Author Archive for agavin – Page 63

Farewell New Bay

Apr10

Restaurant: New Bay Seafood [1, 2, 3]

Location: 203 West Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA. (626) 872-6677

Date: April 8, 2014

Cuisine: Cantonese / Chiu Chow Chinese

Rating: Some of the best Cantonese I’ve had!

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New Bay Seafood has been one of our go to spots for several years for really high quality Cantonese and really excellent service. Unfortunately it seems that they are a little too pricey for the crazy cost competitive SGV restaurant scene and are closing their doors — which is a real shame. Still, we had to go back one last time really blow it out.


The front is classic SGV.

The interior is typical of Inland Empire Chinese restaurants.


We had a private room (there are several). Gotta love that wine bucket.


The owner shows off our giant Alaskan King Crab. He was alive here, about 7 minutes later he was in our stomachs!


Various sauces. The red one is vinegar chili. The orange one sweet “duck” sauce. There is sauce, soy and wasabi, and hoisin sauce at the bottom.


1993 Kalin Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée LD. VM 92. Pale green-gold color. Knockout nose of orange blossom, minerals, apple and hazelnut. Thick, rich and uncompromisingly dry; already showing superb inner-mouth perfume of orange oil, apple, flowers and spices. Brisk but harmonious acids frame the deep flavors perfectly and contribute to the impression of strong structure. Finishes quite powerful and long. “This wine was still totally dumb six months ago,” notes winemaker Terry Leighton, who won’t release a wine until it ready for its close-up. Leighton’s LD bottling is from a north-facing slope, while the LV vines face south.

agavin: Our bottle was in great shape, with a good bit of vanilla still alive.


Steamed Alaskan King Crab. The meat was incredibly succulent and sweet, plus easy to get out.


From my cellar: 1998 Domaine des Chezeaux Griotte-Chambertin. Burghound 92. A touch of wood frames bright, earthy fruit and the initial hints of secondary development followed by supple, forward, intensely rich and mouth coating flavors that possess really beautiful balance. This finishes with both elegance and fine intensity. I very much like this.

agavin: a bit of funk at first, but blew off in 10 minutes.


Whole suckling pig. Another winner of a dish, with a soft porcine quality to the meat and a nice crunch to the skin. Just the right amount of fat.


From my cellar: 2005 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon. Burghound 91. A discreet touch of pain grillé and reduction frames fresh and exotic aromas of peach, melon and mango that continue onto the round, rich and concentrated flavors that possess real texture due to the solid dry extract on the mouth coating and solidly long finish. This is notably better than it usually is.

agavin: This is the second bottle of 2000s Leflaive Clav I’ve opened recently (the other being a 2006) and both were advanced (on the way to premox). What is it with the premox curse?


Geoduck! Tastes like giant clam, looks like something else.


Geoduck clam sashimi. Incredibly fresh, with that bit of crunchy chew.


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Geoduck clam salt and pepper style. Like the Chinese version of those clam strips I used to love when we’d visit New England as a kid!


2008 Aubert Pinot Noir Reuling Vineyard. Burghound 76. A super ripe nose featuring notes of menthol, melted vinyl and blackberry jam leads to rich, suave and impressive constituted broad-shouldered flavors that culminate in an edgy, hot and short if mouth coating finish. This is almost painful due to the poor balance and finishing heat.

Parker 93. The 2008 Pinot Noir Reuling Vineyard is a bigger, richer, denser wine exhibiting a medium ruby color as well as notes of forest floor, fresh mushrooms, raspberries, black currants and spring flowers. With excellent depth and richness, it is best drunk over the next 5-6 years.

We also had a 2006, which I forgot to photo:

2006 Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard. Burghound 82. An extremely ripe nose sports ample amounts of menthol and cough syrup character along with a mix of red and blue fruit aromas that have a mildly cooked quality to them that introduce exceptionally rich, round and concentrated big-bodied flavors that culminate in a bitter, clipped and short finish. It’s difficult to see much in the way of future development here.

Parker 92+. Extremely promising, the closed 2006 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard boasts earthy, raspberry, red and black currant notes intermixed with subtle background oak, smoke, and charcoal. The tannins seem to creep up in the finish, something I did not notice last year. The most structured of these Pinots, it requires another 1-2 years of bottle age, and should last for 4-5 years.

agavin: clearly, Burghound is not a fan of these, truth is, neither was I. Parker liked them better, but hey, he doesn’t even really like Pinot. And as a matter of fact, they didn’t taste like pinot noir at all. A bunch of folk liked them, those who like their pinot to taste like Syrah 🙂 I would have given them a higher score than 76 or 85, but not much.


Squab. Super tasty little gamey birds.


2000 Dirler-Cade Gewurztraminer Saering. VM 87-90. Slightly reduced aromas of cinnamon and char. Rather densely packed and tight, with slightly sweet fruit and notes of citrus skin and clove. Tricky to assess today.


Steamed Dungeness crab. Good stuff and perfect with a nice Gewurtz.


2003 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. VM 91. The bouquet blossoms in a floral way that seems typical for the 2003 vintage here, as is this wine’s imposingly creamy texture. Elegance, lift, clarity, refinement and florality characterize the flavors throughout. In another reflection of the vintage, the essential fruit here is quince rather than apple, tinged with bittersweet vanilla and flowers and a subtle hint of white raisin. Ethereal fruit, flowers and wet stone really cling in the finish.


Cheese lobster. There is actually a bit of cheese mixed in with all that fry. And, yeah, it’s pretty darned fried, but it was really tasty. The lobster itself was succulent and not over done and it was easy to access big chunks of it. We had a pretty obscene amount of this, two of these plates!


2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard. Burghound 95. An exceptionally densely fruited nose that is intensely floral and nuanced with stone, spice and soft earth hints complements to perfection the impressively concentrated medium weight plus flavors that brim with dry extract such that the very firm tannins are rendered almost invisible at present though I suspect that they will become more visible as the baby fat recedes. This broad-scaled effort should age for up to a decade and last several more. Magnificent.

agavin: Meadows clearly does like this new world pinot. I found it better than the Auberts (which didn’t taste like pinot).


Garlic Santa Barbara Prawn. These almost lobster like shrimp were cooked so well the entire shell was edible. Mine had row too and it was scrumptious.


2012 Failla Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. VM 89. Medium red. Slightly high-toned aromas of cranberry, cherry and licorice. Spicy and intense, with good lift and sap to the red berry flavors. Good brisk, persistent, varietally expressive pinot. Jordan produced 2,000 cases of this blend.


Crab steamed egg. Bits of the giant crab meat, guts, and eggs steamed into an omelet.


You can see the layer of crab at the bottom. This had a really nice complex “crabby” flavor.


2000 DuMOL Syrah Eddie’s Patch. vm 92. Full, bright medium ruby. Musky, varietally expressive aromas of raspberry, licorice, pepper, spices, gunflint and exotic hints of apricot and mango. Sweet, silky and concentrated, with lovely inner-mouth aromatic quality. A satisfyingly mouthfilling, suave syrah that finishes with lovely ripeness and sweet tannins. Here’s a 2000 that shows thorough flavor development and terrific depth.


Roast goose. Wow, was this a tasty bird. It was so succulent, moist, and fatty. Just melted in your mouth.


2008 Neyen Espiritu de Apalta. 92 points. A very nice Chilean wine…nicely balanced. Carmenere/Cab…deep color, chewy, strong dark fruit – cassis, currants.


Ma Po Tofu. I love Ma Po in general, but this was one of those “southern” variants on the dish where it didn’t have any of the heat or numbing factor of the real Szechuan original. Tasty actually, but not the powerhouse I crave.


2006 Château Destieux. 88 points. From an assemblage of 66% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Cabernet Franc, the wine offers red and black fruit, stone, earth and coffee scents. Medium/full bodied, soft in texture, the wine ends with black raspberry and licorice notes.


Sweet and sour BBQ pork chops. Like the fancier more meat version of a Panda Express sweet and sour pork ball! But actually pretty darn tasty.


2010 Luca Malbec. VM 91. Good ruby-red. Crushed dark berries and chocolatey oak on the nose, lifted by a mineral element. Sweet, velvety and inviting, with harmonious acidity and underlying minerality enlivening the dark berry, coffee bean and chocolate flavors. Very rich and sweet without being too much. Still, I’d drink this very showy wine on the young side.


Cabbage with preserved shrimp. Cabbage and other vegetables with little dried shrimp. It had a distinct “shrimpy” taste.


2008 Charles Smith Syrah Royal City. 94 points. Wow, great concentration & ripeness, but wonderful balance, too.

Sautéed greens (Ong Choy). A top flight version of the Southern Chinese style greens. Lots of garlicky goodness. An excellent colon sweeper.


2005 Clos de l’Oratoire Chateauneuf du Pape les Choregies. Parker 91-4. The top cuvee, the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Choregies, a blend of 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre, with the Grenache aged in tank and the other components aged in barrel, is superb with its dense purple color and a big, sweet nose of black raspberries, black currants, and a touch of pain grille as well as licorice and flowers. It is full-bodied, powerful, and multi-dimensional, a top-notch effort that should drink well young because of the silky tannins but age for 10-15+ years.


Special fried King Crab. Big chunks of succulent crab meat with a really tasty garlic fry.


2005 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 95. One of the most age-worthy cuvees in the appellation, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe’s 2005 Châteauneuf du Pape was gorgeous on this occasion, showing classic iodine, seaweed and peppery herbs intermixed with layers of sweet currant, plum and blackberry fruits. Full-bodied, powerful and ripe, with a still youthful profile, this beauty won’t hit full maturity for another 3-4 years, and should hold for a decade or more after that.


Roast BBQ chicken. I’m not that much of a chicken fan, but this was a darn tasty one. The meat was moist and perfectly cooked. Too bad we were so full.


2000 Chapoutier Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac. Parker 95. There are approximately 500 cases of this wine. It is a large-scaled Chateauneuf du Pape that represents the antithesis of La Bernardine. This wine has been spectacular, and I have been a frequent buyer and consumer of this wine since the first vintage Michel Chapoutier made, 1989.


Mixed fried rice.



1989 Thumbs up Our Way Riesling. 94 points. Not even listed in Cellar tracker, this was great stuff, to be confused with a 25 year old dessert riesling from Germany.


Overall, this was an amazing dinner. The food was just awesome. So many delectable Cantonese dishes. We had great wine and fabulous service. One of the amazing things about New Bay is how flexible their service is. They even partially consented to bringing out the seafood first (Chinese restaurants have their own “order” that does not comply with wine progression). Or mostly consented as the chef snuck out the suckling pig early (it’s supposed to be by Chinese thinking).

It was pricey, on the order of $200 all in, making it the most expensive (per person) Chinese meal I’ve ever eaten in the states, but we had all sorts of mega expensive ingredients (giant crab, geoduck, other crab, lobster, goose, suckling pig, etc). Such a shame New Bay is closing up shop. It will be missed.

Afterward, we walked next door to the awesome Sabu Dessert and get some light fluffy “snow.” If you haven’t tried Taiwanese style snow, you are really missing out. This one above was coconut snow, passionfruit sauce, with egg pudding, almond jelly, and blackberries. Yum!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. New Bay Seafood
  2. Feasting Lunasia
  3. Phong Dinh – Hedonists go Vietnamese
  4. Cantonese Pig Out!
  5. Lucky Ducky
By: agavin
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Hot Pot Hot Pot

Apr08

Restaurant: Hot Pot Hot Pot

Location: 120 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 282-1089

Date: June 20, 2015

Cuisine: Mongolian Hot Pot

Rating: Shabu Shabu’s evil good cousin!

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Hot Pot is one of those Chinese comfort foods that American’s usually know nothing about.


These places are mobbed, and there are a lot of them. Basically, it’s throw lots of things in a pot of boiling broth and cook it table side. Similar to Shabu Shabu — and this is hardly a surprise as the Japanese got the idea from the Chinese during WWII (when they occupied big chunks of China).








The menu is enormous and full of pictures.


Each table has a hot pot burner.


Our half and half with house original broth and house spicy broth. All sorts of stuff is floating and in the broth, but everyone decided they liked the spicy a lot better.

While we wait for this to heat, we sample a few appetizers.


Seasoned jellyfish.


Scallion Crispy Pancake. Good stuff.


Lamb dumplings. Awesome, if a touch mushy and very (temperature) hot.


Pork dumplings. Oink!


Lamb fried rice. We loved this enough to order 3-4 orders.


Shrimp fried rice. Good too.


The hot pot ingredients come on these cute little trays. This is about half of what we ordered! As you can see from the menu there are a lot of choices. All of these items are eaten by cooking them to the desired amount in the boiling broth of your choice.

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They have four sauces you can combine to make up your sauce. A sesame one, a darker more punchy one, a hot one, and a tangy plum type one. No one in our group was a skilled sauce maker, which is a kind of black art.


First up are the meats.

Pork belly. Pretty much bacon. You start with the meats to fatten up the broth.


Sliced beef.


USDA Prime Angus beef. A ricer cut.


Sliced lamb. The Mongolian classic.


Pork skin. Really sucked up the juices, but an odd texture.


Beef meatball. Great. The other table also had the lamb meatball which was even better.


Spam. Yeah, sounds kinda crazy but it was awesome.


Shrimp. Sort of a waste all boiled up.


Squid. A giant cuttlefish or squid.


Jumbo Scallop. These were good.


Fish dumpling. Good but a bit fishy.


Two kinds of fish ball.


Soft tofu. I love this stuff. Hard to get out of the pot though.


Fried tofu and a glimpse of the lamb meatball.


Melon?


Water chestnuts or bamboo.


Enoki mushrooms.


Oyster mushrooms.


Maitake Mushroom.


Squash.


Cabbage and corn.


Some kind of green.


Pea tips.


A-Choy.


Udon noodles.


Mongolian Noodle.


The pot in full action. Bear in mind that 8 or so people are sharing this — quite the chaotic endeavor.


Chicken fried noodle. In case the rice wasn’t enough carbs.


The aftermath.

The wine situation was so fluid that I made no attempt to pair it with anything in this report. It’s all just listed here.


2001 Château Monbousquet Blanc. VM 90. Aromas of grapefruit and spicy, vanillin oak. Chewy and bright, with peach, grapefruit, mint and floral flavors enlivened by fresh acidity. Finishes lively and long, with subtle notes of lime and honeysuckle and a tactile, saline quality. Shows no sign of the 13.7% alcohol. Much higher in acidity than the 2000 version, a year when acid levels were compromised by rain two days prior to the harvest. This was bottled in January of this year, eight months later than previous vintages owing to the stronger structure of the wine.


2006 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Sonoma County. 86 points. I get bananas and tropical fruit on the nose. Maybe pineapple. A bit of pear on the palate.


2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Chardonnay.


From my cellar: 1994 Ulrich Langguth Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese. 85 points. This bottle was very bretty and not the best I’ve opened.


2011 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing. 91 points. Nose is all candied red fruit. Ripe cherries and a little bit of cola, with zippy acidity and a bit of new oak across the finish. Good concentration, so will go strong for a while. I expect that this will be doing just fine in 5-6 years, but it’s a fantastic bottle worth drinking right now.


2009 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin. BH 89-90. An earthy and very ripe nose of extract of black berry fruit aromas merges into very suave, rich and opulently textured medium-bodied flavors that brim with dry extract that easily buffers the relatively fine tannins, indeed this is much finer than most Gevrey villages wines.


2011 Sine Qua Non Syrah Dark Blossom. VM 96. The 2011 Syrah Dark Blossom is dark, mysterious and wonderfully inviting. Black fruit, savory herbs, leather and spice meld together in a deep, dense wine that is constantly changing in the glass. Savory overtones add intrigue. The firm, muscular 2011 tannins are going to need time to soften. Readers lucky enough to find the 2011 can look forward to years of thrilling drinking.


2002 Bond Matriarch. VM 92. Good full medium ruby. Dark plum, truffle and buttery oak on the nose. Suave and fine-grained, with enticing flavors of plum and black raspberry. A plump, sexy wine with a long, slow-building finish featuring very fine tannins. This shows a firmer structure than the very good 2001. In fact, this seems more refined, as well as more of a real wine rather than simply a blend made up of declassified fruit, than previous vintages of The Matriarch.



2012 Dark Hundred.


2010 Les Vins de Vienne (Cuilleron Gaillard Villard) Cornas Les Barcillants. VM 90. Inky ruby. Sexy aromas of dark fruit compote and vanilla, with complicating notes of smoked meat, olive and floral oil. Creamy, palate-staining black and blue fruit flavors show very good depth and pick up spiciness with air. Dusty tannins come on late and give grip to a spicy, focused finish that repeats the smoky note.


2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine. VM 90. Vivid ruby. Pungent, high-pitched aromas of cherry skin, raspberry, licorice and lavender, with a bright mineral topnote. Juicy and incisive, with sappy dark berry and bitter cherry flavors. Supple tannins add grip to the spicy, floral finish.


2012 Bodegas Los Toneles Cabernet Sauvignon Export Selection La Pradera.


2010 Tenuta Valdipiatta Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.


2008 Sine Qua Non Roussanne Jinete Bajo Vin de Paille. VM 95. Deep gold. A highly aromatic, pungent bouquet of orange marmalade, apricot nectar and yellow plum, with exotic honey and spice notes. Lush and creamy in texture, with deeply concentrated, sweet pit and tropical fruit flavors and a strong note of candied citrus. There’s surprising energy and lift to the finish, which leaves juicy peach and orange notes behind. I’d serve this as a dessert, by itself. This clocks in at 11.8% alcohol, with 240 g/l of residual sugar.


From my cellar: 1989 Chateau Gilette Creme de Tete. Parker 93+. I actually prefer the aromas of the 1989 Chateau Gilette Creme de Tete to those of the 1990. The nose is initially taciturn but then it unfurls with engaging scents of aniseed, beeswax, smoke and lychee. The palate has a spicy entry, almost Alsace-like in style, with light honeyed notes, curry powder and cumin. The finish feels dry, although in fact there would be around 110 grams per liter of sugar. This has great potential, although personally I would suggest it needs at least another 5 to 6 years in bottle.


2012 Inniskillin Vidal Icewine Niagara Peninsula VQA. 92 points.

Overall, this was cheap, yummy, and fun eats. Like a more flavorful giant group shabu shabu with lots and lots of options. Totally Chinese!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Palace of Pepper
  2. Spice Up Your Life Szechuan Style
  3. Forget the Duck Soup, More Meat!
  4. Cantonese Pig Out!
  5. Shin Beijing Cubed
By: agavin
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Spicy City!

Apr06

Restaurant: Spicy City

Location: 140 W Valley Blvd. Ste 208. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 280-0186

Date: March 31, April 29, & May 18, 2015

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Awesome and authentic, spicy!

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Szechuan is one of my obsessions and fellow Foodie Club founder Erick recommended Spicy City as one of his favorites — he should know too as he’s spent a lot of time in China, including Chengdu.


Spicy City is upstairs in one of those gigantic SGV mall plazas which seem to have been teleported from Asia.


Certainly not filled with tourists. We were the only non-Asians in there.

Stylish SGV decor.

They have the cold Szechuan/Hunan style apps on display.

The menu is enormous and filled with Szechuan classics — and pictures.

Sour and spicy glass noodles (they call it “hot and sour powder”). I love the contrast here of sour and hot numbing flavors. Spicy City uses a good amount of Szechuan peppercorn too. Yum!

Dan Dan noodles. Have to do it. First time at a Szechuan place, I measure them by the classics.


Stirred up, these were good Dan Dan. Not quite as good as Lucky Noodle King, but great anyway. The more you eat them, the more addictive they are.


Ma Po Tofu. Great Ma Po. Not the best I’ve ever had, but very good. Plenty of heat.


Lamb Chop with pepper. What doesn’t have pepper here? This was basically like cumin lamb chops. Really tasty — and really fried.


Cumin lamb. The classic spicy cumin crusted lamb. The cumin flavors were a bit strong here.


Chungking style hot pot. Various meats boiled with Szechuan peppercorns, chili oil, sprouts and whatnot. When they say various, they mean various. There was bee, fish filets, chicken, a delicious spam-like thing, and even pig intestines and tripe. We picked out the gross bits, but this had a nice numbing flavor.

Shredded pork with Beijing brown sauce. Pretty much says it all, but very nice version of this dish. Quite succulent.

Bubble pepper squid. No idea about the name, but this was hot!

Sizzling rabbit with chilies. Despite the annoying bits of bone on the meat, this rabbit was delicious with all sorts of spicy goodness.

Chungking style fish. A lightly breaded, cumin crusted whole fresh fish burried in potatoes, lotus root, and cauliflower. Delicious!

Fish filets and tofu in chili sauce. A classic, and delicious, with plenty of numbing peppercorns.

Spicy chicken. The aromatic variety of super fried Szechuan chicken.

Kung Pao Shrimp. Not that spicy, with that thick fry on the shrimp, but pretty delicious.

Braised Pork with fermented vegetables. A kind of thick bacon that was very tender, a touch dry, with a weird cabbage underneath. Not bad actually, very meaty.

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All in all, Spicy City was really good with a lot of heat — particularly a lot of Szechuan Peppercorn, which I love. Feel the burn!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Century City Heat
  2. Chengdu Taste – Power of the Peppercorn
  3. Waterloo & City
  4. Waterloo & City – Fat=Flavour
  5. Waterloo & City is Victorious
By: agavin
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Dirty Dozen Ride Again

Apr03

Restaurant: Del Frisco’s Grille

Location: 1551 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 395-7333

Date: April 1, 2015

Cuisine: Commercial Steakhouse

Rating: Food was decent, service excellent

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Last year my Hedonist group started up a new concept, a sort of club within a club of high end blind tasting diners. The deal is everyone brings a bottle (and backups) blind. We eat drink and try to guess at what they are. The group is know as the “Dirty Dozen” (although we crept up to 14 tonight). Oh, and we have an official Dirty Dozen T-shirt which is required attire.

