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Archive for Foodie Club – Page 10

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

Raw Crab Guts are Yummy

Nov15

Restaurant: Soban

Location: 4001 W Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 936-9106

Date: November 13, 2013

Cuisine: Korean

Rating: The crab is amazing

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A new wine and food friend of mine who happens to be Korean wanted to introduce me to Soban and the wonderful world of Korean raw crab. This popular k-town joint looks much like many others.





The English menu. There is a separate Korean one with no pictures.


2011 Inama Soave Classico Vigneti di Foscarino. Parker 92. Creamy and rich, this is so beautifully expressive and profound. There’s nothing obvious about this remarkable wine. Its aromatic evolution spans from crushed mineral and pencil shaving to lemon curd, vanilla custard and sun-kissed apricot. This is a Soave Classico dressed in its Sunday best. It sees six months of oak, of which 20% is new. Those two-fold veins of acidity and minerality will help it age.

We had to sneak these in tea cups, as alcohol isn’t allowed at Soban.


Like all Korean restaurants they  lay out a spread of sides.


Fresh kimchee.


Marinated garlic.


Eggplant.


Wonderful soft egg custard, much like a savory version of Tamago.


Broccoli.


Seaweed.


Some other kind of green.


Fried tofu with a slightly spicy sesame sauce.


Marinated sprouts.


Another green.


And a final green.


The usual white rice, which I normally wouldn’t picture, but it will become important later.


This is the crab. It’s a Korean species specially flown in, then marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sugar, garlic and ginger for several days. Soban is apparently the only LA place that uses real Korean crab.


The meat is clear and gelatinous, and you suck it right not, almost like squeezing toothpaste from a tube. It has a wonderful subtle briny flavor with more than a hint of ginger. Really quite nice, if a little slimly by the average American textural sensibility.


Then, one can mix some rice in with the row and “crab brain” (guts). This is a wonderful treat. My host actually gave the idea to Yama-san at Yamakase (you can see it here). I happen to love crab guts. Not everyone does, but they have a delightful briny savory quality that blends perfectly with the starchy rice.


Grilled cod. This is a simple fish, but cooked to perfection and complete with a large delicately cooked roe. Yum! In some ways it was like the Korean version of your simple Mediterranean sea bass.


This is a fermented and soy paste stew. It smells rather… fermented (like Nato), but has a complex and interesting taste with more than a little heat.


You can see the Jalepenos.


Spicy mackerel, tofu, and mixed vegetables. This dish had a bit of heat, not overwhelming, but that red Korean kimchee style heat. The mackerel was very flavorful, and not particularly fishy.


Octopus in spicy sauce. The sauce is similar to the mackerel, but they use a Korean species of fresh octopus that is very tender. It was quite nice.

Overall, this was a great little meal, with the crab (and the crab guts on rice) being the real highlight. That’s a very unusual dish and well worth trying if you have the guts! (haha)

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Yamakase – Crab Guts are Yummy!
  2. Sushi Sushi = Yummy Yummy
  3. Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab
  4. Tidewater Crab
  5. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: crab, Foodie Club, Korean cuisine, Korean food, raw crab, Sage Society, Soban, Wine

Uni All the Way Down

Aug26

Restaurant: Kali Dining [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 13488 W Maxella Ave Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Apt #559

Date: August 16, 2013

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Uni Awesome

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Independent chef Kevin Meehan of Kali Dining is a friend of mine from my Hedonist group and even cooked up that same group’s start of summer blast. Kali Dining is his concept for hosted “dinner party,” where you sign up for a special meal and join him at a big communal table in Marina del Rey.


This is about half the table. Finding it is the challenge, as the location is hidden within the gargantuan Stella apartment building right in the center of the Marina. Alcohol is BYOB, which is great by me. The below wines were “paired” and brought by moi and and fellow Foodie Club co-president Erick.


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. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.


These are three main hosts, on the left foreground Keven Meehan, and on the right guest chef Octavio Olivas from the Ceviche Project and on the far left his wife. Kevin has worked in the kitchens of Mirabelle, L’Orangerie, Bastide, Patina, and more, having lead the kitchen at Cafe Pinot for several years.


Octavio serving up some of tonight’s special ingredient.


The them tonight is everyone’s favorite spiny fellow: Uni! This is all fresh from Santa Barbara.


2009 Jean-Max Roger Sancerre Cuvée C.M. A rare artisanal Sancerre from one of its top producers this had a striking minerality and crispness that paired brilliantly with the oysters below.


Oysters with champagne mignonette, uni, and caviar. Really fantastic, three kinds of briny notes that balanced perfectly.


Baby heirloom salad with burrata.


2006 Cantine Lento Lamezia Greco. Another unusual white I thought would go well with Uni. This Southern Italian had a strong oxidized quality, but still plenty of fruit. Really quite nice.


Hamachi cerviche with uni. Leche con tigre, corn nuts, bits of seaweed, tomato, and a slice of orange. The leche was much more subdued here than in typical preparations and that actually allowed us to taste the subtlety of the hamachi and uni. Really nice blend.


An uni free version.


A very nice bit of rosemary bread.


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.


Uni risotto with pork rinds and a bit of pesto. Yum! This was a fabulous rice full of richness and flavor. The pork rinds also gave it a bit of crunch which was spectacular.


A different, vegetarian, version.


1993 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot. Burghound 93. This has finally reached its full maturity with an earthy and beautifully complex nose that is backed by big¡ dense and very intense flavors that possess solid underlying material all underpinned by largely if not completely resolved dusty tannins and a long finish that offers excellent richness. This has only just reached its maturity and there would be no risk in allowing this to age for up to another decade as it will last for a lot longer than that. Multiple¡ and largely consistent¡ notes.


Top end blue fin tuna with pesto, onion, and potato. My wife declared this one of the best tunas she has ever had.


1996 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. IWC 89-92. Deep ruby-red. Spicy aromas of cassis, black plum, black cherry, roasted nuts and shoe polish. Fat and sweet, with good depth of flavor and harmonious acidity. Thick but ripe tannins coat the tongue.


Beef rib eye cap with uni hollandaise, potato, onion, pesto, and squid ink onion marmalade. The combo of the beef, marmalade, and uni sauce was spectacular. Possibly the pesto was superfluous, but it was a lovely dish.


2009 Castello Ducale Falanghina. Another coastal seafood Italian. Crisp and fresh with a bit of sapidity.


Uni, avocado mousse, cookie crisps, and I can’t remember what the white thing was. Good, but the weakest of the dishes. Probably uni isn’t really made for desserts. Haha.


The uni free version.


This was the wine damage.

Overall, a lovely dinner. This is a fun format allowing for lots of conversation. The food was fantastic, as I’ve come to expect from chef Meehan, with each dish flavorful and well balanced. I love the freedom to pair wines ahead of time too. Great fun.

For more Foodie Club meals click here.

For more LA reviews click here.


The view out the apartment window.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Chanukah in Style
  2. Yamakase – Crab Guts are Yummy!
  3. Yamakase – Burghound Bday
  4. More Michelin at Melisse
  5. Summertime Peak
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOB, Dessert, Foodie Club, Hamachi, Kali Dining, Marina del Rey, Santa Barbara, Uni

More Mori Sushi

Jul15

Restaurant: Mori Sushi [1, 2]

Location: 11500 west pico blvd. los angeles, california, 90064. 310-479-3939

Date: June 25, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: One of LA’s best traditional sushi restaurants

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There is always considerable date as to which of LA’s many great sushi bars are the best — and it’s a fairly subjective question — but there is no doubt that Mori Sushi is often on the short list.


The owner in the foreground, Chef Masanori “Maru” Nagano who bought the restaurant from his former boss, Morihiro Onodera back in 2011.


Our main chef of the evening.


The bright interior.


NV Agrapart & Fils Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Terroirs. Parker 92. Agrapart’s NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Terroirs is another fabulous wine. Here it is the combination of tension and weightlessness that is especially appealing. Sweet floral notes and a suggestion of mint meld into white orchard fruit in this effortless, totally gracious wine. All the elements meld together on the seamless, crystalline finish. The Terroirs is a blend of fruit sourced from Avize, Oger, Cramant and Oiry, equal parts 2007 and 2008 vintages. This release was aged partly in 600-liter barrels. Dosage was 5 grams per liter.


Homemade Tofu with wasabi and special homemade soy sauce. This is my favorite kind of tofu, the silky soft kind. It has a very soft texture and seductive subtle flavor.


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. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.


Our first round appetizer plate.


A sweet marinated fish. Really tasty. The bones are so soft you just crunch them up.


Skewers of abalone with yuzu. The green behind is a special farmer’s market spinach that is chewy.


On the left eggplant with bonito flakes. On the right, Conger eel roy in a gelatinous cube (be afraid!) made from conger eel bones!


Left to right: some kind of row balls from a fish. Farmer’s market tomato, okra, and kumquat.


Conch boiled in dashi and shell with shitake mushroom quail egg.


