork belly, similar flavor but WAY richer.

Roasted cauliflower. crushed lemon bagna cauda. Excellent!

Roasted potatoes. Lardo, rosemary. Flower of sliced crispy potatoes.

2004 Harlan Estate. VM 95+. Bright ruby-red. Superripe aromas of raspberry, currant and tropical dark chocolate. Sweet, lush and large-scaled, hinting at surmaturite and compellingly mouthfilling without coming across as heavy. This extremely ripe wine’s high pH seems fully buffered by huge dry extract. Finishes with big but lush tannins and outstanding palate-staining persistence. A bit port-like but with mineral and licorice notes giving it definition and grip.

Beef & bone marrow pie. beef cheek, cippolini, funghi. Wow! Like the ultimate beef pot pie — and I mean ultimate. Salty, though, like almost everything here.

Mashed potatoes.
The dessert menu.

1986 Château d’Yquem. 96 points. Deep honeyed gold colour. Nose of burnt carameled toffee, soaped new leather car seats and shoe leather, white shoe cream, apricots…very suave but complex. Palate is gorgeously honeyed, rounded, almondy burnished copper and with a medium-cut acidity to stop it getting cloying. Tooth-coating. Massive head-expanding resonance and reverberance and all so smooth-edged… quite silence creating. Wow! Hard to stop sipping. It just gets more head-expanding with more time in the glass and the mouth.

Banana cream slab. hot caramel. Even I loved this, and I hate bananas.

Butterscotch Budino. sea salt & rosemary pine nut cookies. OMG, I love these creamy puddings. I ordered an extra too just for myself.

Cocoa Nib Caramel Tart. whipped creme fraiche. Rich.

Seasonal Gelati & Sorbetti. Pistachio and I can’t remember what else.

Seasonal Gelati & Sorbetti. Passionfruit (great) and others.

Overall, I thought the food at Chi Spacca was quite awesome, if not exactly authentically Italian. Certainly more to my taste than any normal steakhouse. They should import some pastas over from Mozza though :-). From the menu I thought prices looked crazy, but the total turned out to be reasonable ($130 a person before tip) even though we went to town. Really to town as the above was for 6 people! It was salty though. Extremely salty.

Service was great too, and the atmosphere fun. My only complaint is with the bottle limit. The $30 corkage is fine. But the 2 bottle hard limit, apparently strictly enforced, is quiet annoying. It totally breaks down for wine dinners. Their list has interesting Italians, but the wines are too young. Plus I just resent having to buy off wine lists altogether (beyond the occasional white or rose). If they priced a fixed $30-50 markup, and had my kind of wines, it would be fine, but they always use a multiplicative markup. I’m not paying $400-600 for a $200 bottle!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chi Spacca, Corkage, Gaja, hedonists, Italian Cusine, Meat, Steak, Wine

Little Fatty

May26

Restaurant: Little Fatty

Location: 3809 Grand View Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066. (310) 574-7610

Date: April 16 & May, 2017

Cuisine: Modern Taiwanese

Rating: Really tasty

I love me some Chinese food and am certainly willing to try any promising westside Chinese.
It’s not far from the Mitsuwa market in Mar Vista and used to be “Status Kuo”. Both are the creations of Chef/Owner David Kuo.

Decor is cute and the kitchen right out there in front of the single row of tables. Over to the left, sort of next door, is “Accomplice” a bar owned by the same group.

The small menu.

Old Fashioned. You can order from Accomplice. Solid Old Fashioned.

Wontons. Shrimp, pork, chili vinaigrette. More or less a version of the classic “numb taste wontons”. Sweet and sour flavor, quite nice, if not as good as a really good version of the classic.

General Tso Cauliflower. Rice flour, jalepenos, sesame seeds. Almost makes me love vegetables. Really great dish, and so Tso it hardly mattered it was Cauliflower (which I actually like).

Duck Pizza. Hoisin sauce, parmesan, pickled chilies. Fabulous. A bit like the long lost CPK duck pizza.

Mapo Tofu. Pork, meiji tofu, chili bean paste. Not nearly as spicy or numbing as a “real” version of Mapo, but it was good in it’s own way. More meaty than most.