The wine rules tonight were 2005 or older, $200+, and 95+ from a serious wine reviewer. There was a little cheating on the age, but these were all great wines.


Here you can see the gang assembled in full regalia.

It should be noted that all the red wines tonight were served blind with the reveal at the end of the meal. The champagnes, whites, and dessert wine were not blind.

Flight 0: Champagne


NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut. VM 90. Light gold. Musky orchard fruits and dried fig on the mineral-accented nose. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering smoky pear and nectarine flavors and a hint of honey. Finishes on a gently spicy note, with very good cling and a touch of bitter lemon pith. Things have definitely begun to turn around for this bottling, which had been lagging behind the winery’s vintage offerings for some time.


Ron brought (bonus): 2005 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 94. Bright yellow. Vibrant pear and melon aromas are complicated by suggestions of ginger, brioche and smoky minerals. Dry, smoky and precise, offering intense orchard and pit fruit flavors that gain weight with aeration. A dusty mineral quality adds focus and lift to the long, penetrating, floral finish. There’s a Burgundian thing going on here that’s quite intriguing.

agavin: bright, structured, and very nice


Some of the blind bottles getting ready.


Glasses ready to go.

Flight 1: Amuses

Remember, we didn’t know the wines until the end of the dinner.


Larry brought: 1997 Guigal Cote Rotie la Turque. Parker 96. The dense purple-colored, profound 1997 Cote Rotie La Turque (5-7% Viognier added to the blend) offers creme de cassis, licorice, and espresso aromas as well as notions of melted asphalt. Compared to La Mouline, it has additional layers as well as structure, sweet tannin, and exhilarating levels of opulence and ripe fruit. Anticipated maturity: now-2018.

result: #2 favorite of the night by vote

agavin: One of my two favorite wines of the night. Great perfume and complexity. Slightly more brick color, long finish. Thought maybe a Syrah or older Bord.

LEC: light color, improving, cooler, Burg? Rhone? 92-94


Dr Dave brought: 2003 Montrose. Parker 99. A candidate for a perfect score, the 2003 Montrose has been a superstar since the first time I tasted it in barrel. Showing no signs of weakening, it is an amazing wine from this fabulous terroir. It boasts a deep blue/purple color as well as a stunning perfume of blueberries, black currants, blackberries, licorice and camphor. Dense, full-bodied and rich with an unctuous texture, well-integrated, melted tannins, and a long, heady finish, this big, brawny, super-intense, gorgeous 2003 is just beginning to enter its plateau of full maturity. It should remain there for at least two decades.

result: #3 favorite of the night by vote

agavin: med purple. young, but with fabulous poise and balance. Guessed it was a young Bordeaux.

LEC: nice, decent finish, good balance, very pretty Bord? 93


2007 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 96. The sensational 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (their 25th anniversary selection) may be the best wine Staglin has ever made. Tasting like a classic Margaux or St.-Julien, it offers up notes of new saddle leather, cedar, spice box, black currants, black cherries and hints of graphite and wood. This full-bodied, intense 2007 is still extremely young, but it is beautifully proportioned with a seamless integration of all the component parts. A brilliant effort, it admirably reflects its appellation. Moreover, it should drink beautifully over the next 20-25 years.

agavin: deep purple. so extracted and powerful it tasted like grape-coconut juice. Was sure this was new world.

LEC: warmer, sweet, 90-91 CA?


Cheesesteak Eggrolls. Sweet & Spicy Chili Sauce, Honey Mustard. These are kinda low-brow, but I liked them.


Ahi Tacos. Tuna Tartare, Avocado, Spicy Citrus Mayo.


Deviled Eggs. Truffle-Chive Vinaigrette. Hmmm. Just deviled eggs.


Grilled Artichoke. Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, Parmesan, Black Pepper Aioli.

Flight 2: Flatbreads


L.E.C. brought: 1989 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. Burghound 94. For two decades this very much seemed stuck in a time capsule as it was evolving glacially but just in the last few years full maturity has finally arrived. The hallmark spice of a great La Tâche is present in spades with outstanding aromatic complexity that includes plenty of secondary fruit development but at this point, no sous bois. There is excellent concentration to the velvety and wonderfully rich flavors that display the same wonderful depth of the nose, all wrapped in a mouth coating, delicious and hugely long finish.

agavin: our bottle was weird and funky, with lots of soy sauce and bandaid. Not very pleasant. More on that later. Totally didn’t guess this was even a Burgundy or Pinot it was so weird.

LEC: LEC?, Burg, balanced? 95 (3) maybe less than #8 & #4 after a while in the glass


Robin brought: 2007 Peter Michael Winery Les Pavots Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 97. The 2007 Les Pavots, a Bordeaux varietal blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, is brilliant. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by gorgeously complex aromas of melted chocolate, espresso roast, blackberries, and cassis. Full-bodied with a superb texture, a subtle note of oak, and fabulous concentration, it is more reminiscent of a Right Bank Bordeaux than one expects with this much Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. A thirty-year wine, its impeccable balance and the sweetness of its tannins make it accessible already.

agavin: deep purple and coconut flavored. New world.

LEC: a bit muted, young sweet, a bit short, really improved in the glass, 93


John brought: 1997 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace. 94 points. Fruity nose with cherry, mulberry, blackcurrant with eucalyptus giving way to secondary and tertiary characteristics – vanilla, cloves and nutmeg as well as cedar and cigar box. In the mouth it has a muted attack but then there is a gloriously rich explosion of fruit on the mid palate with beautifully integrated tannins and a long warm finish revealing spices. Wolfed down with rib roast beef and veg. Very nice.

agavin: medium ruby, funky nose. bandaid finish, but strangely pretty decent — sorta. Had no idea if it was older new world or Bord.

LEC: warm and soft, 91


Yarom brought: 2003 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard T6. Parker 99. Virtually perfect, the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon T6 Beckstoffer To- Kalon Vineyard offers up an awesome display of fragrant creosote, white chocolate, blackberries, cassis, cedarwood and incense. Full-bodied with a multidimensional mouthfeel, excellent opulence and layers of fruit, it possesses stunning purity and richness, a phenomenally fragrant nose (the most aromatic of all these Schrader Cabs), and a long finish. The tannins suggest another 3-4 years of cellaring will be beneficial. It should keep for 20+ years.

agavin: deep purple. Long and nice new world.

LEC: sweet balanced, 92


Pesto Chicken. Mozzarella, Roma Tomatoes, Parmesan, Blue Cheese. I liked the blue cheese vibe.

Why is it that restaurants feel the need to call “fancy” pizza flatbread?


Wild Mushroom. Fontina Cheese, Caramelized Onions, Baby Arugula. This was the softest flavors of the bunch, earthy.


Pepperoni & Sausage. Mozzarella, Fresh Tomato, Parmesan. As Yarom put it: “a 10.” It really was quite a good take on the classic.

Flight 3: Soup & Salads


Arnie brought: 2005 Verite La Muse. Parker 98. A blend of 87% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec (3% from the Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, 49% from Chalk Hill and 48% from Knight’s Valley), exhibits a Bordeaux-like personality. Thick, viscous and rich with great elegance, tremendous purity and intensity as well as a full-bodied sweetness, it offers notes of caramel, mocha, coffee roast, black cherries and black currants. This supple, velvety-textured, opulent 2005 is accessible now and capable of lasting another 20-25 years.

agavin: deep purple. Couldn’t decide if this was young Bord or a very smooth new world.

LEC: nice fruit but mature 92


Kirk brought: 1994 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 100! What can I say about the 1994? I have tasted the wine for three consecutive years, and each time it satisfied all of my requirements for perfection. The opaque purple color is followed by spectacular aromatics that soar from the glass, offering up celestial levels of black currants, minerals, smoked herbs, cedar wood, coffee, and pain grille. In the mouth, this seamless legend reveals full body, and exquisite layers of phenomenally pure and rich fruit, followed by a 40+ second finish. While accessible, the 1994 begs for another 5-7 years of cellaring. It should easily last for 30+ years. Every possible jagged edge – acidity, alcohol, tannin, and wood – is brilliantly intertwined in what seems like a diaphanous format. What is so extraordinary about this large-scaled wine, with its dazzling display of aromatics and prodigious flavors and depth, is that it offers no hint of heaviness or coarseness. Harlan’s 1994 comes close to immortality in the glass.

agavin: clearly, 94 Harlan is the perfect salad wine 🙂 Delicious and grapey, but a touch hot (alcoholic) on the finish.

LEC: nice, light, younger 91


Avi brought: 1989 Pichon-Longueville Baron. Parker 95-96. Both the 1989 and 1990 vintages exhibit opaque, dense purple colors that suggest massive wines of considerable extraction and richness. The dense, full-bodied 1989 is brilliantly made with huge, smoky, chocolatey, cassis aromas intermingled with scents of toasty oak. Well-layered, with a sweet inner-core of fruit, this awesomely endowed, backward, tannic, prodigious 1989 needs another 5-6 years of cellaring; it should last for three decades or more. It is unquestionably a great Pichon-Longueville-Baron.

agavin: med purple. Weird nose, a bit of soy sauce. Rich finish, but odd. No idea, sorta flawed. In retrospect (knowing what it is), a bad bottle, as I’ve had many great bottles of this.

LEC: mature complex notes, 94


Ron brought (bonus): 2007 Jean et Sébastien Dauvissat Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. Burghound 91-93. This too displays a nose that frames the citrus blossom, spice and intense sea shore aromas in noticeable but not dominant wood that gives way to the delicious, serious and admirably pure medium plus bodied flavors that possess excellent punch and length on the very dry finish. This is impressively intense and palate staining and should age beautifully.

agavin: reductive, but good.


Andy brought (bonus): 2006 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon. Burghound 91. Here too there is very subtle wood highlighting an airy, ripe and expressive nose featuring orchard fruit and citrus blossom aromas and continues onto the detailed, punchy and admirably vibrant medium-bodied flavors that finish with moderate dryness and very good length. Again, fine quality here but not up to that of the 2005.

agavin: our bottle was advanced and tasted like apple juice


Iceberg Lettuce Wedge. Bacon, Tomato, Blue Cheese Dressing. Not a bad wedge.


Chopped Caesar Salad. Chopped Crisp Romaine, Parmesan, Garlic Croutons, Anchovy-Garlic Dressing.


Corn Chowder. Crabmeat, Smoked Bacon Bits & Fingerling Potato ChipsBasil & Garlic Aioli.

Flight 4: Meat!


Erick brought: 1982 Gruaud Larose. Parker 98. A massive wine that is clearly of first-growth quality in this vintage, the 1982 Gruaud Larose remains a youngster. A broodingly dense, thick, unctuously textured, inky/plum/garnet/purple color offers up scents of beef blood, steak tartare, cassis, herbs, tobacco, and underbrush. One of the most concentrated wines of the vintage (as well as one of the most concentrated Bordeaux’s I have ever tasted), it is a huge, full-bodied, weighty, rich wine whose tannins are getting silkier and silkier. It appears set for another 30-40 years of life. This behemoth is a singularly profound example of Gruaud Larose that continues to justify its legendary status. Anticipated maturity: now-2050.

result: WOTN! #1 So Bordeaux I declared I’d shave my butt if it wasn’t. Pencil. Rich. Classic fully mature Bordeaux.

LEC: mature, complex, balanced 97


Andy brought: 1989 Vega Sicilia Unico. Parker 98. The 1989 Unico is dark ruby-colored with a complex nose exhibiting the effects of extended aging. Plush and spicy on the palate, it has ample layered fruit and a very long finish. The 1989 Unico, a blend of 80% Tinto Fino and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon picked early from 30th September, has a gorgeous, minty bouquet with blackberry, a touch of blueberry, crushed violets and a little strawberry jam. It blossoms with aeration in the glass. The palate is smooth and rounded on the entry: caressing and voluminous in the mouth. The fruit is very pure with notes of strawberry, Tiptree raspberry jam, marmalade and quince. It has great weight towards the finish with orange cordial and a hint of mango.

agavin: I knew this was the Unico as it was the only wine that tasted like its blend (or Spanish). But I knew there was a Unico in here because I brought it. Fabulous interesting nose. Long complex finish. I really liked it, tied with the 97 La Turque as my favorite.

LEC: sweet mature fruit, 94


Warren brought: 2006 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer George III Vineyard. Parker 95. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer George III Vineyard offers an extraordinary bouquet of creme de cassis, scorched earth, and burning embers as well as full-bodied power, velvety tannins, and exceptional density and richness. This superb wine exhibits layered extravagance and sweet tannins, a rarity in this vintage. It is already drinking well.

agavin: purple. Oaky, grapey, huge.

LEC: big, dark 94


Ron brought: 1978 Cos d’Estournel. Parker. Very highly regarded by the chateau, I have found the 1978 to be very good, but not as graceful or as well balanced as the 1979. It is dark ruby with a moderately intense bouquet of herbs, black cherries, spice, oak, and leather. On the palate, the wine is medium to full bodied, with a dusty tannic texture.

agavin: Dark ruby. Big complex, slight funk. Guessed it was old Bord.

LEC: mature, 95


Filet trio. Three 4 ounce filets. Oscar style (Bernaise and crabmeat), with peppercorn sauce, and blue cheese crusted. Since I only like my steak smothered in sauce, this was my style.


Tomahawk steak. Ribeye with a long bone. Some thought it a bit tough, some loved it.


Bone in filet.


Regular filet.


Ribeye.


Asparagus.


Wild mushrooms. In a nice mushroom sauce.


Truffled mac & cheese. Wonderfully creamy and decadent.


Mashed potatoes. With bits of asparagus inside. Quite good.


Parmesan Frites. Good stuff.

Flight 5: Dessert


Kirk brought (bonus): 1967 Climens. 92 points. Beautiful light amber color. Bright and sweet yellow pit fruits, apricot, yellow peach, a hint of red fruits, light tea, crème brulee and sweet spices. Polished palate, medium concentration, cool red tea and pit fruit driven palate impression, mineral, good acidity and lovely long clean finish. This is cleaner and purer but don’t possess the power and complexity of the 67 D’Yquem. A great aperitif for my palate rather than a great dessert wine.

agavin: Like pineapple liqueur!


Coconut Cream Pie. White Chocolate Shavings. Lots of whipped cream.


Lemon Doberge Cake. Six Layers, Lemon Buttercream Icing, Lemon Glaze. I LOVED this cake. Pretty much the perfect lemon cake. Sansa would love it too.


Nutella Bread Pudding. Coffee Ice Cream, Caramel Sauce. Yum!


Warm Chocolate Cake. Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Raspberry Sauce. Did not suck!


April fools! L.E.C. really stuffed this wine in the La Tache bottle.

1999 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle-Chambertin. Burghound 94. A ripe, fresh and highly complex nose features a mix of both primary and secondary dark berry fruit scents along with plenty of Gevrey-style earth and discreet spice nuances. There is excellent intensity to the relatively broad-shouldered flavors that possess fine volume and very solid mid-palate concentration before culminating in a firmly structured, mineral-driven, serious and overtly austere finish. This is very impressive but note that to my taste it is still at least 5 years too early to be popping any corks on this beauty.

Wine: Erick won for the second dinner in a row with his top grade 80s Bordeaux. Sick that the 82 GL cost $12 a bottle at release in 1984-85!

People really stepped up and the overall wine quality was very good tonight. They were all (mostly) big Bordeaux varietals, which suited the food (except the salad). The age range varied considerably, but the quality was very high across the board.

As usual, blind tasting is revealing because people really had no idea about many of the wines, other than it being fairly easy to spot the Bordeaux vs New World wines. A few of the older New Worlds were non obvious.

Some people clearly prefer the “sluts” (the big extracted younger wines) and some people like more maturity and finesse (I’m in the later camp). Since most of the preferred wines were technically quiet balanced, this is just a personal preference.

We asked everyone to guess which wine they brought (before revealing):

John 10 (picked harlan, but really brought #9 hill of grace — I think)
Avi 2 (correct)
Kirk 4 (picked 03 schrader, but really brought #10 harlan)
Adam 3 (guessed verite, but brought #7 07 stagland)
Warren 3 (guessed verite, brought #5 06 schrader)
David 6 (correct)
Ron 13 (82 GL, but brought #11 78 cos)
Yarom 5 (guessed 06 schrader, but brought #4 03 schrader — so actually kinda close)
Larry 14 (guessed la tache / ponsot charmes, but brought #12 97 la turque)
LEC 14 (correct)
Andy 1 (correct)
Eric 13 (correct)
Robin 6 (guessed 03 montrose but brought #8 07 pavots)
Arnie 5 (guessed 06 schrader, but brought #3 02 verite)

Food: The food was solid. I had low expectations and they exceeded them. Not amazing or anything, but we ordered well. The flatbreads were quite good. Some of the sides very good, and the desserts excellent.

Service: Was overall excellent, WAY WAY exceeding expectations. The room was fabulous and we had dedicated and very attentive staff. Things took a little while, but they handled it really well.

Del Frisco’s did a great job with the fundamentals of the wine service tonight, particularly given that this was a more elaborate and technical dinner than they are probably used to. They had PLENTY of stems ready, enough to give us new ones for every wine and they managed the timing of this well. The coordination of the blind pouring was solid too with real problems. Perhaps pour size was slightly uneven but the wines got all the way around in good form.

They opened all the bottles right before serving them. This has its plusses and minuses. It does present consistent treatment, but given the huge disparity in airing needs, didn’t maximize each wine — and on the final flight led to some delay because of cork issues.

Because everyone brings their wine blind there is a need to organize the flights. This was a bit random, but that’s mostly our fault for not designating someone to do it as very few restaurants have staff with the technical knowledge and experience to really do this.

Overall I’d call it a 9 for service and an 11 for effort.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
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Petros Greek Feast

Apr01

Restaurant: Petros Restaurant

Location: B110, 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Manhattan Beach, CA. (310) 545-4100

Date: March 29, 2015

Cuisine: Greek

Rating: Best Greek I’ve had in LA

_

Tonight’s dinner was originally supposed to be special Hedonistic home cooked Greek Easter Feast by chef Popi Terzi but the chef had a last minute medical emergency and we relocated to a Manhattan Beach Greek restaurant.


Tonight’s special menu.


2004 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame. VM 93. Vivid gold. Heady aromas of orange, white peach and smoky minerals, with a note of buttered toast adding depth. Densely packed citrus and pit fruit flavors show chewy texture and a bright mineral quality that adds vivacity. Rich but lively and precise, finishing very long, with notes of candied fig and toasty lees.


Skordalia (Heavenly Garlic dip) with pita bread.


From my cellar: 2007 Venica & Venica Malvasia. 91 points. Medium-deep straw-yellow. Aromas of yellow plum, apricot and almond. Lively, round and smooth, with good breadth and subtle suggestions of yellow plum and minerals carrying through to the long, vibrant finish.

Taramosalata (Fish Egg dip). Aged smoked caviar blended with onions, fresh lemon juice. This classic had a nice blend of the briny red mullet roe and a good amount of lemon juice to offset.


1998 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia. VM 93. Bright yellow. Pungent minerally, floral aromas of pear skin, peach pit and bee pollen, with a waxy overtone. The palate offers intense dried orchard and citrus fruit flavors and suggestions of anise, jasmine and honey, with a firm spine of acidity adding lift and focus. Finishes fleshy and spicy, with repeating floral and waxy qualities.


Rustic Tyropita. Homemade phyllo dough stuffed with a mousse of Greek cheeses. Drizzled with Greek honey. The sweet/salty/savory vibe here was great. Very addictive.


2010 Gérard Raphet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques. Burghound 91. A more deeply pitched red and dark berry fruit nose is at once cool but ripe as it also evidences hints of spice, wet stone and warm earth. There is good concentration to the solidly intense medium-bodied flavors that possess plenty of extract that coats the palate on the relatively powerful finish. This is more robust and firmer than the Combottes but a bit less refined. A qualitative choice.

agavin: too young, but after an hour in the glass began to open up.


Grilled Octopus served with boiled beets, vinegar, garlic, EVO and oregano sauce.


2010 Fattoria Galardi Terra di Lavoro Roccamonfina IGT. VM97+. I have a strong feeling the 2010 will occupy a place among the very finest vintages produced on this tiny vineyard on the slopes of the Roccamonfina volcano. An exotic mélange of tar, smoke, graphite, blackberry jam and savory herbs explode from the glass. The 2010 is intense and full-bodied, yet also incredibly elegant. A big, breathtaking wine, the 2010 continues to build all the way through to a deeply resonant, expressive finish. I would choose to leave this uttterly beguiling Campanian red alone for the better part of a decade, but readers are going to have a very hard time excercising that patience. This is a fabulous effort from proprietors Arturo and Dora Celentano, and their long-time winemaker Riccardo Cotarella.

agavin: I have 6 bottles of this in my cellar, but I’m not cracking one for at least 5 years!


Shrimp Saganaki. Sautéed tender shrimp with a tomato basil feta cheese sauce. I spent over 3 weeks in Greece last summer (and three summers before that) and this was a very authentic Saganaki. I love the bright acidic tomato/cheese sauce.