Here you can better see the meat itself. One drinks the tasty broth afterward.


Santa barbara spot prawn, santa barbara uni. Charred flavors contrast beautifully with sweetness.


And who is this?


Die lobster, die!


2007 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 96. Seemingly like all of Boillot’s wines in this vintage, a strikingly pure nose of green apple, white flower and spice aromas complements perfectly the delicious, intense and stony flavors that are among the ripest in the range yet remain wonderfully vibrant and gorgeously detailed on the taut, transparent and bone dry finish that bathes the palate in dry extract. This is beautifully balanced and among the best wines of the vintage from Corton. In a word, brilliant.


The sashimi plate. In the back is the spiny lobster tail drizzled with lobster gut sauce. In the middle special Hokkaido scallop. In the front, tuna, and baby barracuda sashimi. The last had a bit of a sweet charred flavor.


Yummy, lobster guts!


1996 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 90. Airy, pure, elegant and extremely expressive as the aromas just float from the glass with rose petal and assorted floral notes. The mineral-infused, racy and finely delineated flavors are nuanced and textured though the backend has a somewhat dry and edgy quality to it that is highlighted by the racy finishing acidity.


Traditional grilled river fish and in the front a shiso sandwich filled with fish meat. To the right is sauced daikon radish and pickles.


This I’ve never had. The fish is a deep deep sea fish, with the lantern and big eyes! To the left is shiso pepper and on the right abalone tempura.


Guess who comes back for round 2? Mr. Lobster head, this time boiled up in some lobster miso soup (which was fantastic).


1996 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux. Burghound 91. Still quite deeply colored. A perfumed nose that is now in a transition phase from primary to secondary aromas is given added nuance by the presence of earth¡ subtle spice notes and a smoky quality that is also picked up by the fresh¡ bright and energetic medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent detail and obvious minerality on the ever-so-slightly dry finish where the dryness does not seem to compromise the length as this is seriously persistent. The structural elements of acidity and tannins are still quite firm though not aggressive and this should continue to successfully age over the next 25 to 30 years as the balance is almost perfect. Tasted several times over the last few years with consistent notes save for one disjointed bottle that seemed unduly dried out.


This may have been Tai (Red Snapper).


Cuttlefish. Creamy with a bit of chewiness. There was shiso underneath which I love.


Wild yellowtail (seki buri).


I think this was Aji (Spanish Mackerel).


Chu-toro. Delicious.


O-toro, even richer.


Japanese Mackerel (Saba). A little fishier than some of the other fish, but firm and delicious.


Geoduck clam (Mirugai). Not always my favorite, but in this case tender and delicious.


Ikura (salmon roe). Incredibly sweet.


2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale. Burghound 91. In contrast to the expressiveness of the first two ’05s, here there is a completely different aromatic profile and one that is brooding with more deeply pitched and quite ripe blue and violet aromas combining with pungent earth and game hints that continue onto the sweet, rich and sappy flavors wrapped around a firm tannic spine. This is impressive as it is clearly Nuits in character yet with refined and sophisticated structural elements. Also recommended.


Lightly grilled albacore? I can’t remember.


Santa Barbara Uni. Super sweet.


Hokkaido Uni. More of a brine note.


Sea eel (Anago). Really soft and fabulous. The sauce is reduced from eel bones.


Hokkaido scallop sushi.


Sweep shrimp sushi.

Chef/Owner Sal Marino of Il Grano (a fabulous nearby Italian – one of the best Italians in the city) joined us about halfway through the meal and partook in our libations.


A number of different roles. Some have shiso leaf, some various pickles, some tamago. Really yummy and refreshing.


1995 Philippe Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines. Parker 90-94. A few wine writers have recently written that some producers in Burgundy are making Pinot Noir that resembles Syrah. My impression is that highly extracted, late-picked, and lavishly oaked Pinot Noir does in fact show traits of Syrah in its youth. Both varietals have a tendency to contain high acid levels (relative to Merlot and Cabernet) and often exhibit berry fruit characteristics. Philippe Leclerc’s dynamite Gevrey-Chambertin Combe Aux Moines certainly could be confused with a northern Rhone wine during its early stage of development. Readers who love Cote Rotie and Hermitage will adore it. Dark-colored, almost black, and revealing an awesomely dense, ripe, deep, nose of cassis, mocha, spices and oak, this monster of a wine explodes in the mouth with rich, layered, roasted black fruits. Full-bodied and thick, with a hard tannic backbone, it indeed reminds me more of a young Syrah (but without the typical raspberry and red currant notes) than what I generally taste in Burgundy.


All four red burgs lined up for tasting.


Two kinds of homemade ice cream. On the left, soy sauce ice cream, on the right tofu ice cream. Both were fabulous.


Hojicha (roasted green tea) to finish.

Overall, this was some really stellar traditional Sushi. Both the fish itself and all the starters were fantastic. Mori sushi sticks fairly closely to traditional Japanese techniques and flavors. It doesn’t jazz things up with too many vinegars and crazy sauces, but uses first rate ingredients that emphasize the purity of the flavors: very Japanese.

The produce mostly comes from the farmer’s markets. He makes his own tofu and soy sauce and I believe, even the rice, which is specially sourced from some special rice farm. All in all, really fabulous.

For more Foodie Club meals click here.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Mori Sushi – A Top Contender
  2. Sushi Sushi – Small Omakase
  3. Food as Art – Sushi Sushi
  4. Sushi Zo
  5. Go Go Go Sushi!
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Lobster, Masanori "Maru" Nagano, Mori Sushi, Sushi, Tofu

Summertime Peak

Jun21

Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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

Date: June 14, 2013

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

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For the middle Hedonist dinner of the year, we 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) and this event has several 100 point blow out wines.


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.


It’s located in the middle of gorgeous Malibu Canyon.


Which on a lovely summer night is pretty incredible.


We dine al fresco in the summer (except last year when it rained in July!). The menu can be found here.


2000 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année. Burghound 92. Not surprisingly, this resembles the 1999 except that it’s less expressive with developing aromas of floral, lemon and brioche that complements well the pure and detailed flavors that are less concentrated than its older brother but just as long. I like the elegance and finesse but wish it had just a bit more mid-palate density.


Pretzel bread.


2010 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. Burghound 93. A wonderfully elegant and highly expressive nose consists of white flower, oyster shell and iodine aromas that are very much in keeping with the powerful yet refined broad-scaled flavors that possess both excellent volume and concentration, all wrapped in an explosive and gorgeously long finish. The combination of punch and civility is most beguiling.


Mushroom cappuccino.


2010 Domaine Dublère Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 92-94. Yet again the recent sulfur additions render the nose impossible to fairly evaluate though the underlying fruit appears notably ripe. This sense of ripeness is confirmed by the rich and phenolically mature moderately-scaled and mineral-driven flavors that conclude in an explosive and almost painfully intense finish. By the standards of the appellation, this is not really a big wine though it is impeccably well-balanced which will permit it to amply reward up to a decade of cellar time.


A bit of salmon on blini with creme fraiche and caviar.


1996 Bouchard Père et Fils Bonnes Mares. 94 points. Deep ruby, bright and vibrant. A rich, fruity and slightly oaky nose. Lighter on the palate; red fruit with good minerality and finishing with good acidity – quite 96. Starting to show some signs ofdevelopment on the palate, with air, but still quite tight. A lighter, seemingly higher acidity take cf the denser fleshier Jadot version, silk v velvet. GC weight with the structure more acidity than tannin driven I think. Decent but come back in five years for some secondary development.


Mix beets salad, rye crisps pistachio puree, blood orange and shaved fennel.


2001 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin. Burghound 92. A moderately pitched nose that exhibits only traces of secondary nuances also features notes of cool red berry fruit¡ earth and a hint of the classic Mazis sauvage character that continues onto the delicious¡ well-detailed and intense middle weight flavors that exude a fine minerality on the mildly austere but not dry finish. There is a bit of unabsorbed wood that is present on the finish though it’s not enough to really detract from the overall sense of harmony. While this could easily be enjoyed now¡ for my taste there is just enough unresolved structure to warrant allowing this to continue to age for another 5 or so years.

Mix beets salad with basil whipped burrata cheese, rye crisps pistachio puree, blood orange and shaved fennel.


1969 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Etiqueta Blanca. This older Rioja wasn’t drinking perfectly, but it was soft and interesting.


Caesar Salad with garlic croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano.


1978 Rioja Bosconia Cosecha. Also interesting.

Golden corn soup with truffle foam, pea forchette, pecorino, prosciutto chip and potato croutons.


1984 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 90. This wine has consistently been a crowd pleaser, with its impressive dark color, rich, jammy, cedary, licorice, chocolatey, cassis, and olive-like aromas and flavors, and full-bodied, unctuously-textured style. It is a big, chewy, flashy, oaky style of Cabernet. Although fully mature, there are no signs of decline.

