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Archive for Dessert – Page 3

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!

Related posts:

  1. Red Medicine – Elfin Feast
  2. Friday Night Feast 2014
  3. New Year’s Feast
  4. Japanese in China – Izakaya Akatora
  5. Lofty Heights
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, Greek cuisine, hedonists, Manhattan Beach, Petros Restaurant, Wine

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
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 2007 White Burgundy, Chef Josiah Citrin, Dessert, Josiah Citrin, Melisse, Montrachet, White Burgundy, Wine

Mastro’s Ocean Club Malibu

Feb23

Restaurant: Mastro’s Ocean Club Malibu

Location: 18412 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265. (310) 454-4357

Date: February 19, 2015

Cuisine: Steakhouse

Rating: Exactly like the other Mastro’s, but closer and with a better view!

_

I’ve been meaning to try the new Mastro’s Ocean Club since it opened as it’s all of about 10 minutes from my house. My brother’s birthday provided an excellent opportunity!


As you can see, the view is awesome — and despite Charthouse deja vu, it’s a lovely location. As usual, it’s pretty sealed up, which seems to be oddly typical on the Pacific coast (probably because of the chilly afternoon/evening breezes).


1983 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 94. A stunning wine, Pichon-Lalande’s 1983 has been gorgeous to drink for a number of years. It is one of the finest 1983s, especially for a northern Medoc. The color remains a dark ruby/purple, with slight lightening at the edge. The knock-out nose of roasted herbs, sweet, jammy black currants, and pain grille is followed by a full-bodied, gorgeously concentrated and well-proportioned wine with low acidity, plenty of glycerin, and a savory, highly extracted, fleshy mouthfeel. This has always been one of the stars of the vintage.


The yummy breads.


Three of us ordered the seafood tower. The quality of the seafood here is impeccable. There were amazing shrimp, lobsters, claws, dungeness crab (in the top, shelled), and oysters.


One of the things that really makes the Mastro’s seafood tower are the sauces. We have cocktail, a spicy mustard, and the Atomic Horseradish. They use this particular magic brand (you can buy it here). The stuff is — pardon my French — fucking awesomely potent. I’ve taken to buying it myself for home. No other horseradish is this punishing. It has a nice flavor too. I particularly like it mixed in with the cocktail sauce. It can have you literally pounding the table in pain — ahem pleasure.


Caesar salad.

1978 Château Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VC 95. Gorgeous brick red with tawny rim. Sweet rich fruit, plummy, earthy, rich blackberry compote, tar and licorice spice, but fruit dominant.
Fresh and smooth, superb balance and length, finishing with a deep long resonating kiss. Loving this. Hints of sherbet zest but mostly a rich earthy compote of plummy fruit with a lightly spicy edge. Amazingly fresh and crisp for its considerable age, better than many 15 years it’s junior. I have another and will happily lay to rest for another 5-10. Drinking beautifully.


Chilean sea bass, looking forlorn by itself on the plate.


Grilled salmon.


8 oz filet.


8 oz filet oscar style. Yeah, it’s obscene. I know.


Grilled brussels sprouts. Not as good as Gjelina (with the pancetta).


Creamed corn.

This is “Gorgonzola mac & cheese!” Oh so light, oh so yummy.


And even better, the evil “king crab truffle gnocchi.” Yes that’s right. Cream, cheese, truffles, crab, potato. What could be better?


See the evil damage.


For dessert, birthday profiteroles with ice cream and whipped cream.


Chocolate covered strawberries with whipped cream.


And the super evil butter cake. About 3 sticks of butter in this baby.

Amazingly, there was still room for dessert

Overall, a great experience. I’m not sure what is Ocean Club about the ocean part other than actually being BY the ocean. Which makes it all the odder that there is an Ocean Club in Scottsdale (no ocean there). This place is pretty much a clone of the other Mastro’s foodwise, which isn’t exactly a bad thing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. An Evening at Malibu Wines
  2. Ocean Avenue Seafood
  3. No Beef with Mastro’s
  4. Riviera Country Club – Gluttony with a View
  5. Spear your Meat
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: birthday, Dessert, Mastro's Ocean Club Malibu, Mastros, Steak House, steakhouse, Wine

Lofty Heights

Feb16

Restaurant: Daniel Benhaim

Location: Downtown LA

Date: February 12, 2015

Cuisine: Modern

Rating: Awesome

_

Adam, one of our Hedonist regulars, likes to organize high end dinners.


This particular one is game meat themed, and hosted in a DTLA loft.



The chef is Daniel Benhaim. He managed this amazing meal for 15 handling the kitchen all by himself with the help of two talented servers.


The loft is in a sketchy area, but has access to a giant roof with an amazing view of the city!


Tonight’s menu.

It should be noted that the wine service (haha) for this event was chaotic in the least. Things were opened and grabbed in a giant amiable free-for-all. I’ve tried to order them here, but they weren’t.


NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Brut Initiale. IWC 92. Bright gold. An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes dried pear, honey, lemon curd, truffle and candied ginger. On the palate, intense mineral-accented orchard and pit fruit flavors pick up smokiness and nuttiness with air. Finishes smooth and extremely long, with subtle smokiness, a brown butter quality and a whiplash of minerality.


2000 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest. IWC 93+. Pale green-tinged straw. Reticent but ripe and highly nuanced nose combines peach, nectarine, lime, lemon skin, nuts and an intriguing, soil-inflected vegetal/smoky quality. Very dry, taut and reserved yet already rich and mouthfilling, with the ripe fruit notes perfectly supported by a flavor of liquid stone. A wine of great energy, finishing with explosive length and powerful minerality. Grand cru size and cut.

agavin: Our bottle was unfortunately premoxed.


2008 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. Burghound 94. A more elegant as well as more refined but also much more reserved nose of white flower and salt water aromas is very much in keeping with the equally refined, pure and silky middle weight flavors that possess excellent detail and precision on the textured and seductive finish that displays grand cru level persistence. This is not quite as rich as the Butteaux but it’s finer as the chiseled flavors are flat out gorgeous. In a word, stunning.

agavin: great, although young and tight at first.


Foie Gras Torchon. Pickled Mustard. Hibiscus Jam. Beet Cured Apple. Mangalitsa Sourdough.

A really nice with with a very interesting blend of the rich, sweet, and tangy/sharp. Not your usual sweet-only foie pairing.


1999 Olivier Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet. 91 points.


2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 93. Green apple, white pear and hint of crushed herb are framed by gentle notes of pain grillé that combine with huge and unbelievably intense flavors blessed with phenomenal power and length. This has that “wow” factor as the flavors are both palate staining and almost painfully intense and the finale is like a block of stone.

agavin: I thought this had a bit of that annoying green flavor that ruins the 04 reds.


2012 Albert Grivault Meursault 1er Cru Clos des Perrières. 97 agavin. A stunner, particularly given how young it is. Rich, but already in balance with a soaring quality. Very MP too.


2004 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve. RR 93. Floral and herbal elements around a core of ripe white fruited flavours; rich and creamy-textured, brings a ripe Meursault to mind with great balance and a sense of purity to the flavours. Lovely stuff.


Bison Tartar. Wood Sorrel. Toasted Walnut. Kefir. Salted Blackberry. Anise Vinaigrette.

I love tartar in general, and this didn’t disappoint. The blend of flavors was both complex and harmonious. The vibe is a bit similar to the Korean/Japanese type tartars like at Totoraku or this K-BBQ.


1945 Remoissenet Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée. 93 agavin. Surprisingly young and fresh. Really great for a while. A lot of Remoissenet wines are off balance, not this one.


Amanda brought: 1971 Marey-Monge (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti) Romanée St. Vivant. 94 points. It must first be noted that this bottle had a Marey-Monge cork instead of a DRC cork. None of us were totally sure what was standard in that year. Marey-Monge owned the vineyards and leased them to DRC. They made their own wine through 1966 I think, then 67-71 was DRC, and 72-87 was even more DRC control, but stilled leased, then in 1988 DRC bought the parcels and did a bunch of replanted and the like. The person who brought it offered full disclosure. We concluded that it tasted like RSV, and approximately the right age. It was very good, even though it had a light touch of corking. Quite powerful in some ways with a ton of complexity. Very enjoyable.

Thanks Amanda!


2001 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 94. As big as a Chambertin with the intensity and sheer flavor authority to match. Sumptuously, even lavishly oaked yet it carries its oak as though it were nothing and there is no doubt that this will absorb the wood completely as there is a mind boggling amount of mid-palate sap and punch and it completely coats the mouth and the persistence is exemplary. The structure is completely buried beneath all the sap and while this should be approachable after a decade, it will drink well for another two. Another great Roty Charmes in a very long line of them. If you can find a few bottles, don’t miss them. In short, this is very classy juice.

agavin: a great wine, drink great


1998 Marcassin Pinot Noir Blue-Slide Ridge Vineyard. IWC 91. Full red. Slightly high-toned aromas of plum, nuts and dried fruits; like the Three Sisters, this could use more freshness. Then sweet, lush and silky in the mouth, with more weight and ripeness than the Three Sisters. Showed a fresh raspberry flavor as it opened in the glass, but this pinot, too, could use a bit more verve. Best on the very long finish, which features fine, even tannins.


From my cellar: 1989 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle. RR95+. The nose was fabulous, full of sweet, black fruits, garrigue, spice, pepper, game, chocolate, minerals and bread aromas. The palate was rich and hearty, more limited and square than its nose, although there was nice citrus and leather smack to its gamy finish.

agavin: a little closed at first it stirred and really opened up after a bit.


Mangalitsa Ragu. Dark Chocolate Tagliatelle. Fiore Sardo. Mollica.

Chef Benhaim likes to blend unusual flavors and he shows a real talent for keeping the flavors in balance. This was a great and very interesting pasta.


1998 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 92-96. This wine performed even better than my high accolades in issue #131 suggested. The 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape is the greatest effort produced since Beaucastel’s 1989 and 1990. It reveals more accessibility, no doubt because the final blend included more Grenache than normal. Its dense purple color is followed by sweet aromas of blackberries, licorice, new saddle leather, and earth. There is superb concentration, full body, low acidity, and high tannin, but it is surprisingly drinkable for such a young Beaucastel. Ideally, it needs another 3-4 years of cellaring, and should keep for 25-30 years.

agavin: our bottle was corked 🙁


Erick brought: 1999 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 96-100. The 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin appears to be a legend. Made from a classic blend of 60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 10% Counoise, this limited production (5,000 bottles) cuvee exhibits perfect equilibrium, but needs a decade of cellaring. It would be a shame to drink it before that. The opaque black/purple color is accompanied by aromas of roasted meats, smoke, truffles, cured olives, and intense blackberry and espresso-infused cherry fruit. Leather notes also emerge on the palate. The wine boasts immense body, massive richness, and formidable levels of extract and tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040.

agavin: probably WOTN, big, brooding and awesome.


2007 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul. Parker 100. There are 1,800 cases of the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee du Mon Aieul (100% tank-aged Grenache). It represents an awesome naked/virginal expression of Grenache from three vineyard parcels planted in sand, clay, and limestone soils. After tasting this wine on five separate occasions, I can state with certainty, it has the most saturated color of any Mon Aieul produced to date. Moreover, its perfume of blueberry liqueur, black raspberries, licorice, roasted meat juices, and lavender is incredible. Full-bodied power, a multilayered mouthfeel, tremendous purity, and awesome concentration put this wine in a class by itself. This sensational Chateauneuf du Pape is still very young, and 3-4 years of cellaring is required. It should be a modern day legend and last for nearly two decades.

agavin: big, bold, full of great fruit without overpowering.


1998 Delas Freres Hermitage les Bessards. Parker 96. The 1998 Hermitage Les Bessards reveals licorice, coffee, cassis, minerals, smoke, and meat scents, full body, great depth, teeth-coating tannin, and a persistent, sweet, well-delineated, 45-second finish. It will be at its peak between 2007-2035.


2003 Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 92-95. The powerful 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape comes closest in character to the 1990 (which is still drinking beautifully). Its dark ruby/plum/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of resiny pine forest interwoven with creme de cassis, black cherries, melted licorice, and smoky herbs. In the mouth, gamy, meaty flavors emerge along with black currants, cherries, and a hint of the sushi wrapper called nori. Full, rich, and moderately tannic, this 2003 requires another 1-3 years of bottle age, and should keep for 12-15 years.


Duck Wellington. Smoked Carrot. Vadouvan. Raison d’etre.

Another ambitious dish executed fabulously, particularly given the challenge of being a single chef with 15 plates. The meat was perfectly cooked. The pastry wasn’t soggy, and the very interesting curry sauce really livened up this sometimes heavy type of dish.


1998 Pavie. Parker 95-96. A 50-year wine, this opaque purple-colored offering exhibits a strong, precise nose of black fruits, liquid minerals, smoke, and graphite. Extremely full-bodied, yet brilliantly delineated, powerful, and awesomely concentrated, it boasts a fabulous mid-palate as well as a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. This vin de garde requires 5-6 years of cellaring. A tour de force in winemaking, it has the potential to be the most profound Pavie ever produced, except for its two successors. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2045.

agavin: Pavie two nights in a row!


1983 Mount Mary Cabernets. 90 points online, but our bottle was over the hill, thin and a bit cloudy. A shame.


1975 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard. View from cellar 97+. The 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard is quite pretty and powerful, but also a bit forward, while the 1975 impresses for its pure depth and richness, both remarkable for a wine that is nearly 40 years old!

agavin: Really impressive and full of rich fruit.


2001 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 92-98. No idea which bottling this was. Too bad for them they stick the important information on the back instead of the front where it should be! Parker says of the regular bottling: may be the Le Pin of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a lascivious, powerful, smoky sex pot of great fruit intensity, purity, and voluptuousness. The texture is unctuous, the fruit level remarkable, and the wine gloriously pure, rich, and bursting with black currant and sweet cherry fruit as well as nicely integrated, toasty French oak. It will drink well for 15+ years. This exciting debut effort possesses an individualistic, distinctive style … all to the credit of this brash newcomer, a tightly-spaced vineyard situated on the Silverado Trail, north of St. Helena, near the Rombauer Vineyard. This is an impressive effort fashioned by Philippe Melka, who believes this site has “unlimited potential.”


Venison Loin. Celery Root. Maitake. Eucalyptus Bordelaise.

The meat was flavorful, tender, and perfectly cooked. It was a little cold though, probably owing to the logistics of the dinner.


From my cellar: 2011 Veyder-Malberg Riesling Bruck. 96 points. First beautiful straw chablis like color, nose of oil can like and lead pencil, the finish is very long smooth and lasting for over a minute. Awesome wine.

agavin: I actually opened this at the beginning, but I put it here because it paired so well with the bright citrus in the key lime pie.


Key Lime Sorbet. Buckwheat Graham. Coconut Custard.

Awesome dessert. Full of bright bright citrus flavors. Basically a deconstructed Key Lime Pie. Awesome and paired best with the remains of the Bruck (above).


Thanks Dave for bringing this bruiser.

1988 Chateau d’Yquem. Parker 98-99. The 1988 d’Yquem has an incredibly profound nose of orange marmalade, dried apricots, honeycomb, musk and dried pineapple with hints of marzipan and crystallized ginger. The palate is seamless with a great line of crisp acid cutting through the densely packed dried tropical fruit and honeyed flavour layers. The finish just goes on and on.

agavin: oh, yeah! Hehe, still have 2 bottles of this baby in my cellar. At least one of them I’ve had since the mid 90s.


Milk Chocolate Cake. Olive Oil. Coffee Meringue. Dulce de Leche.

Another great dessert, mixing textures (soft, crunchy, gooey) and temperatures (warm, cool, room temp).


Overall, this was another awesome night. The food was fabulous. For being only two servers and one cook, the staff did an amazing job. Now we could have used a Somm, as the wine was a total free-for-all, but we had so many bottles that it wasn’t a stressful frenzy.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Friday Night Heights – Shabbat Dinner
  2. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
  3. Lucky Ducky
  4. How many Saddles to Peak?
  5. Memorial Day Pig
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Adam Fleischman, Daniel Benhaim, Dessert, Downtown Los Angeles, DTLA, hedonists, popup, Wine

Spear your Meat

Feb13

Restaurant: Spear Steak & Seafood House

Location:800 W 6th St, Ste 100. Los Angeles, CA 90017. (213) 688-3000

Date: February 12, 2015

Cuisine: Steakhouse

Rating: Surprisingly good

_

After the success of last month’s “Foodie Club instigated by Will” dinner, we wanted to do another one in February. We even selected and booked Chi Spacca, the Mozza Italian steakhouse, but at the very last minute (hours before) we tripped up on their “no more than 1 bottle per 2 people” policy. So I’m going to “dis” them here because these policies are obnoxious. They can charge corkage if they like (absolutely no more than $50 a bottle and flat per bottle), but bottle limits are offensive. We open and serve own bottles plus order and tip big too.

So screw them, their loss.


So at the last minute we relocated to Speak Steak and Seafood House downtown. Will knows the owner and THEY welcomed us in, had no bottle limit, and didn’t even charge corkage!


This is one of those sleek modern semi-corporate restaurants.


The menu is large and modern which I was happy about. I’m not a steakhouse fan and really not a fan of old school steakhouse.


Or semiprivate room. We buttoned up the wall to cut down on the noise from the big room. The service was awesome. They weren’t really set up for our type of wine dinner but they really tried. They dug up 4-5 glasses each and dragged in a little wine table for us.

I went through the menu and ordered up a storm family style in 4-5 waves. We even ordered the main meats family style getting a variety (David handled that course). Walker and I (more Walker) divided the wines (we had at least 6-10 unopened ones too as backups/options) into loose flights too.

The staff did a great job bringing out the food in waves too.

Flight 1: Whites


From my cellar: 2007 Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore Pietramarina. IWC 90. Straw-gold. Spicy minerals and apricot on the nose, with herbal and almond nuances. Rich and ripe on entry, then fresher and lighter in the middle thanks to high but harmonious acids, with intense minty white fruit flavors. Finishes long, with a strong saline note and a fusel whiff.


Erick brought: 2007 Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts. 92 points. This lovely négoce wine from Marc Morey never fails. Very fine fruit with lime, peaces and a hand full of minerals.


Larry brought: 1999 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. AG 94. Raveneau’s 1999 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre is in a marvelous spot right now. Petrol, smoke, slate, apricot pit and wild flowers are some of the many notes that grace the palate in an utterly vivid, vibrant Chablis endowed with magnificent purity and pedigree. At fifteen years of age, the 1999 Montée de Tonnerre still has a lot to say. What a beautiful wine!

agavin: sadly our bottle was a bit premoxed.


From my cellar: 2000 Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 93. Intense honeysuckle, fresh sliced peach and pear notes with flavors that are not quite as robust and powerful as the Combettes yet finer and more complex. This delivers exciting intensity and a degree of persistence that borders on the astonishing. The Combettes is perhaps grander but this is finer – it’s simply a question of preference, not quality.


Kusshi and Kumamoto oysters.

Uni Toast. roasted seaweed, triple créme, truffle salt. This was pretty awesome with both the rich Santa Barbara uni flavor and a kind of creamy underpinning from the triple créme.

Hokkaido Scallops. yuzu pepper, smoked salt, ponzu sauce, olive oil. A nice bright dish that is cousin to the proper version that sushi chefs serve.

Yellowtail Ceviche. fresno chile, cucumber, coconut-lime sauce.

I’m not actually sure this was the above dish and not one of their other sashimi-style dishes. It was just okay, the weakest of the set.


Butter Lettuce Wedge. Creamy bleu, minced herbs, bacon brittle, tomato, pickled shallot. A pretty awesome wedge, mostly because of the great dressing.

Quinoa Kale Salad. red quinoa, grilled apricot, pistachio, aged goat cheese, honey-olive oil vinaigrette. Slightly sweet and mild.

Flight 2: Italian


Walker brought: 1944 Borgogne Barolo Reserva. 95 points. Amazing. 71 years old. Mussolini was still alive when this wine was made! We decanted for an hour. The nose was incredible, and it had a soft burgundian vibe with lots of fruit.


