Restaurant: Terrine

Location: 8265 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. (323) 746-5130

Date: April 7, 2016

Cuisine: French American

Rating: Yummy

Terrine has been on my “to try” list for a long time and it took a Chevaliers du Tastevin dinner for me to get there.
Located on Beverly not far from the Beverly center…

The pig says it all.

Very classy interior and bar.

Chevaliers always goes all out with its events.

NV Paul Clouet Champagne Grand Cru Brut. VM 91. Vivid yellow. Tightly focused citrus and orchard fruits scents are complemented by deeper hints of buttered toast and honey. Fleshy and dry on the palate, offering mineral-laced pear and tangerine flavors lifted by juicy acidity. Suggestions of tarragon and chamomile emerge on the finish, which leaves a dusty mineral quality behind.

There were a number of other great wines during the cocktail period too, but I didn’t get photos of them all.

2008 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne (magnum). Burghound 95. There is a hint of exoticism to the citrus, pear and white peach suffused nose that is presently trimmed in a noticeable, if very slight, touch of sulfur. The rich and extremely fresh middle weight plus flavors possess an impressive amount of dry extract as well as ample mineral influence on the austere and ultra-pure finish that seems to go on and on. This powerful and impeccably well balanced but presently closed effort should live for many years though it will probably come to its peak 10 to 12 years from now. In a word, fabulous.

Charcuterie plate. Various pates, pickles, and the like. I liked the reddish smoked meat and the country pate.

The menu for tonight’s special dinner.

We took over the whole restaurant.

2013 Comte Senard Bourgogne Blanc Ana. Burghound 86. A discreet note of exotic fruit adds breadth to the very fresh aromas that are composed by pineapple, pear and apple scents. There is fine richness and excellent volume to the lush and generously proportioned flavors that are supported by soft acidity on the sappy finish. This delicious effort should drink well immediately.

agavin: This is really a Aloxe-Corton Blanc, as the grapes come from the village.

Potage de Petits Pois. Lait fume, Croquant de Sarrasin. Soup Peas . Milk smoke , Crisp Buckwheat. A nice pea soup with crunchy buckwheat “grape-nuts” at the bottom.

Seriole a Cru. Citronette de Kumquats, Sesame, Radis du Japan, Ciboule. Yellowtail. Citronette of Kumquats, Sesame, Radish of Japan , Ciboule. A little bit of spice here and an interesting crunch from the radish.

2005 Marc Colin et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. BH 92. Here the wood influence is no longer subtle and while it does not dominate the green apple and white pear aromas, it does fight for center stage with them. The flavors however do seem entirely up to the job of integrating the wood as they are big, rich, powerful and well-muscled, brimming with both minerality and dry extract on the impressively long finish. This is a dramatic wine that is still in search of its center but there is time.

agavin: very young and oaky, but a super elegant wine with years left to it and nice acidity.

2006 Domaine Marius Delarche Corton-Charlemagne Reserve. 89 points. A nice wine but given the lack of complexity I’m thinking past peak. It all depends on your personal preference. A bit advanced and hot on the finish.

Terrine de Fois gras Maison, Fraises, Cresson, Vinaigre Minus 8. Terrine of Foie house fois gras, strawberries, watercress, vinegar, strawberries. Classic fruit and fois prep. I love this kind of fois best.

2004 Patrick Javillier-Guyot Aloxe-Corton. BH 86-89. A wonderfully attractive, fresh and picture perfect red pinot fruit nose nuanced with raspberry and ripe strawberry notes merges into delicious, full and generous, indeed even fleshy flavors that coat the mouth on the finish. This is easy to like but not simple and sufficiently forward that it could easily be enjoyed now.

agavin: 2004, ick. Not the worst meany greenies I’ve ever had, but definitely not appealing.

2010 Domaine Follin-Arbelet Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Clos du Chapitre. BH 89-91. Discreet wood influence frames pretty, cool and ripe aromas of violets and dark cherry that infuse the expressive nose. There is good energy and a real sense of intensity to the well-delineated and mineral-infused medium-bodied flavors that possess slightly better finishing complexity.

agavin: young but nice

Agnolotti de Canard, haricots bolotti, chou vert de Savoie, Cantal. Duck Agnolotti, bolotti beans, green Savoy cabbage, Cantal. Yum, except for the beans, I can’t handle that much bean.

2002 Comte Senard Corton-Clos du Roi. BH 91. This is a big step up in aromatic complexity with ripe and notably spicy red pinot fruit that has hints of floral and violets to it. The powerful and round flavors retain a fine sense of detail to them and despite the muscle and solid structure, this remains particularly well balanced and with plenty of buffering sap on the mid-palate. Terrific quality here and this is recommended for those who are prepared to have some patience.

agavin: Nice. Just beginning to get into maturity.

2007 Comte Senard Corton-Clos du Roi. BH 89. A highly complex nose that is classic Clos du Roi with its earthy and intensely animale character to the nuanced and layered red, blue and violet aromas that complement well the textured and moderately concentrated medium weight flavors in the context of the vintage, all wrapped in a driving finish that possesses excellent length. This is certainly attractive as it’s notably more forward than usual but overall, it’s pretty rather than profound.

agavin: a little too young, even for a forward vintage.

Viandes en Duo. Plat de Cotes Braise, Bavette, Creme d’Avoin, Poireaux Sauvages, Fromage Blanc, Jus de Cuisson. Duo of meat. Cotes flat Braise, bib, Creme of Avoin, Wild Leek, White Cheese, Cooking Juice. The risotto like stuff was good but a little “wheaty”. I liked the braised short rib better of the two meats too. But nice dish and a very healthy portion of meat!

Bread for the cheese.

Assiette de Fromages. Cheese plate. Super creamy good stuff on the left, nice nutty cheese on the right.
Chocolats. Filled with caramel or some other liquid.

Overall, a super fun night with lots of great food and wine. I was very impressed with how Terrine handled things for a party of this size (the whole place!). Food was quite on point, and there was plenty of it. Very timely too. Wine service was good, with only a few timing hiccups — which is actually an A effort given how hard pouring a group this size with so many wines is.

All in all, pretty awesome.

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