Maine lobster salad poached in orange buerre blanc with miso carrot, hazelnut sabayon, teeny carrots, radish,
turnips, ginger vinaigrette and espelette wontons.


1964 Château Belgrave. 97 ponts. This older Bordeaux was drinking fabulously. Having lost all sour and bitter notes it just had that nice soft old wine thing going.

Bosc pear salad with red oak and baby gem lettuce, Laurel Chenel goat cheese, shaved red onion, toasted walnuts, blueberry and fig vinaigrette.


1968 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon. Also in great shape.

Ahi tuna sashimi with Hawaiian papaya, cilantro, red onion, Hawaiian papaya, avocado, orange-ginger and pea tendrils.


1989 La Fleur de Gay. Parker 95. Possibly the finest Fleur de Gay made, this rich, very large-scaled, tannic wine has a compelling nose of cassis, licorice, white flowers, minerals, and other sorts of black fruits along with some subtle new oak. Full-bodied, with great delineation, purity, and dazzling concentration and intensity, this is a fabulous example of a Fleur de Gay and a wine that seems capable of lasting at least another two decades.

Seared venison Carpaccio with horseradish aioli, avocado mousse, herb vinaigrette, parmesan crisps, mizuna,
fried capers, tomato seeds and grilled ciabbata bread.

Wild mushroom agnolotti glazed in truffle buerre monté, with sautéed Shimeji mushrooms and parmesan foam.


1990 De Suduiraut. Parker 88. The evolved, medium gold color of the 1990 is prematurely advanced, raising questions about future longevity. It possesses plenty of intensity, and an unctuous, thick, juicy style, but high alcohol and coarseness kept my rating down. There is bitterness as well as fiery alcohol in the finish. The wine does not offer much delineation, so cellaring should prove beneficial as it does have admirable levels of extract. Suduiraut can make powerful, rich wines that are often rustic and excessively alcoholic and hot when young. I am told they become more civilized with age, and certainly older, classic Suduiraut vintages have proven that to be true. I feel this estate’s propensity to produce a luxury cuvee (Cuvee Madame) in vintages such as 1989 tends to have a negative impact on the regular cuvee.


Fatted liver of a certain fowl, rumored to be on the endangered list. With brioche and black cherry reduction. Yum!


1989 Lynch Bages. Parker 99+. The 1989 has taken forever to shed its formidable tannins, but what a great vintage of Lynch Bages! I would rank it at the top of the pyramid although the 1990, 2000, and down the road, some of the more recent vintages such as 2005, 2009 and 2010 should come close to matching the 1989’s extraordinary concentration and undeniable aging potential. Its dense purple color reveals a slight lightening at the edge and the stunning bouquet offers classic notes of creme de cassis, subtle smoke, oak and graphite. Powerful and rich with some tannins still to shed at age 22, it is still a young adolescent in terms of its evolution and will benefit from another 4-5 years of cellaring. It should prove to be a 50 year wine.

Wild Game Trio – the Chef’s sampling of three different game meats with individual accompaniments. There is Elk (in the front?).


And in the back buffalo short ribs and some other game.


Just a few game plates!


1988 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 100. An opaque purple color and a closed but exciting nose of truffles, minerals, Asian spices, and fruitcake. When the wine hits the mouth with its enormous weight and extraction of flavor, one can’t help but be seduced by such enormous richness and purity. Nevertheless, there is still a remarkably high level of tannin (sweet rather than astringent), a youthful, unevolved fruit character, and flavors that stain the palate. After tasting this wine, one feels like brushing one’s teeth … it is that rich.


Duck with morel mushroom sauce.


1999 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 96. The recently released 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin is closed and less expressive than the 2000, and perhaps more elegant and less weighty. Nevertheless, it is an enormously endowed effort revealing notes of licorice, blackberry and cherry fruit, melted asphalt, tapenade, truffles, and smoke. Chewy, with more minerality than most vintages of this wine possess, it requires a minimum of 6-8 years of cellaring. It should last 35-40 years.

Pan roasted Skuna Bay salmon with roasted baby beets, shaved fennel, glazed cauliflower, purple kale, heirloom cherry tomatoes and puffed salmon skin.


2000 Stonyridge Vineyard Waiheke Island. A new world Bordeaux blend.


Mash potatoes.


2007 Colgin IX Proprietary Red Estate. Parker 100. The staggeringly rich, complex, harmonious, impeccably well-balanced 2007 IX Proprietary Red Estate (1,400 case produced) exhibits aromas of spring flowers, cedarwood, Asian spices, licorice, blueberries, and blackberries. A distinct liqueur of minerals buttresses the full-bodied, massive concentration, giving an overall impression of elegance, purity, and harmony. This is another seamless tour de force in winemaking.


Mac & Cheese.

2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 99. The sensational, prodigious 2001 Insignia Proprietary Red Wine (89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec) has never performed better. Still extremely youthful with a dense purple color as well as a beautiful bouquet of cedar, charcoal, incense, creme de cassis and black cherry jam, fabulous intensity, a multidimensional mouthfeel and a skyscraper-like texture, it is a Napa classic that is still very youthful and belies its age of ten years. Like its stablemate, it should age impeccably for 35 or more years. Kudos to Joseph Phelps Vineyards!


Sweet potato fries.


2005 Larcis-Ducasse. Parker 98. This great terroir on the Cote Pavie has long been recognized as one of the most privileged spots in St.-Emilion, but it was not until the wunderkind duo of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt took over in 2002 that the wine finally began to live up to its potential. Old timers who remember the 1945 Larcis Ducasse will attest to how great this cuvee can be. Sadly, fewer than 3,000 cases were produced of the 2005, a blend of 78% Merlot and the rest primarily Cabernet Franc with a small dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields were a modest 27 hectoliters per hectare. This stunning effort reveals one of the most extraordinary aromatic displays of the vintage, offering up notes of sweet roasted herbs, jus du viande, black olives, espresso roast, creme de cassis, and kirsch liqueur. Extremely full-bodied, opulent, and lavishly textured with plush tannin as well as an ethereal elegance, a sublime personality, glorious sweet purity, and a layered texture, this amazing St.-Emilion is destined to become a legend.


Asparagus.

2010 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese. Parker 95. Representing a late picking incorporating considerable late-botrytis shriveling, the Schaefer 2010 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese A.P. #10 delivers effusively scented and lusciously mouth-filling pink grapefruit, purple plum, pear, and apple allied to the sort of deep nuttiness of cashew and pistachio that so frequently characterize this site at its best. A lip-smackingly, saliva-inducingly saline and scallop-like savor render the urge to take the next sip irresistible, and peat-like smoky inflections contribute botrytis-induced intrigue. The combination of richness and exuberance; density with refreshment; subtly oily texture yet transparency to minerality render this profound Auslese unforgettably distinctive and worth following for four decades.


Apple cinnamon bread pudding served with salted caramel ice cream.

Bittersweet chocolate crémeux with oak barrel ice cream, Devil’s food cake, and mango baked kataifi.

Daily selection of house-made sorbets served on ice. Blackberry, mango, and raspberry.

Caramelized white chocolate pot de crème with blackberries, white chocolate pistachio fudge and pistachio sorbet.


Farmer’s market caramelized pear beignets with crème anglaise.

Chocolate molten whiskey cake with Guinness ice cream and Bailey’s whipped cream.

Yuzu meringue tart with graham cracker, raspberry sorbet and crispy raspberry meringue.


A lineup of just some (but not nearly all) of the bottles!


Yarom and one of our wonderful servers.

This was a total blow out event. The food was impeccable and the service fantastic. Plus we had a really great mix of people and some of the most awesome wines. The vibe outside on the lovely warm Malibu evening was perfect too.

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,
Or for Hedonist extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists climb the Peak
  2. Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge
  3. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
  4. Hedonists at STK again!
  5. Never Boaring – Il Grano
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Allen Meadows, Corton-Charlemagne, Dessert, Foodie Club, game meat, hedonists, Malibu, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Yamakase – Burghound Bday

Jun17

Restaurant: Yamakase [1, 2]

Location: You wish you knew!

Date: June 11, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese

Rating: Even better than last time!

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For my birthday I like to do a big wine and food blow-out with the Foodie Club. 2010 was in Spain at Calima, 2011 in Italy at Arnolfo, and 2012 was at Il Grano (spectacular) and this year, after an epic first meal at Japanese newcomer Yamakase, I decided to take over the entire restaurant: all 11 seats!


This is the kitchen. Well it’s also half the room.


And the other half. Actually, this doesn’t really show the seats itself (narrow lens) but it ain’t big.

And what would an Andy Gavin birthday be without great wines? I don’t know, because it never happens. All of the wines tonight came from my cellar except for the 1999 Grivot (which Erick brought). All except the dessert wine are Burgundies — because I love Burgundy! We begin with a couple of old white Burgs. These are Chardonnay, but not just any Chard. White Burg is the ancestral home of the grape, the only place that does it real justice, and the more or less the only place where it ages well.