Emil/Will brought: 1978 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio. 92 points. Powerful and old-fashioned, rustic and polished at once. Complex nose of ancient fruit, tar and leather; real weight on the palate, very long and resonant finish. The nose got better and better. Tons of fruit.

Roasted Bone Marrow. smoked salt, veal jus. Bone marrow isn’t my thing, but this was a good version.

Snow Crab Beignets. bacon powder, old bay remoulade. The description is accurate, like a crab donut, awesome.

BBQ Pork Belly & Shrimp. crispy prosciutto, white bean puree, cilantro. The shrimp were tasty but the pork belly was amazing. Really tender and flavorful, not too fatty.

Flight 3: Old Bordeaux


Erick brought: 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild. IWC 94. Bright red with an amber rim. Captivating nose of dark plum, blackcurrant, oak, coffee, cocoa and flowers. Juicy, sweet and suave on entry, then brightly focused in its red fruit and black flavors complicated by cedar and citrus. Finishes with flinty, saline nuances and very suave tannins. This outstanding wine is perfectly balanced and light on its feet, still very young and capable of a very long life. It might disappoint those looking for a blockbuster, but I love its overall sense of refinement. An essence of claret.

agavin: our bottle was fabulous


Walker brought: 1982 Château Gruaud Larose. IWC 96. Bright red with a pale rim. The still-closed nose reluctantly releases aromas of red cherry, sweet spices, aromatic herbs and coffee. Dense, rich and fleshy, with ripe red cherry, tobacco and forest floor flavors given shape by harmonious acidity and smooth tannins. The very long, slightly chewy finish shows a peppery chocolatey persistence. This is developing at a snail’s space and might last another three or four decades in a cold cellar, but while its tannic structure is noble and impressive, I’d probably want to check in on it again in five years’ time to see how the fruit is holding up.

agavin: our bottle of this was fabulous too. Mature, but has decades left in it.


Char Siu Barbecue Duck Flatbread. smoked mozzarella, passion fruit emulsion, scallion sesame. Fabulous pizza with a richness and a sweet and savory vibe.

Roasted Pork Banh Mi Flatbread. pickled vegetables, jalapeño.

Whole Broiled Prawns. lobster butter, garlic. Pretty good big shrimp.


Seafood pasta. Shrimp, mussels, manilla clams, diver scallops,  uni cream sauce. This was a bit controversial. The noodles were actually a ramen egg noodle. They were made very soggy by the rich dish. That being said, it tasted great and the seafood was very fresh. It also was deathly bad with the red wine, but that’s uni. Overall we enjoyed it.

Flight 4: 2000 Bordeaux


David brought: 2000 Pavie. Parker 97-100. I tasted this wine twice during the 2000 horizontals, then I actually popped the cork and drank a half-bottle of it. This wine remains, for me, one of the compelling success stories for proprietor Gerard Perse. An extraordinary effort made from a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from the limestone soils that dominate this very distinctive terroir, the 2000 Pavie has moved out of the closed, dormant, broodingly backward stage into an adolescent period where one can see its extraordinary vibrancy, and great complexity as well as potential. It boasts an unctuous display of rich, cedar box-infused cassis fruit and liquid minerality. The tannins have sweetened, yet the wine has thirty years of longevity and potential evolution. A beautiful wine of great mass as well as elegance, it is good to see the extraordinary efforts that Gerard Perse and his team have made confirmed in this prodigious wine. A legend now … a legend for the future.


Will brought: 2000 La Mondotte. Parker 98+. In two tastings this garagiste wine performed as if it were one of the wines of the vintage. Proprietor Stefan von Neipperg continues to lavish abundant attention on La Mondotte (as he does with all his estates), and the 2000 (80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) boasts an inky/blue/purple color in addition to gorgeous aromas of graphite, caramel, toast, blackberries, and creme de cassis. A floral component also emerges as the wine sits in the glass. Extremely dense, full-bodied, and built for another twenty years of cellaring, I thought it would be close to full maturity, but it appears to need another 4-5 years of bottle age. It should age effortlessly for 2-3 decades.

Tomahawk Pork Chop 22oz. double cut, vietnamese bbq. Really nice pork chop.

Short Rib Osso Bucco. 72 hour, roasted garlic potatoes, horseradish gremolata. Great rich meat.

Colorado Lamb Shank. 48 hour, chermoulah, heirloom carrots. A fabulous bit of lamb.


Black Garlic Spare Ribs. tobacco onions, vinegar slaw. My favorite, it was very nicely spiced and I don’t like plain meat.


Tomahawk Rib Chop. prime, dry aged 30 days. 42 ounces.


For me this is just steak, others loved it.

Flight 5: Sledgehammers


Emil brought: 2008 Oasi Degli Angeli Kurni. Parker 85. The 2008 Marche Rosso Kurni is quite unusual in this vintage. The wine comes across as rather compact in its fruit, which accentuates the sweetness of the fruit and the French oak. In a blind tasting the 2008 could easily be mistaken for a sweet red dessert wine. Let’s hope 2008 turns out be an anomaly for one of the Marche’s most famous reds.


Pork Belly Farro.


Uni Risotto. A little mild, but with so many other flavors and dishes it was under heavy competition.


Duck Confit Mac & Cheese. Nice, but could have been even cheesier!


Double Cooked Fries. Good fries and I liked the green chimichuri like sauce.


Grilled Broccolini.


Herb Roasted Cauliflower.



David brought: 2010 Sine Qua Non Syrah Five Shooter. Parker 98+. The 2010 Syrah Five Shooter is straight up gorgeous. A massive wine that somehow holds everything together, it offers a wild array of cassis, blackberry, white chocolate, underbrush and pepper that flows to a full-bodied, layered Syrah that has masses of fine tannin and enough substance to evolve for decades. A blend of 85% Syrah, 5% Grenache, 3% Petite Sirah, 5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier that was fermented with 20% whole cluster and aged 22 months in 59% new French oak, it opens up beautifully in the glass and should be decanted if drinking anytime soon.


Key lime pie. Great key lime pie.


Chocolate hazelnut mouse. Rich and tasty.


Bread pudding. Our least favorite. Nothing wrong with it, but we were very full.


Above is the damage. Seven guys too, and think about the amount of food we had — particularly given we had two of many of the dishes! Spear was incredibly reasonable too. This feast came out to only $110 a person after tax and before tip! The service was awesome too. They weren’t really trained for our kind of dinner, but they really tried and handled it with great attitude and aplomb.

Food was surprisingly excellent. Only a couple of dishes weren’t great, like the fish sashimi. I loved the breath and variety of the menu. Execution was first rate. Personally I like this place way better than almost all of the steakhouses I’ve been too because it isn’t all about just a slab of beef on your plate.

Company and wines were fabulous, this is turning into a really first rate dinner series.

For more big Foodie Club dinners, click here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  2. Lasagne Bolognese Minus the Meat
  3. Pistola with a Bang
  4. No Beef with Mastro’s
  5. Steak in the Blind
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Corkage, Dessert, Foodie Club, Meat, Steak, Steak House, steakhouse, Will C, Wine

Factoring Factory Kitchen

Jan12

Restaurant: Factory Kitchen [1, 2]

Location: 1300 Factory Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90013. (213) 996-6000

Date: December 6, 2014

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Wow! Best Italian in LA?

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The Factory Kitchen serves traditional Italian fare in the heart of the thriving Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. This trattoria-style restaurant is the product of a long-standing friendship between Restaurateur Matteo Ferdinandi and Chef Angelo Auriana.


The neighborhood is a bit scary, but inside is modern and busy.


The current menu.


2010 Borgo del Tiglio (Nicola Manferrari) Collio Studio di Bianco. AG 95. Weightless, crystalline and pure, the 2010 Studio di Bianco appears to float on the palate. White pear, crushed rocks, oyster shells and lime jump from the glass. A beautifully delineated, vibrant wine, the 2010 captures the best qualities of the year. Stylistically, the 2010 is brighter and more focused than the 2011, with a bit less body but more sheer drive and personality. What a gorgeous wine this is.


ortolana – field greens, spring onion, radicchio, dates, goat cheese, champagne vinaigrette.


pancotto. duck egg, red potato vellutata, sautéed greens, semolina bread crostone, speck.


But the speck was on the side for the convenience of the non meat eaters.

When you get all the elements together really a fabulous breakfasty bite.


focaccina funghi – crescenza, foraged mushrooms, ligurian olive oil, parsley.

Very tasty.


barberosse gratinate – oven baked sliced beets casserole, melted asiago.

Beets baked with cheese? Aka beet lasagna? Kind of an odd concept and not altogether successful.

mandilli di seta. handkerchief pasta, ligurian almond basil pesto.

I can not say enough good things about this pasta. The texture was amazing. It’s soft and all folded over. The pesto is hyperblended to a very fine texture as well, and it tastes so Ligurian. Here you can see some “genuine” examples, and this one tonight was as good as any I’ve ever had in Liguria (I’ve spent about a week there). The chef can’t get the right pine-nuts so he uses blanched almonds instead. It works.

casonzei – veal, pork, sausage filled pasta, cured pork, butter, pancetta.

agavin: This also is a stunningly authentic pasta. It normally comes with a butter and sage sauce, but Liz (correctly) thought the sage wouldn’t work with the Burgundy and switched it out for sweat pancetta. There is a wonderful rice quality to the handmade pasta and the butter / parm sauce. You get pasta like this in the North, near Mantua and Verona. Sweet and buttery at the same time. Wonderful.


1990 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Sorì Paitin. 92 points. Dark roasted nose (not pruney or overripe), chocolate powder, roasted coffee, dark fruit, fennel, celery salt – savory aspects. Deep and dark. Cloves. Thick and dark on the palate with coffee, blackberry. Thick dusty tannins, dry, soy, sweet fruit at the end palate and finish. Not profound but quite tasty and refined.


spigola – pan sautéed imported wild bass filet, baby artichokes, basil.

Yummy.


triglie – seared mediterranean red mullet, san marzano dop, foraged mushrooms.

Had that fishy red mullet thing going on.


porchetta – rolled pork belly, aromatic herbs, red onion, carrots, fennel, celery.

At first I was like, hmmm, just pork? No sauce? Seemed a little dull in concept. But as I ate through this fellow, it was one hell of a delicious meat. Subtle rich flavors and just plain delicious.


patate novelle – oven roasted new potatoes, fine herbs.


cime di broccoli – broccoli di cicco, shallots, crushed chili flakes.


ortaggi all’agro – steamed kale, green chard, spinach, shallots, ligurian olive oil.


Dessert menu.


crostata – chocolate filling, feuillitine crunch, red wine poached pears.

cannoli – ricotta filling, pistachios, orange marmalade.

My friend Liz claims this is the best cannoli she’s had. I’ll go so far to say it’s one of the best I’ve had in LA. And it was REALLY good with perfect crunch, soft ricotta, citrus. But it didn’t have that cinnamon / nutmeg bit I love, or the candied citrus quality you’ll often find in Sicily. Still, very very good. These ones from the Philadelphia Italian market are also fabulous if you can’t make it to Sicily.


bigné – banana pudding filled cream puffs, butterscotch sauce, prailine grains.

I don’t even like banana and this was delicious.

All in all, on my second visit, still a great meal. Most dishes were delicious, and particularly the pastas, which feel authentically Italian — and I’m a pasta fiend with a lot of Italian trips under my belt.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Factory Kitchen – Fabulous
  2. Chili Crab Craze – Starry Kitchen
  3. Piccolo – A little Italian
  4. Villetta – More Italian in Brentwood?
  5. Fraiche Santa Monica
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, DTLA, Factory Kitchen, Italian cuisine

Ultimate Pizza New Year 2014

Jan09

Every few months, and particularly at New Years, we do another round of our Ultimate Homemade Pizzas. If you’re curious about how these components are made look here, otherwise just enjoy the food porn.

Before diving in, I’ll note that this time I am making further progress in that most difficult of pizza problems: the transfer. The most challenging part of making pizza at home is getting it into and out of the oven without messing it up. Into the oven is toughest because the dough is soft and sticky and the pizza is laden.

My new technique is:

  • Roll on the marble countertop with flour
  • Coat a peel with tons of white flour
  • Transfer the pie to the peel
  • Add toppings. Make sure they don’t get too close to the edge.
  • Scoot it off the peel using the flour as lube onto the pizza stone. Do not use cornmeal, which is inferior to flour as a lube and leaves an annoying texture on the dough
  • Scoot back off the stone onto the peel with my huge pizza spatula
  • Use separate cutting blocks for cutting (not the peel)


NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé (magnum). IWC 92. Light orange. Vibrant strawberry and orange zest aromas are complicated by notes of tea rose, smoky lees and chalky minerals. Bright, incisive red fruit flavors pick up a toasty nuance with air. Fresh, incisive and refreshingly tangy, with impressive finishing clarity and stony persistence.


Straight up pizza + corn.


My classic “Jewish Pizza”. First I bake the dough with rosemary and truffle oil, then top with my mix of creme fraiche, dill and chives. Then add red onion and capers and…


finally nova lox. Really a fabulous bit of pizza.

This pizza focuses on a few new toppings, namely spicy lebneh cheese as a “sauce”, sautéed broccoli rab, mushrooms, green pepper goat cheese.

A great mix with an intriguing blend of heat and the slightly bitter vegetable.


From my cellar: 1991 Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet. 91 points. Dry and subdued, but very clean and nice. Drinking young for its age.


This pizza focuses on my new Ultra Ligurian pesto (pine nuts from Liguria, lots of garlic, very good parmesan freshly grated). It includes ricotta and parmesan, mushroom, tomatoes, almonds, and a bit of fig.


Here finished.


Today’s incarnation of my tikka masala pizza. Tikka masala sauce, smoked mozzarella, morels, almonds, basil, ricotta, mozz balls, red onion.


Topped with burrata and a bit of balsamic. Yum!


A new simple cheese pizza with mixed mushrooms.


Another spicy labneh, similar to the last but with slightly different cheeses, a bit of sun-dried tomatoe pesto, and even a little smoked mozz. This was actually drizzled with honey too before baking!


Baked.


From my cellar: 1985 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux. 94 points. Great wine in great shape.


More pesto, with a bit of pumpkin, almonds, figs, blobs of garlic mint yogurt, and red onions.


Baked and topped with burrata.


A fresher pizza with a light pesto, tomatoes, onions, broccoli rab.


And topped with arugula and meyer lemon juice.


Tomatoes, pesto, garlic olives, basil.


And my final iteration on the pesto / afghan theme. Ligurian pesto, garlic mint yogurt, pumpkin, a bit of sundied tomatoe pesto, gorgonzola, figs, and sweet chili.


Baked.


And with burrata!


From my cellar: 1988 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots. 92 points. Full color. What a completely different animal from that wine-brambly black fruit and licorice, medium to full bodied for a Pinot and very meaty feel. I must say that you rarely find this much flesh in an ’88 Burgundy. Relatively speaking, a brute, and much less resolved than the Clos St. Jacques. Wilder and riper. I always find Pommard a bit rough and jarring, but this one was beginning to soften with its 22 years of age. Maybe my problem is that I don’t hold these wines for as long as they need to soften. Very attractive in this chunkier style.


A bit of the dessert spread.


The fudge cake.


Chocolate cupcakes.


Vanilla.


Iced cookies. I love these actually.


Boring sprinkle cookies (always left over).


A kind of strawberry cream fruit tart monster.

The gory details on how to we made the dough, sauce and other components are available here.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Comeback
  2. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  3. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
  4. Ultimate Pizza 2012
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Buffalo mozzarella, Dessert, Pizza, ultimate pizza, Wine

How many Saddles to Peak?

Dec26

Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Location: 419 Cold Canyon Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302 (818) 222-3888

Date: December 18, 2014

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

Ever year, both in the summer and winter, we Hedonists return to Saddle Peak Lodge. It’s pretty much the perfect venue for both a winter or summer food and wine blast, with gorgeous lodge patio, game driven food, and awesome wine service. For those of you who don’t know, Hedonist events have amazing wines (each diner brings at least one bottle).


Saddle Peak Ranch used to be a game lodge back in the early part of the 20th century. The rich and famous used to come up and hunt Malibu’s finest, such as this poor fellow. Now the deer are just served up on the menu.


Our private room.

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


1979 Château Rieussec. Parker 84. A lightweight Rieussec that does not have the intensity and richness of vintages such as 1981 or 1983, it does offer an elegant, well-made, less powerful wine that is light enough to be served as an aperitif.


Special liver. Somehow, this free food arrived on ours plates. It was kinda disappointing though, small, and not the best bit of “whatever it is.” The prep was good though.


And the sauternes looks good in the glass.


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.


An amuse of tomato soup.


Pretzel bread.


Chef’s daily selection of market oysters.


We tried to organize the Burgundies into a flight.


From my cellar: 1978 Remoissenet Père et Fils Richebourg. 84 points. Shrill on the palate. Not a great wine. Fill looked excellent, and there was some fruit, but way too much tannin.


1988 Remoissenet Père et Fils Richebourg. 84 points. I liked this one even less, or maybe about the same.

1996 Louis Jadot Richebourg. Burghound 92. The nose offers a blast of powerful black fruit and flavors that are dense, intense and amazingly long. This is a big-bodied wine with dusty, muscular tannins and penetrating, potent flavors culminating in a slightly warm though nicely complex finish. Impressively constructed and while this does not offer the refinement and finesse of the best of this range, the unusually concentrated, robust Richebourg character is admirable.

agavin: best of the 3 by a longshot.


Venison Carpaccio, horseradish, avocado, parmesan, capers, ciabbata.


1986 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 100. The 1986 possesses outstanding richness, a deep color, medium body, a graceful, harmonious texture, and superb length. The penetrating fragrance of cedar, chestnuts, minerals, and rich fruit is a hallmark of this wine. Powerful, dense, rich, and tannic, as well as medium to full-bodied, with awesome extraction of fruit, this Lafite has immense potential. Patience is required. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030.


Spanish octopus, fingerling potato, tequila vinaigrette, chermoula.


1999 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia. Parker 88. Dense ruby-colored, with a tight personality, the 1999 Sassicaia offers up aromas of smoke, vanilla, and red as well as black currants. Medium-bodied, with high tannin and excellent purity, this elegant, restrained, moderately concentrated effort needs another 2-3 years of cellaring. It should keep for 12-15 years. The abundant tannin in addition to a certain austerity may prove troublesome in the future.


Caesar salad, garlic croutons, Parmigiano-Reggiano.


2005 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato. Parker 94+. The 2005 Barolo Monprivato is a very pretty, harmonious wine endowed with tons of purity in its fruit. All of the telltale aromas and flavors of Monprivato are there – geraniums, roses, spices and flowers – but backed up by quite a bit of heft and body as well. Today, the 2005 Monprivato is quite tannic, but it should come around with a few more years in bottle. In some ways, the 2005 reminds me of the 1999, another vintage in which the Ca d’Morissio was not produced. Monprivato is typically one of the hardest wines to accurately assess when young, and only time will tell what heights it ultimately reaches. For now, the future certainly seems bright. This is a mysterious, seductive Monprivato that will be fascinating to follow. Mascarello was especially selective with his Monprivato and only bottled about 50% of his production. He also blended in the juice kept separately for the Ca d’Morissio, which in this vintage is about 20% of the final blend as opposed to the more typical 10% in vintages when the Ca d’Morissio is produced. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035.


Roasted Pink Lady apple salad, endives, St. Agur blue cheese, pecans.


Butternut squash agnolotti, cranberry port reduction, purple kale, pine nuts.


1995 Penfolds Grange. Parker 92. An impressive Grange that may ultimately prove to be underrated, like many wines from this vintage, the 1995, a blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, exhibits a saturated plum/purple color and a sweet blackberry liqueur nose intermixed with cassis, licorice, and new oak. The wine is textured, jammy, full-bodied, with impressive levels of extract, glycerin, and black fruit flavors. It is long, ripe, with unobtrusive acidity and tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2018.


1996 Penfolds Grange. Parker 96. Deep garnet colored, 1996 Grange is scented with stewed plums, warm cherries and mince meat with hints of Ceylon tea, black olives and Chinese five spice. Medium-full bodied and with a generous amount of flesh on the palate, it gives very crisp acid and a medium-firm level of grainy tannins, finishing long. The layered complexity of this wine is just beginning to emerge, promising better things to come.