Beef and Broccoli. yu choy, Chinese BBQ sauce, red vinegar. I normally would never order B&B but this version was actually really good with a bit of heat and a fish sauce thing that made it a bit like a panang.

Taiwanese Sunday Gravy. 3 cuts of pork, shiitake mushrooms, house pasta. Unusual, slightly funky, hybrid east/west and pretty delicious.

Zha Jiang Mian. Pork, black bean paste, fresh noodles.

Decent, but not as great as a great dan dan mien.

Lots of meat though.

Walnut Shrimp. Mayo sauce, watermelon radish, candied walnuts. A bit more fried and not as much “light” mayo as the classic. Certainly tasty, and good quality shrimp, but I like the traditional a hair better (when it’s good).

Pork chop. With takuan pickles. Great fried snitzel.

Braised pork belly. Chinese preserved vegetables, soy, rock sugar. Solid, if very fatty (as it should be).

Fried rice. Chinese sausage, egg, pickled carrots. Nice fried rice. I always love the sweet Chinese sausage.

Taro ice cream. Fried sesame balls, coconut, thai basil. I didn’t think I would like this, given that I detest taro, but it was actually pretty great. Sesame balls had a nice texture contrast with the ice cream.

Overall, Little Fatty was pretty great. I like the slightly modern updated Chinese sensibility and it maintains much of what I love about Chinese flavor. I’ve already been 3 times and will go again. Wish they didn’t use MSG though (I can feel a bit of CRS afterward).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: David Kuo, Little Fatty, Mar Vista, Taiwanese Cuisine

Italian? – Tom George

May24

Restaurant: Tom George

Location: 707 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90017. (424) 362-6263

Date: April 16, 2017

Cuisine: (Sort of) Italian

Rating: hits and misses both

Saturday night brings me Downtown to meet up with pal Sebastian.

He loves this difficult to park at unless you valet corner. And Tom George is a newcomer, a big attractive space that hosts a strangely named “Italian.” It’s the kind of Italian I don’t really get — where it doesn’t feel that much like an Italian restaurant.

The menu is kinda Italian. It has pasta and pizza. But kinda American too. And it’s certainly nothing like a menu you’d find in Italy.

We bought a Verdiccio or something like that off the list too, forgot to take a picture of it.

From my cellar: 2004 Tenuta le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. VM 93. The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva naturally offers a bit more structure and depth than the straight bottling. Powerful and intense, the Riserva also shows the wilder side of Sangiovese, with plenty of game, smoke, tobacco and licorice undertones. The 2004 has aged well, even if it is a bit rustic. Still, there is plenty to like.

Nduja sausage pizza. arugula, mozzarella, basil. This was a good pizza.

Hand chopped beef tartare. Quail egg, toast. Pretty straight up decent tartare.

We ordered some white truffle and just had it shaved to add ourselves.

They gave us lots of it, problem was it had no flavor — out of season?

Seb brought: 2007 Castello dei Rampolla d’Alceo. VM 97. Dark raspberries, cloves, menthol and crushed rocks wrap around the palate in the 2007 d’Alceo. Rich, voluptuous and sexy, the 2007 is very much a product of a vintage that yielded a crop of resonant, generous wines. The ripe, silky tannins will make the 2007 accessible relatively early, but it also has more than enough depth to age well for years. Today, the flavors are naturally still quite primary and there is still quite a bit of baby fat that has to melt off before the 2007 enters its prime drinking window. Still, there is a lot to like, including the wine’s huge, palate-staining finish. Grace meets power in the 2007. In a word: dazzling!

Spaghetti Carbonara. Guanciale, black truffle. This was a solid Carbonara. Definitely good. Not the best I’ve had in LA, nor even close to a good one in Italy, but certainly very enjoyable. Guanciale wasn’t crispy. I like it crispy.

Fettuccine duck ragu bolognese. Total fail. Looked good, but very little flavor.

Penne Vodka. Pork cheek bacon, basil. This was salty but delicious.

This wasn’t on the menu, but obviously it’s a whole fish with a ratatouille.