2009 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT. AG 94. The 2009 Flaccianello is gorgeous, but the relative shortcomings of the year relative to the sublime 2010 are apparent when the wines are tasted side by side. Firm tannins support a core of dark red fruit, smoke and crushed flowers. Readers will need to give the 2009 time to settle down, but it is unquestionably a fine Flaccianello.

agavin: the 2009 was rounder than the 2010 and drinking better at the moment.


Fasolatha. Traditional Greek vegetable bean soup with feta & EVO.


2010 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT. AG 96. A rush of intense blue and black stone fruits, tobacco, smoke, licorice, spices and new leather hits the palate in the 2010 Flaccianello. A wine of considerable immediacy and intensity, the 2010 captivates all the senses with its magnificent richness and pure texture. There is so much to like here.

agavin: start drinking date is 2018!


Avgolemono. Homemade egg lemon, chicken, rice soup. Very nice mild lemony rice flavor.


2010 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Annum. VM 92-96. Inky ruby. Lively dark berry and cherry scents are complemented by licorice, fruitcake and vanilla, with a spicy nuance adding lift. Sweet, palate-coating blueberry and cherry liqueur flavors become more energetic with air and pick up a sexy floral nuance. Distinctly powerful yet lithe, with zesty spice and mineral notes adding bite to the long, subtly tannic finish.


2009 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. VM 96. There is no question the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is the most backward and brooding of the wines I tasted from Pride. Firm tannins frame an expressive core of dark red berries, licorice, scorched earth, tobacco, smoke and incense. Today, the 2009 is far too young to offer true pleasure, but it is unquestionably striking. Hints of iron, graphite and smoke add complexity on the finish supported by huge mountain tannins. The 2009 is super distinctive and loaded with personality.


Horiatiki Salata (Traditional Greek salad: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Feta, Olives, etc). The addition of avocado felt a bit California, but it worked.


2012 Leonesse Cellars Grand Mélange Signature Selection.


1999 Turley Petite Syrah Estate Vineyard. VM 90. Opaque black ruby. Sauvage aromas of roasted meat, leather, blackberry, minerals and lead pencil. Bright and dense but not yet complex. Finishes persistent but a bit youthfully aggressive. Hard to assess today but shows very good vinosity and noteworthy aromatic complexity.


French fries. Ketchup and garlic aioli. This were excellent fries.


2005 Château Gruaud Larose. Tanzer 90-93. Good red-ruby. Redcurrant, leather and game on the expressive if slightly rustic nose. Sweet and concentrated but a bit youthfully aggressive, and not showing the refinement or definition of the 2006. Strong nutty oak component. Finishes with substantial tannins that are a bit richer and more fully buffered by the wine’s middle-palate material than those of the 2006. It will be interesting to compare these two vintages in ten years or so.

agavin: along with the CNDP one of the best reds tonight, particularly after an hour or so open.


Moussaka. A Classic Hellenic dish with eggplant, ground beef, tomatoes, and homemade béchamel sauce served village style. I think traditionally it’s usually lamb. The texture and flavor on this Moussaka were great. Perhaps it could have used a touch more nutmeg, but that’s me.


From my cellar: 2000 Les Cailloux (Lucien et Andre Brunel) Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire. Parker 96. The heady 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire is more evolved than either the 2001 or 1998. Extremely full-bodied, with low acidity, and a knock-out bouquet of blackberry and cherry jam intermixed with licorice, pepper, and dried Provencal herbs, this sexy, voluptuous, enormously concentrated 2000 possesses a huge, silky, seamless finish. Drink this irresistible effort now and over the next 12-15 years.

agavin: after a bit of funk blew off, it was a great CNDP and perfect with the lamb below.


Succulent Braised Lamb with Artichokes and Lemons (This is a Petros “off the menu” special). This is a very traditional dish, and I’ve had variants of it in Greece many times. It’s more a stew than the usual “roast lamb”.


2006 Estate Argyros Vinsanto 4 Years Barrel Aged. Parker 90. The 2006 Vinsanto “4 Years Barrel Aged” is one of a series of Vinsantos (4 years, 12 and 20, and Mezzo, with the Mezzo soon to be discontinued). As a result of the shorter barrel aging and shorter sun drying time for the grapes (8-10 days instead of 12-14), its color is lighter than the 20-year Vinsanto reviewed this issue and the wine is less intense and less aromatic. It is still quite fine. Fragrant, delectable and crisp, it drinks extremely well and it had no problem whatsoever lasting several days after opening. It was better on Day 2, actually, when it gathered strength and woke up.


Loukouma. Baby Greek doughnuts drizzled with Greek honey, cinnamon, toasted walnuts and vanilla ice cream. Awesome!


5  layer chocolate cake. Five layers of chocolate cake with chocolate fudge icing served with vanilla ice cream and walnuts.


2004 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume. VM 90. Bright yellow-gold. Expressive aromas of poached pear, candied citrus, honey and white peach. A broad, lush, fruit-driven wine that offers sweet orchard and pit fruit flavors lifted by fresh orange and spice components. Gains weight with air and finishes with very good cling and echoes of honey and peach. This is ready to drink.


Bougatsa. Vanilla bean and Semolina custard wrapped in phyllo, served with vanilla ice cream and walnuts. Another amazing dessert.


Baklava. Walnuts, almonds, and pistachio wrapped in phyllo soaked with citrus syrup. Not one of those boring “dry” baklavas, this one dripped with sticky goodness.


All and all a fun and tasty  meal. Nearly every dish was very good, many, like the shrimp, the moussaka, and all the desserts were great. Good fun.

For good luck, there were a couple plate drops too.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
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Eating San Francisco – Absinthe

Mar30

Restaurant: Absinthe

Location: 398 Hayes St at Gough, San Francisco, CA. 415-551-1590

Date: January 18, 2015

Cuisine: French American

Rating: Solid neighborhood French

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After five Michelin stars in just three nights, we wanted something more casual for our last San Francisco dinner. Hayes Valley’s Absinthe seemed about just right.


The menu.

A martini-like variation on a pimms cup.


This smoky Mexcal based drink was actually pretty spicy (see that chili around the rim?).


Soft garlic pretzels. Vermont cheddar mornay. Pretty much what they look like, pretzel garlic bread with a cheese dip!


Butternut squash soup. Fall spices, brioche croutons, maple-whipped creme fraiche. I’m always a fan of this kind of soup, and this one didn’t disappoint.


Hearts of romaine. Garlic croutons, parmesan, Caesar dressing.


Coke farm baby greens. Barrel-aged feta, brioche crisps, poached apples, cardamon walnuts, champagne vinaigrette. Everything has an adjective before it!


Roasted beet salad. Mixed chicories, whipped fromage blanc, port-poached Asian pears, pistachios.


Lamb fritters. Breaded & fried lamb breast, lemon-caper aioli, chili-lime vinegar. The lamb version of chicken tenders!


Beef tartare. Violet mustard, green apple, red onion, cornichons, quail egg yolk, crostini. Solid tartar. The cornichons stood in as the texture and pickled bit much like capers often do.


Kid’s pizza.


Potato crusted salmon. Little gem lettuce salad, kohlrabi, watermelon radish, soft-cooked egg, nicoise olives.


Black angus bistro filet. Vadouvan-whipped potatoes, swiss chard, cremini mushrooms, black garlic jus.


Coffee-crusted duck breast. Wild rice hash, duck confit, bloomsdale spinach, orange-huckleberry jus.


Fries!

Absinthe is a good place. Everything tastes pretty much like it looks, with solid execution. It isn’t mind blowing or unique, but it does offer a tasty slate of contemporary French/American comfort food.

For more San Fran dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
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Tai Sui – Froggy Goats

Mar27

Restaurant: Tai Sui [1, 2]

Location: 3219 North San Gabriel Boulevard, Rosemead, CA. (626) 307-0203

Date: March 22, 2015

Cuisine: Cambodian

Rating: Awesome meats!

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We Hedonists are never ones to shy away from the exotic, and Tai Sui, a Cambodian hole in the wall in the San Gabriel Valley surely fits the bill.


NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Brut Tradition Grand Cru. Burgound 91. The last time this cuvée was reviewed (disgorgement in 2006) it was noticeably toastier and a bit less elegant than this version, if a bit more complex. The hallmark toastiness of the Egly house style is certainly present though as I note, to a lesser extent. The pinot fruit is evident on both the nose and the palate with good effervescence to the attractively intense, crisp and vibrant flavors that possess fine finishing punch on the moderately dry finish. This could be enjoyed now though I would personally opt to hold it for 2 to 3 years first.


The decor is oh so sophisticated, but the food is fabulous.


From my cellar: 2004 Morey-Blanc Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères. Burgound 92. This is a good deal riper with exotic aromas of mango, melon and dried apricots that lead to textured, dense and mouth coating full-bodied flavors that are beautifully complex and despite the weight, the marked acidity keeps everything focused and well-balanced. An impressive showing for a wine that I often find to be a bit top-heavy.

agavin: lots of reduction, and still a good bit of vanilla oak. Nice acidity though and a quite nice 1re.


Spring rolls. Not sure what was in these, but they were yummy.


2012 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. Burghound 93. A ripe but airy and beautifully well-layered nose features notes of honeysuckle, citrus, apricot and soft spice nuances. The palate feel of the medium-bodied flavors is also highly seductive and opulent as the abundant dry extract confers an almost oily texture to the powerful finish. This could easily be an overly heavy wine yet the bright citrus-infused acidity saves the balance and I would make the same observation here in that this is far from a classic Pucelles yet it manages to work all the same. Note that this should drink well almost immediately.

agavin: bright, acidic, and drinking very nicely for such a young big White Burg


You wrap them with noodles, herbs, and some fish sauce. It’s all about the sauce.


2012 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet. Burgound 89. Here too there is enough reduction to push what appears to be ripe fruit to the background. The pure and well-detailed middle weight flavors possess a highly seductive mouth feel along with lovely balance and excellent persistence for a villages level wine. The class of a fine Puligny is very much in evidence and this is worth your attention.


Spring rolls. The less fried variety. Not quiet as tasty.


2012 Peter Michael Chardonnay Ma Belle-Fille. VM 93. Green-tinged yellow. Vibrant aromas of lime, anise, chalky minerals and honeysuckle show impressive clarity and a hint of iodine. Firm, tightly focused and dry, offering mineral-driven citrus and orchard fruit flavors and complicating ginger and quinine nuances. Finishes racy and pure, with strong, clinging mineral and citrus zest flavors.

agavin: all oak and malo with no acid


Fried frog. This light tempura-style batter was the perfect complement to a little amphibian fun. Piping hot and full of moist flavor.


2012 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett. VM 87. Nectarine, pine nuts and lemon oil on the nose. Delicate tropical fruit flavors are brightened by a salty twang. Refreshing acidity gives a feminine character to the finish. Nicely balanced.

agavin: solid easy drinking Riesling


Shrimp salad with pig ear. This dish was absolutely fabulous. Not only was there the nice textural play of soft and crunchy, but the bright citrus, sour, fish saucy flavor was amazing. And then as added zest there was a bit of shaved pig ear thrown in. Seriously, what more could you ask for?


From my cellar: 1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. 92 points. An earthy medium-to-heavy weight Burgundy, with tastes packed with tar, tobacco, forest floor, mushroom and dark cherry. The fruitiness has mostly disappeared, and is replaced by a solid backbone redolent of the grape’s mother soil. Worth drinking to experience the capabilities of a well-aged burgundy. Shipped directly from Domaine Ampeau’s cellars.

agavin: a little bretty at first, then blew off and opened up to be very nice, if not fully resolved.


French style venison. Deer cooked in a sort of black pepper, wine, soy reduction. Lots of flavor. perhaps a touch chewy.


1999 Haut Bailly. Parker 88. This wine is light to medium-bodied, with sweet currant and smoke-infused flavors and some oak in the background, but plenty of red fruits, vanilla, and dried herbs. This is a soft, well-balanced wine to drink now and over the next 12-15 years.


Fried smelts. Super salty but full of umami flavor.


1995 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace. Parker 91. Deep garnet-brick in color, the 1995 Hill of Grace has a slightly leathered, dried fruit nose that is a little tired though highlighted by notes of sandalwood, tree bark and earth, hints of leather and meat. There’s a touch of barnyard on the palate and it is a bit past its peak, fading slightly with crisp acid and firm, chewy tannins through a long finish.

agavin: This was the best of the strong reds, particularly with the food.


Clams in spicy sauce. The sauce was amazing over rice.


2005 Saxum Syrah Broken Stones. Parker 94+. The 2005 Broken Stones, a blend of 74% Syrah, 24% Grenache, and the rest Mourvedre, is a beauty. Notes of licorice, forest floor, pepper, spice box, and loads of black and red fruits jump from the glass as well as saturate the palate. This full-bodied, opulent wine has crisp acidity, some heady alcohol, and loads of flavor, depth, and richness. It is a savory wine to drink now and over the next 7-10 years.


2008 Saxum Syrah Broken Stones. Parker 94. The 2008 Broken Stones (79% Syrah, 13% Grenache, and the rest Mourvedre) has a bluish purple color to the rim, with the classic nose of camphor, charcoal, black currant, and blackberry with hints of licorice and smoke. This intense wine displays great fruit, some structure, and a beautifully seamless texture. It is more evolved and open than the 2007 was at the same time, and just slightly less profound. It should drink nicely for at least a decade.


Mixed fried rice. This awesome rice was totally made by the bits of sweet/savory Chinese sausage.


2012 L’Aventure Optimus. 93 points. Absolutely stunning. Drank with dry aged rib eyes and seared foie gras. Dark, rich fruit. Sweet oak, hints of pepper and smoke on the nose to go with the dark fruit. Even better on day 2 poured back into bottle and gassed overnight. Such a great deal on a unique blend.


2007 Brown Estate Zinfandel Westside. 88 points. Spicy, berry nose. Jammy, full and long on the palate.


Goat stew. The gamey goat meat was super tender, and the wontons lent some nice texture, but the real winner hear was the broth which was out of this world. Very South East Asian, like a Pho broth.


Vegetable. This was intended to be briefly cooked in the soup and was very savory that way. It’s some kind of chrysanthemum. The staff only described it as “vegetable.”


2010 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard. Tanzer 95. Good deep red. Raspberry, bacon fat and black olive on the nose. Silky, fleshy and sweet, with a peppery topnote to the sweet raspberry and beef jerky flavors. Finishes classically dry and extremely long, with noble, fine-grained tannins. This very concentrated and utterly captivating syrah called to mind a Cote-Rotie from the legendary Marius Gentaz.


Garlic fried squab. Small but tasty little game birds.


2005 K Vintners Charles Smith Old Bones Syrah. Parker 99. The 2005 Syrah Old Bones is a blend of The Heart and The Skull but aged in 500-liter barrels. It is more complex, opulent, and totally hedonistic. It will be at its best from 2017 to 2035.


Roast quail with rice. This bird was even better. Like Thai BBQ chicken, but more gamey.


1999 Sunstone Syrah. Parker 88. I would have guessed the 1999 Syrah was from Australia. While it sports an unjustifiable price, it is a delicious, New World Syrah with tons of oaky vanilla scents intermixed with pepper, licorice, and blackberry/cassis fruit. Medium to full-bodied and plush, with low acidity, it will drink well for 6-7 years.


2003 Mitolo Shiraz Savitar. Parker 94-7. The 2003 Shiraz Savitar is a prodigious offering. Made from 30- to 50-year-old Shiraz vines in the Willunga district of McLaren Vale, it was aged 18 months in 100% new French barrels and small foudres. This elegant Shiraz boasts an opaque purple color along with sumptuous blueberry, blackberry, and cassis notes intermixed with touches of white flowers, licorice, camphor, and graphite. A compellingly textured, rich, super-endowed red, it combines power with finesse.


Fried pork chop and egg. Seems simple, but this breakfast-like combo of fried pork chop and egg was absolutely amazing together. Super tender.


1994 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rotenberg Vendange Tardive. Parker 98. The 1994 Tokay-Pinot Gris Rotenberg V.T. is a medium dark golden-colored wine, with high levels of botrytis and alcohol, awesome richness and thickness, and a chewy, unctuous palate that finishes with slight to moderate sweetness. It needs 4-5 years of cellaring, but it should keep for 25-30.

agavin: one of my favorites of the night, as I love a good sticky. Plus it went well with the curry.


Goat curry. A nice yellow curry with tender goat meat. Great again over rice.


But served with French Bread!


Overall, a total deal ($42 or similar all in) and some really tasty meats. Yeah, some folks were too quail to really enjoy all the slightly odd meats, but this place packs a lot of flavor.

Wine wise, it was a bit of a mixed bag. We had a whole bunch of decent Chards, then my one Pinot, and then way too many muscle wines which didn’t really complement well. Still, we made the “best” of it and had a roaring good time with a lot of drunken antics (see below).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

The famous Kaz Oyama Titty Twister!

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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  5. Amazing Akbar
By: agavin
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2002 White Burgundy at Kinjiro

Mar25

Restaurant: Kinjiro

Location: 424 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. (213) 229-8200

Date: March 20, 2015

Cuisine: Japanese

Rating: Good modern Japanese comfort food

_

Last year the Babykillers and I went to BOS in this same spot. It was good, but kinda extreme, being an offal restaurant. The owners have since rebooted the space as Kinjiro, a modern Izakaya (bar with food).

It should be noted that tonight’s wine theme was 2002, mostly. The mostly being both the year and White Burgundy. We also tossed in a couple of 2002 Champagnes and the like and a couple reds to round out the steaks.


It looks pretty much the same as it did before, with slight superficial alterations.



The menu.


2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare. JG 95. Light, bright gold. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes candied orange, pear and ginger, with building floral and spice nuances. Juicy and precise on the palate, offering an array of citrus and floral flavors that become richer with air. A hint of nuttiness arrives on the finish, which is spicy, focused and very long. This Champagne seems set for a long life.


Kinjiro Ceviche (Octopus, Shrimp, Snapper, Scallops, Mango). Fairly mild, but certainly fine. The chips added some traditional (in south/central America) crunch.


2002 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. JG 98. A beautifully elegant and ultra-pure nose serves up attractively layered aromas of spiced pear, white rose, citrus, brioche and hints of green apple. There is really lovely complexity to the moderately vibrant flavors that are supported by impressively refined effervescence before terminating in a balanced, dry, clean and lingering finish. While this could certainly be held for further development it is drinking very well now.


Kinjiro Japanese Wagyu Carpaccio w/ Arima Sansho. A really yummy tangy sauce. The texture was perfect, and it was very beefy with a nice zing.


Warm Organic Baby Spinach with Assorted Organic Mushrooms. Salad. Enough said.


1982 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. Burghound 91. Richly perfumed aromas of yeast, herbs, white flowers and moderate secondary fruit leads to sweet, round and full-bodied flavors that manage to offer lovely delineated, hints of minerality and fine finishing punch. As with virtually all older Ampeau wines, this is really impressive with its youthful vigor and zesty overall character with almost none of the heaviness that characterizes many ’82 whites today. While there is no reason to hold this further, neither is there is rush to drink up.

agavin: doing surprisingly well for a 33 year old premier cru white!


Kinjiro Free-range Chicken Maki-age. Awesome. Fried chicken roulades (more or less). Nice crispy skin and very savory meat.


2002 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. 91 points. Very fresh and nice, and also VERY Chablis.


Wild Black Cod with Saikyo Miso. Sort of the usual.


2002 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. Burghound 93. This too displays some toast notes with tight, reserved and perfumed roasted nuts and a brown butter character. The big, rich and intense flavors are blessed with massive amounts of dry extract and display an astonishing level of refinement; in particular, this seems chiseled directly from limestone with the superb minerality and near knife-like precision. A great effort of surpassing freshness and a finish that lasts for several minutes.

agavin: arguably the (white) wine of the night. Really killer with a lovely nose of reductive fruit and a great mid palette.


Thick-cut Prime Beef Tongue with Sea Salt. Good juicy tongue.


2007 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon. Burghound 91. At the moment this displays a bit of post-bottling reduction though hints of white flower, peach and apple can still be discerned. The clean, intense, precise and energetic medium-bodied flavors possess good cut and more precision than I usually see with this wine, all wrapped in a mildly austere and wonderfully long finish. This seems to have more “presence” than usual and while it’s not an elegant wine, it’s quite satisfying all the same.

agavin: I’m kinda sick of 2007, but this was a solid wine.


Grilled Amberjack (Yellowtail) Collar. I don’t love this kind of fish prep.


2002 Marc Colin et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 88. Softly perfumed notes of toasty oak and sweet chardonnay fruit lead to rich, round, generously but not over-oaked broad scaled flavors that are delicious if not especially precise, nor do they carry the classic minerality one expects from a great Corton-Charlemagne. To be sure, this is a very attractive wine with much to like but it doesn’t have enough punch or depth to carry it to the next level. Solid and attractive in a slightly international style.

agavin: our bottle was premoxed and undrinkable. Gross.


Kinjiro Agedashi Homemade Tofu, Mushroom Ankake Sauce. Amazing. The soft texture plus the rich but subtle mushroom sauce. Just awesome and very Japanese.


So you can see the texture.


2002 Louis Latour Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles. Burghound 93. By contrast, this seemed to have suffered no effects at all from the mise with its deftly oaked nose that combines superbly elegant white flower and green apple aromas that melt into very bright, racy and intense medium full flavors that possess stunning delineation and the hallmark pungent minerality of a great Demoiselles. This is more powerful than it usually is yet sacrifices none of its precision or style because of it. In short, this is a complete wine of considerable grace and presence.

agavin: ours was very flat. no fruit at all. Fairly lousy.


Steamed Manila Clams (Ginger or Butter). Nice clams.