1990 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage la Chapelle. Parker 100. The 1990 La Chapelle is the sexy and opulent. I had the 1990 at the Jaboulet tasting, and again out of a double magnum three months ago. On both occasions it was spectacular, clearly meriting a three-digit score. The modern day equivalent of the 1961, it deserves all the attention it has garnered. The color remains an opaque purple, with only a slight pink at the edge. Spectacular aromatics offer up aromas of incense, smoke, blackberry fruit, cassis, barbecue spice, coffee, and a touch of chocolate. As it sits in the glass, additional nuances of pepper and grilled steak emerge. There is extraordinary freshness for such a mammoth wine in addition to abundant tannin, an amazing 60-second finish, and a level of glycerin and thick, fleshy texture that have to be tasted to be believed.


1995 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 96. The 1995 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Jacques Perrin reveals a black/purple color, and a huge nose of Provencal herbs, smoked olives, grilled meats, and sweet, jammy black-cherry and black-raspberry fruit. Full-bodied, and oozing with extract and glycerin (nearly concealing the wine’s formidable tannin levels), this blockbuster Chateauneuf du Pape will need a minimum of 10-12 years of cellaring; it should keep through the first half of the next century.


Dover sole.


New Zealand Lamb Rack.


Saddle Peak Wild Game Trio, served with chef’s accompaniments.


Elk with bacon.


Buffalo short ribs.


Venison.


Durham Ranch Bison T-Bone 20 oz.


2005 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 97. Not unexpectedly, the 2005 Harlan Estate performed slightly better than it did last year. As these wines often do, it continues to put on weight as it is bottled very late by Napa standards, and there is no fining or filtration. The 2005 exhibits a gorgeous thick-looking, ruby/purple color in addition to a beautiful nose of burning embers interwoven with creme de cassis, roasted meats, sweet black truffles, and spring flowers. A hint of lead pencil shavings also emerges from this cuvee, which seems to want to be both a Pauillac and a ripe vintage of La Mission Haut Brion. Full-bodied, dense, pure, and revealing sweeter tannin than I remember, it can be drunk now, but it will no doubt display even greater complexity in 10, 20, and 30 years.


1974 Ridge Zinfandel Monte Bello. Surprisingly intact. It had some kind of nostalgic meaning to Yarom and Ron, and Yarom points out how rare it must be — if there are even any left. The Zin wasn’t a big production wine anyway, and so now 40 years later, not so many.


2005 Verite Le Desir. Parker 99. This blend of 87% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec (the highest percentage of Merlot ever used for Le Desir) reveals notes of truffles, mocha, wild mountain berry fruit, crushed rock and coffee. Fabulous fruit, tremendous viscosity and opulence and a full-bodied, voluptuous texture result in a wine that is hard to resist even though it remains an adolescent in terms of development. It should provide pleasure over the next 15+ years.

In magnum, a mega monster!


Sautéed Vegetable Selections.


Lobster Mac & Cheese. Good but needed more lobster.


Truffled French Fries, Parmesan, Parsley. Awesome. Black Garlic Ketchup on the side.


Onion Rings, Black Garlic Ketchup. Amazing.


Sautéed Wild Shimeji Mushrooms. Really yummy.


2003 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva. AG 93. Kirsch, cloves, leather and licorice are some of the many notes that emerge from Quintarelli’s 2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva. Dark, powerful and brooding, the Riserva is a bit less marked by the year than the straight bottling. Here it is the wine’s explosive, full-bodied finish that stands out most. This is a fascinating wine from Quintarelli. I am a bit surprised to see a Riserva in 2003, but it works, and beautifully. When they are on, these wines are utterly hypnotizing, as is the case here.

agavin: had a grapefruit note that was totally odd for an Amarone!


Cheese plate.


Bread for the cheese.


2001 Sine Qua Non Mr K The Noble Man (Chardonnay). Parker 97. While richer, sweeter, and more unctuous than the Iceman, 2001 Mr. K The Noble Man (Chardonnay), a Trockenbeerenauslese look-alike, possesses nervy, vibrant acidity that is hard to imagine in a wine of this mass and richness. The residual sugar is 255 grams per liter, with an amazing 11.1 grams per liter of acidity, and 11.7% finished alcohol.


Chocolate coffee pot de crème with espresso crème, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and almond coffee dust.


Chocolate raspberry brownie.


Banana huckleberry croissant bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream.

This was a total blow out event. The food was impeccable and the service warm. We had so much wine we left them a little overwhelmed, but that’s par for the course. Plus we had a really great mix of people and some of the most awesome wines. Tonight was particularly killer in the wine department as you have seen.

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,

Or for Hedonist extravaganzas.

 

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, hedonists, Malibu, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

The Power of Providence

Dec23

Restaurant: Providence [1, 2]

Location: 5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 460-4170

Date: December 15, 2014

Cuisine: Cal French

Rating: Awesome food

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It’s been a month since the Foodie Club convened for the awesome white truffles at Saam dinner and so Erick was itching for some more epic wine dinner awesomeness. Enter the chef’s table at Providence. There is no doubt that Providence is one of LA’s top fine dining establishments.


Enter the private chefs table: pretty much inside the kitchen!


And tonight’s menu.


From my cellar: 2006 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 94-96. This is notably more elegant, refined and complex with only a trace of exoticism to the mostly white flower and peach aromas that are followed by textured, pure, detailed and delineated flavors that are quite reserved and cool at present while culminating in a focused, crystalline, dry and driving finish. This does a slow build from the mid-palate before exploding onto the knockout finish. A Zen wine. Note that while I am giving a suggested initial drinking window of 2013, this will be capable of aging for years.

agavin: personally I think there was a trace of premox in this bottle, perhaps, but that it was drinking fabulously for us. It just didn’t taste that young, more like a 2000 or something. So if you have these, perhaps drink up.


Sphereified Greyhound. Like a greyhound popper.


Scallop “taco.” This spicy leaf (nasturtium, a bit like shiso) contained a mixture of scallop and some grain. It was scrumptious. As Yarom puts it: “a 10!”


Razor clam. With a bunch of sauces and bits.


Bacon and squid. A popsicle of… you guessed it… bacon and squid.


Beef cigars. Basically super yummy beef taquitos.


Smoked Bacon soup. This little cappuccino was incredibly delicious. Super creamy it tasted strongly of bacon. Yummy little bits were in the bottom.


Creme fresh with salmon crisps. The crisps are actually salmon skin. The Ikurka (salmon eggs) were incredibly fresh too.


The bread. The greenish one was seaweed. The brioche was the best though.


Fancy Normandy butter and salt.


2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 92. This is presently quite reticent and it requires considerable aeration to coax aromas of airy white flowers, spice and limestone that precede textured, pure and defined energy-filled flavors that possess a linear mouth feel, all wrapped in a focused and mouth coating finish of impressive length. Perhaps this is just going through a phase but it seems a bit awkward at present, and while all the component pieces appear to be in place, I wasn’t knocked out despite the length of the finish. One thing that is clear though is that this definitely needs more bottle age before it’s ready for prime time. Tasted only once in bottle.

agavin: This was our weakest wine, but it was still very nice.


Sashimi. Calabrian chiles, lemon, mint.


Uni in yuzu. Caviar, soy milk.


Check it out inside. It’s literally in a yuzu too!


New Zealand abalone. buckwheat, dashi butter. A very savory little dish.


From my cellar: 1983 Domaine Clair-Daü Bonnes Mares. JK 94. The Clair-Dau, whose vineyards are now all owned by Louis Jadot, was another excellent 1983. I have had good luck with this once-heralded vintage, which I often find delicious to drink. Menthol was the most prevalent characteristic, to go with its open and autumnal fruit.

agavin: I adored this wine. There was some funk on the nose that blew off in 5 minutes. Then it opened and opened and opened. The acidity was perhaps stronger than the fruit, but I still loved it.


Squid carbonara. pancetta. Truffles. This was actually a bit spicy. The spice nuked out all the cheese and the truffle though. It would have been better as a pasta (and without the spice).


Live scallop. white truffle, salted butter. It came out in the shell.


Then they cracked it, so it was steamed in the shell.


And truffle was shaved on top. A really delicious dish.


1971 Pierre Ponnelle Bonnes Mares. 94 points. After a few minutes the nose came around and also became vibrant and full of dried red fruits. There was a ton of fruit left in here and a lovely long finish.

agavin: really really nice.


Monkfish. Matsutake.


John dory. lardo, cabbage, apple. A really delicious dish with a nice fruity tone to the sauce that paired well with the old red Burgundy.


We added this duck dish. It wasn’t on the regular chef’s menu.


1983 Château Margaux. Parker 96. The 1983 Margaux is a breathtaking wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes achieved perfect maturity in 1983, and the result is an astonishingly rich, concentrated, atypically powerful and tannic Margaux. The color is dark ruby, the aromas exude ripe cassis fruit, violets, and vanillin oakiness, and the flavors are extremely deep and long on the palate with a clean, incredibly long finish. This full-bodied, powerful wine remains stubbornly backward and at least 5-6 years away from maturity.

agavin: we decanted ours at the beginning of the meal and it was very lovely.


a5 wagyu. Pickled bitter greens, caramelized onion puree, carrot. Really fabulous bit of meat.


Cheese cart!


A real cheese cart is so much better than those “they just give you two cheeses” kind of cheese plates. Those are lame. We even got seconds (and a whole other plate of different cheeses I forgot to photo).


1990 Chateau d’Yquem. Parker 99. An extraordinary effort, Yquem’s 1990 is a rich and fabulously superb, sweet wine. This wine also possesses lots of elegance and finesse. The wine’s medium gold color is accompanied by an exceptionally sweet nose of honeyed tropical fruits, peaches, coconut, and apricots. High quality, subtle toasty oak is well-integrated. The wine is massive on the palate, with layers of intensely ripe botrytis-tinged, exceptionally sweet fruit. Surprisingly well-integrated acidity, and a seamless, full-bodied power and richness have created a wine of remarkable harmony and purity. Certainly it is one of the richest Yquems I have ever tasted, with 50-100 years of potential longevity. An awesome Yquem!


Frozen yogurt. tangerine, carrot, ginger, hazelnut. A very autumn tone to this and the other desserts.


Hachiya persimmon. Whiskey, mint, cocoa.


Pear. Sunchoke cake, manjari. Really autumnal.


Petite fours. The usual, but all very lovely.


And a bag of slightly spicy chocolates to go.

The wines varied very good to spectacular. Four people, six bottles. We could have really used an extra white, as Providence is very seafood heavy, but it still worked out well.

The food was pretty awesome. Having just eaten at Maude a couple days before it’s pretty obvious that this slightly more 2000s style of French American (with Asian influences) is ultimately a little more successful on the plate than the more textural play at Maude. There were a lot of very good dishes here, although a couple of goofs like the carbonara.

Overall, a seriously epic night! We started at 7:30pm and walked out after 1am!

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Foodie Club dinners here!


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By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burgundy, Dessert, Foodie Club, Providence, Wine

Ruen Pair Rules

Dec15

Restaurant: Ruen Pair

Location: 5257 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027. (323) 466-0153

Date: December 9, 2014 and February 16, 2023

Cuisine: Thai

Rating: Solid Thai, not super spicy

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It’s been awhile since I’ve had authentic Thai, so it was with some relish that I headed out with my Hedonist group to this Thai town eatery.


The minimall is packed with Thai restaurants, massage places, and the like.


Inside.

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The tiny little menu.


NV Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Crémant du Jura Extra Brut. 92 points. Really liked this sparkler! Very well balanced with only a slight dosage. The blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is apparent in the “traditional” Champagne like blend that is not always the approach in the Jura. A good amount of complexity ending in a long finish of pineapple and yeast. Great QPR too.


Pork jerky. Deep fried marinated pork served with special sauce. Chewy but full of flavor. The sauce was insanely spicy (we asked for it full Thai spicy). Good 10 minutes of slow burn.


Beef jerky. Deep fried marinated beef served with special sauce. Not nearly as good as the pork — fairly bland and chewy in fact. The beef version was WAY chewy. My jaw still hurts (JK). Go for the white meat.


2007 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes. IWC 93. Pale yellow. Ineffable aromas of lime, crushed stone, violet, iris and spicecake. Bright, penetrating and precise, with superb energy and purity to the high-pitched citrus, mineral and spice flavors. At once dense and racy, and in need of aging. Persistent and palate-staining on the finish. (The Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets showed lovely sweetness and generosity of texture.


Thai Issan Sausage. Some yummy pig in a casing and fried with Thai side elements. I would have liked to see a little more flavor from the sausage itself.

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BBQ Pork. Grilled pork served with special sauce. A bit sweeter and not nearly as good as the pork jerky.


2004 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese. IWC 92. Mesmerizing aromas of papaya, sweet herbs and spearmint. Intense but discreet cherry fruit rises from the mid-palate, accompanied by brilliant acidity. The riveting finish is animated and spicy. One of the finest spatleses of the vintage in Germany.


Stuffed shrimp. These crabcake-like babies contained a dense shrimp paste/filling. I liked them a lot. I’m a fan of these seafood McNugget type dishes.

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Chicke Sate. Grilled chicken on stick served with peanut sauce and cucumber sauce. Soft but kinda bland.

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Spicy Raw Shrimp Salad. Raw shrimps in spicy and sour dressing. Very nice soft raw shrimp with a nice bitey texture. The sauce was full of green chili potency — lots of it!


2008 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spätlese. IWC 90. Pale golden yellow. Floral aromas lift apricot and quince on the nose. The complex tropical fruit flavors are accented by a hint of licorice and a shot of slate. The subtle balance of sweetness and acidity belies this wine’s richness. Offers nice length and potential.

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Spicy Beef Salad. Beef mixed with tomatoes, red onion, chili cucumber and lime juice. Okay beef salad. The beef itself was medium tasty. The dressing was very spicy too.

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Pork Larb. Ground pork with red onion, green onion, chili, cilantro, rice powder and lime juice. A fine larb with a good amount of flavor.

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Fried Egg with Ground Pork. Pleasant omelet.

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Coconut Chicken Soup. Chicken, mushroom, lemon grass, lime leaves, galangal and lime juice in coconut soup. A tasty soup with lots of chicken. Not nearly as good as the Jitlada “Coco Lotus Soup” but still enjoyable. This one was fairly dense and heading toward a curry, but it still had that lovely sour / lemongrass / coconut thing going.


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


Fried catfish. Catfish slices that have been deep fried crispy and are served in this vinegary sauce. The sauce did a great job complementing the fry. Besides the need to avoid bones, this was a delicious dish.

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Spicy Catfish. Deep fried catfish with curry sauce. Tasty curry. The fish was a touch dry on some pieces and there were bones.

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Chinese Brococoli with Crispy Pork. Stir fried Chinese Brococoli and Crispy Pork. The pork wasn’t that crispy with all that “jus” but it was tasty.

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Spicy Combinations Salad. Chinese sausages, dried shrimp, salted cabbage, salted egg and black egg mixed with onion, chili and lime juice. Love both the Chinese Sausage and the “black” (1000 year old) egg.


Pad Thai. The usual, but good as usual.


2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel. JG 95. Faint spritz on opening, clear rich botrytis, lovely texture, so full and rich, but balances with a spike of acid on the finish, good now but will blossom in time.

agavin: my favorite with the food. rich, amber, and sweet!


A different Pad Thai.

2012 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir. IWC 87. Bright palish red. Slightly diffuse aromas of strawberry, raspberry, underbrush and smoky oak, perked up by mint and floral nuances. A bit juicier and more delineated in the mouth than the nose suggests but shows only moderate intensity and depth. Finishes slightly tart, with dusty tannins.


Egg Salad. Not sure where the salad is, but this odd dish was delicious. Basically, it’s fried eggs with chilis on top. But the vinegary hot tang of the chilies is fabulous with the soft centered eggs.


From my cellar: 2003 Louis Latour Corton-Clos de la Vigne au Saint. Burghound 91. A huge step up in elegance, complexity and purity with extremely pretty spicy red pinot fruit aromas that introduce supple, sweet and opulent flavors that remain precise and beautifully well balanced. An altogether lovely wine that combines power and elegance with first class cellar potential.


2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary. 89 points. Large-scaled and rich on the nose with toasty brioche, blackberry, currant and milk chocolate. On the palate, velvety textures ushered in dark fruits, spice, coco, licorice and cherry liquor. The finish was long with saturating black fruits and a linger hint of hard candy.


Pork larb. Nice  tang to it, not too hot.


Beef Panaang curry. Your typical bamboo shoot red curry with beef. Certainly a pleasant dish, particularly with rice. This is on the thin mild end of the Panaang spectrum. I really like mine more intense.


2005 Kay Brothers Shiraz Hillside Amery Vineyards. 89 points. Inky dark, with hints of smoke and cedar on the nose. Black currants and blackberries are prominent on the palate, but the secondary characteristics are still caught in a tannic grip.

 


2008 Carlisle Syrah James Berry Vineyard. IWC 93. Opaque violet. Stunning bouquet displays dark berry liqueur, incense, dried violet and smoked meat. Tight on entry, then expansive and sweet in the middle, with noteworthy pliancy and sweetness to the dark fruit, violet pastille, apricot, mineral and spice flavors. Lots going on here-and highly expressive today, even if the firm, dusty tannins call for patience.


Spicy clams. They weren’t actually spicy, but the sauce was rich and delicious.


Morning Glory shoots. In a mild Thai brown sauce. Colon sweeper!


Thai BBQ chicken. Solid.


Shrimp salad. This also had a nice vinegar tang.


Pineapple rice. Good stuff, with that sweetness. A tad mushy.

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Stewed Pork Pad Ka Prow. Stewed Pork Leg sauteed with chili and basil leaves. Very stewed — pulled pork Thai style.

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Stewed Duck Ka Prow. Stewed Duck sauteed with chili and basil leaves. Extremely stewed — not as enjoyable with duck skin as with pork.


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Roasted Duck Curry. Roasted duck with pineapple, tomatoes, red curry paste and chili in coconut milk. Good flavor but not much duck and a lot of pineapple. Always a winner, with a nice rich curry and a certain sweetness. There could have been more duck though.

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Yellow Curry with Chicken. Chicken with yellow curry and potato in coconut milk. Very pleasant if basic yellow curry.
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Chicken Panang. Chicken with peanut curry paste and chili in coconut milk. Felt more like a straight up red curry than a panang (which has peanut paste in it) and wasn’t spicy or “exotic” at all — but it did have a great curry flavor.

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Pad Kee Mao. Flat rice noodle star fried with chili, basil, egg, and shrimp. Very nice texture.
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Vermicelli with Pork and Vegetables. I didn’t like this. The pork was over cooked and not that tasty.


1986 Château Raymond-Lafon. Parker 92. It is hard to believe this wine will eclipse the great 1983, but the differences in the two wines are negligible. I do not believe the 1986 makes quite the impact on the palate that the huge, massive 1983 does, but there is a great deal of botrytis, and a profound, penetrating fragrance of sauteed pineapple, vanillin, toast, and honeyed peaches. In the mouth, the wine is more streamlined than the 1983, but lusciously rich and full bodied, with very good acidity and a creamy, intense finish. It will be interesting to compare the 1983 and 1986 as they evolve. My guess is that the 1986 will age faster.

agavin: sadly our bottle wasn’t well stored and this had an off-putting bitter finish.


Papaya salad with shrimp. Nice and hot, with a good crunch.


Papaya salad with blue crab. This was a standout. The salad was the same, but the blue crab is raw, like the Korean crab at Soban. You suck out the toothpaste-like meat. Yum!


Dr. David obviously ate too much raw crab.

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Overall, Ruen Pair is good, but it’s very “rustic”, not particularly refined, and they don’t the full variety of possible Thai dishes. What they make is very solid, sort of like a better (if still sloppy) neighborhood Thai — and it’s not highly “dumbed down” or anything. But it’s just not super tuned up either. They don’t take reservations and are mobbed.


