Food: Petrossian Beverly Hills
Location: Gallery on Robertson Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90048.
Date: April 23, 2018
Cuisine: Caviar +
Rating: Great food
Liz Lee of Sage Society organizes some of the best wine maker dinners. Tonight’s showcases Ruinart Champagne.
While the food is from Petroissian down the street (yay caviar), the actually event location is actually at LeClaireur, a private gallery space.
We wind upstairs through the chic and elegant gallery to find this lovely spot.
And the impeccably set table.
A wider view.
It’s about 2 seconds before our first glass of Ruinart — poor us.
Photos so well in these surrounds.
And whoever uses these artsy glasses must have a very careful dishwasher — we didn’t dare.
The evening even included some lovely modern violin.
Our menu for tonight.
Reception was covered by NV Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut (which I subsequently bought a bunch of). VM 92. Pale yellow. Complex, high-pitched aromas of orange zest, lemon pith, iodine, smoky minerals, anise and jasmine. Sappy and tactile on the palate, offering impressive volume to its ripe citrus and orchard fruit flavors accented by smoke and minerals. Finishes tangy and long, with lingering smokiness and an echo of anise.
Smoked salmon with crème fraiche on cucumber.
Caviar with crème fraiche on blinis — had about 10 of these.
Read to sit.
Even smells great.
The incomparable Liz Lee, owner of Sage Society gives a bit of an introduction. She really knows how to put together an event where all the details are perfect.
This lovely woman is Julia Fitzroy, Western Regional Director of Ruinart/Dom Perignon.
And here is Ruinart Chef de Cave, Frédéric Panaiotis. He filled us in on all sorts of interesting details about Ruinart winemaking. I find these dinners are a great opportunity to explore the diverse individual house styles in Champagne.
And organizing the wine service is my friend Jeridan, who is now the brand ambassador for Ruinart!
The crew at the table.
Can’t resist another flower photo.
2006 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. VM 96+. One of the highlights among this year’s new tête de cuvée releases, 2006 the Brut Blanc de Blancs Dom Ruinart is a powerful, almost tannic Champagne built on structure and intensity. Then again, much of the Chardonnay here comes from the Montagne de Reims, where wines tend to naturally be quite broad. Even though it’s now ten years old, the 2006 is much less expressive than either the 2002 or 2004 at a similar stage. I expect it will be quite a few years before the 2006 is truly ready to drink. Over the years I have been fortunate to taste Dom Ruinart back to the 1970s, and while I don’t think the 2006 will need decades to be at its best, it certainly does look like a long distance runner. There is plenty of citrus and floral driven intensity, although the bouquet is less toasty and open than it often is. In short, the 2006 Dom Ruinart is a wine for those who can be patient. It will be a fine investment for those looking for a wine to cellar to commemorate special occasions.
Petrossian Caviar Tasting Flight!
I wish I had written down the 6 varieties of caviar. The strongest, briniest was my favorite — but I like full flavor.
All were great though, and of course a perfect pairing with the champagne.
2004 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. VM 94. Vivid yellow. Pungent, heady aromas of ripe pear, orange pith, brioche and toasty lees, with a stony nuance adding lift and urgency. Smooth and expansive on the palate, offering intense citrus and orchard fruit flavors that pick up minerality and smokiness with air. Finishes sappy, penetrating and very long, with slow-building sweetness and a note of buttered toast.
Blue Crab, avocado, grapefruit, tarragon. Wow, what a dish. Look at that giant pile of the best Petrossian caviar.
And a bunch of blue crab below. This was killer!
2004 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé. VM 95. A wine of exquisite beauty, the 2004 Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé has the pedigree to drink well for several decades. The 2004 is an especially vinous, textured Rosé. The berry, floral, spice and mineral-drenched flavors are finely sketched in this dramatic, strikingly beautiful Rosé from Ruinart.
Raviolo. Morels, English Pea Puree, Parmesan. The only bad thing about this dish was that there was only one raviolo! Otherwise, it was pretty much perfect.
NV Ruinart Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Light orange. Sharply focused red berry and tangerine scents are complicated by suggestions of allspice and cinnamon, with a hint of smokiness in the background. Sappy and minerally on the palate, offering fresh strawberry and blood orange flavors lifted by juicy acidity. Packs a serious punch but carries no excess weight and finishes stony and very long, with echoing red berry character.
Scallops, lobster sauce, roasted fennel. Another amazing dish.
1998 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé. VM 94. (85% chardonnay from grand crus in the Cotes des Blancs and Montagne de Reims and 15% grand cru pinot noir from Sillery and Verzenay that was made as still wine and blended into the final cuvee ; Lot AGBEA0): Orange-pink. Pungent aromas of dried red berries, orange zest and buttered toast, with a suave floral overtone. The palate offers smoky, expansive strawberry and candied citrus fruit flavors, plus suggestions of rose pastille, brioche and iodine. Finishes smoky, spicy and very long, with excellent clarity and an echo of juicy red berries.
So good I actually bought a magnum!
1988 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé. VM 91. The 1988 Dom Ruinart Rosé is totally surprising,. Sweet tobacco, worn-in leather, earthiness, bramble and dried cherries meld together in the glass. The aromas and flavors are fully developed, yet the wine retains incredible density and pure power. Readers who enjoy fully mature Champagnes will adore the 1988 Dom Ruinart Rosé. The 1988 needs to be drunk sooner rather than later, as there is no upside from keeping bottles further. This is a rare vintage in which acidity was higher than alcohol!
Salmon, roasted rainbow carrots, carrot orange beurre blanc. A lovely butter poached salmon.
Speaking of salmon, look at the color of these champagnes.
Tete de Moine. Special “head of the monk” cheese. I’d never had this particular one of France’s 500+ cheeses. I liked it a lot and the texture was very interesting.
I even got a second chunk by having Frédéric show me “how” the flower-like shape is made.
Running out of steam and a lot of Champagne later.
The full lineup.
Another stellar dinner from Liz and Sage Society! Very educational with Frédéric Panaiotis there and the way in which Liz has arranged the wines. The gallery setting tonight was extra lovely and really took the whole event to the next level.
And Liz does an absolutely amazing job with the food pairings. Petrossian’s food was amazing tonigt. Particularly the crab dish which was incredible. I’ll have to go back with a smaller group to Petrossian proper.