Seb also brought: 2014 Sine Qua Non Syrah Piranha Waterdance. VM 95-97. A striking, vibrant wine, the 2014 Syrah Piranha Waterdance is beautifully focused and energetic from start to finish. Plum, blueberry, lavender, mint, violet and sweet spices all take shape in the glass. This is an especially nuanced, sculpted Syrah long on class and personality. There is so much to like here. The 2014 is 81% Syrah, 8% Petite Sirah, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Touriga Nacional and % Graciano, done with 26% whole clusters, all from Sine Qua Non’s estate vineyards: 35% Eleven Confessions, 34% Third Twin and 31% Cumulus.

Half jidori chicken, roasted miatake, brown butter sauce. I’m not normally a chicken fan, and this certainly isn’t very Italian, but it was good.

Butter lettuce. Cucumber, mustard vinaigrette. Never seen a salad like this in Italy.

Matcha Tiramisu. White chocolate. Nice texture, but the whole matcha and white chocolate is certainly very inferior to the traditional zabaione, coffee, chocolate, rum vibe.
Gelato. The dark is chocolate sorbet, which was good for no dairy but still a sorbet. The white was basil gelato. Nice texture, but the flavor was very very sweet and very mildly basil.

Overall the food here was a bit hit or miss. It didn’t feel terribly Italian, certainly not authentically Italian, although I heard one of the owners or managers speaking Italian. Some of the dishes were good like the pizza, the carbonara, and the chicken, but non were terribly memorable. Service was perfectly pleasant and the space lovely.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Italian Cusine, Pizza, Tiramisu, Tom George, Wine

Not so Glorious

May22

Restaurant: Gloria’s Cafe

Location: 10227 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 838-0963

Date: March 28, 2017

Cuisine: Mexican and Salvadoran

Rating: okay

On this particular night I was on duty at my own restaurant, but the Hedonists were gathering for an informal dinner just blocks away and the assistant manager covered me.

Gloria’s is a Mexican Salvadorian (don’t ask) place on Venice Blvd. It’s a long street filled with cheap rents and ethnic eats.

There were wines here, but they weren’t anything worth photoing. Just the usual collection of mid levels.

Papusas. Typical Salvadorian papusas (fried corn pancakes) stuffed with cheese. These are to be eaten with the slaw below and red sauce.

Cabbage for the papusas.

On the Mexican side, chips and salsa.

Yucca con Chicharron. Fried cassava fingers with DEEP fried pork and curtido. The pork was tasty, if fried beyond recognition.

Cut up papusa bits or something similar.

Pollo frito. Quarter pieces of chicken seasoned with a Salvadoran style dry rub. Deep fried until crispy. Kinda greasy fried chicken.

Carnitas plate. Fried pieces of tender pork stewed in green tomatillo salsa.

Bistec Encebollado. Marinated Salvadoran style steak sautéed and stewed in salsa.

House special burrito. Our most popular burrito! We layer our house burrito with beans, lettuce, guacamole, & sour cream; then top it with salsa, fresh pico de gallo, and cheese.

It was well… a giant burrito.

Cocido. Tender pieces of beef with a mixture of fresh cooked vegetables in a savory beef broth. Tender in this case is a liberal word.
More fried pork.

Gloria’s was fine. I guess they execute okay on Salvadoran, but it’s a pretty sloppy cuisine and I remember better meals of similar food 10 years ago — but I haven’t been recently to sync up my memory (as it’s impossible to compare meals fairly across a decade). Gloria’s really loves the deep fryer, but I guess that’s the cuisine. The decor is cute and kitschy. And best of all it was nice to get away from work and see friends.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Gloria's Cafe, Glorias, hedionists, Mexican cuisine, Salvadoran cuisine

Valentino – 2009 White Burgundy part 1

May19

Restaurant: Valentino Santa Monica [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

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

Date: March 1, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fun and educational!

This dinner is the first part of the annual White Burgundy Premox test series, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. Tonight’s particular dinner covers 2009 Chablis, Meursault, and Corton Charlemagne. Other dinners in the series are listed at the bottom of the post.

As usual, the dinner was at Valentino, which has been a mainstay of the LA fine dining scene for decades. I first started coming here in about 1995 and it was a mind blowing change from the usual trattoria and red-sauce style Italians. Valentino is much closer to Michelin 2 star restaurant in Italy, although not as modernist as some of those are in recent years. If food in Italy turns you on, check out my Eating Italy segment.