Across the parking lot was this Thai dessert place.  No way can I translate the name.

A grid of goodies.


Weird crepe taco things.


Taro, corn, rice balls!


Banana sticky rice.


Grilled coconut milk. Yeah, apparently you can BBQ a liquid.


Yarom got this milky sweet concoction filled with “Thai fruits” including jackfruit.


I went for mango and coconut ice cream.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: curry, Dessert, hedonists, Hollywood Boulevard, larb, Los Angeles, No, raw crab, Ruen Pair, Thai cuisine

Banana Split Redefined

Jul06

Restaurant: Central by Michael Richard

Location: 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 (202) 626-0015

Date: May 22, 2014

Cuisine: American

Rating: Solid modern Gastro-comfort

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Michael Richard used to be an LA chef, and I went a couple of times to his Citrus years ago, but quite some time ago he moved to my hometown of Washington DC. Central represents him following the national trend of “bistrofication” or the general movement of fancy restaurants down the formality curve.


The fancy Pennsylvania Ave frontage.


The interior is more sleek and with a more expensive build out than most gastropubs.




The menu is a hybrid between French and American comfort food, all updated a bit with modern sensibilities.

Gougeres. I.e. French cheese puffs. These had a perfect fluffy lightness to them.


Roasted beets, arugula & warm goat cheese.


Side salad.

Fish and chips. The green (cilantro?) aioli was bright and tasty.


Crabcake. Washington area staple, and never too bad.


Fried chicken. In the background brussels sprouts and bacon. The chicken was boneless and breaded like a Japanese Tonkatsu cutlet!


Banana Split. Certainly the best Banana split I’ve ever seen. Slightly deconstructed (ice cream on the side). The ice cream was homemade.


Flourless chocolate cake.


Michel’s Chocolate Mousse. Deep and chocolately, with those fun crunchy things.

This was a tasty place. The savories were good but it was really the desserts that stood out.

For more Washington dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BANANA SPLIT, Central, Dessert, Michael Richard, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC

Valentino – 2004 Red Burgundy

Feb28

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

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

Date: February 27, 2014

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fabulous!

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Last year I went to an epic three night 2005 White Burgundy Dinner series (Part 1 can be found here), hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. This year, he’s mixing it up a bit and we’re doing a 2004 Red Burgundy dinner and a separate 2006 White Burgundy tasting next week.

2004 red is a peculiar vintage. While plenty ripe, it has this reputation for the “green meanies,” a kind of odd herbaceous “green” taste. Don did a spectacular job arranging for nearly every major Grand Cru. This gives a pretty comprehensive sampling of 2004 Côte de Nuits.

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 29 glasses a person!


Notice the awesome array of glasses in the background. Only about a third 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 was Julian Zaragoza, wine director, who has been at Valentino for around twenty years! He handled the whole wine service himself with extreme professionalism and personality.


Tonight’s menu.

Amuses


We begin with a magnum of: 1990 Alain Robert Champagne Blanc de Blancs Reserve Le Mesnil. IWC 94. Bright yellow-gold with a lazy bead. Powerfully scented, strikingly complex bouquet of singed peach, pear, turbinado sugar, floral honey, marzipan and smoky minerals. Deep, palate-staining citrus and buttery orchard fruit flavors manage to be rich and energetic at once, picking up honey and talc notes with air. The long, sappy finish features seductive blood orange, minerals and a strong echo of marzipan. While this is complex enough to drink now, it also has the concentration and energy to reward further patience.

agavin: To my taste, a lovely mature Champy. Lots of complexity.


Veal Tonnato Tartare. This wasn’t my favorite. It tasted like slightly fishy chicken salad (there was tuna mixed in here).


Crudita Of Seafood. This, however, had a lovely citrus zing to it.


Prosciutto With Burrata. And I adore both prosciutto and burrata, and the combination even more! Valentino was actually the first place I ever had burrata, way back in 1995!

Flight 1: Musigny


Ah, Musigny, often believed to be the most seductive and sensual of all the great Grand Crus.


2004 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny. Burghound 93. Not surprisingly, this really hasn’t budged much from my initial in-bottle review published in early 2007 and I repeat that review here as it’s entirely on track, both in terms of the description but also with respect to its evolution. A simply sublime mix of spicy, elegant, pure and sophisticated red and black fruit aromas that do possess the barest trace of crushed leaf blend into supple, rich and again, extremely pure, indeed crystalline medium full flavors that are restrained and backward but not stern like those of the Bonnes Mares, all wrapped in a vibrant finish of exceptional intensity. This is superbly well focused and almost etches itself into the palate though the tannic spine is well buffered by plenty of mid-palate sap. A complete wine that will also demand a bit of patience.

agavin: Spicey, woodiest of the flight. A bit bitter on the finish with sour red fruits and a hint of cork. Kept getting better in the glass.


2004 Joseph Drouhin Musigny. Burghound 93. An exotic and spicy nose features raspberry, red current, anise and clove notes that give way to sweet, classy and notably finely detailed flavors that are also relatively forward early but tighten up considerably on the backend. In most vintages, this is the undisputed class of the cellar and while it may ultimately be so once again, in 2004 it has competition. Still, lovely stuff by any standard.

agavin: nose smelled like pot. hot red fruits with an herbaceous green red berry finish. Reasonably pleasant.


2004 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Musigny. Burghound 91. A perfumed and airy nose of lavender, spice and distinct floral notes highlight the intense, structured and quite powerful full-bodied flavors that culminate in huge and mouth coating length. This is a big wine yet impeccably refined, pure and classy and the length is most impressive. Like the Amoureuses, 2004 is not a great vintage by the daunting standards of this wine but it’s certainly a solid effort.

agavin: totally corked. each time I tasted it I made a face.


2004 Domaine Leroy Chambolle-Musigny. Burghound 94. This is equally stylish and classy though completely different with a stunningly complex and ultra floral nose combining spice, earth and dark pinot fruit aromas that continue onto the detailed, powerful and fantastically long flavors that stain the palate with almost painful intensity and sap. This may very well equal the Vosne one day as the qualitative difference between the two is subtle indeed.

agavin: slightly cloudy and unfiltered. smells of red fruits. bright strawberry jam taste with a greeny finish. seemed to get worse in the glass, but still one of the better wines of the flight.


2004 Louis Jadot Musigny. Burghound 95. As good as the Bonnes Mares is, it’s immediately clear that there’s another dimension present as this is at once more elegant, more complex and classier as well. An explosive nose of black pinot fruit and penetrating spice notes lead to notably rich and ripe flavors that exude ample mid-palate extract and while the tannins are quite firm, they are also quite fine. This should prove to be one of the vintage’s longer lived examples and it could surprise to the upside as the underlying material is outstanding. The texture is also noticeably different than most of the other wines of the range as Lardière indicated that there was some whole cluster vinification here.

agavin: darker. sour cherry, like cherry coke with licorice. very jammy. unusual, but one of the best wines of the flight.


2004 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 96. This is also very cool and even more reserved at present, revealing only reluctant glimpses of very ripe and ultra spicy red and black berry fruit notes that are very pinot in character. The rich, full and powerful flavors are sweet, supple and utterly classy and the intensity this wine displays is seriously impressive and the superbly long and strikingly precise finish is crystalline in its purity and exactness. There is a rigorous element here that suggests this will require the better part of 15 years to be at its best but when it gets there, this is going to be a thrill ride. Readers know that I am not given to undue hyperbole but I love this style of wine as it’s at once pure, understated, graceful and utterly composed.

agavin: smelled corky. tasted corky (or at least bitter). lots of stemmy taste too. Better than the Roumier, but not very pleasant. The acidity and fruit was in there under the funk.


Agnollotti: Veal Ravioli With Brown Butter And Sage. A lovely classic Italian pasta. Very authentic. Soft meaty filling and a rich elegant butter sauce. I could have eaten 3 plates of this.

Flight 2: Bonnes Mares & Morey St Denis


The central nuits vineyards of Bonnes Mares, Clos de Denis, and Clos de la Roche.


Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares. Burghound 90. A discreet hint of wood spice frames a potent mix of violet, red and black fruits, earth, herb aromas and hints of game that give way to textured, sappy, firm and intense flavors that are both serious and firmly structured. This will require time to come around though there is reasonably good phenolic ripeness and, in the context of the vintage, solid finishing power and pop.

agavin: smelled and tasted corky at first. Got a little better, but not much.


From my cellar: 2004 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche. Burghound 91-94. A superbly complex nose combining a stylish mix of red berry liqueur, blue berry and black raspberry fruit aromas nuanced with game, tea, smoke and hints of earth and leather. The big and well-muscled yet refined flavors are structured, firm and explosive and this finishes with a flourish as it’s at once classy and stunningly pure. Another terrific Lignier Clos de la Roche in a long string of them; just be aware that this will require moderate patience.

agavin: nice red fruits. a bit hot, but a pleasant wine and one of the best of the flight.


From my cellar: 2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Bonnes Mares. Burghound 92-95. he only wine in the range to display any reduction yet it’s not enough to hide the intense and utterly seductive red and black cherry nose that is classy, refined and pure followed by detailed and like the Clos de Vougeot, unusually fine for the appellation yet there is no absence of the classic Bonnes Mares power and muscle, all wrapped in a mineral-infused and incredibly long finish. Despite how beautiful this is, the overall character is almost understated. The Bèze might display a bit more complexity but this is my stylistic favorite of the group.

agavin: muted on the nose. Good fruit but a little bitter on an otherwise long finish.


2004 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 92. A stunningly complex mixture of earthy and animale red and black pinot fruit aromas lead to brooding, intense and jaw droppingly powerful and concentrated, chewy and complex flavors that possess a seriously long finish. There isn’t quite the raw depth of the Clos St. Denis at this point but it’s a very high quality ’04.

agavin: smelled of red fruits. unusual chocolate/coffee thing in the taste. Very pronounced and not unpleasant, but like someone poured chocolate liqueur in there. Perhaps a little green?


2004 Lucien Le Moine Bonnes Mares. Burghound 91-94. A superbly elegant and pure nose featuring dark pinot fruit and violet aromas of terrific complexity precede precise and almost racy flavors of exceptional freshness and vigor that explode on the hugely long finish. This is a gorgeous combination of style and grace yet with the barely concealed muscle and power of a fine Bonnes Mares. This will be accessible early yet the balance is so good that it should age well too.

agavin: muted nose. nice red fruits with a hint of coffee/coco too.


2004 Domaine Ponsot Clos St. Denis Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 93. This is one genuinely gorgeous wine with ripe, elegant and dense aromas and one can literally smell the concentration as the fruit is incredibly dense, nuanced and complex. The flavors are equally potent as this stains and drenches the palate with chewy pinot extract and culminates in a textured, structured and superbly long finish. This is a serious old style burgundy that possesses that “wow” factor but one that will need at least a decade in the cellar first.

agavin: ripe red nose. Deep red fruit taste with lots of spice. Finish continues for a long time, and was quite pleasant. One of the better wines of the flight.


2004 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares. Burghound 91-93. A subtle touch of wood frames the intense violet, blue berry and discreet earth tones that complement big, rich, concentrated and powerful flavors that possess serious mid-palate density and outstanding volume. This is delicious, sappy and robust with the best phenolic ripeness of any wine to this point.

agavin: hard to place the nose. Tasted bigger, deeper and more oaked. Purple on the palette. Probably needs some time.


Pan Roasted Napa Quail “In Porchetta Tartufata. A nice dish. The meat with the cheese was great and there was tons of truffle. The pile of greens with no dressing was a tad odd though.

Flight 3: Chambertin


Chambertin, the northernmost Grand cru, and generally one of my favorites.


2004 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin. Burghound 93. The difference between Chambertin and Clos de Bèze is sharply etched in 2004 as this is cooler, bigger, richer and more powerful though less elegant and with a more limited range of spices specifically and aromatic breadth in general. The medium full flavors are reserved, tight, precise and very pure with extraordinarily good punch and precision, all wrapped in a firm, dusty and linear finish. I particularly like the mouth coating quality of the flavors as there is ample dry extract here, which serves to perfectly buffer the firmly tannic spine. Outstanding stuff and while not a truly great Rousseau Chambertin, it’s knocking on the door.

agavin: smells of oak and fruit. a tiny bit bitter at first, but after some time in the glass shaped up quite nicely.


2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 93-95. The aromatic profile here is completely different with more complexity to the gorgeous mix of red and black pinot fruit, earth, spice, underbrush, smoke, game and iron notes that continue onto the broad, expansive and remarkably intense flavors that culminate in an unusually ripe, mouth coating and long finish. There is admirably good extract here and while the firm tannic spine will require at least a decade to really unwind, the mid-palate concentration is up to the challenge. In sum, this is one striking effort that exudes class.

agavin: strong nose and fairly classic gevry, although certainly there are greeny hints of the vintage.


2004 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 93. A densely fruited and superbly complex nose of spice, earth, ripe red fruit aromas, leather and underbrush leads to rich, supple, elegant and pure flavors where the structure arrives all at once on the seriously long finish. This is not a big Bèze by the usual Rousseau standards yet the explosive finish and outstanding depth suggest that this will age well and hold for much longer.

agavin: very beze nose. red fruits with a long (slightly green/bitter) finish and a lot of power.


2004 Domaine Leroy Gevrey-Chambertin. Burghound 95. Again, the aromatic profile is completely different with a much deeper emphasis on iron-infused earth, underbrush and an understated sauvage quality that leads to stylish, powerful and almost implausibly complex flavors that exude a sense of raw power yet the overall impression is one of control and near perfect balance. A stunner of a wine that has complexity to burn.

agavin: funkier and unfilitered. Some green here.


2004 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin. 92 points. Absolutely lovely wine packed with some dark fruit. It is not at all green as one could expect from this vintage.

agavin: more unctuous grape than the other wines in the flight, but a hint of green too.


2004 Claude Dugat Charmes-Chambertin. Burghound 90-93. A bit of reduction subdues the otherwise pretty and spicy red berry fruit aromas tinged with violets and a hint of wood spice but does not continue onto the rich, sweet and terrifically precise medium full flavors that offer serious depth and a good deal more mid-palate concentration all the while maintaining near perfect balance. An impressive wine that is at once generous yet detailed. Lovely stuff and one that should repay up to a decade in the cellar before drinking well over another.

agavin: I tasted a hint of cork/green, not particularly pleasant.


2004 Bernard Dugat-Py Mazis-Chambertin. Burghound 92-95. The first wine to display a hint of wood spice that frames explosive notes of cherries, raspberries, earth, game and an interesting smoky character introduces dense, sappy, mouth coating and palate staining flavors that are considerably finer than either the Charmes or the Mazoyères and possess genuinely stunning complexity. This is a classy, beautifully precise effort of real style and harmony and I like the subtle floral note that arrives on the backend. In a word, breathtaking.

agavin: searing powerful finish. Fairly nice.


Bison Filet With Red Wine Reduction. This was the weakest of the main dishes. Nothing really wrong with it, but kinda meat and potatoes.

Flight 4: Vosne-Romanée


The pearl of the cote: Vosne-Romanee!


2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 92. A deft touch of wood frames exuberantly expressive and luxurious black fruit nose nuanced by a huge range of spices including anise, clove and cinnamon with notes of tea and hoisin as well. The moderately full flavors are sappy, rich and sweet with ample volume and a palate drenching finish that benefits from an underlying sense of vibrancy. There is real energy here, which seems to collect and focus the flavors. Terrific stuff and exceptionally long with no trace of vegetal character on either the nose or the finish.

agavin: I knew instantly it was RSV. The whole flight reeked of vosne (in a good way) but the distinct RSV character was obvious. Nice finish.


2004 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée. Burghound 95. Another step up in aromatic complexity with classic Vosne spice notes as well as the Asian spice cabinet notes associated with a fine RSV that add nuance to the potent mix of red and black pinot fruit aromas that merge into rich, mouth coating, concentrated and powerful flavors that put the attribute of class on parade. This is an exceptionally stylish wine with a richness and velvety quality that is incredibly seductive.

agavin: lots of vosne spice. very nice.


2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg. Burghound 93. This is in the same stylistic camp as the Grands Echézeaux as it is surprisingly understated and subtle with an intensely floral nose of red and black fruit aromas that are nuanced and beautifully elegant, merging seamlessly into linear, reserved, indeed almost brooding flavors that are as once supple yet precise and detailed, all wrapped in a powerful and muscular finish that delivers striking length. This is a really interesting wine because it’s a wine of contrasts yet it works because there is a gorgeous combination of finesse and power and again, I really like the sense of drive and energy here as well as the first rate balance. A terrific ’04.

agavin: I was pretty sure this was Richebourg. It had dark red fruits and a long lip smacking finish that was quite delicious. One of my two favorites of the flight (and the night).


2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. Burghound 95. This too is sublime in its subtlety and grace with ineffably pure aromas and it strikes a balance between the opulence of the RSV and the restraint of the GE with an expressive yet ultra fine nose of rose petals, violets and seductive spice notes that introduce unbelievably refined flavors that seem crafted from silk and lace, culminating in a linear, mouth coating finish that detonates like a bomb and lasts and lasts. At present, this is taut and precise with the lithe muscularity of a world class gymnast yet it is not lean or unduly tight as there is a generosity to the mid-palate that serves to buffer the underlying tannic spine that will permit this to age for decades. This is clearly a great wine that epitomizes the concept of power without weight.

agavin: I thought it was the DRC RSV, probably mostly because I have a lot more RSV than La Tache. Either way it was great. There was more oak on the nose and it was clearly young, but it had a long lovely finish with a lot of vosne spice.


2004 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Richebourg. Burghound 92-95. I was actually a bit surprised by just how expressive this wine already is as I was expecting something akin to the grouchier Clos de Vougeot yet the kaleidoscopic nose is breathtaking in its breadth of spicy red and black fruit aromas and notes of leather, tea, earth, iron, wet stone and gamy undertones. The big, muscular, robust and powerful full-bodied flavors offer plenty of intensity yet no lack of elegance and while it can’t match the RSV in this regard, there is even more complexity today and more depth of material. Terrific stuff and highly recommended.

agavin: oak on the nose and an extremely pleasant lip smacking finish. I was pretty such it was Richebourg.


From my cellar: 2004 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 93. This displays a similar kaleidoscopic nose to that of the Suchots but with even more spice and hard as it is to believe, even more refinement and the aromas just ooze class. The ultra pure, sweet, precise and beautifully detailed flavors maintain their focus from start to the dazzlingly long and palate staining linear finish that also displays a subtle herbal component.

agavin: there was a slight taint or funk on the nose. The finish was long, but perhaps a little weird. It got better in the glass.


2004 Bouchard Père et Fils La Romanée. Burghound 92. Like the Liger-Belair version (see Issue 21), this is blessed with an absolutely stunning nose that is genuinely kaleidoscopic in its breadth and complexity featuring a touch of wood that frames black spice, earth, underbrush, hints of Asian spices, soy and hoisin. In certain important aspects, this quite resembles the Reignots, particularly the cool personality because even though the nose is amazingly expressive, the flavors sit back and wait for you to come to them. I like the refined texture here and together with the sappiness and excellent length, this makes a serious palate impression. Classic La Romanée in every respect whose only nit is the lack of great concentration.

agavin: a great wine. I thought it might be the La Tache from its sheer power, but I rarely have either La Tache or La Romanee so what do I know. The finish had a long complex Vosne spice thing going on. A lovely wine.


2004 Lucien Le Moine Richebourg. Burghound 92-95. A relatively reserved nose of spicy black cherry fruit with hints of musk and anise framed by discreet hints of wood highlight intense, ultra pure and very classy flavors that offer extraordinary depth and a fresh, vibrant and perfectly balanced finish. This too is very firmly structured yet the tannins are fine and while this will require time, it should be at its best in 10 to 12 years. A most impressive effort.

agavin: Le Moine seems to be making a more forward unctuous wine than everyone else. This was the deepest, most extracted of the flight with an almost un-pinot like rich grape quality, almost like a Sagratino or something. Lip smacking.


Colorado Lamb Chops With Bronte’s Pistachio Crust.