1985 Bouchard Père et Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. In great shape, honeysuckle and creme brûlée.


Yamakase is the brainchild of chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto and video game executive Stan Liu. Here Yama-san carves up some pig leg.


Jamón Ibérico with Caviar. I’ve had a close cousin of this dish several times at various Jose Andres restaurants. This was nice thick cuts of the ham in Spanish style. On the right is a bit of cucumber and uni (sea urchin) from Hokkaido.


Fresh sea scallop in a sweetened soy dashi with seaweed.


A fish version of the same dish.


“Spoons” are a Yama signature. These feature soft tofu with uni in the back and in the front as “caprese” with tomato and olive oil. This east/west combo is surprisingly delicious.


1989 Hospices de Beaune Meursault 1er Cru Charmes Cuvée Bahèzre de Lanlay. 94 points. Darkening toward amber. Opulent nose, butterscotch, mango, and wheat coming and going. Very rich with a penetrating intensity and a finish of near grand cru length. Probably at peak.


Halibut sashimi with 500 million year old Himalayan sea salt. The back bits are cut in the “thicker” style with a bit of a sweet sauce.


Super rare young yellowtail with a mixture of crab guts (kani miso). The gut sauce was amazing!


Without the guts.


2001 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 90-92. The aromas are riper than the 2000 version though with a similar mix of green apple, melon and muscat notes followed by extremely fresh and wonderfully pure chardonnay fruit suffused through and through by an intense stoniness followed by relatively big and still quite tight middle weight, taut, muscular flavors of considerable tension and breed. This is a stunning effort for the vintage and may ultimately equal the excellent 2000.


This hairy crab from Hokkaido was still alive when we arrived.


Not so much half an hour later.


Served up steamed, simple, but delicious.


Bonito tuna sashimi with olive oil and sauce.


1996 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts. 90 points. The nose is this gorgeous baking spice with fresh strawberries and white pepper. The moment you pour it into the glass it just explodes. The nose just kept going for hours as it got more and more expressive as the depth of the fruit built. On the palate you get that soft texture with concentrated dense red fruit and this wonderful minerality that persists throughout the finish. The broad structure makes me think the wine will fill out even more over time.


Another fish in a mayo / roe sauce.


Red snapper with yuzu and lemon.


1999 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. Burghound 90. This is a very powerful wine if not necessarily an elegant one with plenty of Vosne spice and rugged, structured, dense and punchy flavors that display solid length. The tannins are ripe and this will clearly take its time coming together but it’s a powerful and serious blessed with excellent underlying material.


Rare seasonal sea eel. Because of the bones yama-san cuts them in a special way with his sword of a knife.


They are boiled simply.


Then served with three different sauces: eel sauce, honey, and a plum sauce. Really delicate and delicious.


Atlantic salmon (some special northern Salmon) served with olive oil, another sauce, and salt and pepper.


1999 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques. Burghound 91-93. Roasted ripe fruit that has a mix of red and black fruits, especially black cherry with wonderfully spicy, complex flavors that are both rich and dense. This is very ripe but the acidity is more pronounced which does a better job of balancing off the richness. Clos St. Jacques is almost always the finest Gevrey 1er chez Jadot and 99 is no exception. Grand cruquality and because of the richness, this will be approachable young but drink well for a long time.


Another round of spoons. In the back, kushi oyster with blue crab salad and quail egg. In the front, oyster with uni and quail egg.


Yama lays out the ramekins to make his signature seafood custards.


Chawanmushi, a egg custard. This one was very hot (it usually is) and included 7 kinds of seafood. Various crab, fish, lobster, uni. It was delicious, rich, and very unami.


1996 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Charmes Chambertin. Parker 92. This medium-to-dark ruby-colored wine has a fine nose of deeply ripe blackberry and cassis. On the palate, this well-concentrated, thick, complex, and harmonious wine is replete with loads of black cherries and spices. It has extremely ripe and supple tannins in its long finish.


This is a giant slab of amazing Spanish blue-fin tuna.


Watching him cut and partition it into “tuna” and “toro” sections was really interesting. Everything that doesn’t make the “cut” is tossed.


Blue fin in soy sauce with pine-nuts. Incredible, like the best Poki you ever tasted.


Another spoon, with toro, quail egg, wasabi, and some sauce. Delicious!


Boiled monk fish liver.


Served up with chives and a ponzu. Almost certainly the best akimono I ever had.


A “toast” of frozen toro, blue crab, egg, and brioche. Very interesting flavor/texture/temperature combo.


1999 Louis Jadot Echezeaux. 95 points. Wine had a beautiful, intense aroma of bark, tar and musty dark fruits. On the palatte, lots of dark fruits–blackberries, black cherries and cassis. Lots of forest floor hints, and great minerality. If I had one complaint, albeit a very minor one, this wine lacked ever-so-slightly in elegance–I guess there’s the difference between this one and a Grand Echezeaux. The wine was medium to full bodied, showing wonderfully with still a bit of soft tannins on exhibit. I think this wine is in a great spot right now. As I always say, there’s no better wine than a fine burgundy–this and the Echezeau are prime examples. An extremely enjoyable wine!


A bit of genuine Japanese wagyu beef. No fat here.


Salted and peppered.


The chef makes a simple sauce of dashi, mushrooms, maui onions, flour, and a few other things for the beef.


This variant is salmon instead.


A fantastic simple piece of blue-fin tuna (Maguro).


Young yellowtail.


Mackerel?


Amazing salmon with salt.


And the best for last: toro! Melts in your mouth.


2002 Château Climens. Parker 93-94. I suspect most readers will find it hard to get excited about the 2002 vintage for the sweet wines of Barsac and Sauternes after what appears to be a prodigious 2001. However, 2002 is a very fine year for this region, possibly superior to any of the vintages between 2000 and 1991. The wines possess plenty of botrytis, but neither the impressive definition nor supreme elegance of the 2001s. This is a sweet, full-bodied, fat, concentrated, intense effort that was showing well.


A “rice course” with rice, toro, wasabi, and uni (from San Diego). Lots of uni!


A dessert sorbet. Baby Japanese peach (in season) with yuzu and mint. Very light and refreshing.

This was one of my best meals in a long time — really quite excellent — and regular readers know I have more than my share of great meals. We had fantastic wines, stunning and innovative food, and a really great format. The restaurant is only 11 seats. This made for a really fun time (and I even staved off the hangover with a milk-thistle, B6, and a lot of water).

Click here for more LA sushi reviews,
Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.

A Burghound Birthday!

The one and only (and very attentive) server

Related posts:

  1. Yamakase – Crab Guts are Yummy!
  2. Sasabune – Dueling Omakases
  3. Food as Art: Sasabune
  4. Go Go Go Sushi!
  5. Sushi Sushi Sushi
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bâtard-Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, Foodie Club, Jamón Ibérico, Japanese cuisine, Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, Meursault, Stan Liu, Sushi, The Hump, Uni, Wine, Yamakase

IO by Playground

Jun14

Restaurant: Playground [1, 2]

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

Date: June 9, 2013

Cuisine: Modern

Rating: Amazing experience!

_

At the last minute Foodie Club partner in crime Erick invited me down to the O.C. to join him at this unusual 28 course popup meal. Chef Jason Quinn puts on a kind of culinary theatre, in the vein of Jose Andres’ E, but more dynamic and changing up with much greater frequency.


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


And the special room where the Invitation Only dinners occur is around the corner. It seats 17 and is prepaid, including both the food and drink.


Our host for the evening. Not only is Chef Jason Quinn amazing with the knife, skillet, and Paco, but he’s quite the charming host as well.


The rest of the talented staff.


The meal was accompanied by amusing photos on the adjacent TV.

Tonight’s theme was “I’ve Got  Friends in Low Places” and every dish features plebeian vegetable ingredients. The staff manages to make the flavors anything but low.


Epic first bite of meat. Stuff Savoy cabbage, Iberico de bellota collar, and foie gras filling, port caramelized shallots, potato puree.

Like grandma’s stuffed derma — but not!


The staff prepares a magic potion.


Nitro cactus pear margarita. Siete Leguas Blanco Tequilla, Cointreau, Lime, Cactus pear simple. Delicious.


Heart of Palm Cerviche. Grapefruit, avo, orange, jalapeño, tortilla.


And a close up. Very bright fresh flavors.


Shaved Jicama. Fish sauce, palm sugar, crispy shallots, lime, serrano aioli. Refreshing.


We love California Avocados. Friend balled avo, corn nuts, lime-jalapeño-avo mouse, tomato caviar, cilantro. Like a crunchy guacamole.


Aji Amarillo Tiradito. Baby Japanese Amberjack. Could be from Nobu.


Grilled Sweet Potato. Chile marshmallow, lime zest, pecan. Sweet and delicious, like a potato smore.


Burnt Maui Onion. King Salmon, ponzu.