From my cellar: 2002 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. Burghound 94. This is really a lovely effort and one that has reached its peak with a lovely panoply of mature white burgundy aromas that include dried floral elements, spice, wet stone and white orchard fruit. There is fine concentration and plenty of power to the tension and mineral-inflected medium-bodied flavors that offer outstanding complexity on the gorgeously long and impeccably well-balanced finish. To my taste this is drinking perfectly now and while there is no further upside development potential, neither is there any need to drink up as the ’02 Dem should hold well for years to come.

agavin: Certainly the best of our Chevys. Round, and opened up after an hour to have a really typical and lovely middle. Not much finish though.


Dashi simmered wild snapper. Very soft.


2002 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 93. A deft touch of wood spice frames gorgeous and superbly elegant white flower and green fruit aromas that introduce intense, refined, superbly precise mineral-infused flavors that are also crystalline in their purity. The flavors explode on the finish and this is clearly very classy juice that will be capable of aging for a decade or more.

agavin: just so so. Fine, but not spectacular.


Niman Ranch Pork Belly Kakuni, Half-boiled Free-range Egg & Daikon. Totally awesome. Rich, porky, with a very similar dashi sauce as the tofu. Just amazing. Fell apart into strands it was so tender.


Kinjiro Bone Marrow Dengaku. I’m not normally a huge bone marrow fan, but the brown sauce (more or less a plum based sauce like that served with Peking duck) really sold it.


1998 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne.

IWC 97+. Saturated medium ruby. Incredible nose combines black fruits, violet, meat, licorice, brown spices, cinders and tapenade. Dense and powerful, with a strong flavor of bitter chocolate and great delineation of flavor. This has the most impressive tannic structure of these ’98s. Offers great breed and vivacity. Finishes with superb palate-staining persistence. The pH here is about 3.77, which is significantly lower than that of the 2000 version but higher than the ’99.

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.

agavin: our bottle was a touch corked, but still enjoyable. Sigh.


Australia Wagyu Chuck Rib Kalbi Salted. A little more tender and flavorful than the marinated.


Australia Wagyu Chuck Rib Kalbi Marinated. A bit sweeter than the salted.


2004 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 99. This vintage shocked me when I did my retrospective earlier this year, and the 2004 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select acquitted itself brilliantly in the vertical of Hillside Selects. It was a hot year, a relatively early harvest and there were worries that the heat had stressed the grapes, and there would be a lack of physiological ripeness and nuance. Those worries have not manifested themselves in this great Cabernet Sauvignon. Inky/purple-colored with notes of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, spring flowers, and a touch of toast, the wine is opulent, voluptuous and full-bodied with sweet tannin, just enough acidity to provide freshness, vibrancy and delineation, and a spectacular finish that goes on 40+ seconds. This is a killer, a showy and flamboyant style of Hillside Select that’s already drinking beautifully and should continue to do so for another 15-20 years.

agavin: open half a day. Really really nice, if still massive.


Japanese A5 Plus Wagyu Steak (Miyazaki | Sirloin). Amazing. So soft. With a bit of the yuzu pepper it was to die for — and it might with all that fat.


Various toppings. Yuzu, wasabi, ponzu, salt, daikon.


1987 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Parker 97. This extraordinary wine is backward and unevolved, but even neophytes will recognize its potential greatness. The opaque, saturated, dark purple color reveals no sign of age. The huge, smoky, oaky, blackcurrant, herb, and vanillin-scented nose only hints at what will be achieved with further evolution. Sweet, decadently rich, dense, highly extracted flavors are wrapped around a full-bodied, chewy, super-concentrated, moderately tannic wine that, ideally, needs 7-8 more years of cellaring. It is a 25 to 30 year California Cabernet Sauvignon that is just beginning to become civilized. A potential legend in the making!


Prime Dry-aged Ribeye Steak. With toppings. More gristly and not as super soft as the wagyu.


2002 Jean Boillot & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère. VM 94+. Lemon, lime, spring flowers, nut oil and minerals on the vibrant nose. Dense and sweet, with penetrating flavors of peach, spice and minerals lifted by a captivating floral character. Broad, classy and extremely long on the back end. Already showing terrific personality, but this will be even better for five to seven years of cellaring.

Wild Snapper Sashimi Ochazuke. Amazing porridge of rice and snapper. Totally killer.


Toppings for the porridge.


2002 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. VM 92. Lemon, lime and spices on the nose. Very ripe but brisk orange and lemon flavors show an exotic aspect as well as terrific cut. Hiding its substantial fat today. Finishes very long, with a note of vanillin oak. Boillot used about 50% new oak for his 2002 crus.

Kinjiro Beef Tendon, Tongue, Sinew & Tripe Miso Stew. Better than it sounds by far.


2002 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. VM 95+. Steely, penetrating aromas of minerals, crushed stone and vanillin oak. Wonderfully dense and broad, with a dusty, tactile texture and powerful underlying spine. Shows a superripe note of crystallized pit fruits, but the wine’s powerful acids give it great precision and penetration. A great young Corton-Charlemagne.

Santa Barbara Uni Udom with Hijiki Seaweed. Basically Japan’s answer to linguine con le vongole. Fine, but not really rich enough and the pasta felt a little dry.


2002 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 95+. Subdued, brooding nose hints at pear, clove and nut oil. Superconcentrated, rich and deep, with compelling sweetness of apple and pear fruit perfectly balanced by powerful acids (5. 2 grams per liter, with a pH of 3. 11, according to Boillot). Offers an uncanny combination of fat, density of texture and sheer sweetness. “This needs ten years despite its great early sucrosite,” notes Boillot. Finishes with outstanding palate-staining length. Another monument of the vintage.

Santa Barbara Uni Udom with Hijiki Seaweed. This was awesome though. The udon had a nice heft and there was the nice briny tone to the uni.


Desserts! Each creme brûlée thing had a sauce of sorts.


Sake Kasu (Lees) Crème Brulee. Like creme brûlée with a bit of a yeasty kick.


Black Sesame Mousse. Awesome black sesame flavor and nice soft texture.


Hojicha (Roasted Green Tea) Panna Cotta. Arguably the best of the three. Nice soft tea flavors and fabulous with the honey.


Overall, an amazingly fun night. Great company. Great wines. And some really tasty comfort food that paired very well.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
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Melisse – 2007 Montrachet!

Mar22

Restaurant: Melisse [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Location: 1104 Wilshire Blvd.Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 395-0881

Date: March 19, 2015

Cuisine: California French

Rating: Awesome again

_

And so we arrive at Part 3 of the epic three night 2007 White Burgundy Dinner series (Part 1 can be found here and part 2 here). This series of dinners, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell, explores in great detail the best wines of a particular vintage, in this case 2007.

Tonight features “Mostly Montrachet” that is, the wines of the great “Le Montrachet” Grand Cru, often considered the best white wine in the world.

This particular dinner is at Melisse, one of LA’s few 2 star Michelin restaurants and also one of my favorites (you can find links to three epic Carte Blanche meals at Melisse in the brackets at the top of the post). Let’s just say that Melisse generally has every area of fine dining covered: great food, great wine service, great everything service, etc.

2007 is a classic white Burgundy vintage made from an upside-down growing season in which April was literally the warmest month. The year began with a very early flowering thanks to record heat in April, and a cool and fairly dismal summer followed. Most of the best growers picked their chardonnay in warm, dry weather during the first half of September – quite early, but not as early as the mid-May flowering would have predicted. The wines from the better makers show noteworthy transparency to terroir. Those who harvested relatively late often brought in thoroughly ripe fruit with healthy acidity levels and no obvious signs of overripeness. The skins of the chardonnay grapes in ’07 were mostly in good shape, in spite of wet, cool weather in June and July.

The 2007s are characterized by fresh citrus and white stone fruit aromas, plenty of minerality and floral lift, and good levels of acidity. Many are like fleshier versions of the 2004s, which sounds like a near-perfect formula for white Burgundy to this taster. Although I think of the typical style of 2007 as being pure, focused, minerally and racy, in fact there’s a creaminess without heaviness or other exoticism to many of the wines that buffers their acidity and gives them great early appeal. So please forgive my tendency to refer to the former style as the classic 2007 character. This is true in theory, but in the mouth there are many lovely 2007s with noteworthy generosity of texture. Incidentally, a number of producers told me that the wines were very awkward in the early going, and benefited tremendously from a longer élevage.


Our testing  was setup in the elegant private room just to the right of the entrance.


Tonight’s special menu.


Less glasses tonight than on the first two dinners in the series, as we have fewer wines and fewer drinkers.

Flight 0: Amuses


1996 Philipponnat Clos de Goisses. Burghound 97. One of the greatest examples of the ’96 vintage, this wine has it all with elegance, intensity, subtlety and grace, not to mention buckets of unrealized potential that will enable this beauty to improve for at least another decade and perhaps longer. I can only imagine just how good this would be from magnum format! The nose is discreet, reserved and pure with lemon, green apple and layers upon layers of fruit framed by just the right amount of yeast influence that continues onto the exceptionally dry and tight flavors that are crisp and refined as well as superbly intense yet through it all there is this underlying sense of harmony, as though all of the elements are working in concert. The greatest wines, at least those cut from classical cloth, persuade through the subtlest means and so it is with the ’96 Goisses, which is indeed a great wine by any measure. While it is drinkable now, for my taste preferences a lot of potential would be left in the glass and I wouldn’t start in earnest on this for another 5+ years.

agavin: Really a great mature champagne with years of life in it.


Liberty Duck Breast, Marche Cherry, Caper Chip. Awesome smoky little chip with an Asian sort of vibe.


Santa Barbara Ridgeback Prawn Ravioli. The shrimp is the ravioli and the ravioli is the shrimp. Tasted like a great har gow.


Beef Bearnaise. Taking a card from the Jose Andres deck, the sauce was actually inside the little hush puppy-like thing.


The bread. I’m particularly partial to the green basil bread and the bacon bread (far left).


Hamachi with radish. I’m not sure what was in that creamy blob, but the overall combo was fabulous.

Flight 1: Montrachet


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.

2007 Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de la Guiche

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: In contrast to the relative expressiveness of the majority of the prior wines, here the nose is decidedly restrained, offering up only grudging notes of pain grillé that frame pure aromas of white flower and fresh pear with subtle spice notes that continue onto the balanced, long and gorgeously refined big-bodied flavors that exude a distinct stoniness while building towards a powerful, mouth coating and palate staining finish that delivers striking persistence. A distinguished effort that will age for years because of the excellent underlying material and impeccable balance. 93-96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Very ripe aromas of apricot and smoky oak. Big, rich and sweet, with sexy hints of smoke, nutmeg and brown sugar. Tactile and chewy but without any excess weight. This big boy seems accessible already but offers enticing high notes for such a ripe wine. The smoky oak element recurs on the back end. This will need time to show its inherent soil complexity. 94

agavin: a bit deeper yellow. rich oak, grew quiet nice with time, lovely nose, long acid finish.

2007 Prieur Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This too evidences a subtle application of wood but does not intrude on the transparency of the array of very floral, peach, pear and menthol aromas that serve as a sweeping introduction to the huge, rich and extremely powerful tautly muscled flavors that possess copious amounts of dry extract that completely drench the palate on the incredibly long finish. This is a massive Montrachet with flat out painful intensity and for those who enjoy dramatic whites, this fits the bill. A ‘wow’ wine and then some but for the patient. 94- 97

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: (still on its lees in barrel) Pale, bright yellow. Compelling aromas of peach, fresh apricot and iodiney minerality. Silky on entry, then dense, powerful and large- scaled in the middle. This is really stuffed with fruit. There’s a juiciness here but this tactile wine is almost too easy today. Plenty of alcohol too, at 13.8%. 91-93

agavin: med yellow, sulfur on the nose to start, strong green apple, mellowed after some time in the glass

2007 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database, Feb 2, 2012: Mild reduction initially reduces the expressiveness of the otherwise fresh and impressively complex lemon, stone and acacia blossom-infused nose that leads to equally complex and beautifully delineated middle weight flavors that ooze a fine minerality before culminating in an overtly austere but explosive, linear and compact finish of superb length. While this could of course be drunk now, for my taste it is still much too young. However, if you’re going to try one out of curiosity I would strongly advise decanting it for at least 30 minutes first as the flavors take their timing opening up. Tasted twice recently with one bottle being a bit more forward than the one described above. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Good pale yellow. Knockout orange and mineral nose projects an impression of force that continues onto the palate. A wonderfully silky wine of outstanding intensity and lift. This has the fine-grained texture of a grand cru, not to mention the combination of suavity and power that characterizes the best examples of Perrieres. The palate-staining finish features a whiplash of flavor. The candid Coche was quick to say that the crop level here was a healthy 52 hectoliters per hectare, but it tastes like half that. I should note that the finished wine is much more classic and vibrant than a more glyceral barrel sample I tried last year, and Coche has also upped his opinion of this beauty. 95

agavin: light straw in color, lots of sulfur reduction, green apple palette, long long acid finish.

2007 Henri Boillot Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This is also strikingly pure, refined and fantastically elegant and while the kaleidoscopic nose is more restrained and primary still, the density of the fruit with its associated depth is quite simply sublime. Notes of white truffle, citrus, rose petal, anise, brioche and clove merge into concentrated, powerful, delineated and stony flavors that are big but not necessarily massive and culminate in a finish that is even more persistent than that of the Chevalier if not necessarily finer. Still, what this gives up in delicacy it more than makes up for in size, weight and power. A classically proportioned Monty. 97

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2008: Very closed nose hints at lime, botanical herbs, clove and minerals. Chewy, tactile and uncompromisingly dry, with a powerful dusty minerality carrying through on the long, stony finish. Extremely young and unevolved today. 92-94

agavin: middle yellow, rich open nose, acidic and green apple taste


Stonington Maine Diver Scallop Grilled Leeks, Cardoons, Crème de Brandade.

Flight 2: Montrachet


The next flight, even more Monty.

2007 Bouchard Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database, April 9, 2010: (with thanks to Dr. Michael Chen). A stunningly complex range of fruit, citrus, floral and spice aromas complement to perfection the very rich, full and strikingly concentrated broad-scaled flavors that are supported by plenty of dry extract that buffers a firm core of ripe acidity on the beautifully intense and flat out incredibly lingering finish. What really impresses me about the ’07 though is that despite the impressive heft, the finish remains laser-like in its focus. A ‘wow’ wine in every sense except for one, which is that this is not an imposing or massive vintage for this wine. Otherwise, this is sensational, especially in terms of its impeccable balance. Note that at this early juncture, there is essentially no difference between the magnum and 750 ml formats save for the impression that the magnum is, not surprisingly, even more backward. 97

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: While not more elegant than the Cabotte, this is quite a bit more complex with a stunning range of fruit, citrus, floral and spice aromas that complement to perfection the very rich, full and strikingly concentrated broad-scaled flavors that are supported by plenty of dry extract that buffers a firm core of ripe acidity on the beautifully intense and flat out incredibly lingering finish. What really impresses me about the ’07 though is that despite the impressive heft, the finish remains laser-like in its focus. A ‘wow’ wine in every sense except for one, which is that this is not an imposing or massive vintage for this wine. Otherwise, this is sensational, especially in terms of its impeccable balance. 97

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar: not reviewed

agavin: pale yellow, sulfur on the nose, a bit of potty even to the taste, thin finish

2007 Louis Latour Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A deft touch of wood serves as a background presence for the reserved but fresh and bright floral, citrus, brioche and spice aromas that are strikingly complex and broad and complement the full-bodied flavors that are deep, dense and massive with exceptionally powerful drive and intensity on the gorgeously long and palate staining finish. This is an impressive wine blessed with great underlying material, perfect balance and superb harmony plus it’s built for the long haul. Note however that the expressiveness of the nose aside, the flavors are like a block of stone and thus I would suggest not opening a bottle for the next few years as it would likely be a complete waste. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar: not reviewed

agavin: medium deep yellow, rich nose, nice citrus finish, grew better and better over time

2007 Le Moine Montrachet Cuvee C

Allen Meadows, Burghound: not reviewed

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: From the Chassagne side: Reticent nose dominated by nutty oak. The palate shows an almost candied ripeness to the citrus liqueur, iodine and wet stone flavors. Wonderfully sweet and densely packed wine of noteworthy solidity. Mounts impressively and broadens out on the vibrant, very long finish. 93-95

agavin: a bit deeper yellow. rich lovely nose. powerful and drinking well now

2007 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database April 23, 2012: (with thanks to Herwig Janssen and Hal Borthwick). This is completely different from its ’08 counterpart with a wonderfully layered and relatively expressive nose that features ripe but cool green fruit, apple, rose petal and ample mineral influence that continues onto the imposingly concentrated and powerful flavors that terminate in a lemon-infused and intensely stony finish. This is strikingly persistent and while there is some austerity present it is much less so compared to the ’08. I quite like this and it’s a vintage that will certainly age well but be enjoyable young. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: The most austere nose of these 2007s: apple, pear, crushed stone and oyster shell minerality. Saturates the palate with a flavor of liquid stone, without leaving any impression of weight. Very dry and penetrating wine with powerful underlying structure and great energy on the extremely long finish. Even more closed today than the Caillerets, but then this wine from marne blanche soil typically ages like a red. It will be interesting to compare this wine with the 2006 bottling a decade hence. The earlier wine is more glyceral, but this 2007 may possess even more energy. 95+

agavin: pale yellow, sulfur and sweet tarts on the nose, sweet tarts on the palette


2007 Ramey Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard. Vinous 94. Greenish yellow. Vibrant aromas of lime, lemongrass, powdered stone and anise. At once supple and energetic in the mouth, with impressive precision to the peach, citrus and smoky mineral flavors. Tightly wound and taut but not austere, showing a distinct spiciness on the back half. Lively citrus and mineral flavors carry through a rising, spicy finish. These grapes are sourced from four different blocks, all of them planted to the Wente clone, according to Ramey.

agavin: medium yellow, reductive nose, rich oak, guessed it wasn’t a Burgundy


Out comes a whole giant slab of turbot!


Atlantic Turbot Porcini Mushroom, Celeriac, Black Barley.


Roasted Celery Broth is poured on top. A fabulous bit of moist fish.

Flight 3: Coche-Dury


And the final set of blockbusters.

Leflaive Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This is also on the ripe side for a 2007 with an ultra elegant nose that is pure, airy and cool, indeed this is unusually elegant for the appellation with its white flower, citrus, pear, menthol, white pepper and light spice hints that are in perfect keeping with the rich, full and broad- shouldered flavors that possess the usual volume and power of a classic Bâtard but do not lose any of the precision or detail on the expansive, mouth coating and hugely long and very dry finish. Like a number of examples in 2007, this is an elegant yet forceful Bâtard. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, green-tinged yellow. Knockout nose combines musky pineapple, lime and powdered stone; seems less exotic than the 2008. Wonderfully silky on entry, then explosively ripe and sweet in the middle, with powerful, palate-staining flavors of lime and flowers. Very rich and impeccably balanced, with its sweetness perfectly countered by firm buffering acidity. A great showing for this extremely long grand cru. 95

Don Cornwell, Wally’s Leflaive Dinner, Mar. 16, 2010: (tasted from two different bottles over four hours) Light yellow-green color; some light S02 here [Meadows noticed this too and quietly asked me about it as well. We both agreed this was slightly reductive]; citrus and sweet basil aromas; surprisingly forward and supple for a Batard, doesn’t have the power I expected; very good acidity and a long finish. My separate notes at dinner were almost verbatim identical. Meadows says he thinks the 2007’s will be open for business early but will live for a long time. 94(+?)

agavin: deep yellow, rich complex nose. slight vinegar sharpness to taste, very tart, short finish?

2007 Jadot Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: An almost invisible hint of wood frames stunningly refined if restrained, elegant and ripe floral, green fruit and spice notes with a most interesting touch of violets that can also be found on the rich, full-bodied and delicious flavors that possess ample underlying tension with plenty of finishing punch and vibrancy on the hugely long finish. This is a powerful but not massive Montrachet with buckets of dry extract and the class is obvious as is the impeccable balance of the linear and palate staining backend. 93-96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar: not reviewed

agavin: medium yellow. sulfur at first, then really nice nose, then fell off? Reduction at first on palette, then opened way up. Quite nice.

2007 Le Mone Montrachet Cuvee P

Allen Meadows, Burghound: not reviewed

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: (There’s another barrel from the Puligny side but this one was only about a third of its way through its malolactic fermentation, which did not start until August of 2008. This sample showed a higher pitch, a captivating aroma of orange blossom and great finesse of texture, but was still youthfully imploded at the end of May.) not rated

agavin: Medium yellow. Thin, menthol, reductive nose. Rich palette and long finish. Opened into one of my favorites.

2007 Ramonet Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 36, Oct 2009: In contrast to the incredibly backward Bâtard, the Montrachet is somewhat more open and accessible with a soaring nose of floral, citrus, orange peel, spice and a suitably discreet touch of oak yet as impressively broad as it is, it is completely evident that there is plenty in reserve. This is also true of the almost painfully intense and focused medium plus weight flavors that possess ample amounts of extract that buffer the very firm acid spine on the hugely long finish. While it should not be a surprise, given that not only is this Montrachet but a Ramonet Montrachet at that, don’t open any of these anytime soon. The ’07 version is not ever going to be one of the power vintages for this storied wine but I suspect that it will take its rightful place among the greats but only in time and that time isn’t soon. Patience absolutely required. 97

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, bright, green-tinged color. Subdued yet wonderfully nuanced aromas of powdered stone, white flowers, gingerbread, spices, sage and mint, complemented by sexy oak. Large-scaled, tactile and deep but with no impression of excess weight. Thick and broad from start to long, rocky finish. With extended time in the recorked bottle, this outstanding big boy turned steelier and drier, showing a penetrating grapefruit pith quality and remaining remarkably fresh. This outstanding Montrachet will almost certainly merit an even higher score seven or eight years down the road. 95+

agavin: paler yellow. Closed nose, rich flavor with a lot of acid.