Flight 5: Dessert


2004 Turley Roussanne LPR Alban Estate Vineyard. IWC93. (8.5% alcohol and 30% residual sugar, from fruit harvested on December 15 with a small percentage of botrytized berries brought on through the use of overhead sprinklers) Deep orange-gold. Apricot liqueur, golden raisin, maple syrup, vanilla, honey and clove on the nose. Thick, fat and supersweet, with the wine’s ten grams per liter of acidity lost in its sugar. An extremely glyceral wine that winemaker Jordan says is lower in sugar and acidity than the 2005 (which came from grapes harvested two months earlier!), and less “electric.” Notes of honey and nuts on the extremely long and sweet back end.

agavin: a lovely dessert wine.


Poached Pear Tart. Good for what it was, but this kind of mild dessert is never a standout for me.


The lineup.


And just a few of our glasses! At least a flight or two had been cleared already!

There is a lot to say about this tasting. First of all, Valentino did a great job as usual. The service was impeccable, and this is a difficult task (pouring lots of big blind flights). The food was good, although I could have used an extra carby course near the end, like a giant risotto. Erick and I had to take care of that after (see below).

I’ve never tasted such a comprehensive horizontal survey of Red Burgundy at once before. The incredibly distinct terrior of the different communes and vineyards was readily apparent. Really obvious and that was nice to see. Each flight smelled and tasted of its appellation.

2004 has a very particular vintage character, and it’s not a great one. All the flights except for the Vosne one had it in spades. I’ve tasted that herbaceous thing before, but never in such frequency. It stands in counter point to the bright fruit and mars the wines. I’m certainly not going to invest in the Roumiers (not that I was).

I was also surprised by the amount of cork. Not everyone seems to taste it, but I can’t stand those wet cardboard glasses. Normally, I only get about 1 in 100 badly corked bottles. We had at least 3 out of 28. Bad luck? Was I confusing the vintage character for cork? I don’t think so.

Still, there were a lot of good wines in there, if not at the percentage they would have been in a better vintage. The entire Vosne flight was great, and some superb.

Other big tasting dinners from this group:

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

2006 White Burgundy


The food was quite good, but really wasn’t enough to soak up all that wine. Erick and I went down the street afterward and grabbed some ramen!

Related posts:

  1. Burgundy at Bouchon – Faiveley
  2. JiRaffe Burgundy Blowout!
  3. Valentino – 2005 White Burg part 2!
  4. Burgundy at Bouchon – Jadot
  5. Burgundy Vintage Chart
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bonnes Mares, Burgundy, Burrata, Champagne, Cote de Nuits, Cru (wine), Dessert, Foodie Club, Santa Monica California, Second Dinner, Valentino, Wine

Playful Playground

Dec30

Restaurant: Playground [1, 2]

Location: 220 East 4th Street. Santa Ana, CA 92701. Phone: (714) 560-4444

Date: June 9, 2013

Cuisine: Modern American Tapas

Rating: Amazing experience!

_

I ubered all the way down to Santa Ana (1.5 hours) to join some of my Burghound friends for some great eats and an obscene amount of great Burgundy.


The restaurant is located in a fairly low rent mall in Santa Anna.


Chef Jason Quinn has created this very LA zeitgeist restaurant oddly tucked in low end Santa Ana. It’s mobbed, fairly reasonable, and serves up creative tasty, fatty, modern American tapas. There is also a secret Invitation Only 2.0 room in the back, which I’ve visited before. One of the many pluses of this remote destination is free corkage!


The current menu.


Krug Champagne Rose. Burghound 94. A wonderfully fresh and exuberant nose of crushed berries, pure raspberry and background hints of yeast leads to crisp, intense and gorgeously precise flavors that etch themselves onto the palate, all wrapped in a deep and layered finish that seems to go on without end. This is a great example of the genre and one that will age well for at least another decade yet because of the admirable concentration, it can be approached now as well with pleasure. I personally would be inclined to wait a few years but it’s not complete infanticide even now.


Shaved ???, Country Line Baby Greens, Poached Cranberry, Spiced Sherry Vinaigrette, Candied Pecans.

The ??? was of course: foie gras. This was a great salad, with a nice mesh between the fatty foie and the sweetness of the berries and pecans and the acidic dressing.


2008 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 91-93. Here the nose offers yet another step up in refinement with an almost delicate nose of acacia blossom, citrus and wet stone that leads to linear and precise flavors of crystalline purity, all wrapped in a long, dry, serious and explosive finish that displays a penetrating minerality. A classic Perrières.


Pan Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Charred Scallion Puree, Aerated Garlic Milk, Masago, Slow Egg.

The slow egg is a sous vide egg (they love the sous vide here).


You mix it all up like so. It makes a rich earthy mushroom dish.


2009 Bouchard Aîné et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 93-96. A cool, fresh and densely fruited nose of crushed citrus, green apple and mineral reduction gives way to seriously concentrated and overtly muscular flavors that possess a suave and silky mouth feel yet do not lack for an underlying reserve of power. This isn’t as fine as the Montrachet but it’s even longer, at least at present with a chewy character that provides evidence of the massive levels of extract. Even so, don’t buy this with the intention of drinking it young as it will require plenty of cellar time, at least if you want to see its full potential realized.

A baby from Magnum, although it had been open for hours.


Grilled Quail, Parmesan Polenta, Caramelized Cipollini, Frisse.

The quail was perfectly cooked, but too salty. The polenta was gorgeous. Overall, it was a quite tasty dish, but bordering on salt lick territory.


1986 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 92. Clean, pure and still quite tight on the nose with medium weight, intense, beautifully delineated flavors that simply ooze minerality. This isn’t especially dense but it is extremely pretty and finishes with outstanding length. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

Still very young and rich.


Hamachi Aguachile, Tomatillo Water, Avocado, Radish, Tortilla, Cilantro.

This was the weakest dish tonight. The fish was a little fishy and the overall tone was slightly bitter (maybe the radish?).


2001 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 88. Noticeable secondary aromas infused with honey and exotic notes lead to remarkably dense, full, rich and powerful flavors that carry the classic minerality of a fine Perrières that continues onto the solidly persistent finish. This will clearly be capable of aging for many years but I have concerns that the nose will turn tertiary and I would be drinking it sooner than later to enjoy the freshness of the fruit.

I don’t know what Meadows was thinking, as this was a gorgeously rich MP.


Wagyu Ribeeye Tartare, Soy & Egg Emulsion, Shallot, Chive, Masago.

You can see reoccurring ingredients here. The egg. The Masago. Regardless, this was a very tasty tartar.


2006 Coche-Dury Meursault. Burghound 89. An expressive and attractively layered nose of citrus, yellow orchard fruits and a hint of roasted nuts trimmed in a note of subtle wood toast that is also picked up by the rich, full and generous flavors that possess a seductively textured and balanced finish that delivers fine intensity and impressive persistence for a villages level wine. Recommended.

Very reduced, but gorgeous.


Hillary’s Pappardelle, Pork & San Marzano Tomato Sugo, Caramelized Onion, Pecorino.

He loves that Caramelized Onion (and relatives). This was a nice pasta. There was a real acidic bite to the porky ragu.


2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne. Burghound 93. This storied terroir often produces one of the most elegant and sophisticated of all the 26 Gevrey 1ers with the gorgeously refined red berry fruit and floral nose suffused by an almost pungent minerality that continues onto the supple, fresh and vibrant medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent concentration and a stunning, even explosive if firmly structured finish. This is an intense wine of harmony and drive with everything it needs for a long life.

Opened criminally young, there was lots of fruit, and tons of unresolved oak. Not pleasant at this stage to my taste.


Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken.

Awesome. Perfectly cooked, this chicken was soaked in a slightly spicy vinegar. Kind of like upscale hot wings they had a juicy tang.


1995 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin. Burghound 87. Pretty and very elegant fruit trimmed with noticeable earth but the flavors are surprisingly light and simply and don’t display the typical Charmess richness either. This is by no means flawed but its curiously indifferent. As there is good structure and decent balance, my score and drinking range offer the benefit of the doubt.

I thought it was corked. So did other. Some thought it was just 95 Dujac Charmes. Either way it was funky and bitter.


Jidori Khao Soi, Crispy Shallots, Red Onion, Roasted Peanuts, Cilantro Stems, Chile Oil, Lime, Bean Sprouts, Pickled Cabbage, Crispy Noodles.


These are the condiments for the curry soup. You can add them to taste. The soup was delicious, particularly given that I LOVE LOVE red curries. It could have used more noodles, or at least a spoon and some white rice. We had to pass it around but there wasn’t a single spoon on the table so all that curry went to waste.


From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 91. Knockout aromas of kirsch and red fruit frame medium weight flavors brimming with sap and the finish is all silk and lace. This is supremely elegant and worth a special search to find if you love vibrant, super elegant Burgundy. Absolutely brilliant for the vintage and while this will repay limited aging, it is approachable now.

Still young, but by far the best and most balanced of tonight’s red Burgundies.


Tails & Trotters Pork Short Ribs, Baby Carrots, Country Line Baby Turnips & Chard, Pork Jus.

Normally, I don’t go in for the whole Gregor Clegane pig feet thing, but these sweet and fatty niblets of pig were pretty amazing.


2006 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 91-94. Despite being harvested first, this is clearly the ripest wine in the range where the wonderfully dense fruit is highlighted by a background touch of wood that continues onto the refined, pure and concentrated flavors that are supported by dense but fine tannins and flat out terrific length. This is a lovely wine in every respect and while not exactly understated, everything does seem to be in perfect proportion.

Very nice, but still way too young.


Wagyu Outside Skirt Steak, Sauce Bearnaise, Blumenthal Potatoes.

Good, albeit rich (like everything here). He loves that frisee.


1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard. IWC 97. Saturated deep red-ruby. Knockout nose combines currant, Cuban tobacco, earth, tar, bacon fat, cedar, leather and game; conveys an impression of totally ripe, almost roasted fruit. Lush and sweet; already offers extraordinary inner-mouth flavor and great depth. One of those rare wines that too big for the mouth. Finishes with great velvety texture and magical persistence. Mouthdusting, building tannins coat the entire palate.

Very very Bordeaux-like. A smoke bomb.


Maple Glazed Pork Chop.


Talk about a slab of meat. It tasted like sweet ham.


“Bacon & Eggs” Mazemen Ramen, House Bacon, Slow Egg, Garlic Chips, Fancy Nori, Beautiful Soy, Yuzu Koshu.

There’s that bacon, slow egg, and garlic again. You mix this sucker up and it tastes like deeply smoked bacon noodles. Really really yummy.


Curd & Cookies, Blood Orange, Poppyseed Shortbread, Whip.

A nice lemony custard.


Tea Team, Meyer Lemon Cake, Matcha Milk Crumb, White Chocolate.

Sweet and pleasant.


Black Mission Fig Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Oh yeah! I ate most of it.


Dark Chocolate Pistachio Tart, Pistachio Semifredo.

Like some kind of Baccio type Southern Italian ice cream dessert. Very chocolatey.

Overall, another great night. Wine-wise, our whites were far better than our reds, which were in general way too young (and one was corked). Pretty much all the whites were fabulous, particularly after being open 2-3 hours.

As to the food: Playground is incredibly tasty. Very Gastropub, as he emphasizes fat and flavor. Sure, things are very modern, playful, and experimental, which leads to some goofs, plus the chef is obsessed with certain ingredients. But overall it’s very reasonable and really fun and yummy. Oh yeah, and they don’t charge any corkage!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. IO by Playground
  2. Pig Ear is Here – Taberna Arros y Vi
  3. ThanksGavin 2013
  4. Burgundy at Bouchon – Faiveley
  5. JiRaffe Burgundy Blowout!
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burgundy, Chef Jason Quinn, Dessert, Jason Quinn, Playground, Santa Ana, Sous-vide, Wine

Never Say Too Much

Dec25

Restaurant: Michael’s on Naples [1, 2]

Location: 5620 E 2nd St. Long Beach, CA 90803. (562) 439-7080

Date: December 23, 2013

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: A top LA Italian

_

After Michael’s on Naples made this year’s Zagat list as #2 best restaurant in all Los Angeles, it seemed fitting to organize a proper Hedonist outing. I co-organized this one with our fearless leader Yarom, myself, coordinating and designing the menu. So many things sounded good that I came up with a 15 course extravaganza. Well, lots of people thought it looked like too much food (and they were right), so I trimmed it back… slightly. The resulting Hedonistic Italian blowout ended up (with some alternates) as a total feast of great wine and food.


We were set up in this lovely private room. For a table of 15, this was about as perfect as it gets. Not too loud, space to move around and arrange the wines, and a square table that allowed for much better conversation than a long skinny deal.


1998 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame. Parker 90. The house’s 1998 La Grande Dame reveals notable clarity and precision. This focused, poised wine emerges from the glass with well-articulated flowers, pears, smoke, crisp apples and minerals in a medium-bodied style. The wine appears to have enough freshness and sheer depth to support another decade or so of aging. La Grand Dame represents a significant step up from the estate’s other wines. In 1998 La Grande Dame is 64% Pinot Noir (Ay, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay and Bouzy) and 36% Chardonnay (Avize, Oger, Mesnil-sur-Oger).


An amuse of mushroom stuffed with sage breadcrumbs and cheese, with a bit of spicy oil.


From my cellar: 2012 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse. 94 points. Spicy, stony, light body but plenty of flavor and an elegant finish. A nice change from fruity Chards and Rieslings.

Il Piatto di Salumi con Pane e Olive. Selected traditional Italian cold cuts served with grilled garlic ciabatta, parmesan and marinated olives.

Not all salami is created equal, and this was some of the good stuff!


Here is the aforementioned ciabatta.


From my cellar: 2006 Azienda Agricola Il Mosnel Terre di Franciacorta Curtefranca Bianco. 90 points. Rich with a tiny hint of oxidation. Quite lovely.

Tonno Crudo. Yellowtail and Ahi crudo with olive oil, sea salt, and Meyer lemon confit.

This was one of the blander dishes. Nothing wrong with it, and the salt was nice, it just was what it was.


1982 Vietti Dolcetto D’alba. 94 points. Dolcetto is normally consumed young and casually, but for some insane reason, this 30+ year old example was drinking fabulously. It tasted like an old (and good) Bordeaux, complex, smooth, and fairly round and well balanced.

Salsiccia E Polenta. Grilled house made fennel sausage with baked polenta and Amatriciana sauce.

This classic southern Italian dish packed a wallop of flavor and a little bit of kick.


1970 La Gaffeliere. Parker 86. This has always been one of the best La Gaffelieres produced during the sixties and seventies. The wine is still relatively rich and elegant, with a bouquet of smoky, plummy fruit. In the mouth, the wine is round, with a silky texture, and a lush, medium-bodied finish. It has been fully mature for well over a decade, but has lost none of its fruit or charm. Anticipated maturity: Now-may be in decline.

Vongole E Cozze In Brodetto. Manila clams and mussels with spicy tomato broth and grilled crostini.

The broth was the best part, garlicky, with a little heat.


1997 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. 95+ points. The wine makers called this a “100 year wine”. Medium dark color, orange rim. Outstanding nose. Cherry, strawberry. So long, so complex, it will make you cry.

Barbabietole E Caprino. Heirloom beets with goat cheese mousee, farro, hazlenut brittle, and frisee.


1997 Castelgiocondo (Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ripe al Convento. 94 points. Saturated, deep red. Sexy black raspberry, tar and smoky, nutty oak on the very ripe nose, with a hint of black walnut. Sweet, superripe and high-toned, with exotic dried fruit character to go with the raspberry and nut flavors. Dense and intense, but my enthusiasm was diminished by a somewhat odd and intrusive vegetal element. Finishes a tad dry, but the tannins show the sweetness of the vintage.

Speck e Buffala Pizza. Grllled pizza with speck, buffala mozzarella and roasted tomatoes.

This was a yummy pseudo pizza.


From my cellar: 2007 Podere Il Cocco Brunello di Montalcino. 95 points. A rare and young Brunello from my friend Giacomo at Podere il Cocco. Brunello di Montalcino was born on the slopes of Poggio Cocco takes its name from the former landowner and leader Cocco Salimbeni (1413). The vineyards, in the center of the production area of ​​Brunello, have a favorable exposure to the south-east, and have fought to the north and south winds that facilitate a microclimate against the proliferation of harmful diseases for grapes. The method of processing biological uses only organic elements, bio and natural products. Fungicides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers are banned Coconut.

Taleggio e Funghi. Grilled flat bread with forest mushrooms and Tallegio cheese.


From my cellar: 1990 Angelo Gaja Barbaresco. Parker 95. The 1990 Barbaresco emerges from the glass with an exotic array of tar, smoke, licorice and grilled herbs. There is wonderful intensity to the fruit and plenty of structure. The tannins are still a touch young and the wine is only now beginning to enter the early part of what looks to be a long drinking window! The 1990 Barbaresco is rounder and softer than the 1989, with perhaps just a touch less aromatic complexity and inner perfume, although that is splitting hairs at this level. The finish is long, intense and deeply satisfying. This is a marvelous bottle of Barbaresco.

Bucatini All’ Aragosta. Fresh, thick spaghetti with half poached lobster in saffron cream sauce.

A mild but very enjoyable pasta. The light saffron cream accented the perfectly al dente pasta and the sweet lobster.


1990 Alfredo Prunotto Barolo Cannubi. Parker 93. Prunotto has followed the gorgeous 1989 Barolos with three superlative performances in 1990. The 1990 Barolo Cannubi is a titanic example of Barolo, with immense structure, massive richness, tremendous length, and a huge, ripe nose of spicy fruitcake, cedar, and red and black fruits. Its sweet innercore of fruit is something to behold. The wine needs at least 3-4 years of cellaring and should last for 25 years.

Our bottle was sadly corked.

Michael’s Pasta. Thick cut spaghetti pasta with plum tomatoes sautéed with garlic, onions and basil.


From my cellar: 1996 Roagna Barbaresco Paje. 91 points. Some rose notes with cherry, tea herbs, and a savory element.


A non-dairy hybrid with the tomato sauce and the lobster.


From my cellar: 2004 San Giusto a Rentennano La Ricolma IGT. Parker 95. The 2004 Ricolma (100% Merlot) possesses stunning aromatics and layers of blackberry liqueur, minerals, chocolate and sweet toasted oak. Vibrant and shimmering on the palate, it shows plenty of Tuscan structure to support the fruit, with phenomenal length and ripe, sweet tannins to round out the finish. It is another stunning wine from San Giusto a Rentennano. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2024.

Agnolotti Di Manzo. House-made pasta stuffed with braised short rib, veal sauce, horseradish and sage bread crumbs.

Yum!


1994 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia. Parker 89. The 1994 Ornellaia is a decidedly small-scaled, mid-weight effort with attractive, fragrant aromatics and delicate notes of tobacco and spices that add a measure of nuance to the fruit. While the 1994 lacks the complexity of the finest vintages, it nevertheless possesses lovely overall balance and harmony. The 1994 Ornellaia is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that spent 15 months in French oak, a third of which was new.

We happend to love our bottle.

Agnolotti Di Zucca. House made pasta stuffed with kobacha squash, sage bread crumbs and balsamic reduction.


1998 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia. Parker 93. Made in a relatively structured style for the normally succulent Ornellaia, the dense saturated ruby/purple-colored 1998 offers up aromas of pain grille, spice, smoke, black fruits, and graphite. Full-bodied, concentrated, exceptionally pure, and long, it will be at its finest between 2005-2018. Very impressive, but it requires patience.

Branzino. Whole grilled Mediterranean sea bass with artichokes, potatoes and Taggiasche olives.


2000 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia. Parker 93. The 2000 Ornellaia is a pretty, well-balanced offering with good concentration and complexity. The 2000 lacks some of the visceral thrill of top vintages, but it is an excellent choice for near-term drinking. In 2000 Ornellaia is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The wine spent 18 months in French oak (70% new) and was lightly fined prior to being bottled.

Cervo al Forno. Broken Arrow ranch venison , quince pureé, kale, and forest mushrooms.

Perfectly cooked and tender.