Black Garlic: Better than the original. Baby amberjack belly.


Cava Sangria. Cava, white wine, garden vodka, green apple, watermelon.


Sauce for the upcoming “wrap.”


Toppings: onion, scallion, cilantro, peanut.


Kimchi sauce.


Wagyu skirt steak!


Butter lettuce wrap. Akaushi hanger steak, kimchi, ginger, scallion, peanut. Yum!


White asparagus. Chorizo vin, marcona almond ice cream. The mixture of the melted ice cream and chorizo was incredible — a bit like a bacony clam chowder.


Beer in one of those Spanish stunt carafes.


Our chef demos the “go for it” principle.


Grilling.


Grilled scallions and romesco. Surprisingly delicious!


Piquillo pepper. Idiazabal, Pedro ximenez.


2010 Vittoria Bera, Arnese and other Italian white blend. A very unusual Pedmontese wine.


Raw Zucchini Explosion. Different textures and subtle nuances ala Ryan Carson.


Milk skin caprese. Heirloom tomatoes, maldon, herb lemon vin. The Burrata-like stuff is actually thickened up milk skin. It pretty much tasted like Burrata.


Fish in the works.


The power of lemon and olive oil. Atlantic Black Sea Bass. Simply (but deliciously) grilled.


Grilled cauliflower steaks. Sultana, almond, caper relish, cauliflower puree, cauliflower cous cous.


A Nice Chianti. 2010 Paterna Chianti Collie Aretini.


Hannibal Special. Fava beans and liver. Frisee, croutons, lemon, bacon. No humans were killed making this dish.


Potato & Porcini Risotto. The chef was quick to point out that Risotto is a technique, and doesn’t technically require rice, just starch. This dish proved it, because it tasted 110% like Risotto.


Braised artichoke and mushroom ragu. Creamy polenta board, San Marzano. This veggie dish tasted like osso-bucco with polenta. It was served artfully on a pizza peel!


Grilled sweet onion steak. BBQ glaze, friend onion strings. Like a Southwestern style burger — without the burger.


Pickled beet. Caviar ranch dressing a la Richard Blais. Pretty delicious.


Craftsman Persimmon Sour beer.


Carrots more ways than we can count. fritters, puree, pickles, tartare.


Corn blast your face off. Bread, raw, roasted, pudding, Jalapeño.


Batasiolo Barolo Chinato. One of those unusual Nebbiolo wines mixed with various herbs!


Coconut cheese. This cheese was made entirely from coconut milk — and it tasted like real cheese (with a hint of coconut).


Beet cheesecake amuse. Salt roasted beet slice, quenelle of cream cheese curd, sweet vinaigrette. One delicious bite!


Carrot-ginger. Carrot-ginger marshmallow sorbet. Also create, with intense carrot flavor and a zesty lemon cake below.


Chocolate & Coffee. Chocolate ganache, coffee ice cream, choc-almond soil, olive oil.


Lemon & fennel. Lemon Mousse, dehydrated lemon meringue, pickled baby fennel.


From my cellar: 1999 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 90-94. Quite dense and rich though without quite the same serious structure as the Bonne Mares, which is more tannic still. Beautiful black fruit aromatics with rich, relatively forward flavors that are not especially dense but offer an amazing range of earth nuances. While this is hardly shy, it is nevertheless not a powerful wine but rather one built along the lines of a classy middleweight.

This wine needed serious more time. Like a decade. I’ll be saving the rest for a while — although the nose was amazing.

Overall, IO by Playground is a fantastical fantasy of a place. There is really a tremendous energy and culinary enthusiasm here on part of the Chef and all his staff. Nearly every dish was delicacies, even though most were composed of ingredients I’d rarely crow about. It’s modernist, and at the same time borrows from traditional Spanish, Mexican, American, Italian, and Japanese roots. And besides, it’s highly irreverent and all good fun.

I’ll be back.

For more crazy Foodie Club dinners, click here, or

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

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  5. BarAcuda Kaua’i
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, Foodie Club, Invitation Only, IO, Playground, pop-up, Santa Ana, Santa Ana California, Wine

Simon Says Melisse

Apr30

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

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

Date: April 10, 2013

Cuisine: California French

Rating: Awesome in all ways

 

Melisse is a real standout in LA for many reasons. It’s almost the last of the European style haut cuisine restaurants and it maintains an ever evolving cuisine at the highest level. Food, presentation, and service here are all top notch.

Tonight, my third trip to Melisse in 6 weeks, was for founding Foodie Club member Simon’s birthday celebration.

We settled on the “10” a good sized tasting menu, but not quite as crazy as the carte blanche (my usual favorite).


Melisse has one of those corkage setups where they’ll waive corkage on (up to 2) bottles if you order off the list, so we started with this recommend from Master Somm Brian.

2011 Domaine du Gros’ Noré Bandol Rosé. This was a lovely bottle. Nice fruit and acidity and very refined. It doesn’t achieve the ethereal qualities or elegance of Tempier, but it is very good in its own right.


The first amuse is a Melisse staple. Grapes two ways. Out of the spoon are half grapes coated in goat cheese and pistachio. On the spoon sphereized grapes dusted with pistachio. The first has a nice contrast of the sharp cheese and the fruit, the second is an explosion of grapeness.

And the bread arrives. I went for a piece of bacon, and a  basil brioche.


Wild new Zealand Tai Snapper. Chrysanthemum, Radish, and Meyer Lemon.

And this other bottle off the list:

2007 Château d’Orschwihr Gewurztraminer Bollenberg. A very nice dry Gewurtz.


No trip to Melisse would be complete without the classic, “Egg Caviar, Lemon Creme Fraiche, American Osetra Caviar.” It’s a classic for a reason. The Creme Fraiche is so good, and there is raw egg yolk at the bottom. Amazing combo, particularly with the little toast stick.


This is a vegetarian variant with sweet onion “caviar.”


The rest of the wines are mostly from my cellar, the Lagrange and Gevrey being from Erick’s.

2008 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. Parker 92. “With respect to La Nerthe’s white wines, in 2008 none of the special cuvee called Clos de Beauvenir was produced, so the regular bottling of 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is a beauty (this vintage for white wines is stronger than it was for reds). This blend of 39% Roussanne, 27% Grenache Blanc, and the rest Bourboulenc and Clairette exhibits a delectable bouquet of pears, spring flowers, honeysuckle, and melons. With crisp acids, medium to full body, and terrific aromatics.”


Spring Onion Veloute. Crab Cake.


With the soup itself added. A very nice soft vegetable soup. Delicious.


The vegetarian variant has spring onions themselves.


And the soup.


2001 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 93. “The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau is gorgeous, structured, impressive. Full-bodied and backward, with great depth, purity, and heady aromatics, this 20,000-case blend of 60% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, and 15% miscellaneous amounts of the other permitted varietals will easily rival the 1998. A deep ruby/purple-tinged color is accompanied by a sweet perfume of salty sea breezes, seaweed, melted licorice, kirsch liqueur, creme de cassis, and iodine … a classic Vieux-Telegraphe aromatic display. Powerful as well as firmly structured, this is a wine to lay away for 4-5 years. It should prove to be uncommonly long-lived, lasting a minimum of two decades. It gets my nod as the greatest Vieux-Telegraphe since the 1998.”


Zuckerman Farms Green Asparagus. Ocean Vegetables, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Perigord Reduction.

About as good as green asparagus gets!


1996 Domaine des Perdrix Echezeaux. Parker 93-95. “If the wine I tasted out of barrel is bottled without losing its extraordinary fruit and precision (i.e. little fining or filtration), it will be a blockbuster. Dark ruby-colored and exhibiting copious quantities of sweet dark fruits, violets, and traces of minerals, this wine is magnificently defined, elegant, and feminine. An intense, juicy, and fabulously pure core of candied cherries, plums, blueberries, and flowers can be found in this full-bodied, velvety, and admirably long wine. Projected maturity: 2003-2009+. Bravo!”


Scallop Cooked in its Shell. Plantain and Wild Flowers. Very light and “floral.”


The vegetarian variant was marinated daikon radish.


1993 Domaine Tollot-Beaut et Fils Corton Bressandes. Parker 87. “Both offerings from Corton (Corton and Corton Les Bressandes) possess plenty of new oak, medium body, and attractive, ripe, sweet black-cherry fruit flavors. The Corton Les Bressandes begins well, but the finish is hard and tough, with a touch of astringency, which could create serious problems during the wine’s aging.”


Wild Steelhead Salmon. Fava Beans, Stinging Nettle, Crayfish Jus.


With the jus. Extremely soft and fresh salmon.