2007 Sauzet Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This is ever-so-slightly riper and less restrained aromatically than the Chevalier with a densely fruited nose offering lightly spiced pear, white peach, lemon-lime and a hint of honeysuckle plus a touch of clove and anise that merge seamlessly into concentrated, powerful and weighty flavors that are not massive but they are focused, well-muscled and impressively scaled all the same and culminate in a superbly complex and deep finish that reminds me a lot of the 2002 version as it seems to come in wave after palate drenching wave. This is not as elegant and pure as the Chevalier but it somehow manages to deliver yet another dimension. In sum, an absolute knockout. Amazingly, this rivals the ’93 as the best Montrachet Sauzet has ever made, and anyone who has tasted a well-stored bottle knows that is high praise. 97

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale lemon-yellow. Reticent nose hints at lemon, clove and iodine. Large-scaled, fat and rich, but plush more than complex today in spite of its steely underpinning. This builds slowly and inexorably, filling the mouth and continuing to expand on the back end. A seriously concentrated Montrachet with the structure of a red wine. At 41 hectoliters per hectare, this wine featured the lowest crop level among the Sauzet 2007s. Really floods the palate with flavor. 95+

agavin: medium to pale, apple, apple, and more green apple. Tiny hints of advancedness?


Chef Josiah Citrin brings out the savory pièce de résistance.


Inside this dish, reminiscent of King Joffrey’s wedding pie:


Three hens nestled in hay. They were slow cooked to keep all the moisture inside.


Roasted Jidori Chicken, Smoked Carrots, Brasied Swiss Chard, Potato Mousseline.

This was probably the best chicken dish I’ve ever had. The meat absolutely perfectly cooked and juicy, the mashed potatoes amazing, and the jus pulled it all together. The carrots had this amazing “spiced” (as in pumpkin and spice) flavor.


Just my glasses.


Brian Kalliel, Melisse’s Sommelier, sucks his thumb while waiting for our endless debating and voting over the wine. It took forever before we revealed the blind wines. I, myself, was pacing about at the end of the room.


The whole array of bottles.

Dessert


1989 Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Mannberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese.


1994 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Beerenauslese. MFW 100. Quince, lemon, petrol and honey. Impeccably balanced palate thanks to resonating acidity – it is sweet, intense and incredibly long. Brilliant stuff.


Check out the color of the 89 (left) vs the 94 (right).


Apple Tart Fine. Caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. Pretty much a perfect version of this dessert.


Petite fours. pate de fruits, cannelles, macarons, cookies, chocolates.

food: As usual the food at Melisse is just stunning. I generally prefer a more mega tasting menu with more flavors and the requirements of matching White Burgundy limited the options, but still there were some stunning dishes here, in particular the turbot and chicken. And the chicken. I’m normally not even a chicken fan! The amuses were great too with a complex Franco-Japanese vibe.

service: perfect.

agavin on the wines: Like the other two 2007 nights, all these wines showed a strong vintage character, namely that super tart green apple sweet tart acidity. But the Montrachets were in general drinking fabulously. Almost any of these wines would be fabulous additions to more normal lineups. There were no premoxed wines, with only 1-2 showing very slight touches of advanced notes on the nose. Nothing was corked. Quite a number were highly reduced with a lot of sulfur on the nose, even degrading to “porta potty.” But this blows off with years in the bottle or hours in the glass.

The guessing of the more experienced Chard hounds was unusually inaccurate tonight. A lot of the typically “inferior” (for great wines) Montrachets were drinking the best tonight. These included the Louis Latour, the Jadot, and the Prieur. My best guess is that the more forward styles served to round out the wines and balance that searing acidity. I cannot understate the amount of tartness in these wines (or any typical 2007s). By the last flight my tongue was just buzzing with it and I had total palette fatigue. I had to use the sweet wines and the cannelles to try and wash it away.

Overall quality was quite high, but there was some serious doubt in the group as to how long to hold this vintage. Some felt that the acidity will remain and eventually overwhelm the fruit, leading to tight thin wines. Personally, I’d propose waiting a small number of additional years and pairing up with acid friendly food.

Don on the wines, plus official rankings:

RANK

 

Total

Rating

1

2007 Latour Montrachet

36

96

2

2007 Prieur Montrachet

27

95

3

2007 Jadot Montrachet

23

96|97

4

2007 Le Moine Montrachet Cuvee P

20

95

5

2007 Le Mone Montrachet Cuvee C

14

94

6

2007 Coche Meursault Perrieres

8

95++

7 tie

2007 Ramey Hyde Chardonnay

7

92

7 tie

2007 Ramonet Montrachet

7

94++

9

2007 Drouhin De Laguiche Montrachet

4

96

10

2007 Bouchard Montrachet

3

96

11

2007 Leflaive Batard Montrachet

1

95

12 tie

2007 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne

0

95

12 tie

2007 Boillot Montrachet

0

93|92A

12 tie

2007 Sauzet Montrachet

0

92A?

The five names at the top of the “leader board” have never been there before.  Make no mistake, the Latour, Prieur and Jadot were absolutely awesome wines.  The Le Moine wines also showed quite well.  So at the risk of catching some more flack from Mounir again, I’m sending him a copy of this results email again so that he can see how well his two Montrachet cuvees did.  (There wasn’t the faintest hint of oxidation this time.)

Don thought that the really youthful wines of the night that needed more time to show how great they really are were the Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres (yes, we also tasted a bottle of this wine on night one) and the Ramonet Montrachet.

David Ramey’s 2007 Hyde vineyard Chardonnay did double-duty as a ringer this year and it did very well even with the much stiffer competition among the Montrachets.  (Don didn’t think last night’s bottle  showed as well as the bottle we had with the Batards on night two, but it was still a well-liked wine with one first place vote.)   Mr. Ramey has clearly established, on both nights two and three (as well as in past vintages which operated with different voting rules), that his Hyde Vineyard bottling definitely belongs in the conversation when assessing the world’s best chardonnays.

There were no oxidized wines last night and the group overall didn’t think we had any advanced wines (although myself and two others thought that the Boillot Montrachet and Sauzet Montrachet were advanced and the Boillot Montrachet was almost borderline oxidized.)

From the premature oxidation perspective, looking at this on a historical basis, the 2007 vintage performed very well.  From an overall perspective, the 2007s were, by the narrowest of margins, the best-ever performing vintage from a premox perspective that we have had to date (in the years of this testing series).

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2007 White Burgundy part 2

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

Related posts:

  1. Mostly Montrachet at Melisse
  2. Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 2
  3. Melisse Madness
  4. Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 1
  5. Burghounds at Melisse
By: agavin
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Barrel & Ashes – BBQ Go Big

Mar20

Restaurant: Barrel & Ashes

Location: 11801 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604. (818) 623-8883

Date: March 16, 2015

Cuisine: American BBQ

Rating: Amazing Meats

_

My Hedonist group will eat anything — well anything good. It can be fancy or casual, but there’s (almost) always wine.


Barrel and Ashes is a collaboration between restaurateur Bill Chait, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, Chef Rory Hermann and mixologist Julian Cox riffing on the classical pairing of bourbon and barbecue.

The menu focuses on family style service with daily specials from both executive chefs Timothy and Rory, and Chef de Cuisine, Michael Kahikina.


Barrel and Ashes features picnic style seating on the front patio, communal and traditional seating inside, and additional seating on the rear patio that showcases a Texas style food trailer.


The menu.


2005 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée. Vinous 93. Bright yellow. Sexy, smoke-tinged aromas of ripe citrus fruits, poached pear and candied ginger. Spicy, penetrating and pure, offering intense Meyer lemon and bitter pear skin flavors plus hints of honeysuckle and chamomile. Shows impressive urgency and focus on the finish, with the floral note echoing.

agavin: awesome champy


Pear & Endive Salad. Goat Cheese, Walnut, Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette.


2010 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. VM 94. Pale straw-yellow. Lemon, chamomile, vanilla, ginger and a faint lactic nuance on the restrained, minerally nose. Pliant and sweet in the mouth, offering good concentration and fat to the vinous lemon, guava and grapefruit flavors. Very minerally on the long finish, showing lingering notes of peach, vanilla and coconut. This should age splendidly and will probably be at its best between 2020 and 2035.

agavin: Dave had opened this a couple days before to get it to open up. Quite nice with a lot of minerality.


Caesar Salad. Tuscan Kale, Romaine, Crouton. A nice cheesy salad.


From my cellar: 1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. Parker 95. The 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve showed the warmth and richness of the vintage, with knockout kirsch and blackberry fruit, garrigue, game and leather aromas and flavors that literally come jumping from the glass. Full-bodied, rich, textured and beautifully focused, if not still structured, it’s a rock-star to drink through 2020 or so.


Frito pie. Fritos smothered in chili, beans, cheese, sour cream etc.

agavin: This is oh so easy to digest! (but tasty)


1994 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Tinto Pesquera Reserva Especial. 93 points. Fabulous, mature tempranillo from a top estate in Ribero. This was packed with red cherry flavours, gentle tannins and perfect acidic balance.


Spicy Pork rinds. Malt Vinegar Mayonnaise.

agavin: actually, some of the best pork rinds I’ve had.


2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 98-99. Still a young wine at age 12, the 2001 Insignia exhibits a dense purple color along with a sweet bouquet of camphor, blackberries, cassis, incense and spring flowers. Full-bodied, rich and heady with sweet tannin, stunning concentration and a fabulous finish, this remarkable Insignia has 25 or more years of life ahead of it.


Smoked Chicken Wings. Shaved vegetables, blue cheese sauce.

agavin: really great wings, although hardly good wine pairing with that blue cheese sauce!


Grilled Blue Prawns. Chili, cilantro, lime.

agavin: These were actually a freebee, given to us at the end of the dinner, but properly they are an appetizer.


Boning it again.


2006 Booker Vineyard Fracture. Parker 91. The 2006 Fracture is the most backward of the 2006s, yet it is well-endowed, muscular, and dense as well as promising. Forget it for several years, and drink it over the next decade.


Mary’s Free Range Chicken.

agavin: soft and tender.


2005 Saxum Rocket Block James Berry Vineyard. Parker 96. Another superb southern Rhone-like blend (Chateauneuf du Pape-like actually) that comes from a single block of James Berry Vineyard, the 2005 Rocket Block James Berry Vineyard offers off-the-hook levels of sweet blackcurrants, black raspberries, exotic spices, crushed flowers and hints of incense on the nose. Full-bodied, super-concentrated and sweetly fruited, with a voluptuous and rounded texture, this beauty is drinking perfectly now, and should continue to thrill for another 4-5 years.


Sausage – Electric City Butchers. O.G. and Jalapeno cheddar.

agavin: the cheesy ones were insane!


2004 Alban Vineyards Pandora. Parker 96-97. The 2004 Pandora (80% Grenache and 20% Syrah), is deeper in color and completely opaque. Slightly more voluptuous and rich, with the Syrah giving some heft to the mid-palate, it offers up layers of black raspberry, black currants, cured meats, iodine and crushed rock-like minerality on the nose. This flows to a full-bodied, beautifully textured and seamless wine that has no hard edges, thrilling richness and a blockbuster finish. Gaining a tad more richness with time in the glass, it still has only hints of maturity and has a long life ahead of it. Enjoy bottles anytime over the coming decade (or more).


Spare Ribs – Salmon Creek Farms.

agavin: really great tender ribs with lots of flavor.


2006 Pax Cellars Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard. Parker 91. From a cool Green Valley site, the deep ruby/purple-tinged 2006 Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard exhibits hints of lard, blackberries, asphalt, and smoke, medium to full body, sweet tannin, and a spicy finish. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.


Pork Short Rib. Heritage Berkshire Pork.

agavin: a table favorite, totally fell off the bone.



2004 Hundred Acre Vineyard Shiraz Summer’s Block Ancient Way. VM 92. Dark ruby. Deeply pitched aromas of cassis, dried cherry and singed plum, with a smoky overtone and a suggestion of cured tobacco. Lush, sweet and smoky on the palate, offering superripe dark fruit flavors with suggestions of cola, chewing tobacco and mocha. Extremely rich and verging on thick, in the style of this bottling, but showing surprising vivacity, especially at a decade of age. A peppery note adds lift and bite to the long, smoky, gently tannic finish.


Brisket – Greater Omaha C.A.B.

agavin: the #1 favorite at the table. Hands down the best brisket I’ve had. If only I knew how to make it like this at home!



2007 Sine Qua Non Grenache Pictures. VM 95. Deep, bright ruby. Wild aromas of black raspberry compote, mocha, Asian spices and incense. Expansive and deeply concentrated, with obvious sweetness to its very intense red fruit, floral and spicecake flavors. Shows real spine and outstanding finesse for a rich wine. Finishes vibrant and extremely long, with great spicy perfume.

Parker 97. 2007 Pictures Grenache: A blend of 87% Grenache, 11.5% Syrah, and 1.5% Viognier, this wine has wonderful floral notes intermixed with black raspberries, black cherries, licorice, graphite and some camphor. In the mouth, more white chocolate notes appear, along with meatiness and some silky tannins. Its great purity, density and richness make me think this wine could even improve a few points and flirt with perfection. This stunning wine should drink nicely for another 10-15 years.


Miner’s Potatoes.

agavin: I’m not that into this kind of potato.


Coleslaw.

agavin: nice to have some “greens.” haha


Hoe Cake.

agavin: insanely good too, like cornbread deep fried in butter.


Shells and Cheese.

agavin: mac and cheese, but a good one.


Pork n’ Beans.

agavin: I love baked beans, even if they don’t love me, and this was a fabulous one with tones of bacony pork.


Hush Puppies.

agavin: not bad for fried corn balls.


Braised Greens.

agavin: I skipped this. Too healthy!


Turtle Ice Cream Cake. Pecans, Salted Caramel, Chocolate.


With the caramel. Awesome stuff. Nice textural play between the cold, warm, crunchy, and soft.


Cobbler. Spiced apples, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

agavin: great apple cobbler.


Banana Pudding. Toasted meringue and ‘nilla wafers.

agavin: I don’t like bananas but this had a nice texture and slightly “spicy” (nutmeg?) flavor.


Lemon Pudding Cake. Thyme, White Chocolate.

agavin: yum.


Barrel & Ashes was some pretty awesome BBQ. First of all, we sat outside on this lovely warm night. Second, the service was first rate. As usual, they weren’t really equipped to deal with our kind of group (not very many wine glasses etc), but they really went out of their way to pull it off. The pacing started out great with slow apps, then we got all the entrees in one giant wave. Our fault, as we didn’t specify. Next time we need to stage out the entrees two at a time or something to give us more runway on the wine. Didn’t matter though, because it was awesome fun and totally delicious.

The meats and sides were pretty off the chart delicious — particularly the meats. The brisket, links, pork short rib. Wow!

The giant wines worked for once too 🙂

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

The back seat of Dr. Dave’s car as he pulled up — ready to go obviously!

Related posts:

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  2. Thanksgiving – The Prequel
  3. Luminous Lechon Pigout!
  4. Newport goes Westside
  5. Gwang Yang – Beeftastic
By: agavin
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Jitlada – Fire in the Hole

Mar18

Restaurant: Jitlada [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 5233 W Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027. (323) 663-3104

Date: March 12, 2015

Cuisine: Thai

Rating: Gut burning great

_

Tonight’s outing is a hastily organized trip to Jitlada, an outrageously authentic Southern Thai place deep in Thai-town. The joint gets 27 in Zagat! It’s run by Jazz Singsanong with Chef Tui in the kitchen. The menu can be found here.

You know it’s real because they don’t skimp on either the chilies OR the fish sauce.


2009 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett. 90 points. Yellow honeysuckle, wet stone, lemon zest nose, with medium light body delivering pleasing soft lemon sorbet, nectarine, tangerine and wet stones.


Crispy Morning Glory Salad. This salad of shrimp and fried morning glory is just plain glorious. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Basically tempura flowers and it’s really the tangy, slightly sweet sauce/dressing that really makes it. Very similar to many of the salads I had in Vietnam.


Crying Tiger Pork. A Chinese influenced dish of spicy pork with a blend of coriander, pepper, salt, and garlic. Really flavorful, tender and just plain fabulous.


Honey Duck. You can’t believe how tender this duck is. Crispy skin and just melt in your mouth meat. The hoisin was good too.


2007 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese. Vinous 93. Subtle aromas of lichee, lemon oil and smoked pine nuts. Rich tropical fruits with a hint of smoke and an intriguing piquancy on the palate. A subtle acidity gives the sweet, spicy finish a rather feminine aspect. Very nicely balanced.


Giant prawns in red curry. This dish is an 11. The prawns are succulent and filled with roe and kani miso (crab guts). Then the sauce is a luxurious panang-style red curry with coconut milk and maybe some peanuts. It all meld together, particularly with the crab guts into a scrumptious savory blend.


Large whole fish with ginger. Ateamed whole seabass with ginger and mushrooms. A delicate simple, but delicious fish.


Dungeness crab with curry. It’s a little hard to get into the meat, but the sauce was an amazing (and not so spicy) blend with a ton of turmeric. Brace yourself, this is where the weak hearted get left behind, as this is the last “easy” dish.


From my cellar: 1990 Zind-Humbrecht Tokay Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Vendange Tardive. 94 points. Rich, powerful nose of apricots and lots of baking spices, paraffin and wax. Really plush, but not a bit cloying or heavy. Again, not heavy on the palate – lots of apricot – very rich. Just great. The ZH TPGs are delicious wines, but tend to be heavy. This wine has all the good, with none of the bad – light on its feet, but wonderfully rich and perfumed. A real treat. Nose – 6/6, Palate – 6/6, Finish – 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi – 2/2 = 19/20.

agavin: It’s a rare savory meal where a wine of this sticky magnitude works, but this is the case here. The massive and effortless apricot sweetness of this wine is great both on its own and with the tastebud obliterating assault to come.


Spicy Crispy Pork Noodles spicy stir fried glass noodles with crispy pork and vegetables. We ended up with two spicy crispy pork dishes. This one had some heat, but it wasn’t yet full inferno. Nice noodles too.


Kua Kling Crispy Pork. Dry curry stir fried with asparagus and crispy pork. This curry was about a 9 or 10 on the heat scale. Oh boy. It had great flavor too, but was getting seriously hot. Sneaky too, as it didn’t seem too bad for a minute or two, and then really notched up.


Coco Curry Beef. Tender beef in a spicy southern curry and thai eggplant. This was hot too, with a delicious complex flavor and plenty of turmeric. Maybe an 8 hot.


Rack of lamb in southern curry. A spicy native curry from Jazz’s family recipe with bell peppers, turmeric, jicama, and you can’t find this anywhere else. Turn it up to 11. The flavor on this dish was insane, with a super complex layered flavor that went on and one — and the heat. I basically finished 2/3 of this bowl myself (all but 1 other couldn’t handle it) and my head was drenched in sweat. But it was worth it.


Mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream. Awesome dessert. Jazz went out to her car or apartment and got us the “special mangos” that were perfectly ripe. Just incredible. Best mango sticky rice I’ve ever had. I shoved three helpings down the gullet.

Jitlada was hands down the best Thai I’ve had in LA. The menu is enormous and full of goodies. All the flavors are great, the meats succulent, and boy is it hot. You could order sweet, or you could order hot, or both. I’ve had hotter food (I’m thinking of a certain Szechuan restaurant in China), but you certainly don’t WANT it hotter than this. And I’m a guy that puts Haberneos in my guacamole.

One of our number summed up the evening as “eating like Pharaohs,” which is about right. Just way way too much food, and no small dose of other good stuff. The kitchen was incredibly on point tonight too.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for more crazy Hedonist meals.

Dr. Dave and Jazz

 

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at Jitlada
  2. Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka
  3. Ruen Pair Rules
  4. Dragon in the Hole
  5. The Call – Down the Rabbit Hole
By: agavin
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Holy Cow!

Mar16

Restaurant: Holy Cow

Location: 264 26th Street. Santa Monica, CA 90402. 310-883-6COW

Date: November 24 and December 1, 2014

Cuisine: American BBQ

Rating: Great meats

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I’m always excited about anything new this close to my house (15 minutes), and seeing as we have absolutely no good BBQ closer than maybe Culver City, the opening of an up-to-date smoked meat place at the Brentwood Country Mart is great news.


The frontage is right next to The Little Door and across from Sweet Rose.


The interior is fast casual, you order at the counter. While I hate that for dinner places, I’m a big fan for lunch joints like this that one might tend to visit alone.


The menu.


I ordered a three meat combo.


BBQ Brisket. Dense, but tender. Delicious with the sauces too.


Pulled pork. This is where it’s really at. Great stuff, with a soft texture and nice smokey flavor.


Hot links. Spicy porky fatty goodness. Can’t complain.


Tri tip. Tasty and tender. I have mixed opinion about those fatty bits at the end, but hey, that’s just me.


THE HOG. Smoked pulled pork, Carolina sauce, slaw, crispy onion, B&B pickles, brioche bun. Pretty superb sandwich. Like a great slight update to the Carolina classic.


Mac & Cheese. Vermont white & yellow cheddar, munster, gruyere, béchamel. This was okay, but could have been more intensely cheesy.