1999 Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. 91 points. Nice showing. Ripe red berry fruit. In fact quite clean and modern. Lots of lovely spice adding complexity. Nose is reminiscent of rum Christmas cake with juicy sweet cherry liqueur. Alcohol is evident on the nose and plate (15% on label). Still firmly tannic and white sweet on entry it’s drying on the finish. Quite enjoyable!

Ossobuco Di Maiale. Braised pork shank with saffron risotto and pistachio gremolata.

Delicious and classic combo.


1971 Melini Chianti Classico Granaio. Old, but still kicking!


Some people got so excited by all this food and wine that they helped themselves to a little sugar — before dessert!

We’ve had this Vin Santo from Santorini (Greece) before.

Crostat Alle Ciliege con Gelato. Chocolate and hazelnut tart with salted caramel gelato and Bing cherry preserve.

Cannoli Con Gelato Alla Vaniglia. Crispy cannoli shells filled with Ricotta impastata gelato, candied fruit and Valrhona chocolate.

These were tasty, but I still prefer a really well done CLASSIC Cannoli best. These ones from the Philly Italian market are about as close as you can get without going to Sicily (and I recommend both wholeheartedly).


1985 Coutet. Parker 84. The problem with so many 1985 Barsac/Sauternes is that they come across as monolithic and one-dimensional, particularly when compared with years where there is a great deal more botrytis, such as 1986 and 1988. Nevertheless, for those readers who like to drink these wines as an aperitif, 1985 is the type of vintage where the wines can be drunk early in the meal. The 1985 is fresh, with plenty of fruit, but lacking the complexity one normally associates with this chateau.

Ciambelle Dolci. Italian doughnuts served with orange glaze.

These lovely pastries tasted a bit like Fruit Loops, a fact noted by a number of us!

Cremino Di Zucca. Pumpkin mousse with salted caramel and cream with gingerbread.

Very nice “holiday” flavored pot-a-creme. Tasted like pumpkin pie.

A good time was had by all!

Overall, Michaels we had a really great meal. The food was spot on with almost every dish being awesome (a few were merely good). We had epic volumes of great Italian wine and some seriously fun company! The restaurant did a fantastic job hosting us. We got 5-6 glasses a person, and then when the array of them on the table left them no room for family style plating they dynamically shifted to individual plating. They handled one alternate menu (prearranged) slickly and even adapted another on the fly. Bravo!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or more Hedonistic adventures here!

Related posts:

  1. Tony Terroni
  2. Gusto Italiano
  3. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
  4. Food as Art: Capo
  5. Michael’s on Naples
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Michael's on Naples, Wine

Gusto Italiano

Dec07

Restaurant: Gusto

Location: 8432 West 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048. (323) 782-1778

Date: December 5, 2013

Cuisine: Italian (Roman)

Rating: Fabulous meal

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Our pal , Chef Vic Casanova, who used to be chef at Culina / 4 Seasons hotel opened his own Italian place. Tonight, for us Hedonists, he prepared a special “Roman” feast.


The 3rd street frontage, not far from the Beverly Center.


Our menu. I had been under the impression he was slanting more Ancient Roman, like this crazy meal at the Getty Villa, but this is more hard core Roman, as in the “modern” Italian city. Not that there is anything wrong with that, as authentic Italian food is unbelievably good (and this meal, you shall see, turned out great). It just wasn’t Ancient, which is a particular thing of mine.  Antique Roman cooking has very different ingredients (no corn, no tomato, no potato, no pasta, etc) and a bold and unusual flavor profile that is herby, sweet, and salty.


From my cellar, 2012 Collestefano Verdicchio di Matelica. IWC 94. Pale straw-green. Knockout aromas of quince, pear, white peach and white flowers are complicated by lemony minerality on the vibrant, captivating nose. Rich and broad on entry, then explosive in the middle palate, saturating the mouth with bright, lively floral and fresh citrus flavors that are intensified by penetrating acidity. Finishes extremely long and creamy-rich, expanding to coat the palate and teeth with lingering white peach and floral flavors. The bright acidity conveys an almost weightless mouthfeel to this seamless, rich, extremely concentrated wine. You can tell that owner Fabio Marchionni studied white wine in Germany. This is but one of many outstanding vintages for this wine. Let me be clear: I think it is probably Italy’s single greatest white wine buy.


1996 Prince Florent de Merode Corton-Renardes. 90 points. A little “funked.” Translucent red fading to amber brown color, nose of port wine, dark candy and apricot. Initial tast of berries (red rasberries), smooth.


Cavoletti. Shaved brussels sprouts, cabbage & kale. Pomegranate. Cherries. Apples. Goat cheese. Mustard vinaigrette.

Interesting flavor profiles. Without the cheese, it would have been fairly exotic. Either way, it was good.


1980 Azienda Bricco Rocche (Ceretto) Barolo Brunate. A touch funky, and very mature, but certainly drinking nicely.


From my cellar, 2007 Paolo Bea San Valentino Umbria IGT. RJ Wine 93. Very dark ruby color; appealing, black raspberry, minerally nose with a sense of pepper; tasty, minerally, roasted plum, light pepper, juniper berry, lavender palate; medium-plus finish.


Cervello Fritti. Fried artichokes. Calves brains. Lemon maionaise.

Zombie food! Fried brains. This was actually very tasty with a nice deep fried flavor and bright lemony mayo in counterpoint.


The buzz is getting on. Lots of wine and the food came quite slowly.


1987 Bruno Giacosa Barbera d’Alba. While WAY paste where it was supposed to drink (that probably would have been about 1992), this was actually pretty interesting.


From my cellar, 2006 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici. IWC 91. Bright ruby-red. Perfumed, terroir-driven aromas and flavors of blackcurrant, licorice, iron, woodsmoke and minerals. At once dense and suave, with herbal and peppery nuances complicating the wine’s aromatic flavors of red cherry, plum, tobacco and flinty minerals. Finishes with building tannins and a juicy freshness.


Polpette alla Napoletana. Meatballs al forno. Tomato sugo. Locatelli pecorino.

These were some seriously tasty meatballs. Perfectly cooked, they constrasted nicely with the cheesy whip.


1997 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. Parker 92. The 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva boasts an opaque ruby/purple color in addition to deep, full-bodied flavors, and more tannin as well as a more angular finish than the regular cuvee. Hence the lower rating. Although it does not possess the exuberance, fruit intensity, staggering aromatic fireworks and concentration of the regular bottling, it is still a great meaty, leathery Brunello that should age well for 12-15+ years. I’d be happy to drink it on any occasion.


From my cellar, 1997 Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. RJ Wine 94. Raisins, mint and licorice in the nose; big taste in which the oak did not seem entirely integrated. The nose presents the hay notes of mature red wine, higher alcohols, chocolate, raisins, and the taste is huge with a sweet feel and then massive tannins; it has interesting mature flavors, raisiny, organic, decayed leaves turning into something cheesy in a very agreeable way. This is a very young mature wine with a lot going on!


Trippa alla Trasteverina. Brained honeycomb tripe. Spicy tomato.

Described as a tasty spongey hose.


2004 Musella Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva. Parker 93. Musella’s 2004 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva offers terrific vibrancy and freshness in its dark fruit, herbs, tobacco, sweet spices and subtle French oak. This beautifully poised, medium-bodied Amarone possesses remarkable balance in a nearly weightless style. The refined tannins give this wine its gorgeous sense of proportion, which carries through all the way to the long, satisfying finish. This is an elegant Amarone that delivers incredible value for the money. It is not to be missed.


2010 Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella. 89 points. Crimson garnet appearance. Cherries, black and red currants, violets, cardamom, and dried fruit aromas. The palate exhibits a full body, crunchy texture, sappy cherry fruit, a dark chocolate mid-palate, crushed rocks on the back end, all under a dusting of coriander. Concludes with a crisp, medium finish. Ridiculously young, and very cheap for an Amarone, but in 10 years…

Asparagi Piemontese. Grilled asparagus. Black truffle fonduta. Sunny side egg.


Imagine what would have happened if she ate the brains instead!


2004 Azienda Agricola Reverdito Michele Barolo Serralunga. Young! Nice wine, but Barolo needs 15+ years.


1999 Azienda Bricco Rocche (Ceretto) Barolo Brunate. IWC 91. Medium red. Complex, mellow aromas of plum, cherry, marzipan and earth; ripe but not overripe. Suave, silky, full and deep, with noteworthy clarity of flavor and inner-mouth perfume. Finishes with broad, horizontal tannins. Way too young still.


Tonnarelli alla Carbonara. Fresh cracked black pepper. pancetta. egg yolk.

The pasta here was perfect, thick chewy, and very al dente. It was a very eggy Carbonara, and while extremely tasty, could have used a MUCH stronger pepper. Black pepper is one of those tricky things because some peppercorns are tasteless and some have that bright snappy bite. It’s not the amount here, but the pepper itself.


1994 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia. Parker 89. The 1994 Ornellaia is a decidedly small-scaled, mid-weight effort with attractive, fragrant aromatics and delicate notes of tobacco and spices that add a measure of nuance to the fruit. While the 1994 lacks the complexity of the finest vintages, it nevertheless possesses lovely overall balance and harmony. The 1994 Ornellaia is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that spent 15 months in French oak, a third of which was new.


1995 Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 89. Aged in 100% new French oak casks for 22 months before bottling, the 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon offers a dark ruby color, followed by a sweet, aggressively woody nose. The pungent wood dominated the wine’s fruit, which lowered my score. Nevertheless, once past the oaky overlay, the wine exhibits fine ripeness, copious quantities of rich, chewy fruit, medium to full body, and wood tannin in the finish. I am not sure if everything will ultimately come together, but this is a flamboyant, oaky, spicy Cabernet Sauvignon that requires 2-4 more years of cellaring; it should keep for 15-20 years.


Bucatini all’Amatriciana. Guanciale. Chili. Pecorino.

Slightly odd to have two long squiggly pastas in a row. Although, again ,the pasta itself was spot on. The sauce was pretty classic Amatriciana and had a good bit of heat. It probably could have used a bit more of a porky flavor. Certainly it was very good although being an egg fiend I preferred the Carbonara.


1996 Mario Marengo Barolo Brunate. Parker 91-93. The velvety-textured 1996 Barolo Brunate offers up a textbook bouquet of rose petals, cherry liqueur, and tobacco leaf scents. Melted tar also emerges with swirling. On the palate, there are gorgeous levels of black cherry and truffle flavors. Dense and full-bodied, with lofty but not excessive alcohol (14%), this sensational Barolo has moderate tannin underlying the layers of glycerin-imbued, rich, chewy fruit.


2006 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis. Parker 97. The 2006 Barolo Cannubi Boschis is seductive, round and sweet in its ripe dark fruit. The wine continues to gain weight in the glass, showing a level of density that nearly manages to cover the tannins. Floral notes add lift on the finish. This is a powerful, linear Cannubi Boschis with tons of energy and muscle, but it will require quite a bit of patience. Sandrone harvests his three parcels in Cannubi Boschis separately. Vinification takes place in stainless steel. The wines undergo malolactic fermentation and are aged in 500-liter barrels (roughly 20% new) for a year. Once the final blend is assembled, the wine goes back into oak for another year prior to being bottled in the spring. Sandrone is one of the earliest producers to bottle, which he does to preserve as much freshness as possible.

Baby killer! This needed at least 10 more years.

Petto D’Anatra.Spiced duck breast. Wilted cavolo nero. Butternut squash caponata. cherry glassato.


2008 Gianni Brunelli le Chiuse di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino. Parker 91. The 2008 Brunello di Montalcino comes across as very, very young and in need of serious bottle age. I suspect the 2008 will always be a bit of a brute, but at the same time it is quite beautiful. Savory herbs, licorice, tobacco, incense and leather wrap around the palate as the 2008 shows off its considerable personality. The 2008 doesn’t have the immediate appeal of some other recent vintages, but I will not be surprised if it turns out to be even better than this note suggests.


2007 Sine Qua Non Pictures (Grenache). 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.

And what is it with these annoying new world labels where the vintage is on the back? Make me take 2 pictures, sure!


Coda alla Vaccinara. Braised oxtail. Carrot. Celery. Polenta.

This is a classic Northern Italian dish and this particular example was lovely (big portion too). Very soft and meaty, not too too fatty, and a really yummy cheesy polenta. Great stuff.


2003 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg. Nice sticky.


Coconut Gelato Pie. Chocolate fonduta. Graham cracker crust. Vanilla bean whipped cream.

This cake, while certainly extremely far from ancient, was right up my alley and rather delicious. I love coconut and it had that cool semi-freddo thing going on.


Just a small corner of the chaos.

Overall, this was another great meal. As usual, we had an insane overabundance of wine, probably over 1.5 bottles per person. The food was delicious, if not exactly what I thought it would be. Almost all the dishes were lip smacking good. The pasta was perfectly al dente. The service was extremely warm and helpful, although the pacing between dishes (particularly at the beginning) was decidedly authentic Italian. Just a great time!

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, Gusto, hedonists, Italian cuisine, pasta, Wine

ThanksGavin 2013

Dec05

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!


The table is set.


The libations begin with this bubbly.


1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused, round, intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now and I wouldn’t hesitate to open one anytime as there is no further upside to be had. A beautiful effort of real style and grace. Tasted several times with consistent results save for one bottle that, much to my complete surprise, was showing definite signs of oxidation.


1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 93 points. this wine shows sweet cherries, sharp minerals, and forest floor on the powerful nose. Initially the palate is a bit shy, but with time it gains concentration and volume until it explodes with deep red and black fruits. This is medium bodied and elegant but the fruit is intense, the acids are lively, and there is a strong spice note on the finish. There are still some hard edges and this is probably 5 years from its peak, but it’s wonderful now.


The first of the two birds comes off the BBQ, cripsy!


1995 Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia Riserva. 95 points. The dense 1995 displays a saturated ruby color. The rich, cedary, smoky, tobacco, and tar-scented nose is classic Nebbiolo. Excellent, with a layered texture, and a rich, spicy, austere, moderately tannic finish, it is accessible enough to be drunk, but should evolve nicely for a decade.


Here is the full spread. Most of this hard work is by our tireless chefs: my mom and aunt.


A simple salad (you need something simple).


Cranberry relish (one of two cranberry sauces).


The other, a spicy chutney. This one is my favorite.


The turkey itself.


Delicious stuffing.


Gravy.


2008 Castello di Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva. Parker 90, “The 2003 Chianti Refina Riserva exhibits a similarly sweet, open nose along with plenty of vibrant, super-ripe dark fruit, outstanding length and lovely overall balance in a style that is plump and accessible without sacrificing the wine’s underlying structure. It is made from 90% Sangiovese, with the remaining 10% divided among several other varietals, and aged 24 months in French oak barrels.”


Roasted beets.


Kale with garlic.


A new entry, consisting of sweet potatoes. There was a mix of orange and purple, which resulted in this refried bean-like color!


The official 2013 plate, or you can find the last 10 years of them here.


1988 Climens. Parker 96. The 1988 reveals layer upon layer of honeyed pineapple-and orange-scented and -flavored fruit, vibrant acidity, high levels of botrytis, and a fabulously long, yet well-focused finish. It is a great wine.


My mom’s incomparable pecan pie.


And a new entry, poached pears with homemade syrup.


And homemade chocolate sauce. The texture reveals its non-commercial origins.


Pumpkin pie.


Sweet potato pie.

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual. Particularly impressive given the bit of upset that tore through the family in the proceeding few nights, namely a nasty stomach virus. This left a few of the secondary cooks “unfit” for their duties. Still, once recovered, great fun was had by all.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

My aunt hard at work in the kitchen!

Related posts:

  1. ThanksGavin 2012
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  5. ThanksGavin in Review
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, Cooking, Dessert, Nebbiolo, Robert Ampeau, ThanksGavin, turkey, Wine

Fond of Philadelphia

Dec03

Restaurant: Fond

Location: 1537 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. 215.551.5000

Date: November 28, 2013

Cuisine: American

Rating: Tasty modern American

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Every year we Gavins descend on Philadelphia for several days of epic gluttony. This traditional week of feasting kicks off with the traditional Wednesday night dinner at some Philadelphia restaurant.


This year, we hit up Fond, an ingredient focused New American in Philadelphia’s little Italy.


The seasonal menu.


A prosecco to begin.


An amuse of mushroom cappuccino. Cream is always good.


1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 91 points. A nice mature white Burgundy.


Black point oysters. Half dozen with mignonette.


Chicken liver mousse. pickled red onions and grilled sourdough.


Grilled duck hearts. Fennel salad and tahini yoghurt.

Mushroom Risotto. truffle, maitake, hazelnuts.


With fresh shaved black truffle.

Mixed Green Salad. seasonal accompaniments.


2008 Ferrando Carema White Label (Etichetta Bianca). Parker 92. The 2008 Carema Etichetta Bianca wafts from the glass with sweet dried cherries, tobacco, sweet herbs and crushed flowers. A mid-weight, delicate wine, the 2008 is quite typical of these hillside vineyards. In 2008 the acidity is a bit on the high side, which readers should keep in mind when considering food pairings. This is a gorgeous wine from Ferrando. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2023.


Angel-hair pasta with tomato sauce.


Mushroom Risotto. truffle, maitake, hazelnuts.


Seared tuna. potatoes.

Organic Salmon. sauerkraut latka, Belgian endive, whole grain mustard.

Pork Belly. Okinawan sweet potatoes, escarole, Dijon jus.


Duck confit. polenta, brussel sprouts, bacon, and jus.

Beef Skirt Steak. royal trumpet mushrooms, farro, sauce Bordelaise.


The dessert menu.


Warm brown butter apple tart. Ginger ice cream, lemon curd.


Malted milk chocolate ice cream. Peanut crumble, chocolate crumble, peanut butter genache.


Some anise flavored meringues as petite fours.

Overall, a lovely meal, wish a lot of flavor and a great way to start off the 2013 ThanksGavin!

For more Philly dining reviews click here.

And check out the epic ThanksGavin events here.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, Fond, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, Wine

2009 Bordeaux Doesn’t Blow

Nov29

Location: Hollywood Hills

Date: November 24, 2013

Cuisine: Molecular American

Rating: Amazing night!

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My friend Stewart had this idea to host a dinner featuring the wealth of 99 and 100 point 2009 Bordeaux. I have to admit, their youth made me skeptical, but he assured me they were drinking great — plus, my vocation as a priest of Dionysus wouldn’t allow me to pass up on 15-20 100 point wines!

To sweeten the pot, he promised a first rate molecular dinner from celebrity chef, Marcel Vigneron (great name!) and co-chef  Haru Kishi. Marcel was the original Executive Sous Chef at The Bazaar too, and also cooked at Joel Robuchon. Haru was at Chaya Brasserie. Those pedigrees most certainly do not suck.


Stewart really knows how to organize a wine dinner — and I should know given how many I attend. This event was expertly planned from start to finish. One of the attendees generously donated her lovely Hollywood Hills home (off a narrow hill street) as the venue.


Stewart rented Riedel stems, and even more importantly, took on the services of two fantastic Sommeliers. All of us split the cost plus brought 2-3 bottles of the good stuff.


The view on this crystal clear November day was stunning.


In the foreground is Max Coane, one of our two awesome somms. I can’t tell you how much more relaxed having these two professionals made the event. Most of my zany (and awesome) wine dinners are free-for-alls. That can be okay up to about twelve people, but even so, I end up doing (really half-assing) the job of somm myself: opening the bottles, doing pours, etc. It becomes hard to get all the wines and you really have to worry about it (if you’re anal like me). These guys were pro (and super nice and enthusiastic as well).


1993 Moet Chandon Dom Perignon. Parker 93. Medium lemon-straw colour. Moderately intense nose of lemon curd, kaffir lime leaf, plenty of hot buttered toast and vague hints of chalk and crushed stone. The bubbles are calming a little in the mouth and the very crisp acidity is taking centre stage, yet this wine is drinking beautifully now, providing plenty of yeast and citrus flavour with a generous sprinkling of minerality. Long finish.


1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame. Parker 95. I highly recommend the Veuve Clicquot 1990 La Grande Dame. It is exquisitely rich and accessible, yet bursting with potential.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2WwE3plcE&feature=youtu.be]

To make this bottle even more exciting, it was opened with a sword!