1993 Domaine Joseph Roty Gevrey Chambertin Champs Chenys. Parker 1993. “I enjoyed all three of Roty’s village Gevrey-Chambertins. The medium ruby-colored Gevrey-Chambertin Champs Chenys reveals more intensity than La Brunelle, nice spice, and moderate tannin in the finish. It should drink well for 5-6 years. Roty has enjoyed modest success in 1993, managing to avoid the harsh tannin and hollow mid-palates exhibited by many wines. Nevertheless, his 1993s are not of the same quality level as his 1990s and 1985s. They possess good concentration, but the colors are less intense than expected, and the extraction and intensity of flavor, while impressive, are not as great as in other top vintages. I recently had the 1985 Mazy-Chambertin and I do not see any of these 1993s approaching the levels of richness and complexity that wine exhibits.”


Beef Cheek Agnolotti. English Peas, Porcini Mushrooms, Red Wine Herb Jus.


Sauced. Yum, yum. This is the kind of pasta I like :-).


A vegetarian variant with vegetables, a kind of pulled fermented tofu, and a fresh egg.


Sauced.


1997 Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello. Parker 91. “The full-bodied, dark garnet-colored 1997 Barolo Colonnello displays licorice, spice, box, and kirsch liqueur characteristics as well as noticeable acidity. As the wine sits in the glass, aromas of soy, herbs, and incense emerge. It is a tightly-framed, full-bodied, powerful yet close-to-the-vest offering.”


1986 Lagrange. Parker 92. “Here is a classic example of a wine that is showing significantly more complexity and richness from the bottle than out of cask, although it was certainly a potentially outstanding wine when tasted from the barrel. In a vintage that produced a number of enormously structured, rich, concentrated wines, Lagrange is another of the blockbuster wines that seems capable of lasting 30-35 years. Black/ruby in color, with a closed but burgeoning bouquet of spicy new oak, black fruits, and flowers, this muscular, full-bodied, tannic wine is packed with fruit and is clearly one of the great long-distance runners from this vintage. I admire how the significant investment made by the Japanese owners in this property has paid off with a thrilling, albeit amazingly backward, wine. The finest Lagrange to date!”


Elysian Farms Lamb. Red Dragon Carrots, Green Garlic, Wheat Berries.


Sauced. Not as gamey as the lamb we had here the other week, but very good.


A bit of crispy halibut with a beure blanc sauce and mini gnocchi.


1998 Michel Ogier Cote Rotie. Parker 90. “Ogier’s regular cuvee of Cote Rotie sees about 25-30% new oak. It spends 18 months in barrel, and over 70% of the grapes emerge from their holdings on the Cote Blonde. The 1998 Cote Rotie exhibits scents and flavors of charred earth, smoke, minerals, and cassis. The wine is full-bodied, rich, and dense, with abundant tannin in the finish. The French might call it a true vin de garde. It needs 4-5 years of cellaring, and will keep for 15-18+ years. This wine is bottled with no filtration.”

Fourme d’Ambert. Pear Tart, Wild Watercress, Peppered Honey.

I’m always good with blue.


We also added a round from the cheese cart. Here is some stinky stuff including Époisses de Bourgogne in the upper left.

Molten Chocolate Tart, peppermint Sorbet.

Not your average “molten chocolate cake”!


Coconut Meringue. White Sage Beer and Anise.


A very refreshing dish whose innards were not unlike — dipping dots!


Strawberries, chocolates (with peanut butter inside) and pate de fruits.


Macarons, cookies, and canelles.


The array of red wines.

Melisse has two Michelin stars, and it deserves every ounce of them. The service is amazing too. The setting is not as fully formal as some French three-stars, or the service quite so orchestrated (that level is more amusement than actually pleasant), and there are no zany carts for teas and sugars, but the food and creativity demonstrate Melisse’s deserved position as one of America’s top kitchens. I ‘ve gone several times a year for a decade and it keeps getting better and better!

For another Melisse meal, click here.

Or for other Foodie Club meals, click here.

Birthday boy Simon in blue

Related posts:

  1. More Michelin at Melisse
  2. Melisse – How much would a Woodcock…
  3. Burghounds at Melisse
  4. Mostly Montrachet at Melisse
  5. Food as Art: Melisse
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burgundy, Foodie Club, French Cuisine, Gewürztraminer, Melisse, Wine

Shanghai #1 Seafood Village

Apr18

Restaurant: Shanghai #1 Seafood Village [1, 2, 3]

Location: 250 W Valley Blvd. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 282-1777

Date: April 13, 2013

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Very authentic Shanghai style

_

The San Gabriel Valley is a veritable treasure trove of Asian dining, particularly regional Chinese. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village is the LA branch of a high end Shanghai chain specializing in banquet dining.


The decor is Stark meets Chinatown. Interestingly, as cheesy as it is, it’s fairly authentic.


As this is a Hedonist/Foodie Club wine diner, we prearranged a banquet and reserved the usual giant table.


The menu is like a giant full color fashion catalog for food, but I thought I’d show a couple pages by way of example.


2011 Domaine Collotte Bourgogne Rosé Marsannay. This is one of my go-to roses, as it’s all Pinot Noir from Burgundy. A wonderful sunny weather wine, it paired very nicely with the sweet and sour tones of the Chinese. There were a few rose-haters as usual, but this really is a great wine, bright and full of strawberry flavors.


Our “appetizer” spread.


Marinated legumes (lima beans?). A very mellow sophisticated taste, and some of the best lima beans I’ve had.


Squid with a sauce not unlike eel BBQ sauce. Very tender and tasty.


Lotus root stuffed with sweet rice in a tea marinate. Very interesting texture and a lovely tea flavor.


2011 Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen Riesling Eroica. IWC 88. Pale yellow-straw. Sexy aromas of nectarine, ginger and nutmeg. Moderately sweet but not at all cloying, with nectarine, apple, pear and brown spice flavors complicated by a saline quality and perked up by white flowers and CO2. Not particularly gripping and very easy to drink. Finishes just off-dry, with a menthol nuance and a suggestion of crab apple that brought my score down.


Marinated cucumbers (pickles) in a sweet soy vinegar.


Marinated turnips in a tangy chili oil. Really nice crunch.


Some kind of marinated mushrooms. Very earthly and delicate.


Classic smoked Shanghai fish. Smokey and crunchy.


Roast duck in a heavy sweet soy. Bony, but very tasty.


2004 Albert Mann Riesling Schlossberg. IWC 90. Very pale color. Highly aromatic nose offers underripe pineapple, flowers, mint, stone and flint, along with a leesy nuance that reminded me of Champagne. Juicy and moderately sweet (12.5 g/l. r.s.), with pure peach and nectarine flavors firmed by a stony underpinning. This is precise and detailed, and long on the finish-and not nearly as austere as some past vintages of this consistently excellent bottling. But it still calls for at least five years in the cellar.


Shrimp two ways. On the left, salt and pepper fried shrimp (extremely tasty) and on the right, white sauce popcorn shrimp (pleasant but mild).


Chili fried scallops, with a little heat.


2000 Denis Mugneret Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru. BH 88-91. Black fruit and spice just explode from the glass. This is Boudots at its best with abundant Vosne spice and solid Nuits character in a classy, medium weight package that offers good power, density and quality length. While it doesn’t offer the size of the grands crus and it’s not classically structured, it is deliciously complex and fine. I like this a lot.


Special Shanghai BBQ red pork. Oh so fatty and oh so tasty!


Chicken with scallions and soy sauce. It looked a little scary, but it tasted great (except for the requisite bone).


1995 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja. IWC 90. Good full red. Deeply pitched aromas of smoke, minerals, leather and truffle. Supple and silky but nicely penetrating, with ripe, intense flavors of cherry, minerals and oak perfectly framed by harmonious acids. Subtle, textured Rioja finishing with good grip and thrust.


Crab dry cooked with coconut? Hard to say, but it tasted great. A dry, slightly spicy crab that emphasized the flavor of the crab itself.


Chicken soup. Pretty much like moms’.


It came in this pot.


1985 Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy Dolcetto d’Alba. I’ve never had an old Dolcetto, and wouldn’t have assumed they lasted, but this was brilliant. It tasted very much of Dolcetto, grapey and all, but had a real depth to it.


Shanghai style sweet and sour fried fish. This was one of those goopy straight up orange sweet and sour sauces, but it was awesome. Particularly dripped over rice. And the method of flaying the meat out and frying it created a much crisper effect, even if the appearance is a bit horror movie.


Fried rice. Simply one of the best fried rices I’ve ever had.


2007 Tenute Niccolai Rosso Di San Gimignano Uno di quattro. A very nice Italian Syrah. Yeah, odd, but it is.


Shanghai noodles. These are pan fried rice cake with scallions and sweet soy. Odd soft texture, but delicious.


Crispy meat buns. A really great film skinned take on the soup dumpling.


The inside. These were great with vinegar poured in.


2010 Montirius Gigondas Terres des Aines. IWC 91-93. Bright ruby. Spicy cherry and blueberry aromas lifted by mineral cut and a floral overtone. Nicely focused and pure, with very good energy to its dark berry flavors and seductive lavender and spice accents. Finishes spicy and long, with a late note of anise hanging behind.