Fried cornbread. This was the only disappointing dish I ordered. Basically these are hushpuppies. They had a chewy texture but didn’t give me that soft cornbread goodness that I was looking for.

Overall, this was some great BBQ. I’ll have to return and try more stuff, like the baby back ribs! BBQ is all about the meat and the main meats were all fabulous. Very modern presentation and nice selection of sauces and pickles. It all reminds me of The BBQ Joint in Easton MD, which is only a good thing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eastern Promises – BBQ Joint
  2. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  3. Zengo 2 – part deux
  4. Cheesy Pork Cutlet
  5. Ford’s Filling Station
By: agavin
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Smitten by Smitten

Mar14

Restaurant: Smitten Ice Cream

Location: 432 Octavia Street #1a, San Francisco, CA 94102. (415) 863-1518

Date: January 2015

Cuisine: Ice Cream

Rating: Deep frozen goodness

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Smitten is a new take on ice cream, cooled with liquid nitrogen instead of ice. This results in smaller ice crystals and a creamier confection.



The daily menu.


Smitten ice cream is made using a special custom nitro mixer.


Chocolate.


Salted caramel with spicy caramel. The spicy was actually genuinely spicy!


Chocolate with chocolate sauce.


Classic vanilla with regular caramel.


Cone of chocolate.


Cone of chocolate with chocolate.


Chocolate ice cream bar.

Smitten is excellent, although it only has four flavors and the production process is a bit slow, which limits volume.

For more San Fran dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Ghirardelli Ice Cream
  2. Ice Cream & Coffee
  3. The Bourbon Caramel Bacon Sundae
  4. La Cachette Bistro part deux et trois
By: agavin
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Untimed but not Unbundled

Mar13

I’ve been sitting on this for a long time, but at last I can finally announce that on April 15, StoryBundle will be launching a new collection of indie Fantasy and Science Fiction titles. And what’s going to be in that bundle, you might ask? Only my time travel novel Untimed and 7 other awesome Indie SciFi/Fantasy titles that passed the ImmerseOrDie Treadmill Gauntlet.

What is that?

For those who don’t know about ImmerseOrDie, it’s simple. Every morning, the host, Jefferson Smith, gets on his treadmill, opens a new indie ebook, and starts walking. Any book that holds his attention for the duration of that 40:00 minute stroll gets labeled a survivor. But getting there is not easy. Every time he reads something that breaks his immersion in the story— bad grammar, inconsistent worldbuilding, illlogical character behaviors, etc. — that book earns a red flag, called a WTF. If he finds three WTFs, the clock stops, the book closes, and he goes off to write up the report of what went wrong.

But this upcoming StoryBundle is not just a random grab-bag of some books that managed to squeak past the 40:00-minute guard-dogs. Those survivors were all run through a second gauntlet and these eight champions are the ones that came out of that round unscathed as well. See, unbeknownst to any of the authors, every title that joined the IOD Survivor’s club was then entered into a secret Round 2. To survive that round, Jeff reads the entire book and they would have to do more than simply avoid WTF triggers. They had to grab his attention and hold it, and then deliver a complete and satisfying story. Not just clean, but entertaining, as well.

So that’s exactly what these 8 books have done, and I’ll stack these up against any collection, anywhere—indie or otherwise. So on Apr 15, when the doors open on this collection, you’ll be able to get all 8 of the winners (plus a surprise or two that will be announced later) for the low, low price of “whatever you want to pay.” That’s right. Just decide how much you want to tip the authors, type that number into the box, and then download the entire set. And as an added bonus, every StoryBundle has a designated charity that will receive a portion of the proceeds.

story-bundle-brand

But you probably want to know what books are in the collection. So here they are, your 2015 ImmerseOrDie Double-Champions, in alphabetical order:

iodcentury-sm
Century of Sand, by Christopher Ruz (Fantasy)

An old warrior rescues a young girl from the clutches of an evil wizard and then flees with her into exile. It’s a desperate bid to find something—anything—that can put the world right again, and hopefully, undo whatever darkness has been done to the girl. His daughter. (Read the full IOD Report.)
Crimson Son
Crimson Son, by Russ Linton (SF)

In a world where government-manufactured super-heroes have replaced war and terrorism as the world’s greatest threats – and it’s only source of salvation – there’s only one thing that sucks worse than having no powers at all. And that’s being the powerless son of the greatest hero of them all, and a prisoner inside the family fortress of solitude. For his own protection, you understand. Well, Spencer Harrington, son of the Crimson Mask, has had enough. He’s tired of playing by dad’s rules, and this time, he’s going to do things his way. (Read the full IOD Report.)
improb
The Improbable Rise of Singularity Girl, by Bryce Anderson (SF)

A scientist’s life is thrown into chaos when a grad student’s suicide turns out to be more than it seemed, and ends up triggering a singularity breakthrough in AI computing. What follows is a tour-de-force adventure in politics, technology, and human achievement, with some epic smack-down battles to top it all off. (Read the full IOD Report.)
journeyman
The Journeyman, by Michael Alan Peck (Fantasy)

To Paul Reid, life as a homeless teen seems pretty bleak. But it turns out that was nothing compared to being dead. After an untimely accident takes him out of the world, Paul finds himself locked in a battle between the forces of light and dark – a battle that dark appears to be winning. And light seems too apathetic to care. (Read the full IOD Report.)
tinker
Mad Tinker’s Daughter, by JS Morin (Fantasy)

In a dual reality, where people live free on one side, but are enslaved by aliens on the other, a young woman and her crew of renegades have formed a resistance of sorts. Armed with the bits of tech they can either steal or reverse-engineer, these few hope to change the world – both worlds – for the better. Or die trying. (Read the full IOD Report.)
pay
Pay Me, Bug!, by Christopher Wright (SF)

If you miss Firefly, this is the kind of book that’s gonna ease your goram aches and lamentations, for a spell. Join Grif Vindh and the space-faring crew of the Fool’s Errand as they try to pull off the greatest heist in history. Again. (Read the full IOD Report.)
analog-sm
Strictly Analog, by Richard Levesque (SF)

In a decaying world where even your pet ferret has a live-to-net video feed, some problems require a guy who couldn’t leave a bit-trace if he tried. In that case, you go to Lomax. Ex-military, tough as nails… And strictly analog. (Read the full IOD Report.)
Untimed-sm
Untimed, by Andy Gavin (SF)

Charlie is a young man who’s been entirely forgettable for as long as he can remember, but on his 16th birthday he suddenly learns the reason why: he and his family are unstuck in time. But before he learns what that means, his father disappears. In a desperate bid to find him and finally get some answers, Charlie follows a strange man into a dark alley. And emerges into 18th century London. (Read the full IOD Report.)

Sounds like a great collection, right? Well it is, and I hope you’ll join us over at StoryBundle.com on Apr. 15 to show your support for indie writing. And can I ask for a favor? Please consider sharing this announcement. If you or your friends have ever complained about the tide of low-quality books that swamp the indie byways, this is your one-stop opportunity to set the record straight. There really are some great books out there in indie-land.

And here are eight of them to prove it.

Related posts:

  1. Untimed, Unheard no More
  2. Untimed – Two Novels, Two Drafts!
  3. Untimed officially for Sale!
  4. Untimed nearly here!
  5. Untimed Fourth Draft Finished
By: agavin
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The Goblin Emperor

Mar11

goblinemperorTitle: The Goblin Emperor

Author: Katherine Addison / Sarah Monette

Genre: High Fantasy

Length: 447 pages

Read: February 22-4, 2015

Summary: A fabulous little jewel-box of a book

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I found this book on a list of Hugo/Nebula award candidates and it had me at the title.

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Pretty good setup actually, and the book drops the bombshell by page two. I was hooked right away and dragged through all 447 pages in 48 hours. I love when that happens. Most books are a bit of a chore and when you find one that isn’t… well it’s great.

But while griping, GE isn’t your typical action novel. Addison/Monette’s writing is gorgeous. Not in a highly stylized way, as the prose is straightforward and easy to follow, but there is a certain elegant tone. This is a tight third person from the Emperor’s point of view and his voice deserves credit for a large part of the charm. What isn’t so easy to follow is the byzantine (and authentic feeling) names of the courtiers. Or the near pervasive use of the formal first person. We were required to use all of our mental facilities to remember the large cast, to differentiate members of the same family by small suffixes, to decode their genders and marital relationships from their formal prefixes, and to remember that under different circumstances or times the same personage may be called by entirely different names. Not entirely unlike our royal experiences with Anna Karenina.

Back to the informal first person. Despite these challenges, and the near absence of any action, and a certain lack of agency on the part of the protagonist — the book is great.

The world feel is both complex and realistic (in a fantasy) way and our immersion into the emperor’s like-able little self and his intriguing situation highly entertaining. The slightly naive tone is perhaps a feature. The author is quite adept in her use of detail and language to sketch (it’s not ponderously descriptive) this detailed realm. She hints at a jeweled nobles and scintillating chambers. The names are unpronounceable but evocative. The world feels Renaissance, with a bit of steam tech, a hint of World of Warcraft, a touch of humor, and a lightly used magic and mysticism. An elvish venice minus the canals.

The Emperor Maia is sympathetic and engaging, although perhaps his narrative ability to gauge the meaning and veracity of others borders on magical. His staff and friends are often charming, if not always overly complex. He tries to do the right thing, and it generally work out for him, which is hard to resist.

The author seems almost afraid of action. My biggest gripe with the novel is the curt and abbreviated action (all two scenes of it) and the perfunctory “resolution” to the central drama. The whole mystery pretty much resolves itself in about 2 pages without the protagonist doing much. In fact the action makes him nauseous. Then we are granted a nice long dénouement where everything is wrapped up neatly, including just about every relationship in the book. It’s forced sure, but the artful and artificial structure of the novel softens the blow.

The bottom line: if you like the immersive quality of fantasy, and don’t mind pawing through some long elvish names, this is a lovely and absolutely first rate novel.

I should note that Katherine Addison is actually Sarah Monette, a well regarded but lackluster selling fantasy author. As she herself says on her blog, “because publishing is deeply, deeply weird” she was unable to sell this rather lovely little novel under her own name, but “brand new debut author” (aka pseudonym) Katherine Addison could. Obviously: a) all those readers who didn’t buy her previous books have committed to memory her actual name, and would never buy her new book because of the ill feelings brought on by not noticing her earlier books. b) There is a telepathic hate list of poor selling authors imprinted in the brains of all would be readers. c) Telepathy is not used, but instead racial memory is a fact and not selling well is an archetype. Or d) genius buyers at book store chains are easily fooled by name changes.

Find more fantasy reviews here.

Related posts:

  1. Words of Radiance
  2. The Wise Man’s Fear
  3. The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth
  4. The Way of Shadows
  5. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
By: agavin
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Game of Thrones Season 5 – Trailer 2

Mar09

The HBO part of today’s Apple event was host to yet another awesome looking S5 trailer.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwRdVw82Jd8]

Instead of being more narrative like the last one, this trailer takes a “look at all this cool stuff and action” plus a sort of vague emotional resonance. The later is provided by by the the bits of voice over snippets (consistent in style with previous marketing). “I’m not going to stop the wheel, I’m going to break it” and “I’m a queen, not a butcher.” That kind of thing.

Certainly it looks like narratives that were a bit stuck, vague, or behind in the books will be getting clarified and juiced up. Particularly in the north. The Dance of Dragons Jon Snow chapters kinda sucked.

And there is another teaser (released 3/16/15):

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjQj4BCQSzo]

This one has more of the “Who said anything about him?” arc.

If you liked this post, follow me at:

My novels: The Darkening Dream and Untimed

or all my Game of Thrones posts or episode reviews:

Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

Season 5: [41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50]

Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

I’m actually in the process of doing a full 4 season rewatch right now to get “prepared” for the new season. The show is even better viewed in rapid succession (without the week and year long breaks)!

game-of-thrones-season-5-spoilers

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer
  2. Game of Thrones Season 5 Trailer
  3. Game of Thrones – Season 2 Trailer
  4. Game of Thrones – Season 3 Goodies
  5. Game of Thrones Season 4 Preview
By: agavin
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Don’t Bow for Bao

Mar09

Restaurant: Bao Dim Sum House

Location: 8256 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048. (323) 655-6556

Date: January 12, 2015

Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum

Rating: Tolerable for not being in the SGV

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Anyone who reads my blog knows I’m a dimsum fiend. I’ve been doing a pretty good job working through the top places in the San Gabriel Valley (although I have a few new ones to try) but I had an hour or so at lunch to kill in Beverly Hills and I figured I try out Bao.


Bao is styled up for the neighborhood.


Inside it actually has a decor from this century, which is more than can be of the likes of Elite (except Elite has much better dimsum!).





The menu, while lacking in any major surprises, has all the right classic dimsum fare. And pictures. Plus Bao is a “to order” place rather than cart style. I vastly prefer to order. Sure, 30+ years ago the whole cart thing was a novelty, but I much prefer the freshness of to order.


Bao is decent in the sauce department too, and far easier to actually get your sauces than an authentic place — as they actually bring them without asking 5 times. Same goes for water. Nor do they charge (here’s looking at you again Elite).

I must mention that they brought nearly by entire order simultaneously. I hate that, but I should have remembered to tell them to stage it. In the SGV it’s entirely random.


Har gow (shrimp dumpling).  Not bad, not great. Fell a part a little easily.


Shu Mai (pork and shrimp dumpling). Again just ok.


Wild crab & shrimp dumpling. Really hard to eat all together. Slightly different taste, but dough wasn’t fabulous.


XLB soup dumplings. This was the best item I had. Pretty good version actually.


Crispy egg tofu. I ordered this because I just had this dish at Sea Harbor and it was fabulous. This one kind sucked. The texture was fine but it just didn’t taste great.


Baked BBQ pork bun. Way way too sweat and doughy.


Sliced BBQ pork with honey. Pretty decent actually, my second favorite dish. The sauce was too sweet, but the meat was tasty.


Overall, Bao was about as I expected, but not particularly good. It’s better than the new Empress Pavillon (which is wretched) but not even as good as the Santa Monica mainstay. Yeah, if you’re a non-Chinese who doesn’t know how dim sum should taste, Bao is fine. And it’s well located with good service and an attractive interior. But it just doesn’t hold a candle to even the second tier “made to order” places out in the San Gabriel Valley — and forget comparing it to Elite, King Hua and the like.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Empress Pavilion – Age without Grace
  2. Elite Dim Sum
  3. Lunasia Dim Sum
  4. Sea Harbor Dim Sum
  5. Say Hi to Shi Hai
By: agavin
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Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 2

Mar06

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

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

Date: March 4, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fabulous!

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This dinner is the second part of the annual White Burgundy Premox test series, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. This dinner covers 2007 Batard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, and associated BBM and CBM. Part 1, covering Chablis, Meursault and Corton can be found here.

2007 was a vintage was cool and acidic.

This particular dinner is 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.


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


Notice the awesome array of glasses. 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

2002 Claude Cazals Champagne Blanc de Blancs extra Brut Cuvée Vive Clos Cazals. 93 points. Very nice acidic champy.


Bruschetta with wild arugula, prosciutto, and grana padano “Schegge.” Really nice, and I don’t even like tomatoes. The ham and cheese were what made this, that was a very nice hunk of grano.


Ahi tuna tartare with micro celery greens. We’ve all had tuna tartar before and this was a fine example.


Burrata caprese. The first time I ever had burrata was at Valentino!


Kushi oysters.

Flight 1: BBM & CBM

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.

agavin: Also, some general comments on this flight. Like the Chablis night, the BBM/CBM flight had a LOT of green apple and a lot of acid. The noses were much more expressive (as is typical of Puligny/Chassangne wines. These wines improved in the glass for the most part and only 2 of them (#2 and #8) were actually enjoyable to drink. Like all tasting at these dinners they suffered from the format in terms of hedonistic enjoyment. It’s a great format for revealing minute differences, but the excess of sameness in a single flight devalues the wines that aren’t drinking as well right now. In a different dinner where they were the only white burgundy and there was a higher food to wine ratio they might be quite enjoyable.

2007 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. Burghound 94. A mild hint of exotic fruit combines with honeysuckle and a slight oak influence before giving way to rich, full and notably generous medium plus weight flavors that possess outstanding mid-palate fat and extract, which serve to buffer the firm acid spine on the wonderfully fine and lingering finish. A lacy, long and stylish wine of finesse rather than power and 2007 is undoubtedly one of the better vintages for the Leflaive Pucelles.

agavin: simultaneously rich and acidic, perhaps a touch advanced.

2007 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 39, July 2010: As would be reasonably expected, the Bienvenues possesses a distinctly more elegant if presently highly restrained nose of airy notes of honeysuckle, subtle spice, lemon peel and cool green fruit that is in keeping with the refined, pure, dry and strikingly precise medium-full flavors that coat, and stain, the palate with ample dry extract and outstanding length on the citrusy finish. This achieves its usual stunning quality but the Referts is closer than it usually is. This should peak at about 8 years of age. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Good pale color. Very closed nose hints at citrus peel, clove and stone. Tactile and chewy but still quite tight and classically dry, with a strong spine of acid and minerals keeping the rich flavors of citrus fruits, peach and stone under wraps. A distinctly cool style, and very 2007. Finishes with excellent verve. This is about 13.5% alcohol, with a bit of chaptalization. 92+

agavin: very nice. great, great nose. some reduction. Sour but nice with long acidic finish.

2007 Leflaive Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A reserved and quite discreet nose reflects notes of spice, honeysuckle and ripe white peach that complement well the rich, full and intense flavors that are delicious, textured and have a wonderful mouth feel on the beautifully balanced and powerful finish. This is a classic Bienvenues with impressive levels of dry extract yet this finishes quite dry. Lovely, understated and impeccably balanced. 91-93

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, green-tinged yellow. Pure aromas and flavors of lemon, lime and crushed stone. Wonderfully high-pitched in the mouth, with citrus peel and violet notes lifting the wine and giving it a magically light touch. Very precise Bienvenue with superb acidity and captivating leesy complexity. 93+

Don Cornwell, Wally’s Leflaive Dinner, Mar. 16, 2010: yellow-green color; prominent honeysuckle and sweet green melon (Midori liquer) aromas; fresh lime and green melon or almost lee chee fruit flavors; very good acidity and decent minerally finish; again surprisingly forward but great balance. I liked this. 94

agavin: green apple nose. Taut, with a jolly rancher like vibe.

2007 Pernot Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: An almost invisible trace of wood highlights a similar nose of honeysuckle, rose petal and orchard fruit aromas that slide gracefully into more obviously mineral-driven medium full-bodied flavors that are at once generous yet detailed with excellent volume on the round, naturally sweet and mouth coating finish. This is also quite forward and while it will benefit from a few years of cellar time, this is not a vintage of Pernot’s BBM built for the long haul. 93

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Subtly complex aromas of white peach, honeysuckle, minerals, hazelnut and vanillin oak. Sweet and silky yet penetrating on the palate; more expressive today than the Pucelles and relatively open for a 2007 grand cru. Finishes persistent, but without quite the authority of the Batard. 92

agavin: green apple nose. Very tart. After some time hints of tropical.

2007 Ramonet Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: It’s relatively rare when I find the Ramonet Bienvenues to be superior to their Bâtard (though there are any number of vintages where I have found them to be qualitative equals) but 2007 is one vintage where it is. The primary reason is not so much because there is a noticeable difference in the respective underlying materials but rather because the balance of the BBM is better and the acid support is better integrated as well than in the Bâtard. Moreover, after 2 hours of aeration, the BBM had softened considerably and rounded out into something genuinely sublime where as the Bâtard remained taciturn and angular after the same period. The open question of course is whether the Bâtard is simply much more primary and thus less evolved but ultimately will follow a similar evolutionary curve? For those who are risk averse, buy the Bienvenues. And for those who are fans of both wines, buy both but to the extent that you have the choice, I would favor buying more of the Bienvenues because it’s a really, really lovely wine and a surer bet. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, bright yellow. Citrus peel, iodine and lavender on the nose. Citric, tightly wound and light on its feet; seems a bit leaner and less filled in than the Ruchottes today but this is a baby. Will this put on weight with time in bottle? 92+?

agavin: closed at first, then a bit of honeysuckle on the nose. Too tart at first. I didn’t like it for a while, then it opened up a bit.

2007 Hubert Lamy Criots-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet note of pain grillé frames a ripe and exuberantly fresh nose of concentrated citrus and floral aromas that precedes superbly intense mineral-laden flavors that possess a beguiling texture and positively huge length. The abundant sap coats the mouth and despite the density, this flavor profile is linear and crystalline on the explosive and almost painfully intense finish. Terrific juice and highly recommended if you can find a bottle. 94

Stephen Tanzer: not reviewed

agavin: funny detergent funk smell. Overly sour, never liked.


Ringer. 2007 J. Rochioli Chardonnay Sweetwater Vineyard. VM 94. Light green-gold color. Intense, mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit aromas are complemented by smoky lees and iodine. Deep, spicy lemon and bitter orange flavors stain the palate and are given depth by a hint of sweet butter. The mineral qualities gain strength on the finish, which is strikingly pure and very long.

agavin: thinner at first, with lots of reduction. But turned out to be quite pleasant.


Grilled mediterranean branzino topped with fresh fennel, oranges and olives. At first I was like, boring fish. But this was not only a generous portion but very nicely done and a first rate pairing with the wine.