And with regard to the wines. The relatively low acidities in 2009, especially low malic-acid levels which accelerated the malolactic fermentations, mean that many white 2009s are relatively soft and rich. Ripe grapes meant no added sugar to boost alcohol levels but yields were relatively high. This suggests they will make satisfying early drinking but should probably be consumed long before the more structured and long-term 2008s. This applies particularly in Chablis to the north of the Côte d’Or.

Our private room. Notice the large table with a lot of space. This is important when you have 30+ glasses a person!

Notice the awesome array of glasses in the background. Only about half of them are visible. Few restaurants can handle this sort of thing, as they need over 400 stems of the same type and a dedicated Sommelier with sufficient experience and skill. Ours tonight handled the whole wine service with extreme professionalism and personality.

Tonight’s special menu.

Flight 0: Champagne

2004 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee. 94 points. Light gold color; citrus, biscuit and lemon zest aromas; bright citrusy flavors with a lightly toasty element which adds complexity; a very long citrus and minerals finish. Very nice champagne.

Parmiggiano Schegge.

Bruschetta with wild arugula.

Shrimp Milanese.

Oysters.

Grilled flat bed pizza.

A word about tonight’s format. Every bottle was served blind, except we were aware of what flight it was and what was in the flight, just not of which wine was which. The reveal was held until the end of the entire evening so that we could vote on favorite wines without bias.

Personally, I’d prefer a reveal halfway through each flight for a number of reasons. True, this would compromise the voting a bit, but that’s not super important to me. I’d prefer to be able to taste the wines both not knowing which was which and knowing, so that I can continue to build up my subjective memory for each house style. I also find it very difficult to remember back across multiple flights for “best” comparisons. I took notes and marked my favorites of each flight and compared those, but I’m not even really sure it’s fare to compare a Chablis to a Corton.

The tasting notes below are cribbed from Don C who organized the dinner.

Flight 1: Chablis

2009 Raveneau Chablis Montee de Tonnerre. 90 points. Light gold color; sweet lemon (Meyer lemon) aromas; very light lemon flavors, and a mid-palate which is mostly some glyceryl effect and some modest minerals; this is a fairly thin wine. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 points (0/0/0/0/1)

2009 Dauvissat Chablis Preuses. 91 points. Color between light and medium gold; distinct honeysuckle aromas that remind me much more of BBM than Chablis; light green apple and citrus flavors; this has better acidity than #1, but less minerality; a light mineral finish. Four tasters thought this was advanced. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Fevre Chablis Preuses. 90 points. Light yellow gold color; very light green apple and lime aromas; on the palate this is thin with a little green apple but not much other discernable character on the palate My score in retrospect is probably generous. This got one vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Raveneau Chablis Valmur. 91 points. Medium gold color; light green apple and some very faint anise aromas; very light bodied wine with mostly minerals and glyceryl elements; the finish is very light but minerally and fairly long (best feature). This got five votes for best in flight and our Somm. Paul Sherman had it in his top 5 for the night. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 points (0/0/0/0/1)

2009 Dauvissat Chablis Clos. 87 advanced. Medium gold color; Lychee fruit and faintly oaky aromas – but as this sat the aromas started to get more like apricot; this has some odd, sour apple juice flavors; there is notable acidity, but the acidity reminds me more of “end acidity” when the wine is oxidizing rather than natural malic or lactic acid. This is definitely advanced. That is also the group consensus. Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Faiveley Chablis Clos. 86 advanced. Medium gold color; light green apple aromas; modestly rich green apple flavors and seemed to be more like a Cote de Beaune wine than a Chablis to me; not all that much to be excited about in the finish though. After some air there were some pineapple notes in the aromas on the second pass. Hard to see this as Chablis and I’m almost suspicious of what’s in the bottle. Three votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Fevre Chablis Clos. 86 advanced. This between medium and full gold color – definitely the darkest of the first flight; forward apple cider aromas with slightly oaky/toasty note – definitely advanced; advanced red apple fruit flavors. This was definitely advanced and the group all agreed. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Raveneau Chablis Clos. 90 points. Medium gold color; aromas of oyster shell and light lime – finally a Chablis aroma set; on the palate, this had richer fruit than the other wines in the flight, but it was still in a lighter and softer style. Some fairly light minerality and a short finish. While the aromas were definitely Chablis, the palate wasn’t and this wine didn’t seem to have anywhere left to go. Five votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 points (0/0/0/0/1)

Crab cake with white wine caper sauce.