Beef ribs (short ribs?), with garlic, green and red peppers, etc. Tasty, but certainly not the best dish of the might.


2003 Maculan Acininobili. Parker 96. The 2003 Acininobili is utterly mind-blowing in its expression of candied apricots, orange peel and cinnamon. Constantly changing in the glass, it reveals superb intensity and a stunningly gorgeous purity, with superb length and phenomenal poise. Acininobili is a selection made from botrytised Torcolato fruit. It is aged for two years in new French oak.


Mango or some other fruit in a coconut yogurt like sauce. Nice and refreshing, and and absolotely brilliant pairing (not by any foresight) with the Passito above. Really first rate combo.


Our menu for the staff!

Overall, this was a really great meal. First rate Chinese and quite authentic and typical of high end banquet meals in China. We didn’t have the totally tricked out menu with all the sea cucumber, shark fin, and the like, but I don’t love that stuff anyway. Nearly every dish was wonderful. Service was fine (for Chinese). They brought things a little rapidly, but it was fine. Great experience.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  2. Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab
  3. Birthday Party, Hedonist Style
  4. Ocean Avenue Seafood
  5. Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: China, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, Foodie Club, hedonists, Seafood, Shanghai #1 Seafood Village, Wine

Yamakase – Crab Guts are Yummy!

Mar08

Restaurant: Yamakase [1, 2]

Location: You wish you knew!

Date: March 1, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese

Rating: Best meal in months!

_

Back before its unfortunate incident and closure, The Hump was one of my favorite restaurants. I went every week or two for years. So it was with great pleasure that I discovered its chef, Kiyoshiro Yamamoto has recently opened a new venture. This is a tiny 10 seat sushi bar that follows the semi-secret invitation only style of another of my LA Japanese favorites: Totoraku (going again next week, yay!).


There is no official frontage and just a tiny little room and a 10 seat sushi bar. Yama-san does all the cooking himself with just one wait-person. There is no corkage, which is awesome!


We started with this champagne brought by white and bubbly maestro Ron. The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


Jamón Ibérico with Caviar. I’ve had a close cousin of this dish several times at various Jose Andres restaurants. This was nice thick cuts of the ham in Spanish style. Yum.


Baby eels (you can see the eyeballs) in a creamy (probably mayo wasabi with flying fish roe) sauce. The green thing is baby peach. These little fellows, besides being tasty, are in season right now.


Burghound 93-95, “It seemed relatively supple and forward, indeed more or less ready to drink. To be sure, there was no obvious secondary nuances in evidence and still good freshness to the rich, intense and vibrant flavors brimming with minerality on the impressively long finish. Impeccably stored bottles might need another few years to arrive at their peak but absent this bottle being an aberration, I don’t think that opening one today would be infanticide.”


In the front, Hokkaido uni with black truffle and some kind of white stuff, which I think is Kusshi oyster or soft-boiled quail egg. It was damn good.


And in the back, arguably better, is “kanimiso” (crab guts) the oyster/egg and truffle. This had a long briney finish. Really long. It paired best with the Champagne.

H Boillot Batard Montrachet

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, July/Aug 2006:
and spices. Then wonderfully flavorful and gripping in the mouth, with a sweet orange marmalade flavor framed by lively acidity. At once superripe and precise, and fresh and very long on the aftertaste. This was picked at the beginning of the harvest, with potential alcohol of 13.8%. Boasts superb intensity and density of material. 92-95

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database, April 16, 2011: An intensely floral and still exceptionally fresh nose is nuanced with hints of spice and citrus where the latter can also be found on the textured and borderline massive flavors that display absolutely no sense of heaviness on the exceptionally rich finish that drenches and stains the palate. This is a big wine yet there is a firm acid backbone that keeps everything in ideal balance and overall, it’s an extremely impressive effort. While the abundant dry extract enables this, like many ’05s, to drink

with pleasure now, in magnum format I personally would allow for at least another 4 to 5 years of bottle age. 95


Giant clam, sesame, in the same sauce as the eels. There was probably some citrus in here too and it was very tasty with a nice texture.


More spoons. There is quail egg and some blue crab in sauce on the left, and Santa Barbara uni, oyster, and quail egg on the right. Also awesome, particularly the crab.


Homemade tofu infused with kanimiso and topped with salmon roe. Brine on brine and very good.


Yama-san torches the next course.


Belt fish, charred with sauce.


A pair of Robert Ampeau Volnay-Santenots, 1990 and 1978. Ampeau is a rare producer who releases  his wines years after the fact, only when they are ready. This 1990 was released only last year!

1990: Perfect ruby color with a nose of spicy cherries and sweet earth. Quite full and rich for an Ampeau and made in a reductive style that makes for a mouth-puckering style with a flavor of sour cherries. There is depth to the wine and the finish is complex with great spice notes. Drinking very, very young.

1978: While this was clearly the same terroir, the 1978 blew away the youngish and middle-aged 1990. This had that more even more mouth-puckering thing going on that is one of the great parts of mature Burgundy. Lots of complexity.


The best spoon yet, toro, wasabi, quail egg, and crab. Totally awesome.


Hello, what do we have here?


Hairy crab from Hokkaido, steamed straight up. Delicious all by itself.


Chawanmushi, a egg custard. This one was very hot (it usually is) and included 7 kinds of seafood. Various crab, fish, lobster, uni. It was delicious, rich, and very unami.


King crab legs cooked in the sous vide, with caviar, and truffle butter. A really nice subtle combo!


Parker 94, “The 2001 Barolo Falletto impresses for its layered, silky personality. Sweet roses, tar, licorice and menthol are all woven together in this deceptively medium-bodied Barolo. There is plenty of muscle to back things up. Today the Falletto is quite a bit more delicate than it has been in the past.”

Ron had opened this wine 30 hours before — and that was to our advantage because it was just coming into its own.


Frozen (nitro?) toro with crab, egg, and brioche. Very interesting, and the toro was completely different at this temperature.


A bit of Japanese beef. No fat here.


The chef salts the steaks with his 10 million year-old Tibetan rock salt.


The were sautéed up with mushrooms, ponzu, and Maui onions. Delicious. Rich. Tender.


This older village wine, the 1986 Drouhin Aloxe-Corton, was drinking fabulously. Quite youthful even, but in that mature stage of extended finish.


Don’t piss off the chef with the big knife!


A fantastic simple piece of tuna (Maguro).


An even better  piece of toro with a bit of uni on top.


Then a toro, uni, shiso handroll — delicious. The chef sure loves his uni, and clearly, so does Erick (the tongue).


And his crab guts. This vinegary rice with crab guts and wasabi was really quite excellent. Don’t be scared.


2002 Gerhard Hattenheimer Schützenhaus Riesling Eiswein. An unctuous syrupy dessert wine, really fabulous.


A bit of sorbet. I was so drunk by this point that I don’t even remember the flavor.

This was one of my best meals in a long time — really quite excellent — and regular readers know I have more than my share of great meals. We had fantastic wines, stunning and innovative food, and a really great format. The restaurant is only 10 seats all at the sushi bar and so we chatted and shared wines with our neighbors — and the chef. This made for a really fun time (until the hangover set in at about 5am).

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,
Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. Sushi Sushi = Yummy Yummy
  2. Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab
  3. Tidewater Crab
  4. Matsuhisa – Where it all started
  5. Go Go Go Sushi!
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Allen Meadows, Foodie Club, Jamón Ibérico, Japanese cuisine, kanimiso, Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, Stan Liu, Sushi, The Hump, Uni, Wine tasting descriptors, Yamakase

Spago – 2005 White Burg part 1!

Feb08

Restaurant: Spago

Location: 176 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (310) 385-0880

Date: February 5, 2013

Cuisine: American

Rating: Mind Blowing

_

Faithful readers know that I love Burgundy. There is no wine area in the world, red or white, that is so focused. More, or less, this glacial valley in Eastern France only grows two grapes: red Pinot Noir and white Chardonnay. It does so in a minimalist manner that emphasizes the exact geographic and micro-climate conditions of small named parcels of land – and people here have been doing exactly this for well over a 1,000 years.

In the last year I’ve been trying to up my Burgundy game. I’m taking a Burgundy Master (Sommelier) class and really trying to become much more knowledgable about this challenging area. Most casual wine drinkers probably don’t realize how complex it is. You could invest decades of full time study in this one region and still not know all there is to know.

Which brings me to tonight, where I was lucky enough to attend the first of three dinners that explore the white wines of Burgundy in a manner so focused its worthy of the . I’m mostly a pinot guy (red) but this series focuses only on white 2005s (all Chardonnay) and this particular dinner on Chablis, Meursault, and Corton-Charlemagne. All of the wines here were provided by the participants and were in impeccable condition.

While tasting 30 Chardonnay’s from just three regions all together is a bit of a buttery blitzkrieg, there is no better way to get a sense of the specific flavor profiles of the different vineyards. By sampling across several great 2005 Chablis, you can get a real grasp on what IS Chablis and hence what is Corton-Charlemagne.