Flight 2: Batard


Stepping up to the next level.

agavin: This flight was so big I accidentally put two of them in the next flight’s group photo! An overwhelming 9 wines! There were more “drinkable” wines (0, 9, 12, 16), but the flight also contained a lot more deep yellows and seemingly advanced wines, plus a few funky ones. Several seemed nearly undrinkable. When I open 12-15 year old Batard/Chevalier (which I do weekly) I have about a 20-25% premox rate, but generally they are generally much more rounded and expressive than these wines. I’m not at all convinced that 8 years is a good age to actually be enjoying Batard. So it’s entirely possible that the heavily oxidized examples will end up as those premoxed bottles, but the others that are closed or funky will resolve themselves.

2007 Vincent Girardin Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A tighter and less expressive nose offers up apricot, floral and grapefruit aromas trimmed in a deft touch of wood that dissolve gracefully into rich, full and concentrated flavors that are actually quite fine even though there is ample dry extract, all wrapped in a powerful and mouth coating finish. This is a big wine yet it has grace and class. Note though that patience will be required. 93-95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Good bright yellow. Pure, complex aromas of orange peel, peach, apricot, hazelnut and iodine, along with a faintly exotic suggestion of lichee. Ripe, juicy and energetic, with a more obvious underlying structure and less easy sweetness showing today than the Bienvenue. Sappy, powerful and rich in extract: this really coats the mouth. Quite backward in style, with strong oak spice showing today. The tactile, almost dusty finish is accentuated by strong acidity. 94+

agavin: Slightly darker, with reduction. Very nice though, somewhat rounder although still apple tart.

2007 Colin-Morey Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: In contrast to the nose of the Corton-Charlemagne, there is reduction present here that does compromise somewhat the expressiveness of the otherwise pure and layered white flower, spice and brioche nose that merges into beautifully defined medium plus weight flavors that evidence a discreet minerality on the balanced, long, deep and driving finish. This is less evolved than the prior wine but with great potential. 92-95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale yellow. Very sexy aromas of orange blossom, oily peach, pineapple and smoky lees. At once thick and bracing, with outstanding concentration and layered texture. This huge wine shows strong vanillin oak and outstanding sucrosite that no doubt had a lot to do with the fact that it only finished fermenting its sugars in December of 2008. The parcel is in Chassagne-Montrachet, but at the border with Puligny. Incidentally, Colin sealed his 2007s with soft wax capsules in an attempt to give his bottles additional protection against oxidation. 96

Don Cornwell, Dinner at home, June 14, 2011: (opened because slight leakage detected) Wow. What an impressive Batard. This had the density of a Ramonet Montrachet from an incredible vintage and the minerality of Chevalier. A truly awesome wine. One of the best young white burgundies I’ve ever tasted. 96

agavin: also liked. Pale. Batard + apple nose. Rounder, with jolly rancher finish.

2007 JN Gagnard Batrd-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet touch of brioche highlights the restrained but ripe nose of green apple, honeysuckle, anise and apricot aromas that are elegant, pure and wonderfully refined before merging seamlessly into sweet, intense and unusually detailed big-bodied flavors that reflect slightly more minerality than I typically find in this wine before culminating in an energetic and palate staining finish. A stunner of a wine by any standard but it’s worth noting that while it’s bigger and more powerful than the Caillerets, it’s not finer or more elegant. 94

Steven Tanzer: not reviewed

agavin: deeper color. Cider smell, more advanced.

2007 Leflaive Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This is also on the ripe side for a 2007 with an ultra elegant nose that is pure, airy and cool, indeed this is unusually elegant for the appellation with its white flower, citrus, pear, menthol, white pepper and light spice hints that are in perfect keeping with the rich, full and broad- shouldered flavors that possess the usual volume and power of a classic Bâtard but do not lose any of the precision or detail on the expansive, mouth coating and hugely long and very dry finish. Like a number of examples in 2007, this is an elegant yet forceful Bâtard. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, green-tinged yellow. Knockout nose combines musky pineapple, lime and powdered stone; seems less exotic than the 2008. Wonderfully silky on entry, then explosively ripe and sweet in the middle, with powerful, palate-staining flavors of lime and flowers. Very rich and impeccably balanced, with its sweetness perfectly countered by firm buffering acidity. A great showing for this extremely long grand cru. 95

Don Cornwell, Wally’s Leflaive Dinner, Mar. 16, 2010: (tasted from two different bottles over four hours) Light yellow-green color; some light S02 here [Meadows noticed this too and quietly asked me about it as well. We both agreed this was slightly reductive]; citrus and sweet basil aromas; surprisingly forward and supple for a Batard, doesn’t have the power I expected; very good acidity and a long finish. My separate notes at dinner were almost verbatim identical. Meadows says he thinks the 2007’s will be open for business early but will live for a long time. 94(+?)

agavin: also deeper golden color with ripe cider smell. considerably advanced seeming.


Ringer. 2007 Ramey Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard. VM 94. Greenish yellow. Vibrant aromas of lime, lemongrass, powdered stone and anise. At once supple and energetic in the mouth, with impressive precision to the peach, citrus and smoky mineral flavors. Tightly wound and taut but not austere, showing a distinct spiciness on the back half. Lively citrus and mineral flavors carry through a rising, spicy finish. These grapes are sourced from four different blocks, all of them planted to the Wente clone, according to Ramey.

agavin: liked this. Medium color. Some reduction on the nose, and a LOT of vanilla oak. Thought it might be new world. But it was rich and balanced.

2007 Ramonet Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 36, Oct. 2009: Initially, the pure, elegant and refined nose of citrus and white flowers was extremely reticent and it required over an hour before it really blossomed. The focused, intense and precise flavors are compact and very tight before culminating in a distinctly angular and only moderately long finish where the acidity is notably prominent. This is unapologetically built for the long haul and while there are some wines in the range that could be enjoyed now, at least with sufficient aeration, it frankly is a complete waste to open this now. The ’07 version is also not especially fleshy or powerful but the balance appears to be good enough to allow it to be great in time but that time is at least 10 years out. In short, don’t buy this if you have any expectations of drinking it within 5 years and again, 10 years will likely be required before it’s ready. 93

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Bright, pale yellow. Rich aromas of stone fruits, yellow currant, lees and iodine, plus a complicating whiff of rye bread. Dense and powerful but not at all heavy. Quite youthfully closed but aeration brings up captivating inner-mouth floral character and penetrating talc-y minerality. Wonderfully precise, classy Batard with uncommon complexity. 94+

agavin: closed and flat, didn’t like.

2007 Chateau de la Maltroye Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: The first wine to display any appreciable wood influence that frames the elegant, pure, broad and classy white flower, spice and citrus hints that continue onto the focused but equally broad-scaled flavors that culminate in a rich, full and exceptionally powerful finish that stains the palate with seemingly limitless reserves of dry extract. This is backward but the impressive potential is not hard to see. In a word, stunning. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Very pale color. High-pitched citrus peel, powdered stone and violet on the nose. At once powerful and penetrating, offering uncanny lift and weightlessness for a wine from this grand cru vineyard. A bit closed in on itself initially on the middle palate, but showed much more white peach and citrus fruit flavor with aeration and finishes with almost painful intensity. This, too, needs several years of aging-or a lot of time in a carafe. 94+

agavin: deep colored and cider like, more advanced.

2007 Niellon Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A highly nuanced and layered nose frames elegant, expressive and densely fruited white flower and peach aromas plus strikingly rich and powerful full-bodied flavors that possess so much dry extract that like the Chevalier, this is almost painfully intense. The acid/fruit balance is especially impressive and despite the size and weight, like many examples in 2007, this is actually quite refined. In a word, marvelous. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale color. Lemon, lime, mint, clove and crushed stone on the nose. Rich and pliant but at the same time juicy and powerful; this really resounds in the mouth and grips the palate on the aftertaste. Already showing some personality but needs bottle aging to expand. 93

agavin: medium color. Different somehow, weird. Sour to the taste.

2007 Sauzet Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet hint of post-bottling SO2 is just noticeable enough that I would suggest decanting this for 30 minutes first if you’re tempted to try one young. Otherwise, a restrained and pure nose features notes of white flower, fresh citrus peel and a mix of pear and white peach which lead to richer, fuller and more powerful if not necessarily more concentrated broad-shouldered flavors that possess relatively fine detail and balance on the explosive and gorgeously long finish. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Very pale bright yellow. Deeper-pitched on the nose than the Bienvenues, with peach and white flowers dominating. Large-scaled and rich but precise, saturating and filling the mouth with flavors of white peach, minerals and crushed stone. Offers outstanding intensity without any impression of weight, not to mention superb energy. Terrific juice: I’d wait five or six years on this beauty. 94+

agavin: One of the better ones in the flight. Reduction on the nose, tasted like sweet tarts.


Scallops in porchetta, pancetta wrapped, with pappa al pomodoro & parmesan. The bacon notched this up big time.

Flight 3: Chevalier part 1


And everyone’s favorite vineyard.

This was probably the worst flight (considered as it was drinking now) and a major disappointment. There was a lot of deep colored wines, advancement, and a general closed quality that didn’t favor current enjoyment. 20 was a notable exception.


Ringer. 2007 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard. 93 points. Trademark Ceritas richness, though some of that has been tamed as the days go by, wonderful acidity and overall balance, lovely, complex flavors, nothing ripe or out of place, even some hints of minerality on the finish. Terrific wine. Maybe I’m dreaming, but this could be a top vintage Chablis Preuses, which tends to be a richer vineyard.

agavin: deep color. Rich with caramel tones and maybe a hint of sherry. less acid.

2007 Bouchard Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet touch of oak highlights the naturally spicy floral and high-toned orchard and green fruit aromas before giving way to textured, sappy and almost painfully intense full-bodied flavors brimming with both dry extract and ample minerality on the hugely long and impeccably balanced finish. This is a really lovely wine that possesses everything it needs to deliver a first-rate drinking experience with a decade of cellar time. As good as this is, and it is very impressive, it’s not necessarily superior to the magnificent Perrières though it may require a bit more bottle age to arrive at its peak. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale yellow. Citrus peel, wet stone, flowers and a saline nuance on the nose. Wonderfully ripe, broad and rich but classically dry, with the stony quality currently dominating the middle palate. Best today on the extremely long, grapefruity finish, which opens like a peacock’s tail. 94

agavin: medium color, tart.

2007 Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This is a study in elegance as the positively stunning nose displays breathtaking purity of expression with incredibly complex and airy white flower and ripe green fruit aromas that precede beautifully balanced, harmonious and chiseled, indeed even crystalline middle weight flavors that possess outstanding length and knockout depth. This is class in a glass with terrific vibrancy and the palate staining finish is almost painfully intense and about the only nit is a trace of warmth though this is as much due to the superb transparency as the actual level of alcohol. If you can find it, buy it. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Good medium yellow. Deeply pitched nose dominated by pear, clove and wet stone. The most vibrant and lightfooted of these 2007s, with penetrating, mouth-saturating flavors of pear, clove, crushed stone and saline minerality. Compared to the Batard, this shows less volume and sheer size but more finesse. Finishes intense and very long, in need of considerable aging. Niellon recommends giving it eight to ten years. 93+

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow color; aromas of SO2 and meyer lemon; great acidity and grip here; again lots of minerality, but this wine is slightly angular and yet viscous — ever so slightly disjointed at the moment; with considerable time in the glass, this improved a lot, and developed a nice citrus and minerally finish. Hence the split score. 94+|95+

agavin: closed and reduced, disjointed, with a sour tropical finish.

2007 Jean-Marc Pillot Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: An expressive nose blends stunningly pure fruit laced with citrus and lime notes that are highlighted by abundant pain grillé influence and leads to rich, full-bodied and sweet flavors of remarkable precision that deliver a strong wet stone character where the firm and bright acidity beautifully frames an impressively long finish that also really coats the palate. This is almost painfully intense and I very much like the underlying sense of energy and overall sense of balance that suggests that the ’07 Pillot Chevalier should age well. 92-94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: (fermented in a new barrel, then racked into a used barrel for aging until April of 2009) Lemon ice, crushed rock and strong smoky oak on the nose. Wonderfully rich and lush, with a slightly aggressive character to the lemon and spicy oak flavors. Best on the back end, where the wine saturates the entire palate without any impression of weight and fills the retronasal passage. But less open now, and drier, than the Clos Saint-Marc, as the oak is currently blocking the wine’s fruit and mineral components. 93+

agavin: medium colored. I liked this. Rich with some reduction and a searing finish.

2007 Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: As with the Bâtard, there is a discreet hint of post-bottling SO2 that is just noticeable – decant. A classic, and radiant, Chevalier nose offers perhaps the purest fruit in the range with a mix of upper and middle register acacia blossom and fresh lemon aromas that are seductively enveloping before sliding seamlessly into strikingly detailed, stony and almost Chablis-like flavors carrying a similar sense of salinity and this is like rolling tiny pebbles around in the mouth, all wrapped in a palate-etching finish of spectacular length. This is breath-taking stuff and the focus and linearity are superb. This should age well for years. Textbook Chevalier. 96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Very pale lemon-yellow color. Vibrant aromas of lemon, lime, crushed stone and vanilla. Penetrating and precise, with great elegance and definition to the lemon and crushed stone flavors. A distinctly more feminine style than the Batard, with the lowest acidity of these 2007s but plenty of supporting white-soil minerality. This will be the easiest of these grand crus to drink young but should nonetheless age well. 94

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Yellow-green color; white flowers and fresh pineapple aromas; the most fat of the entire group; an “easy” wine; very nice rounded fruit with good acidity and some minerality. Very nice. Later: acidity is now becoming more apparent in the finish. 94+

agavin: medium colored. Rich and tart.

2007 Louis Latour Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A more subtle touch of wood sets off the lightly spiced floral, green apple, white peach and pear aromas that lead to very pure, detailed and stony medium weight plus flavors that possess superb intensity and huge length on the mouth coating finish. This is presently quite understated and does an impressive job of blending power and finesse in a package of impact without heaviness. 94

Steven Tanzer: not reviewed

agavin: Deep colored. Quite advanced and sherry like. Not drinkable.


Sauteed santa barbara prawn with herbs & white wine and served on risotto. The prawns weren’t the largest, but they were sweet and tender with a lovely briny taste. The risotto was very delicate, but rich and delicious. Notice the good sized portion too, and we got seconds of the risotto too.

Flight 4: Chevalier part 2


This is the flight everyone was waiting for, as it has the real big guns.

This should be a flight of incredible wines, but there were major disappointments (along with a couple gems). 27 (the Girardin) was incredible, but I thought the Ramonet had an undrinkable potty/sulfur quality (and I love reductive wines). Maybe it will blow off. Again, hard to tell how much the awkwardness reflects their youth.

2007 Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database, April 15, 2012: A strikingly complex nose offers seriously impressive breadth with its aromas of ripe, pure and airy nose of white flower, spice and subtle pear aromas. There is excellent richness to the mouth coating flavors that are built on a base of fine minerality, all wrapped in a sappy and mouth coating finish that oozes dry extract. This is really a lovely effort that is at once refined yet powerful with an almost painfully intense backend. A very impressive effort that is positively Zen-like in its poise and quiet sense of harmony. A ‘wow’ wine though note that it will need plenty of time to fulfill all of its vast potential. Tasted twice with consistent notes. 96

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 39, June 2010: A strikingly complex nose that is even more complex than that of the Bâtard as there is a great breadth of aromas to the ripe, pure and airy nose of white flower, spice and subtle pear aromas that complement to perfection the rich and mouth coating flavors built on a base of fine minerality, all wrapped in a sappy and mouth coating finish that oozes dry extract. This is really a lovely effort that is almost as powerful as the Bâtard but as one would expect, finer and even a bit longer with an almost painfully intense backend. A very impressive effort that is positively Zen-like in its poise and quiet sense of harmony. A ‘wow’ wine though note that it will need plenty of time to fulfill all of its vast potential. 96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Ineffable, discreet aromas of powdered stone, lemon peel, tangerine and flowers are complicated by an almost metallic minerality. Wonderfully succulent and silky in the mouth, but with a firm stony edge that gives it a rather uncompromising quality. An ethereal essence of wet stone minerality, this powerful, concentrated, classically dry wine is also compellingly smooth on the reverberating aftertaste. 96

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow-green color, closer to gold than the others; the aromas are more floral than most and there’s some citrus as well; this wine seems bigger, fatter and softer than the others [N.B. for Leflaive, not what I expected] yet has good acidity; after about two hours this was showing some meyer lemon and good minerality and length in the finish. 95+(?)

agavin: Deep colored. Somewhat advanced but acidic.

2007 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet, indeed almost invisible, touch of wood frames extremely primary aromas of white flower, wet stone and a spice component that are very cool, pure, elegant and restrained with brilliantly detailed, classy and refined medium plus weight flavors delivering a borderline painfully intense and palate staining finish that goes on and on. This seems to be extracted directly from liquid rock and this has that ‘wow’ factor in spades. Don’t miss it. 97

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Knockout nose combines apple, white flowers, crushed stone and saline minerality. The palate delivers the mineral energy of this vintage in spades, with citrus and stone flavors offering outstanding precision and staining the palate on the back end. This was a knockout from barrel and has turned out splendidly. Boillot rates this as one of his best Chevalier vintages to date. He also told me that it was always his dream to make Chevalier-Montrachet. “I would sooner lose all the other crus,” he told me. “Chevalier-Montrachet is the greatest terroir for white wine, while Musigny is the greatest for red.” 96

Don Cornwell, Middle Eastern Dinner at Michael Zadikian’s, Aug. 8, 2009: (Wine now open two days) Light yellow color; aromas of white flowers and meyer lemon; this had a wonderful density to it – strong minerality, citrus and power yet with viscosity not unlike Batard in a great vintage; very long minerally/citrus finish. Really impressive for two-day open 2in3. 96

agavin: medium colored. Closed nose, with green apple taste and a lean finish.

2007 Colin-Morey Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This too is mildly reduced which also knocks down the expressiveness of the reserved, cool and classy floral, citrus and subtle spice aromas that complement the textured and relatively concentrated flavors that exhibit really beautiful detail and an exuberant minerality that culminates in a long, explosive and tension-filled finish. A stunner of a wine that should also be capable of aging for the next 15 years. 93-96

Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2008: Crushed stone and a violety topnote on the highly aromatic nose, with a complicating saline nuance. Superconcentrated, dense and sweet, with superb inner-mouth lift to the mineral-driven flavors. This, too, boasts a chewiness rare for the vintage. The finish is penetrating and utterly palate-staining. This may still have a gram or so of sugar yet to ferment. 94-97

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow green color; Light to medium gold color; very light lemony a4romas; tight, lemony flavors which expanded a lot in the mid-palate and had good acidity and grip; very long citrus and minerals finish.. Impressive. 95+

agavin: paler yellow. A bit of spritz and tartaric acid crystals. Reduced on the nose. Acidic, but quiet nice.

2007 Ramonet Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: Given the almost extreme reticence of the Bâtard, I was moderately surprised to see how wonderfully expressive this positively brilliant wine is already. The nose is simply stunning with a supremely elegant and kaleidoscopic range of spice, floral, citrus, stone and pain grillé notes that is the perfect complement to the racy, detailed and equally complex middle weight flavors brimming with the underlying minerality advertised by the nose, all wrapped in a driving, delineated and explosive finish. As good as the Ramonet Chevalier is, in the 10 vintages that it has been made, I can’t think of one where it’s the equal of the Montrachet. However, 2007 just might be that vintage. 96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, bright yellow. Citrus pith, green apple, Anjou pear, licorice and dusty stone on the nose. Dense, tactile and sappy, with superb mineral lift and precision. This boasts a tight core of crushed stone and citrus flavors and terrific purity and energy but will also require extended aging. Expands impressively on the back half and finishes with superb mineral persistence. 93+

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow-green color; white flowers and pears aromas with a very faint hint of mint; bright, indeed brilliant citrus with very strong minerality on the mid-palate and fabulous acidity; the finish is quite long and very minerally. Superb wine [Ramonet?] 95+

agavin: straw pale, but a terrible potty nose of sulfur. Tasted like toilet too. Yuck.

2007 Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows: not reviewed

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Bright medium yellow. Very ripe, expressive nose offers yellow peach and white flowers. Opulent, shapely and very ripe, in a distinctly sweeter style than the Batard. Gives an impression of lower acidity too, but there’s plenty of acid here. I suspect this one will shut down in bottle. Girardin, who bottled most of his crus in April and May of this year, noted that the 2007s really only started to express themselves in February, and that many of his fellow producers bottled this vintage too early. 94+

agavin: best wine of the night. Straw pale, lots of reduction, and a massive massive palette and finish.


Veal tenderloin with wild mushroom sauce served with rosemary roasted potatoes, haricots verts, carrots. Also a lovely dish, and a good bit of it. The meat was nice and tender and the sauce was fabulous.

Flight  5: Dessert


2001 Château de Fargues. GV 93. COLOR-beautiful dark golden; NOSE-much more honey; honey meets chlorine; very intriguing; hints of apricots; TASTE-outrageous weight on the mid-palate; Honeycomb cereal; really, really heavy pear component; I’m loving the orange peel aspect; very youthful Sauterne, not ready yet – it’s gonna get better from here; solid acidity, but a little flabby in the mid-palate which concerns me a tad; nice long finish; very bright; star fruit on the finish; little hints of pineapple; I’m enjoying this wine; it’s got BIG potential; RP-94/96; GV-93

agavin: a nice young sauternes. Not super thick or unctuous, but good.


Pistachio creme brulee. I like creme brulee and this was a great one, not so unlike a green tea one I’ve had at Takao.  Great stuff.

Above is the flight list after being revealed.

And the full array of revealed bottles.