Flight 2: Meursault part 1

2009 Roulot Meursault Charmes. 91 points. Medium gold color; overly sweet lemon/lime aromas – I immediately said “7-Up” with agreement from several in the room; on the palate, it had similar, overly sweet, almost syrupy lemon-lime flavors, but it had very good acidity and a decent finish. This wine strongly reminded me of what I didn’t like when I first tasted the 2009 vintage on release. [NB Retasting this after the reveal, it was impossible to identify this wine as either Roulot or Meursault Charmes] Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Henri Boillot Meursault Charmes. 90 points. Medium gold color; white flowers and pear aromas; lightly sweet citrus fruit on the palate but with some grilled nut background character; this reminds me more of a Meursault than #9; but this one is a bit harsh and almost phenolic on the finish. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Colin-Morey Meursault Charmes. 93+ points. Medikum plus gold color; light white flowers and some lemon – lime fruit aromas; very bright, medium bodied and charming lemon citrus and light pain grille flavors; a very long subtle fruit finish with a minor degree of acidity in the finish. Real Meursault with just a hint of upside. Four votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

Andre Jobard Meursault Charmes. 89 advanced. Between medium gold and full gold color; aromas of cheerios with sweetness (an aroma Ron Movich has traditionally flagged as outright oxidiation); on the palate, the wine is very fat, buttery, and has a sweet caramel flavor. This is exceedingly advanced and the group unanimously concurs. In hindsight my score seems too generous. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres. 94 points. Very light gold color; aromas of green fruit (like Midiori liquer) and oysters; on the palate, intense, bright citrus flavors with excellent acidity and a good dollop of minerality; this also had a very long minerals and citrus finish that just kept improviing as the night went on. A genuinely impressive Meursault. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 15th, 3 points (0/0/0/1/1)

2009 Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres Cuvee des Pierre. 94+ points. Light gold color; bright lemon citrus aromas with a hint of grilled nuts; very bright lemon-lime flavors with lots of minerality and noticeable acidity; some powerful citrus fruit and abundant minerality on the finish – excellent; this has a bit more fat on the finish than #13. Five votes for wine of the flight. My number four wine of the night. Group Rank: Fifth , 13 points (1/0/1/2/1)

2009 Roulot Meursault Porusots. 93 points. Light gold color; aromas of lemon citrus and hints of green midori liquer; very bright wine with good acidity, moderate intensity lemony fruit and intensely minerally mid-palate; nice components but there seem to be mismatches in intensity levels here; fairly long sweet finish. This got two votes for favorite of the flight, but five people thought it was advanced. On my second pass through it definitely seemed to have lost something. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

Risotto al frutti di mare. Some years we have had seconds of this — could have used it tonight.

Flight 3: Meursault part 2

2009 Lafon Meursault Charmes. 92 points. Between light and medium yellow gold color; light lemon citrus and minerals aromas; not much fruit here, but some intense minerality on the mid-palate and finsih; this is classic but dry; nice minerality on the finish. Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Roulot Meursault Perrieres. 94 points. Between light and medium gold color; fresh peach and hazelnut aromas; some lemon citrus, with stony, ground rock mid-palate and great acidity; a very long, mostly mineral and light lemon finish. I love this wine for the stoniness and mineral intensity, though some could find it too austere in the fruit department. Group Rank: Fourteenth , 6 points (1/0/0//1)

2009 H. Boillot Meursault Perrieres. 94 points. Between light and medium gold color; again peach and hazelnut aromas; unlike #17, this has some fat and richness on the mid-palate, the biggest wine of the flight; a nice minerally finish too. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 12th, 8 points (0/1/1/0/1)

2009 Bouchard Meursault Perrieres DIAM. 94+ points. Light yellow gold color; light green apple aromas; clean and bright citrusy flavors; very good acidity here; a very long minerals and fruit finish. There is some upside here. Four votes for best in flight. My No. 6 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tenth, 10 points (1/1/0/0/1)