2002 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses. Parker 96. The flagship 2002 Brut Clos des Goisses is simply stunning in this vintage. Seamless, ripe and beguiling, the 2002 is pure harmony in the glass. Dried pears, apricots, flowers, red berries and spices are some of the many notes that inform this towering, aristocratic wine. At once vertical yet endowed with serious length, the 2002 stands out for its breathtaking balance and overall sense of harmony. Layers of fruit built to the huge, creamy finish. This is a great showing from Philipponnat.


We retired downstairs to the garden for appetizers. These included fresh pizzas whipped up by Marcel here. Yum. These reminded me of my Ultimate Pizza. And he got his dough balls from Terroni.

Our host, Rachel, had an amazing (and gorgeous) wood fired pizza oven. Awesome!


Look at those coals!


And her view.


2009 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 96. Here too there are residual sulfur notes that are only background nuances to the otherwise very fresh and dense green fruit and stone aromas that introduce intensely mineral-driven, firm, rich and enveloping flavors that display a taut muscularity on the strikingly powerful, focused and bone dry finish that is really quite explosive. Like the Montrachet, this should reward at least a decade of long-term cellaring. A brilliant example of the appellation.


From my cellar, 1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 93 points. this wine shows sweet cherries, sharp minerals, and forest floor on the powerful nose. Initially the palate is a bit shy, but with time it gains concentration and volume until it explodes with deep red and black fruits. This is medium bodied and elegant but the fruit is intense, the acids are lively, and there is a strong spice note on the finish. There are still some hard edges and this is probably 5 years from its peak, but it’s wonderful now. Paired beautifully with grilled chickens.


1995 Lagrange. Parker 90. The 1995 Lagrange is similar to the 1996, but the fruit is sweeter, the acidity lower, and the wine less marked by Cabernet Sauvignon. The color is a deep ruby/purple. The wine boasts a roasted herb, charcoal, black currant, mineral, and new oak-scented nose. Medium to full-bodied and ripe, with copious quantities of jammy black cherry and cassis flavors presented in a medium-bodied, low acid, moderately tannic style, this well-endowed, purely made wine requires cellaring.


Oyster spherification, finger lime and wasabi. These first two apps were the weak point of an otherwise stellar meal — not that they were bad, but they just didn’t reach the heights of the rest. The oysters were too warm, and probably could have used a nice Sancerre :-).


Bay scallop cones, ponzu, yuzu kosho, masago. I love raw scallops but these had a slightly odd oil or pine tang. Marcel thought it might be the yuzu, but maybe the oil in the cones.


White truffle pizza, buffalo mozzarella, squash blossom, bacon & shallots. Now these pizzas were AWESOME. I love a good pizza, and this certainly was it. Nice chewy dough. Perfect!


In this serious I’m going to show off some of our ingredients, in this case fresh truffles both white and black!


And persimmons, frozen for texture.


Squabs.


And venison loin. Look at that color.


Moving upstairs we return to our epic 100 point Bordeaux.


From my cellar, 2009 Pape Clement Blanc. Parker 100. The 2009 Pape Clement Blanc is an absolutely remarkable wine, which is not a surprise given what this historic estate has done in both white and red over the last 20 years. Their white wine, an intriguing blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon, 16% Sauvignon Gris and the rest Muscadelle, comes from 7.5 acres of pure gravelly soil. An exquisite nose of honeysuckle, tropical fruit, pineapple, green apples, and orange and apricot marmalade soar from the glass. Great acidity, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a texture more akin to great grand cru white Burgundy put this wine in a class by itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were others who also think this is pure perfection in white Bordeaux. I tasted this wine four separate times and gave it a perfect score three of the four times. It is one of most exquisite dry white I have ever tasted from anywhere – period. Certainly the founder of Pape Clement, Bertrand de Goth, would be happy with his decision to plant a vineyard here in 1305. Pure genius!


2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc. Parker 98. Smith-Haut-Lafitte hit a home run with their red Pessac-Leognan and came very close to perfection with their dry white Graves. Possibly the best dry white the estate has produced since the proprietors, the Cathiards, acquired the property in 1990, this wine exhibits a sensational fragrance of buttered citrus, honeyed melons and a touch of grapefruit, lemon zest and orange rind. It also displays grapefruit on the attack and mid-palate as well as real opulence, terrific acidity and length. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. Astonishing!


2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 96. Prost was, justifiably, extremely proud of this wine and observed that it may be the best “straight” Chevalier that he’s ever made. Not surprisingly, this is a good deal more elegant than the Bâtard with gorgeously pure floral and white fruit, stone and subtle spice aromas that seamlessly merge into the almost painfully intense and vibrant flavors that, like the Perrières, possess crystalline purity and huge length. This is a knockout Chevy and if you can find it, don’t miss it.


Truffled egg. Like at Melisse. Good stuff.


Inside you can see the scrambled egg bits.


From my cellar, 2009 Clinet. Parker 100. Clinet has been on a hot streak lately and the 2009 appears to be the greatest wine ever made at the estate, surpassing even the late Jean-Michel Arcaute’s monumental 1989. A blend of 85% Merlot and tiny amounts of Cabernet Franc (12%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (3%), this big Pomerol boasts an opaque, moonless night inky/blue/purple color in addition to a gorgeous perfume of blueberry pie, incense, truffles, black raspberries, licorice and wood smoke. Viscous and multi-dimensional with silky, sweet tannin, massive fruit concentration and full-bodied power, there are nearly 4,000 cases of this thick, juicy, perfect Clinet.


2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Parker 100. The finest wine ever made by proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, the 2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to a glorious nose of acacia flowers, licorice, charcoal, blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings and incense. This massive, extraordinarily rich, unctuously textured wine may be the most concentrated effort produced to date, although the 2000, 2005 and 2010 are nearly as prodigious. A gorgeous expression of Pessac-Leognan with sweet tannin, emerging charm and delicacy, and considerable power, depth, richness and authority, it should age effortlessly for 30-40+ years. Bravo!


2009 La Fleur Petrus. Parker 96-98+. Even with considerable youthful characteristics, this stunning, open-knit 2009 is quite approachable. This fabled terroir sandwiched between Petrus and Lafleur (hence the name) generally produces one of the more elegantly-styled Pomerols, but in 2009 it offers an extra dimension of flavor intensity as well as more texture and concentration. It reveals a super-seductive perfume of mocha, loamy soil, herbs, black cherries and black currants, truffles and licorice, full body and velvety tannins. The overall impression is one of intensity, power, glycerin and richness as well as undeniable elegance and laser-like focus.

Despite its (slightly) inferior rating, this wine stood out at the current moment.


Langoustine ravioli, kale, foie gras veloute, black burgundy truffle. Wow, this was great. The filling was solid dense langoustine and really tasted like it. The sauce was a decadent langoustine bisque made from the bodies and saturated with foie gras. Plus the truffle. Only the kale was healthy.


2009 Montrose. Parker 100. A colossal effort, the 2009 Montrose represents a hypothetical blend of the monumental duo of 1989 and 1990 combined with the phenomenal 2003. With 13.7% alcohol (an all-time high at Montrose), it is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Some structure and minerality can be detected in the background, but the overall impression is one of massive blackberry, black currant and mulberry fruit intermixed with forest floor, damp earth, crushed rocks and a hint of spring flowers. Full-bodied with sweet but abundant tannin, Jean-Bernard Delmas believes this is the greatest wine he has made during his short tenure at Montrose since retiring from Haut-Brion. This wine will undoubtedly shut down for a decade, then unleash its power, glory and potential perfection.


2009 Pavie. Parker 100. Bottled the week before I arrived, the 2009 Pavie appears to have barely budged since I tasted it two years ago. Many experts consider this phenomenal terroir to be nearly as great as that of Ausone. Made from a classic blend of 60-70% Merlot, 20-25% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky/blue/purple-colored blockbuster reveals wonderful notes of blackberries, crushed rocks, roasted meats, spring flowers, cedar, blueberries, graphite and a hint of vanillin. With extravagant fruit and high extract as well as a hint of minerality, this structured, massively intense effort is typical of all the luxurious, perfect or nearly perfect Pavies produced under the Perse regime (which began in 1998). While built for 40-50 years of cellaring, the softness of the vintage and its flamboyant style is slightly less apparent in the 2009 Pavie than in some of the other Perse wines.


2009 Leoville-Poyferre. Parker 100. One of the more flamboyant and sumptuous wines of the vintage, this inky/purple-colored St.-Julien reveals thrilling levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasures. A soaring bouquet of creme de cassis, charcoal, graphite and spring flowers is followed by a super-concentrated wine with silky tannins, stunning amounts of glycerin, a voluptuous, multilayered mouthfeel and nearly 14% natural alcohol. Displaying fabulous definition for such a big, plump, massive, concentrated effort, I suspect the tannin levels are high even though they are largely concealed by lavish amounts of fruit, glycerin and extract.


White truffle risotto, Japanese rice, Parmigiano reggiano. Another great dish. The Japanese rice had a nice texture, but I’d give this 8/10 on my risotto scale as it needed slightly more cheesy creamy punch to hit the highest highs (I’ve had a lot of great risotto). Still great though.


2009 De Suduiraut. Parker 98. The 2009 is one of the greatest wines ever produced from the estate. It has a riveting bouquet of quince, honey, pear and a touch of clarified butter that is beautifully defined, offering scents of yellow flowers with continued aeration. It is a little heavier and more intense than its peers at this stage. The palate is beautifully balanced with perfectly judged acidity and immense purity. The finish offers crisp honey, quince and clementine notes laden with botrytis that is counterpoised by wonderful acidity. It possesses an unerring sense of completeness and composure that is irresistible. Bravo!


An intermezzo of pears. Looks simple, but paired with the Suduiraut, fabulous.


Most of the gang. Our hostess is in the front right.


2009 Pontet-Canet. Parker 100. An amazing wine in every sense, this classic, full-bodied Pauillac is the quintessential Pontet Canet from proprietor Alfred Tesseron, who continues to reduce yields and farms his vineyards biodynamically – a rarity in Bordeaux. Black as a moonless night, the 2009 Pontet Canet offers up notes of incense, graphite, smoke, licorice, creme de cassis and blackberries. A wine of irrefutable purity, laser-like precision, colossal weight and richness, and sensational freshness, this is a tour de force in winemaking that is capable of lasting 50 or more years. The tannins are elevated, but they are sweet and beautifully integrated as are the acidity, wood and alcohol (which must be in excess of 14%). This vineyard, which is situated on the high plateau of Pauillac adjacent to Mouton Rothschild, appears to have done everything perfectly in 2009. This cuvee should shut down in the cellar and re-open in a decade or more.


2009 Chateau Margaux. Parker 99-100. A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with most Medocs, the alcohol here is actually lower (a modest 13.3%) than most of its siblings-. Abundant blueberry, cassis and acacia flower as well as hints of charcoal and forest floor aromas that are almost Burgundian in their complexity are followed by a wine displaying sweet, well-integrated tannins as well as a certain ethereal lightness despite the wine’s overall size. Rich, round, generous and unusually approachable for such a young Margaux, this 2009 should drink well for 30-35+ years.


2009 Cheval Blanc. Parker 99-100. It will be fascinating to follow the evolution of the 2009 Cheval Blanc versus the 2010 as well as the awesome 2005, 2000, 1998 and 1990. This famous estate’s vineyard is situated at the juncture of Pomerol and the sandy, gravelly soils of St.-Emilion, facing the two noble estates of l’Evangile and La Conseillante. A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Cheval Blanc tips the scales at just under 14% natural alcohol. Its dense blue/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of incense, raspberries, cassis, sweet forest floor and a subtle hint of menthol. Opulent and full-bodied with low acidity but no sense of heaviness, this dense, unctuously textured, super-smooth, velvety, pure, profound Cheval Blanc is impossible to resist despite its youthfulness.


Chef pan fries up some foie gras, and manages to produce enough smoke to set off the smoke alarm :-).


And the lovely squabs.


Roasted squab, lollipop leg, faux truffle, real truffle, celery root puree, squid ink dyed baby artichoke hearts, persimmon, parsnip chips, jus. This was a 10/10 game fowl dish. Everything was amazing, from the lovely bird meat, to the truffles, to the awesome jus (I love a good jus) to the delicate puree. Really delightful.


2009 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 99+. The 2009 Mouton Rothschild has a striking label from Anish Kapoor. The wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot that begs comparison as a young wine with what the 1982 tasted like in 1985 or, I suspect, what the 1959 may have tasted like in 1962. Representing 50% of their production, the wine has an inky purple color to the rim and not terribly high alcohol for a 2009 (13.2%), but that is reflected by the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a remarkable nose of lead pencil shavings, violets, creme de cassis and subtle barrique smells. It is stunningly opulent, fat, and super-concentrated, but the luxurious fruit tends to conceal some rather formidable tannins in the finish. This is an amazing wine that will be slightly more drinkable at an earlier age than I thought from barrel, but capable of lasting 50 or more years. Kudos to the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and the entire Mouton team, lead by Monsieur Dalhuin.


2009 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 99+. The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003’s voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.


2009 Latour. Parker 100. A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot with just under 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Latour is basically a clone of the super 2003, only more structured and potentially more massive and long lived. An elixir of momentous proportions, it boasts a dense purple color as well as an extraordinarily flamboyant bouquet of black fruits, graphite, crushed rocks, subtle oak and a notion of wet steel. It hits the palate with a thundering concoction of thick, juicy blue and black fruits, lead pencil shavings and a chalky minerality. Full-bodied, but very fresh with a finish that lasts over a minute, this is one of the most remarkable young wines I have ever tasted. Will it last one-hundred years? No doubt about it. Can it be drunk in a decade? For sure.

My wine of the night. Really pretty awesome.


Venison loin, acorn squash puree, carrots & turnips, chanterelles, truffle noodle. Another 10/10. The meat was some of the best deer I’ve had and the jus was out of this world.


I just have to show off that rare goodness. Some really delightful red meat here, and perfect with all that Bordeaux.


bottles

Nitro dragon’s breath popcorn. Always fun. They do this at Saam.


Popcorn that is basically liquid nitro frozen, then you crunch and…


Breath fire (or smoke).


Another bottle of the 2009 De Suduiraut it was just that good.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.


Now the chefs whip up some nitro frozen ice cream.


In this case, coconut lemon grass ice cream! It tasted like Tom Kha Gai ice cream!


And what’s up with this kiwi? It looks like a little tush!


Paleo banana bread, coconut lavender nitro ice cream, market kiwi. A lovely and refreshing dessert, which paired delightfully with the dessert wine.


Above are the two somms on the left, and me on the right in the shiny red shirt.

Someone makes off with the best of the bottles 🙂

Overall, this was an impeccable event. Not only were the wines and food incredible, but the atmosphere, company, and overall congeniality (helped by having talented sommeliers) really made it a delightful evening.

For more LA dining reviews click here.


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By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bordeaux, Champagne, Dessert, Dionysus, Hollywood Hills, Marcel Vigneron, Pizza, venison, Wine

Mercado Madness

Nov08

Restaurant: Mercado

Location: Los Angeles, California 90048. 323.944.0947

Date: November 5, 2013

Cuisine: Mexican

Rating: Solid modern Mexican.

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The Hedonist gang loves to try out new places, plus it was David’s birthday! Mercado is a recent entry into the crowded LA Mexican arena from co-owner Jesse Gomez and chef Jose Acevedo.


The Mercado space on the crowded 3rd street drag is modern and that is also reflected in the fresh take on traditional dishes.


Fitting decor for being so close to the day of the dead! People really hauled out the wines, as we had twenty bottles crowded onto that table!


2004 Billecart-Salmon Champagne.


2006 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Ten. Burghound 86. This is also extremely ripe with the same notes of menthol along with touches of cherry cough syrup, red berries, chocolate and coffee notes that continue onto the mouth coating, serious and structured finish that is again not particularly well integrated into the body of the wine. Here though the finish is not harsh so much as just awkward.


Guacamole – hass avocado, serrano, cilantro, red onion, chile de arbol salsa, spicy pepitas, fresh chips. These were some of the best nachos and guac I’ve had.


2007 Frédéric Magnien Fixin Crais de Chene. Burghound 86-89.  A subtle touch of wood sets off earthy and reasonably complex aromas of red and blue fruit as well as lovely violet nuances that merge into rich, round and supple flavors that possess an attractive textured on the delicious, long and nicely sappy finish that carries less rusticity than one might otherwise expect.


From my cellar, 1978 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 93. One of the wines of the night (IMHO). The 1978 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial spent 18 years in barrel and 10 years in bottle prior to release. It still has a deep cherry red color along with an aromatic array of underbrush, brier, tobacco, incense, and blackberry. It has slightly sweeter fruit and livelier acidity than the 1994. This lengthy effort is at its peak now.


Carnitas nachos. Chips, pork chunks, marinated carrots, chili con queso, guacamole. Quite tasty, as I’m partial to both chili con queso and carnitas.


1994 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 94. The 1994 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial reveals no age in its appearance. Deep purple-colored, it sports nicely developed, complex aromas with elements of Asian spices, balsamic, lavender, mineral, and blackberry. Elegant, intense, and concentrated, it is balanced by vibrant acidity.


1989 Marques de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay. Parker 92. This traditionally run Bodegas estate bottles all of its wines. The 1989 Castillo y Gay Grand Reserva Especial, which represents 25% of the estate’s production, and is produced only in top vintages, is the flagship wine of Marques de Murrieta. The deep ruby/purple-colored 1989 offers up smoky, sweet, jammy black cherry fruit aromas intertwined with scents of minerals, tobacco, and vanillin. Medium-bodied and ripe, with outstanding levels of fruit, glycerin, and extract, low acidity, and ripe tannin, this hedonistic, luscious Rioja can be drunk now and over the next 15+ years.

Mexican Kale Salad – kale, arugula, candied pumpkin seeds, pears, dried strawberries, cotija-pesto croutons,
agave-lime vinaigrette. Many complained that the vinegar clashed with our heavy reds.


1970 Bodegas El Coto Rioja Coto de Imaz. 89 points.


1970 Berberana Rioja Reserva Carta de Oro. Vanilla and cherry at first on the nose give an impression of cream soda. Resolved, cherry and brown sugar palate with adequate acidity and something savory and creamy. Perfectly enjoyable.


Lobster taco – with slaw. This was tasty, but the shell was a hair soggy and some felt the lobster a little fishy.


1986 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Gran Reserva. 87 points. Still very pleasurable, but it has obviously seen better days. The nose smelt like something quite a bit older, with wafts of balsamic vinegar, suggestions of dried leaves and undergrowth, and only after that more classic matured Tempranillo notes of cooked plums and cigarette smoke. Thankfully, the palate was not quite as tired as the nose would suggest. The dried leaves and balsamic notes were there in some measure, but these were more background notes that the main act, with the wine showing nice little notes of sour plums, a touch of meat and some smoked tea leaves as it moved into a very soft, mellow finish draped with velvety tannins.


1987 Bodegas Rioja Santiago Rioja gran condal. 88 points.


Alambres de Camarõn – Mexican sweet shrimp skewers, cilantro pesto, chayote with calabacitas.


1998 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904. IWC 93. Bright red with an amber rim. Pungent, expansive scents of dried red fruits, potpourri, vanilla and pipe tobacco, with a spicy overtone. The silky palate offers penetrating redcurrant and bitter cherry flavors sweetened by notes of vanilla and mocha. Finishes smooth and long, with very soft tannins and lingering floral notes. Ready to drink but there’s very good depth here, suggesting (along with this wine’s track record) that it will reward further patience. I also had the chance to re-try the outstanding 2001 Vina Ardanza, which is aging at a snail’s pace and really needs more time for the oak to fully integrate with its fruit. Right now the vanilla character is dominating but there’s obviously excellent material underneath it.


2002 Dominio de Atauta Ribera del Duero. IWC 89. Bright ruby-red. Black raspberry, violet pastille and a whiff of tar on the nose. Texture currently stunted by sulfur but the flavors of blackberry and violet pastille offer lovely purity-not to mention impressive ripeness and intensity for the year. Finishes with tongue-dusting tannins.