That’s more or less two people’s glasses!

agavin on food: There is a lot to say about this tasting. First of all, Valentino did a great 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. Last month when we were here for the Chablis tasting, the food was solid but not enough of it. Not only did they drastically increase the quantity but the mix of dishes was far superior. Valentino might not be the modern Italian in town but they still really know how to cook.

agavin: 2007 as a vintage has this super acidic green apple vibe across the board. Interesting, like with 2005 we had a much higher percentage of advanced wines with these bigger grand crus than with the Chablis and Meursault. Overall, there were a lot of disappointing wines for hugely scored big whites from great producers. It’s hard to totally assess. The really oxidized wines are probably dead, although bottles probably vary. But a lot of the wines might just be in a funny state. I’m not sure 8 years from vintage is a great time for huge grand crus. I don’t drink them at this age myself, usually waiting at least 5 more years. I can’t help but think a bunch of these will outgrow their ungainly youth. What remains to be seen is if all that acid integrates and rounds out.

Don: The top six wines of the night by group ranking/voting were:

1. 2007 Girardin Chevalier (with 8 of 13 first place votes)
2. 2007 Ramey “Hyde Vineyard” Chardonnay
3. 2007 Colin-Morey Chevalier
4. 2007 Carillon Bienvenues
5 (tie) 2007 Colin-Morey Batard Montrachet
5 (tie) 2007 Girardin Batard Montrachet

David Ramey’s wine was the first California ringer ever to finish in the Top 5 wines. The Rochioli Sweetwater made a very good showing in the Criots/Bienvenues flight as well, tying for seventh overall. Several people, myself included, thought the Rochioli was Bienvenues. I thought it was the Ramonet BBM and it was my second favorite wine of the flight after the Carillon BBM.

The oxidation results this time were closer to prior years. Six of the 27 wines, or 22%, were either oxidized or advanced.

But what was the biggest shocker of the night was that both the Leflaive Chevalier and Leflaive Batard were oxidized, the Leflaive Puligny Pucelles fully ready to drink (one participant felt it was advanced) and the Bienvenues, while not oxidized or advanced, didn’t impress anyone. This is definitely NOT a good development.

Don’s reviews of each wine can be found here.

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

Speak to the hand of Fu

Related posts:

  1. Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 1
  2. Valentino – 2006 White Burgundy
  3. Valentino – 2005 White Burg part 2!
  4. Valentino – 2004 Red Burgundy
  5. Burgundy at Providence
By: agavin
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Forget the Duck Soup, More Meat!

Mar04

Restaurant: Tasty Duck [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1039 E Valley Blvd. Ste B102. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 572-3885

Date: February 28, 2015

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Great Duck!

_

Tasty Duck is a regular spot with my Hedonist food and  wine club. Tonight is not only duck night, but “high” (or at least higher) end wine night.


The interior is jammed and the turnover is high. There isn’t even a space inch to stand while waiting for a table as the serves need what little space there is to reach the tables.


NV Charles Mignon Champagne Cuvée Comte de Marne Millésime Grand Cru. 90 points.  Medium(-) lemon, fine sub-mm bubbles enamanating from numerous point sources. Medium(-) aromas of lemon, cooked green apple and biscuit. Dry, medium(+) tart acidity, medium(-) body and alcohol (@12.5% abv). Medium flavors of green apple, lemon, mineral, and touch honey/biscuit. Focused finish, medium length with cutting finish. Soft delicate mousse. Great as aperitif.


The main event: Peking Duck. Not only was this delectable, with fantastic crispy skin and delicate meat, but it’s artfully arranged. We had two plates of these per table and it was a feeding frenzy!


Here are the traditional accompaniments, starting with excellent pancakes. One mystery question I must ask: why do Chinese restaurants insist on putting far too few pancakes and too little hoisin sauce on the table?


Hoisin sauce and green onions.


From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 93. Surprisingly open and expressive with wonderfully complex and nuanced aromas that reveal a dazzling array of floral and fruit elements followed by rich, ripe and somewhat more full-bodied flavors than usual but the additional weight is more than buffered by the racy finishing acidity and almost painfully intense back end. This is presently a good deal more forward than the ’00 Bâtard though there is clearly enough material to suggest that this will benefit from another 3 to perhaps 5 years in the cellar.

agavin: our bottle was round, open, with caramel notes. Mature and delicious.


Cumin lamb. Strong, but not spicy. A typical specimen, but with tender flavorful lamb. Some places border on mouton.


A 1971 Riesling Kabinett. I can’t even find this on Cellar Tracker. I think this was more than a bit past by my standards.


Their interesting take on “walnut shrimp.” The fried shrimp, sweet mayo sauce, and walnuts is supplemented with pineapple! Not my favorite rendition of this dish. We’ve gotten spoiled.


1976 Hugel et Fils Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive SGN Sélectionneé par Jean Hugel. 92 points. Metallic nose like wet pennies with some candied nuts. Earthy funk initially this really started gaining weight in the glass coming up with some ripe red apple notes later on. Still good and interesting to drink.

agavin: this one was pretty good, if fully mature.


Sauteed A Chop. We had no idea what “a chop” was but it’s apparently some kind of boc choy? Anywhichway it was a pretty good garlicky green.


From my cellar: 1990 Georges Noellat Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. agavin 89. At first this was lean with a bit of a funky/cork vibe. After about 30 minutes this blew off and I found it rather nice and enjoyable, if fully mature.


Crispy whole red cod with sweet and sour sauce. A really nice fish, similar to a couple weeks ago at the Shanghai place.


2007 Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 90. Here the aromas run more toward cassis flowers along with pretty and wild red berry fruits that are followed by rich, full and quite minerally middle weight flavors that are beautifully detailed, textured and solidly persistent, all wrapped in a subtle oak influenced finish. I like the intensity here and the balance is impeccable and if not a wine of great depth, there is enough here to be more than just interesting.


Some amazing Shanghai style soup dumplings (XLB). Tasty little morsels stuffed with pork and broth. We got about 4 orders of these.


2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. Burghound 87. A high-toned raspberry and cranberry fruit nose that also displays subtle spice and menthol hints introduces round, supple and easy to like flavors up until the finish that is overtly warm if attractively sappy. Be sure to keep this cool because the warmth really comes up if the temperature rises even slightly.


2011 Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. 89 points. Plum notes, pepper spell on opening, strong tannins. Decanted for 4 hours and opened up. Probably should not decant more than an hour.


French style Beef. Extremely tender and delicious, almost sweet, morsels of filet.


2011 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon Yountville. 86 points. The heavy tastes were present: some cocoa, some tobacco, some rose hip. But none of the lighter stuff needed to even it out. The nose was quite nice and lighter than the palate. Mouthfeel was a bit too sharp.


Sticky rice with BBQ eel. A new dish. The eel was great. The rice had a nice texture, but the flavor was a bit earthy?


2005 Canon la Gaffeliere. Parker 94. For opulence, decadence, and sexiness, this 2005 is hard to resist. One of the vintage’s most flamboyant efforts, it is a gorgeous blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. With a stunningly exotic nose of espresso roast, a juicy meat and herb concoction, spice box, chocolate, incense, and copious quantities of sweet, ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit, this full-throttle St.-Emilion exhibits good structure (because of the vintage’s sound acid levels) and high, but velvety tannin. It is a brilliant effort from proprietor Stephan von Neipperg. I would not discount its aging potential as the 1990, which I thought would have a short aging curve, is still going strong at age 18. The 2005 should easily last 20-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.


Oyster mushrooms. These looks and felt a bit like Shanghai rice cakes. They were pretty delicious though.


2008 Alban Vineyards Grenache. Parker 93-95. The 2008 Grenache is just plain beautiful at this stage. A striking bouquet redolent of dark red fruit, flowers and spices melds into a core of textured fruit. This is all purity and finesse. I can hardly wait to taste the finished wine. This is very fresh for a wine that has been in barrel for nearly three years. The 2008 Grenache is 98% Grenache and 2% Syrah. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2018.


Beef rolls with BBQ beef and cilantro. Really nice, tasted like rolled up Pho. The shell was a bit chewy and tough, which detracted.


2004 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella Superiore. Parker 93. Sweet, open aromatics lead to hints of dark blueberries, blackberries, spices and minerals as the 2004 Valpolicella Superiore gradually opens in the glass. Today the wine comes across as shut down, but the imposing tannins are also rather fine, suggesting that with time the wine’s inner sweetness will gradually emerge. Readers who want to try their luck with this wine earlier should open the bottle a good eight hours or so prior to drinking it. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019.

agavin: even having been open and decanted for hours, it was still massive.


Pork hock. Some kind of crazy pig leg. Some serious fat here and the skin was a bit mushy, but the meat fell off the bone and was incredibly tender and delicious.


A very nice mixed fried rice.


This ancient 1959 Beerenaulese came out like motor oil. Ridiculously dark. It wasn’t perfectly balanced, but it was surprisingly likable if you have a taste for the sweet and thick like I do.


Pan fried noodles. A bit greasy, but okay.


1989 Raymond-Lafon. Parker 91-92. The 1989 exhibits aromas of honeyed pineapple/tropical fruit and toasty new oak, as well as an exotic, flashy perfume that is not as pronounced in either the 1990 or 1988. The 1989 exhibits less botrytis than the other two vintages. The wine possesses an opulent, full-bodied, exotic, lavishly rich personality, moderate sweetness, and huge quantity of extract, glycerin, and alcohol in its finish. The wine is also extremely young and unevolved. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025.

agavin: Nice, although a little unbalanced.

Overall, another fantastic meal. The total damage, including tax and a whopping 30% tip was $42 a person! “Inflated” because of our multiple ducks. They were very friendly and willing to serve us the dishes one at a time over a long period, but the restaurant was a bit over busy and the duck came the microsecond we sat down. It was frustrating to be dealing with opening the wine, pictures, and the like and to be launched into the feeding frenzy. In previous trips we’ve had the cold appetizers. Then they got going a little too fast with the food. We had to tell them to slow down (which they did). Plus as we were jammed into the back corner and there was only one narrow entrance point the overworked servers had trouble handling the “basics” like water, plate changes and the like. As the place emptied out they caught up a bit. They certainly try hard and are extremely nice. It was just too crowded and too little space.

The duck was first rate, as good as Peking duck gets — more or less. Some other dishes, like the pork hock, and the XLB were amazing too. A few others just so so, like the shrimp. The eel was interesting, and a nice addition. Tasty Duck is all about the duck.

For more Hedonist adventures or

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

Instead of the mild Chinese desserts we headed over to Salju for some shave ice:


Pineapple snow with passion fruit, almond jelly, blackberries, and boba.


Mango snow with strawberries, blueberries, passion fruit syrup and almond jelly.


Coffee snow with coffee jelly, syrup, and almond jelly.


Coconut snow with peanut butter cups, egg custard, and condensed milk.


Green tea snow with chocolate chips.

Related posts:

  1. Tasty Duck Lives up to its Name
  2. Tasty Duck Will Bring You Luck
  3. Spear your Meat
  4. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  5. Lasagne Bolognese Minus the Meat
By: agavin
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CR8 – Liquid Forms

Mar02

Restaurant: CR8 by Roberto Cortez [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: Seattle

Date: February 25, 2015

Cuisine: Modern Art

Rating: Absolutely Amazing

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Roberto Cortez’s CR8 is one of the most stunning dining experiences I’ve been too, and so when he invited me to a new one this year some friends and I flew up to Seattle just for this dinner!

CR8-Liquid-Forms1

“When it comes to taste, liquid acts differently on the palate than solid food. Chewing food becomes a process by which flavors are expelled and discovered in stages as they ar2e released by the teeth. Liquids immediately cover the entire tongue, which in turn activates all taste buds and it’s crevices giving instantaneous flavor delivery. This seems to be a more powerful way to taste as it requires less use of facial muscles, And with this, additional brain activity which stays in a state of “waiting” to see what the food tastes like. This also brings in a subconscious element of expectation and wonder, which deters from the purity of taste and experiencing flavor”.

Roberto Cortez

Roberto is certainly the most creative and artistic chef I’ve ever had cook for me, which alone would be stunning, but after attending four of his events his food continues to be stunning. Dishes impress for both artistry, complexity, and flavor.

For his latest CR8, Roberto Cortez (left) has teamed up with Matthew Biancaniello (right), a master mixologist, to add a set of elaborate cocktail pairings to Roberto’s stunning cooking.

Opening cocktail. Stinging nettle and Cuban oregano infused gin with satsuma and dill.

agavin: this starter had 2 ounces of gin, but you couldn’t taste it at all! The dominant flavor was satsuma (a form of citrus).


For his events, Roberto always creates a unique dining space. This one was located in a 100+ year old Seattle warehouse.


The table itself was “dangerously” elevated. It was on a platform!


And there was even this cool homemade cloud created by artist Yuri Kinoshita. You can see some of her other woven works of luminosity on her website.

At Roberto’s previous dinners I always brought the wine and that was more or less the only drinks, so I didn’t fully understand in advance that Matthew Biancaniello was going to be creating this incredible cocktail pairing. So I brought the wine anyway. Therefore, we only went through three bottles at the table. The wines paired well with the food, but the incredible herbal complexities of the cocktails knocked out the fruit part of my palette, rendering them more acidic.

From my cellar: 2000 Prager Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Hollerin. 91 points. Massive reductive funk on first opening. Blew off in a matter of a few minutes. Mature riesling nose of apricot, salt, slight petrol. Rich, heavy mid palate. Loads of heavy extract on the finish.

Roberto has thematic ideas for each dish which flow from the liquid forms concept, so I’m going to include them here to introduce the dish, then follow with my comments.

Mellifluous. Having a smooth rich flow, filled with something that sweetens This word is incredible because it particularly describes the viscosity of a liquid that has been thickened with a sweeteners. I want to pay homage to the Tree and its natural sweeteners from sap and rare honey.

Sapling. Steelhead Caviar, PX sherry hen egg sabayon, black oak maple, pecan oil, tangerine lace crumbled hen yolk.

agavin: This dish had a goopy texture interwoven with the popper-like caviar. The flavor was predominantly sweet with bursts of savory/salty. None of that explains how incredibly successful it was. Like most Roberto dishes it just really worked.

Gin, cucumber, beet and horseradish.

agavin: It was also noticeable how this “oddball” cocktail with its Passover horseradish vibe cut the sweetness of the dish and really took both to the next level. Incredibly refreshing.


Pellucid. Translucently Clear. Elaborating on and expressing the concept of Clear and Transparent in liquid form. I want to use the elements of the corn for this dish in unorthodox ways. I chewed on popcorn recently for a while and discovered the flavors of charcoal, truffle, and lavender. I want to stress the clarity and transparency of the definition.

Maize. Black truffle tamal, charcoal, Incan corn mole, canela Red strawberry popcorn Red amaranth.

agavin: At its core a fabulous tamale. The other elements didn’t compete at all with the warm comforting quality of the tamale itself.

Wild juniper infused Mezcal, Krogstad Aquavit, fresh kiwi and wild mustard flowers.


This was a virgin version whipped up specially.


Vaporious. A substance in the gaseous state as distinguished from the liquid or solid state.

Vaporious. Ember beets, wild juniper, foie gras, sunchoke cream, akamiso, blood orange, scallions, pomegranate, Micro chive.

agavin: I love a good foie “mouse” and that was taken up a notch by the beets and the like.

Bergamot and Yuzu infused tequila, guava infused tequila , bergamot juice and dehydrated bergamot peel with home made caramel on top.

agavin: the caramel coated bergamot slice on top was incredible! Also impressive was listening to Matt and how he started infusing all these things months ago just for this dinner.


From my cellar: 1993 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 92. A fully mature and expressive nose of elegant secondary fruit and floral aromas introduces intensely mineral-driven, pure and beautifully well-detailed middle weight flavors that possess excellent depth and fine length. This is drinking perfectly now and should continue to do so without effort for at least another decade. Tasted only once recently.


Liquescent. Origins in 18th century Latin. Becoming liquid Monsoon. This dish is the ultimate expression of becoming liquid. I am starting to collect rain water in a special glass vessel so that the water never touches the ground. I will then filter it to become a pristine base of this dish. I was inspired by two things; the Monsoon’s of Asia to bring focus to the rain water and by one of my favorite artists, Shinichi Maruyama, a Liquid artist.

The broth was poured in.

Monsoon. Crab Tonkotsu (poured tableside). Poached crab roots, soft tofu, liquid nahm prik pao curry cucumber noodles hibiscus daikon, black sesame Hearts on Fire Radish flowers Cucumber flowers.

agavin: Hard to explain all the good stuff going on here. There was a bit of heat in the broth, slightly akin to one of those Thai coconut soups. But there was also this serious Tonkotsu pork broth vibe. Plus all the textures and the wonderfully soft crab. Even the smear of black sesame complimented fully.


This is the vegetarian version.

Sage and Surinam cherry infused gin, wild horehound infused maraschino liqueur, lemon and green chartreuse with dehydrated banana flowers on top.


Melting. To become liquefied by warmth or heat.

Terre Fondu. Yeast fermented rice Coffee pork jowl butter date consomee in poultry broth Kishibori shoyu, Nordi beer pickled shallot.


With this dish we got little pistol lighters and had the opportunity to melt the butter on that fig bit into the dish. Interactive cuisine! Essentially though this was like a risotto soup combo and was really quite spectacular and rich.

Gin, 25 year old balsamic, strawberries with a bergamot and Tahitian vanilla infused saint Germain foam.


From my cellar: 1993 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 92. In stark contrast to the Chambertin, this is wonderfully expressive and complex with abundant earth and spice notes followed by big, structured, still sappy if slightly austere flavors that offer excellent density and plenty of character. Impressively scaled and finishes with striking length. A clear step up from the Chambertin.


Succulent. Full of juice, juicy, rich in desirable qualities. The word succulent is incredibly descriptive of what is to come.

Texas Brisket Float. Brisket syrup Smoked cream, chile salt preserved smoked tomato bbq vinegar caramelized brussel sprouts broth, grain mustard coriander seeds,dill seed oil arugula blossoms.

agavin: Brisket float? Who would have thought that would work. Well it does. The man that brought us soup masquerading as beer can also imbue a beverage with the qualities of a heavy BBQ dish. Yeah, it totally worked.


The vegetarian version. No brisket. Sorry.

Wild toyon berry infused Pisco, kaffir lime, egg whites with rosemary flowers on top.

Brisket part deux:

Forest Brisket. Elderberry glazed brisket, parsnip, douglas fir, yogurt, pumpkin greens.

agavin: There was some real chew to the meat, and it was fabulous. As usual, all the elements totally sung together in harmony too.


The vegetarian version was a kind of BBQ parsnip!

Wild white fir infused tequila, pine sap infused saint Germain, cinnamon infused wild flower honey, fresh turmeric and persimmon juice.

agavin: This was consumed in one quick jolt.


Crystalline. Having the structure and form of a crystal. I was inspired by two things for this concept. I recently cut some limes and smelled so many layers of other scents that I want to express it. Using kaffir is an amazing extension of that.

Frost Bite. Brazil nut panna cotta disk coconut mousse kaffir leaves frozen sour apple frozen cinnamon toast crepe frozen.

agavin: hard to describe how good this dessert was. I love coconut. And I love coconut and citrus even more. But the creamy panna cotta was totally to die for.

Benedictine, roasted almond oil, lemon and cacao nibs.

agavin: the pairing was amazing


Imbue. To saturate or impregnate with moisture, color, feelings, etc. To permeate, infuse, or soak.

Cacao Imbue. Amedei Blanco de Criollo 70% Chocolate, red plums & beets licorice and dandelion root, wild cherry bark Duchilly hazelnut oil raspberry powder, micro mint licorice.

agavin: One of the world’s most exclusive chocolates blended together with hazelnut and other goodness? What’s not to love? This was incredibly creamy.

Cynar, cassis, espresso with a blood orange air.

agavin: This cocktail rolled up together a complement, a third dessert, and the post dinner expresso. It really worked.


Again Roberto shows off his unique mastery of the culinary arts. His number one strength (and he has many) is his uncanny sense of food harmony. This isn’t laser focused ingredient expression style food like Saison, it’s symphony of flavors. I’d liken it to Mozart too, as it has that rococo lightness, where the complex elements blend together into a lovely whole. This is not easy. Other hyper-intellectual chefs often have discordant notes, like at Maude or Twist. Nothing stands out of place with Roberto’s cooking. The flavors and textures blend seamlessly.

Matthew Biancaniello’s beverage pairings really notched it up too. The man is like Roberto’s liquid twin stylistically. As my wife put it, “I never imagined drinks could be so creative.” They also showed uncanny synergy with the food, particularly impressive for having mostly been worked out over the phone and email! (Matt lives in LA, and Roberto is currently in Seattle).

Plus, for a four person event (Roberto, Matt, and two servers) they really manage to put on a great show with ambiance, music, food, drink, etc.

I should also note that because of the cocktails my wine pairing efforts were less successful than at Roberto’s previous meals (Dark Illuminated Forest, Purotekuta, and Savage Romanticism). The strong herbal, alcoholic, and citrus notes in Matt’s drinks, while lovely and evocative themselves, knocked out the fruit sensitivity on my palette. This had the effect of suppressing the sweetness or fruit from the wines and rendering them overly acidic. I don’t think you can easily mix these two beverage profiles at the same time.

Overall, I really adore this sophisticated cooking as its a synergy of the creative, intellectual, and hedonistic!

Check out more of my grand Foodie Club meals.

Related posts:

  1. CR8 – Savage Romanticism
  2. Food as Art: Dark Illuminated Forest
  3. Food as Art – CR8: Purotekuta
  4. Food as Art – Atelier Crenn
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
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