2009 Coiin-Morey Meursault Perrieres. 94+ points. Light plus gold color; very subtle white flowers and lemon pastry aromas; on the palate this had some more dense lemon fruit character and minerality; decent acidity; very long minerals and citrus finish. Impressive with some upside. Three votes for best in flight. My No. 3 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for sixth, 12 points (0/1/2/1/0)

2009 Drouhin Meursault Perrieres. 94+ points. Between light and medium gold color; light green apple aromas that don’t really seem open or developed yet; on the palate this was backward, with very good acidity and had intense mineral-saline character over some light citrus fruit. This one needs time to open, but seems very impressive. Four votes for best in flight. My No. 2 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for sixth, 12 points (0/1/1/2/1)

2009 Lafon Meursault Perrieres. 94+ points. Between light and medium gold color; very light white flowers aromas; this wine has very bright acidity, light citrus and intense minerality; a long minerally finish too. Two votes for best in flight. This was my No. 5 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for 8th, 11 points (0/0/2/2/1)

Pan roasted Napa quail stuffed with wild mushrooms on soft polenta. Not a bad quail.

Flight 4: Corton Charlemagne

2009 Faiveley Corton Charlemagne. 92 points. Light plus gold color; aromas of pears and white flowers; nice medium density pear flavors, nice depth; it didn’t seem to follow through on the finish though. Group Rank: Tied for 8th, 11 points (0/2/0/1/1)

2009 Javillier Corton Charlemagne DIAM. 93 points. Just short of medium gold color; this had pear and green apple aromas; also similar flavors; this has an elegant and long finish which distinguishes it from #23. Group Rank: Tied for 15th, 3 points (0/0/1/0/0)

2009 Montille Corton Charlemagne DIAM. 93 points. Between light and medium gold color; white flowers and pear aromas; this has some greater richness and depth on the mid-palate with good acidity; minerality isn’t obvious here; fruity finish with some acidity. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Vougeraie Corton Charlemagne. 94 points. Between light and medium gold color; sweet white flowers aromas; intense pear flavors; this has more power and depth and more minerality than the preceding wines in this flight; it also has brilliant acidity, and very nice minerality; a very long minerally finish.. Two votes for best in flight. Group Rank: 11th, 9 points (1/0/0/2/0)

2009 Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne. 93+ points. Between light and medium gold color; light white flowers and sweet citrus aromas; less depth of fruit than the others, and more citrus here, good acidity, but I found this somewhat dry, almost phenolic on the back of the palate; nice minerals on the finish. May round out with more time. Two votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Third, 22 points (2/2/1/0/1)

2009 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne. 93+ points. Between light and medium gold color; aromas of white flowers and lemon blossoms; on the palate this had some sweet citrus and a long dry minerally finish. Needs more time. This got five votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Fourth, 15 points (/3/0/0/0/0)

2009 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne DIAM. 93 points. Light yellow gold color, the lightest of the flight; light white flowers and green apple aromas; this had relatively simple green apple flavors but an incredibly long structured minerally finish. At first I thought this wine had good development potential, but by the end of the night, I just wasn’t sure. Group Rank: Twelfth, 9 points (0/1/1/0/1)

Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne. 94 points. Just short of medium gold color; light white flowers and green apple aromas; the most complex mix of fruit flavors of the flight – lemon, lime and green apple, with very nice depth and length; a very pretty wine though not as much minerality as some of the others. I liked this even a little more on my second pass. Five votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Second, 30 points (3/2/2/0/1)

Colin-Morey Corton Charlemagne. 95 points. Light gold color; very light white flowers aromas with some green apple undertones; very bright green apple flavors which are intense and snappy; this wine is extremely long on the palate and has amazingly good minerality on the finish. A wow wine. Three votes for best in flight (including mine). My number one wine of the night. Group Rank: First, 34 points (2/3/2/3/0)

Sicilian boneless rabbit with prosciutto, caciocavallo, a hint of chocolate. Not sure we needed TWO meat in brown sauce dishes.

Flight 5: dessert

Fight the hangover!