Carnitas – Chef Jose’s slow-cooked natural pork, guacamole, chile de arbol salsa, cauliflower with escabeche


1970 Château Mouton Rothschild. Parker 93. I have had a remarkable number of opportunities to taste this wine. One of the most frustratingly irregular wines I have ever encountered, the 1970 Mouton can range from pure nectar, to a wine that is angular, austere, and frightfully hard and tannic. This bottle (one of the Reserve du Chateau bottlings that was mistakenly released by the estate and labeled with the letters R.C., rather than a number) was impossible to assess when decanted, given its hard, tough, impenetrable style. Nearly eight hours later, the wine had opened magnificently to reveal a classic bouquet of sweet cassis, tobacco, minerals, and exotic spice aromas. Opulent, full-bodied, thick, and juicy, the extraordinary evolution of this particular bottle would make a persuasive argument for long-term decanting. After being perplexed throughout much of this wine’s evolution, I was reassured by this bottle. No doubt Mouton’s high Cabernet Sauvignon content causes this wine to go through a tight, hard, ungenerous stage.


1985 Haut Bailly. Parker 86. There is not a great deal of depth to this Haut Bailly. Nevertheless, it offers charm, finesse, and a sweet black berry/curranty fruitiness. Some of the new oak and smokiness that were present when the wine was young has dissipated to reveal a slight herbaceousness behind the new oak. The wine is medium-bodied, with soft tannin, and some flesh on the attack that quickly narrows out to a lighter style, supple yet unexciting wine.

A lot of people really liked this wine.


Carne Asada – prime marinated skirt steak, guacamole, cebollines, grilled corn.


2001 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras. Parker 88. The beautiful, elegant, seductive 2001 Vacqueyras is a serious effort. Its medium ruby color is followed by distinctive kirsch liqueur notes intermixed with freshly ground pepper, licorice, and strawberries.


2007 Caves Saint-Pierre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Fiacre du Pape. 90 points. Ripe, crushed red berry juice with savory, earthy notes of mushroom and truffle influence. Aromas of blackberry juice, brambly wild berry, oak vanillin, grilled herbs and warm berry tart. Nice texture. A bit tart on the entry with big acid. Richly flavored and hedonistic in style with lush red and black fruit, fresh herbs, a stony minerality and some earthy and dried leaf notes. Suggestions of violet and lavender oil also. Hints of espresso. I could do with a tad less acid, so perhaps added time in the bottle will relax/integrate that.

Pollo en Salsa de Chipotle – Free-range half chicken, chipotle wild mushroom sauce, queso fresco
mashed potatoes.


2001 Domaine de la Solitude Chateauneuf du Pape la Reserve Secrete. Parker 96. Absolutely prodigious, and unquestionably one of the vintage’s most illustrious wines, is the modern-styled 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape La Reserve Secrete. A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, aged 75% in small oak casks and 25% in tank, an awesome nose of creme de cassis, graphite, kirsch, licorice, and vanilla soars from the glass of this saturated ruby/purple-colored wine. With extravagant richness, a sumptuous texture, and tremendous opulence as well as purity, this stunning, modern-styled Chateauneuf du Pape retains the soul and typicity of Provence as well as Chateauneuf du Pape. One of the vintage’s greatest wines, it is a brilliant achievement.


2005 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate. Parker 92. The 2005 Magill Estate Shiraz was barrel-fermented and spent 14 months in French and American oak. It delivers a super-expressive nose of smoked meat, game pencil lead, pepper, blueberry, and blackberry leading to an elegant Shiraz with superb depth and grip. This lengthy effort will provide pleasure through 2020.


Farmers’ Market Enchiladas – Chef Jose’s hand-picked vegetables, yellow mole, queso fresco, nopalitos.


1992 Gaja Langhe Sito Moresco. Still lots of tanic structure.


2010 Tobin James Syrah James Gang Reserve. 2010 Syrah? Eeek gads.


Tacos Carnitas!


Flan. This was a great flan. Ignore the sauce, which might have been Bailieys or something, but the flan was very creamy, a real custard.

Overall, another fabulous night. The food was good, although perhaps a hair uneven, but the wines and company were amazing as always. Service was absolutely first rate. They really took care of us — although next time they need to bring the entrees out one at a time. With wine dinners, multiple courses at once can be overwhelming.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Yarom with owner Jesse Gomez

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Carnitas, Dessert, flan, hedonists, Meat, Mercado, Mexican cuisine, rioja, Wine

Totoraku Double Meat Madness

Oct25

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3, 4]

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

Date: October 22 & 23, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

_

About twice a year my Hedonist group takes over Totoraku. It serves a very refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

Last spring, we took the whole restaurant with 28 people, but the evening was total chaos (albeit fun chaos), and this time we decided to split it into two nights. The first night (which I attended) was 13 people, oriented toward the heavy hitters wine wise, and the second night was about 18-19 with some non drinkers. Still, there were some pretty incredible wines that night too.

Everyone brings a wine vetted by the group and the standard is very high at this event, basically close to 100 points, high pedigree, age, or some combination thereof. As you’ll see, we really tore it up and in terms of scale and wine this was the most epic Hedonist event yet.

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


NV Krug Grande Cuvee. Parker 91-95. The NV Brut Grande Cuvee emerges from the glass with freshly cut flowers, almonds, pastry and spices. This is a relatively floral, bright Grande Cuvee with fewer of the oxidative qualities that are typical of the house style. According to Krug’s ID Code, this bottle is based on the 2004 vintage, which explains the wine’s tense, taut personality. Another year or two on the cork will only help the wine gain expressiveness and depth. Today, the Grande Cuvee is quite reticent and not showing the full breadth of its personality.


1987 Joseph Swan Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Bottled. A bit oxidized. Drinkable, more or less.


1970 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Zinfandel. Surprisingly fresh.


The appetizer plate.


Jellyfish!


Uni risotto balls.


Shrimp with endive and caviar. Little okra’s to the left front of them.


1970 Château Haut-Brion. Parker 85. Although surprisingly light-bodied, consistently pleasant and enjoyable, this is an undistinguished effort. The 1970 Haut-Brion has always come across as angular, and lacking the exceptional perfume and complexity this estate can achieve. In this tasting, the wine displayed vegetal, tobacco scents, good spice, some fruit, and a medium ruby color with significant amber. The tannin and acidity were too high for the amount of fruit, glycerin, and extract. Drink it up.


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


Octopus and tomatoes. And in the front, black sesame tofu.


In the front, mushrooms. In the orange thing, tomato salad.


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


1983 Joseph Phelps Insignia. 94 points. Transparent ruby. Bit of Madeira on an otherwise rich and complex nose. Focused with gorgeous acidity, fruit and length. Another marvelous mature insignia!


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


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

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


From my cellar: 1991 Chapoutier Ermitage le Pavillon. Parker 100. This is a Le Pavilion of mythical proportions. Produced from extremely old vines, some dating from the mid-nineteenth century, with yields averaging under 15 hectoliters per hectare, this is the richest, most concentrated and profound wine made in Hermitage. The 1991 Ermitage Le Pavilion follows the pattern of the 1989 and 1990-it is another perfect wine. The saturated black/purple color is followed by a compelling bouquet of spices, roasted meats, and black and red fruits. Enormously concentrated yet with brilliant focus and delineation to its awesomely endowed personality, this extraordinary wine should age effortlessly for three plus decades. Very powerful and full, yet displaying silky tannin, this is a seamless beauty! Anticipated maturity: 2001-2035.


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


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


1994 Penfolds Grange. Parker 91. This is the first vintage where Grange went to a bottle with laser-etched identification numbers to preclude the possibility of fraudulent bottles. The wine, a blend of 89% Shiraz and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, shows some toasty oak mixed with notes of root vegetables, damp earth, blackberry liqueur, prune, and licorice. The wine is dense, full-bodied, not terribly complex in the mouth, but layered and rich. I would not be surprised to see the rating on this wine improve as this youthful Grange continues to evolve.


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


1993 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 88. The great glories of this house are its Cote Roties, of which there are now five separate offerings. The 1993s, which have just come on the marketplace, are from a troublesome vintage for everyone in Cote Rotie, rivaling 1984 in difficulty. Nevertheless, the single-vineyard wines have turned out well. As for the single vineyard wines, they are all excellent in 1993, but more herbaceous and clearly marked by the green pepper smells of slightly underripe Syrah. The most tannic of the three famous single vineyards is the 1993 Cote Rotie La Landonne. It is amazingly powerful and rich for the vintage, and reveals more fruit and intensity than it did prior to bottling. It exhibits a saturated ruby color, and copious amounts of pepper, tar, olives, licorice, and black cherry fruit in the nose. It remains the most muscular and structured of the three wines, and has managed to avoid the hollowness and vegetal character that plague so many 1993 northern Rhones. This Cote Rotie should age gracefully for a decade or more.


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


Filet on the grill.


1996 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 93-96. The 1996 Cote Rotie La Landonne is a wine with tremendous intensity and tannin, as well as a pronounced roasted herb, smoked meat, and Asian spice-scented nose with tell-tale black fruits, melted tar, and truffle notions in the background. Rich, powerful, and massive, this effort will require 3-4 years of cellaring, and will last for two decades.


The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon. They are served with this spicy sweet miso dip. The vegetables do help to move along the fat and protein heavy meat.


2002 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 94. One of the best wines of the vintage, this is a classic Pauillac that is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot. Dense ruby/purple in color with a glorious nose of melted licorice, lavender, barbecue smoke, black currants, and graphite, the wine is tannic, classically structured with an opaque ruby/purple color, beautiful definition, and a 1996-ish personality. This deep, full-bodied, elegant yet powerful 2002 should age handsomely for over two decades. Some patience will be required since this vintage exhibits more muscle and virility than normal.


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


2004 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto. Parker 96. Giacosa’s 2004 Barolo Falletto is so compelling it will be hard not to drink it in its youth. This gorgeous Barolo reveals a deeply structured frame layered with sweet dark fruit, mint, spice and pine. At once delicate and powerful, it is a beautifully finessed wine that is sure to provide much pleasure. A recent bottle of the 1982 is a testament to the virtues of this great site as interpreted by Bruno Giacosa.


My first time having this dish. Marinated duck.


The duck grilling. This was a lovely addition to the collection of meats.


1992 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 91. Over the next year readers should be on the lookout for some of the 1,000 case production of Don Bryant’s Cabernet Sauvignon from an old vineyard on Pritchard Hill near the Chappellet Vineyard. Bryant’s 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon offers an impressive black/purple color, rusty tannin, immense concentration, full body, and enormous richness in the finish.


Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.


The outside rib eye on the grill.


1999 Greenock Creek Shiraz Roennfeldt Road. Parker 98. There are 236 cases of the 1999 Shiraz Roennfeldt Road (also from 65-year-old vines). Although it pushes ripeness to the limit, it does not reveal any raisiny/pruny characteristics. It offers wonderful freshness, good acidity, superb intensity, and copious quantities of blackberry, cassis, crushed rock, floral, and spicy new oak notes. Massive and concentrated with perfect equilibrium, it can be drunk now and over the next 25 years. Kudos to one of the world’s finest wine producers!


Inside rib eye.


The inside rib eye on the grill.


2002 Marquis Philips Shiraz Integrity. Parker 94-99. Deep garnet-brick colored, the 2002 Integrity is a 100% Shiraz that displays evolved leather and tobacco notes intermingled with some meaty and gamey aromas and nuances of coffee, olives and underbrush. Full bodied, it has a coffee flavors in the mouth, medium levels of velvety tannins, and a medium-high acid backbone. It finishes long with notes of eucalyptus showing through. It is drinking now.


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


And it on the grill.


2009 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Few And Far Between. Parker 94. The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Few and Far Between Vineyard has developed beautifully since I last tasted it from barrel. Mocha, espresso, exotic spices and orange peel all come together in this inviting, multi-dimensional Cabernet Sauvignon. Totally alive in the glass, the wine is constantly changing, and reveals different sides of its personality with each taste. Hints of sweet red berries and cloves add complexity on the long, polished finish.


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


Grilling up the chops.


One hell of a chop.


2009 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon RBS To Kalon Vineyard. Parker 96. The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard comes across as dark, plush and inviting, but with greater inner focus and minerality than some of the other wines here. Graphite, smoke, tar and licorice are some of the notes that wrap around the intense, juicy finish. I especially admire the way the RBS grows in the glass as it turns more explosive over time, yet never loses its more refined shades of expression. The RBS is 100% clone 337 from the B1 and B2 blocks. According to winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, it is the addition of fruit from B2 (new this year) that gives the 2009 much of its personality.


Skirt steak.


And as a final course, the rarely seen but much enjoyed slightly spicy Korean style egg drop soup.


From my cellar: 1990 Chateau d’Yquem. Parker 99. An extraordinary effort, Yquem’s 1990 is a rich and fabulously superb, sweet wine. This wine also possesses lots of elegance and finesse. The wine’s medium gold color is accompanied by an exceptionally sweet nose of honeyed tropical fruits, peaches, coconut, and apricots. High quality, subtle toasty oak is well-integrated. The wine is massive on the palate, with layers of intensely ripe botrytis-tinged, exceptionally sweet fruit. Surprisingly well-integrated acidity, and a seamless, full-bodied power and richness have created a wine of remarkable harmony and purity. Certainly it is one of the richest Yquems I have ever tasted, with 50-100 years of potential longevity. An awesome Yquem!


Toto serves homemade ice creams and sorbets as dessert.

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

Chef/Owner Kaz Oyama on the right. Both parties are partaking of my D’Yquem.

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

This was a spectacular evening — really, truly, deeply epic. It was about 5 hours of mind boggling wines and crazy beef.

The Wines of Night 2

The next day a further 18 or so Hedonists returned for the exact same meal, but as they brought their own wines (ours being liver food at that point), I light them here too. I didn’t catch 100% of the wines. Missing are the 96 Sassicia, 01 Gaja , 97 Solaia and probably more.



1986 Ducru Beaucaillou. Parker 90-92. At 16 years of age, this wine continues to taste more like a 5 to7-year-old Bordeaux. The color is a handsome dark ruby with just a bit of pink at the edge. The wine exhibits sweet red and black currant fruit intermixed with wet stones, spice, and flowers. Medium-bodied and still moderately tannic, but very concentrated, this firmly structured, slightly austere wine has tremendous upside to it. By the way, this was the first vintage where I began to notice on some bottles the wet cement/damp cardboard aromas that were far more increasingly evident in the subsequent vintages, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990. Interestingly, the last five times I have tasted the 1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou, they were totally pristine bottles.


1990 Figeac. Parker 91-94. One of Bordeaux’s most schizophrenic properties, as disappointing as Figeac’s 1989 has turned out, the 1990 is fabulous. This property has not made a wine as rich as the 1990 since 1982. In contrast to the 1989, the 1990 is a great Figeac, potentially a richer, more complete and complex wine than the 1982. The 1990 exhibits a saturated dark purple color (somewhat atypical for Figeac), and a gorgeous nose of olives, fruitcake, jammy black fruits, minerals, and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, with gobs of glycerin-imbued, sweet, jammy fruit, this wine is nicely buttressed by moderate tannin and adequate acidity. Fleshy and rich, as well as elegant and complex, it is approachable because of the wine’s sweet fruit, but it promises even more pleasure with 2-4 more years of bottle age; it will last for 20 years. I predict the 1990 Figeac will have one of the most exotic and compelling aromatic profiles of the 1990s. It is a terrific wine!


1982 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 100. One of the monumental wines of the last century is the 1982 Pichon Lalande. Since bottling, it has flirted with perfection, and was a sprinter out of the gate, which gave rise to questions about how quickly it would begin its decline. However, at age 27, it retains all its glossy, rich, flamboyant cassis fruit, chocolaty, berry jam-like notes, and plenty of earthy, foresty flavors. This is a full-bodied, extravagantly rich Pichon Lalande seemingly devoid of acidity and tannin, but the wine is incredibly well-balanced and pure. It is an amazing effort!


1985 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 90-91. Fully mature, this wine shows some pink at the edge, a sweet nose of herb-tinged cherries and black currants intermixed with dusty notes and new oak. The wine is medium-bodied, elegant, very flattering, and perfumed. It does not have the weight, depth, or dimensions of the top vintages, but is quite seductive.


1982 Certan de May. Parker 92-98. A murky, dense, opaque garnet color is followed by spectacular aromatics of roasted herbs, smoked meats, cedar, prunes, black cherries, and black currants. Rich, powerful, and full-bodied, with a thick, unctuous texture, considerable fat and glycerin, and dazzling concentration, Certan de May has not produced a wine of such intensity, thickness, and aging potential since their 1949, 1948, 1947, and 1945.


1961 Château Brane-Cantenac. RJ Wine 93. This looks fully mature. Initially there are some sandalwood notes on the nose, then some high tones. The palate is open, and nice and clean with some acidity lending a freshness, but nowhere near that of the Giscours. It’s a tiny bit dried out, but there is still some good black fruit in there on the palate. Returning to this later, it was becoming very secondary and faded on both the nose and the palate.


2000 Du Tertre. Parker 91. A dense purple color is followed by layers of concentrated blackberry fruit intertwined with damp earth, mushroom, and sweet, toasty barrique smells. With ripe tannin, medium to full body, a layered texture, and a concentrated, impressively endowed finish, this is the finest Du Tertre since their 1979. This is a property on the move … up!


1995 Chateau Rayas Fonsalette Cotes du Rhone. Parker 90. The 1995 Chateau Fonsalette Cotes du Rhone is a twenty-year wine that requires 4-5 years of cellaring. It exhibits a black/purple color, good acidity and tannin, a closed, dense, moderately tannic personality, exceptional richness, and a powerful, full-bodied finish. Yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare were slightly higher than the 15-20 achieved in 1996. This is a wine for those who cannot find or afford to purchase Rayas.


Grace family Cabernet Sauvignon (can’t read the vintage).


1996 Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite. Parker 99-100. One of the candidates for France’s wine of the vintage is unquestionably Chapoutier’s 1996 Hermitage l’Ermite. In October, 1997 I reported that this was a virtually perfect wine made from a small parcel of vines, believed to be over 100 years old, located close to the tiny white chapel owned by the Jaboulets on the highest part of the Hermitage Hill. Yields were a minuscule 9 hectoliters per hectare. Now that this wine is in bottle, it is unbelievable! Unfortunately, only 30 cases were exported to the United States. The wine boasts a saturated black/purple color, as well as a phenomenal nose of rose petals, violets, blackberries, cassis, and pain grille. In the mouth, it is phenomenally rich, with a viscous texture, and a multidimensional, layered finish that lasts for over a minute. Its purity, perfect equilibrium, and unbelievable volume and richness are the stuff of legends.


2010 Saxum Terry Hoage Vineyard. Parker 94+. Here in its first vintage, the 2010 Terry Hoage Vineyard bursts onto the palate with rich, dark fruit. The weight power and richness of Syrah comes through beautifully in the layered, sumptuous wine. Flowers, licorice, mint, tobacco and grilled herbs wrap around the finish. The 2010 boasts serious density and fabulous overall balance. It is terrific first effort. The blend is 46% Syrah, 33% Grenache and 21% Mourvedre.


1989 Marcel Deiss Riesling Bergheim.


1976 De Suduiraut. Parker 92. For me, the 1976 is the greatest Suduiraut of the seventies, and the only wine other than the 1989 that resembles the magnificent 1959 this property produced. Medium to dark amber/gold, this full-bodied, massive wine has a very intense bouquet of vanillin oak, ripe pineapples, and melted caramel. Very deep and viscous, this is a decadently opulent Suduiraut with enormous presence in the mouth.


Vin Santo Del Chianti. Silvio Nardi.

The madness!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  2. Epic Hedonism at Totoraku
  3. Totoraku – Secret Beef!
  4. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
  5. Hedonists at STK again!
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Chardonnay, Charles Krug Winery, Château Haut-Brion, Dessert, duck, hedonists, Ice cream, Japanese cuisine, Kaz Oyama, lamb, Los Angeles, Totoraku, Wine, Zinfandel
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