1976 Schloss Eltz Auslese. Deep brown color; some burnt sugar and apricot aromas; from a personal perspective I had a real problem getting past the strong burned toast and earthy character on this wine that made the sweetness unreachable for me. Not my cup of tea, but I’ve never been a fan of the 1976 German vintage.

Cassatina di rocotta with pistachio gelato. My gelato is much better but the cassata tasted about 80% like a real Sicilian Cassata, which in my books makes it awesome as that dessert is almost impossible to find properly done outside of Sicily.

Conclusions

No glasses to be found anywhere (else).
Have a few white burgs!

There is a lot to say about this tasting. First of all, Valentino did a good job as usual. The wine service was impeccable, and this is a difficult task (pouring lots of big blind flights). Overall service is absolutely first rate. It’s a large quiet room, and the staff was highly attentive. The food was solid, although not as bright or modern as some places. The decor and food are a tad dated now, very very 90s — and not even as good as I remember back in the 90s. But memory is a funny thing.

There wasn’t quite enough food and the flights were WAY too large. Really this dinner could use 6 flights, no bigger than 5 wines each and about 6 savory dishes. This was more a planning/budget issue than anything under the restaurant’s control.

Thanks to Don C again as always for organizing a super fun and education event! It’s an enormous amount of organization and we all really appreciate it.

Speaking of Don, his compiled results and comments from this dinner are as follows. The top five ranked wines of the evening were:

The group’s top five ranked wines of the evening were:

1. 2009 Colin-Morey Corton Charlemagne.
2. 2009 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne
3. 2009 Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne
4. 2009 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
5. 2009 Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres Cuvee Pierre

The details are all in the attached spreadsheet along with my ratings on the wines.

Of 31 wines, we had 0 corked, 0 oxidized but 3 were advanced (9.7%). In the four months leading up to this dinner I opened 11 different 2009 whites and didn’t experience a single bottle that was either advanced or oxidized. We had four bottles with DIAM cork closures at the dinner and none of them were advanced or oxidized.

Some general comments –

This was the fourth consecutive dinner where a Colin-Morey wine finished either the number one or number two ranked wine by the group (and all of the voting has been totally blind.) BDM Corton made the top five for the first time ever. Vougeraie made a very impressive first time appearance.

Except for the Chablis, the wines from 2009 far exceeded my initial expectations. When the Cote de Beaune wines were released, I thought most of them were excessively sweet (I frequently used the descriptor of “7-Up”). As a result, I cellared very few 2009s. But the Cote de Beaune wines today, for the most part, far exceed my initial expectation. The level of improvement was even more profound than what we experienced with the 2006 vintage.

The bad news for 2009 is that, in my judgment, 2009 is the least impressive vintage of Chablis that I’ve ever tasted – far worse than the 2007s or the 2005s. The Chablis were extremely thin and mostly lacking in Chablis character. The three best wines of the flight, all from Raveneau, were very light bodied wines with some minerality but very little else to commend them. In my opinion, it’s a vintage of Chablis to avoid.

But in contrast to the disappointing Chablis, the flight of Meursault Perrieres was, when considered as a whole, the most consistent flight of Meursault Perrieres, from one wine to the next, that we’ve ever had. Excluding the Lafon Charmes, (which I usually include with the MPs because of those vines’ immediate proximity to Perrieres and the fact that the Lafon Charmes usually tastes more like MP than Charmes), the wines were uniformly very impressive. They were fairly light in color and had varying pleasant fruit esters (mostly citrus, but in two cases green apple and two with some peach) along with grilled hazelnut in a couple of them. They also all had surprisingly good acidity and strong minerality. After writing my notes and provisionally scoring the wines I was astonished to realize that I’d rated every MP at 94 points and it was very hard to pick a favorite in this flight. Four of the wines are likely to improve a little more with additional bottle age (which to me was unexpected for the 2009 vintage.)

The Corton flight, while it had a greater range of variation, was also quite good. The aromas were mostly white flowers and green apple or pear (though a couple had some light citrus elements). The wines were bigger bodied and richer than the MPs, as you would expect. They were surprisingly classic in style compared to how sweet and 7-Up like many of the wines tasted like at the time of release.

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2008 White Burgundy part 1

2008 White Burgundy part 2

2008 White Burgundy part 3

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2007 White Burgundy part 2

2007 White Burgundy part 3

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3