Tonight’s venue is the (new) original Spago in Beverly Hills.


And we were set up in a private room, which given the nature of this exacting tasting was essential.


Tonight’s wines and the menu. The four large flights are each paired with a course. The food was great, although personally, I would have matched perhaps three small courses to each flight, but I’ve become ridiculously spoiled and find anything less than 8-10 courses anemic :-). World’s smallest violin, I know.


This dinner was ALOT of work for the Sommelier. We tasted each flight blind, knowing the wines (5-8) in the flight but not which was which (they had numbers). The Somm had to organize a legion of glasses, label them, and pour and serve!

The whole blind/not-blind thing is a bit of a debate. I can understand why it’s very useful to try the wines stripped of their identity so as not to be colored, but at my stage in my own personal learning curve, I get more out of knowing what I’m tasting as I taste it. I’m still trying to build mental flavor profiles for specific vineyards and associate them analytically with descriptors and various qualities. I had printed out individual tasting sheets for each wine, but I had made the mistake of labeling them by the wine. Next dinner I’ll just put numbers on them and fill in the wine later.


The amuse section was accompanied by the 1996 Egry-Ouriet Brut Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes. A very nice dry  champagne that’s reached that stately level of maturity.


Steak Tartar. On a toast, with black truffle. I love good steak tartar!


Spago falafel. With creme fraiche.


1996 Bollinger Grande Annee.


Buttery pastry filled with bacon. Very yummy.


Puck’s Jewish Pizza. Creme fraiche, chives, dill, red onion and nova lox. This is always SO good. I make it myself at home too, pretty successfully.

Flight 1: Chablis

2005 Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Les Preuses

(from a 1 ha parcel planted in 1970)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2007: Good pale yellow. Knockout nose combines peche de vigne and gingery spices, plus the same violety high note I found in the 2006. Rich, broad and tactile, with terrific energy and intensity to the slightly exotic flavors of orange, lemon peel, flowers and licorice. As silky as this is, it conveys an outstanding lightness of touch. Best today on the explosive, rocky, palate-staining finish, which offers a real whiplash of iodine, warm stone and citrus peel flavors. This vineyard was the least affected by botrytis in 2005, according to Dauvissat; the wine is the lowest in alcohol, but still a full 13.5%. 94(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 28, Oct. 1, 2007: Here the restrained nose is bright, elegant and classy, offering an unmistakable step up in distinction and refinement with very subtle background notes of botrytis that can also be found on the textured, supple and pure medium full flavors that are sweet, complex and utterly palate drenching on the hugely long and intense finish. Indeed, this is so intense that I had to stall for time to allow my palate to recover before moving on to the Les Clos. Trust me, this is a “wow” wine. 94

2005 Domaine Raveneau Chablis Les Clos

(from a .54 ha parcel dead center in the vineyard)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2007: Pale yellow. Ineffable nose combines fresh pineapple, grapefruit, crushed stone and menthol. Pure, taut, extremely backward wine that’s like sucking on a mouthful of rocks today. Like a richer and even more austere version of the Montee de Tonnerre. With no obvious sweetness showing today, this is revealing more than it’s showing. Finishes very long and very dry, with a purity of mineral expression that’s rare for this vintage. Less likable today than the Valmur but even denser. This will require at least a decade of cellaring. 95(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 28, Oct. 1, 2007: An incredibly pure but also incredibly backward ultra high-toned ripe floral and white pear and peach nose nuanced by subtle spice and brioche notes complements perfectly the round, intense, delineated and stony flavors that are like drinking liquefied rock, all wrapped in a textured, palate staining, austere and almost painfully intense and chewy finish. This is a bit more reserved at present than the Valmur, which is interesting because normally it’s the other way around. Either way, this has flat out great potential. 95

This wine was unusual in the Chablis flight for being SO intensely mineral with a hint of sulfur. Now, Chablis is a very mineral wine, but this was the oddball of the group.

2005 Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Les Clos

(from a 1.7 ha parcel of 47 year old vines)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2007: Bright, pale yellow. Classic, soil- inflected aromas of citrus fruits, clove, wet stone and iodine. Suave on entry, then quite high- pitched in the middle, with superb purity to the flavors of grapefruit, lemon and minerals. At once fine-grained and taut, with captivating floral lift. Like the Preuses, this is most impressive today on the highly complex, uncommonly long finish, which throws off notes of sexy brown spices, juniper and white pepper, along with an intriguing saline quality. 95

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database, tasted Nov 17. 2011: This terrific effort only seems to be getting better and better with each passing year with its spicy white flower aromas that introduce sophisticated, pure and gorgeously intense flavors that explode on the strikingly long and chewy finish. The depth here is just terrific and the hallmark minerality is present in spades. And, as is always the casee with this wine, the driving and penetrating finish just lasts and lasts and this is without question truly a stunner of a wine. I have upgraded my rating slightly as this is still on the way up but is drinking so well right now that it would not be complete infanticide to drink a bottle now. 95

2005 Domaine William Fevre Chablis Les Preuses

(from two parcels of vines that total 2.55 ha, or 22% of the entire appellation)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2007: Good pale color with green highlights. Elegant nose hints at gunflinty silex, with pineapple emerging with aeration. Very rich and suave; in a rounder, fatter style than the Cote Bouguerots but with a bit less clarity and lift. Shows a more exotic peach quality in the middle palate. Finishes subtle, smooth and long. 92

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 28, Oct. 1, 2007: This is the second year running where the Preuses really distinguishes itself with an incredibly complex nose of brioche, spice, green fruit, shell fish, algae and sea breeze notes that merge into wonderfully elegant yet generous, full, forward and strikingly classy flavors that are dense, balanced and unbelievably persistent plus they display more minerality than usual. The acid spine is firm and ripe but not aggressive and should easily see this through at least a decade of cellar time. I normally have a real weakness for the Valmur at this address but the Preuses is really something in 2005. A “wow” wine. 94

2005 Domaine Raveneau Chablis Montee de Tonnerre

(from a huge parcel of 2.5 ha though this figure includes the surface area in Chapelot which is bottled separately)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2007: Bright, pale yellow. Pure but reticent aromas of citrus peel, hazelnut, clove and minerals; even more strict today than the Butteaux. Powerful but almost painfully closed, dominated today by citric and mineral cut and a flavor of wet stone. A very rich but austere wine that’s presently hard to taste. Finishes broad, layered and quite dry, with a ripe, honeyed quality. This will almost certainly be for drinking after the ’06. 92+

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 28, Oct. 1, 2007: This is a mild step up in overall class and elegance with a gorgeously perfumed white flower fruit nose introducing linear, precise, intense and powerful medium full flavors that remain splendidly focused on the stunningly long finish that drenches the palate in dry extract. This is a striking 1er and one to buy as it easily delivers grand cru quality. 94

This was our only Premier Cru of the flight but was one of my favorite wines. It was a bit more expressive than many of the Grand Crus and had a wonderful complexity.

2005 Domaine William Fevre Chablis Les Clos

(from 4 separate parcels totaling 4.11 ha, 3 of which are all at the top of the slope)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2007: Pale green color. Pure but subdued aromas of lemon-lime and crushed stone. Intensely flavored and youthfully tight, offering sharply delineated citrus fruit, white peach and crushed stone elements. In a cooler style for the vintage, with just the slightest exotic hint to show that it’s from a very warm year. The very long, rising finish displays uncommon precision for the vintage. But the young 2006 appears to be even longer and more minerally. 94(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 28, Oct. 1, 2007: In contrast to the relative expressiveness of most of this group, the Les Clos is backward, reserved and very tight, revealing only glimpses of white flower, oyster shell and an airy marine influence that can also be found on the intense, pure and astonishingly precise flavors that possess another dimension relative to all of the other ’05s with the exception of the Preuses. Class in a glass as they say and while presently tighter than a drum with an exceptionally dry finish, this has the material and balance to age for years. 94

2005 Domaine Raveneau Chablis Valmur

(from a .75 ha parcel)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2007: Pale yellow. Brisk, pure aromas of citrus skin, powdered stone, quinine and iodine. Juicy and citric on entry, then supple and rich in the middle, but with superb energy giving shape and grip to the lemon-lime, citrus, stone and floral flavors. Conveys an impression of sucrosite but also comes across as wonderfully fresh and taut. Pure, palate-dusting, rising finish boasts terrific lift and aromatic perfume. Valmur is favored in hot years, notes Raveneau. “The vines here run north-south, which enables them to resist the mid-day sun and retain freshness.” 95

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 28, Oct. 1, 2007: This is more expressive than usual, featuring a hint of wood spice and the usual gorgeously elegant cool green fruit, oyster shell and saline notes that introduce unusually big and powerful flavors that are naturally sweet, intense and like the majority of these ’05s, possesses buckets of dry extract. The finish just oozes with minerality and the intensity is almost painful as it really stains the palate. I noted last year that there was marvelous quality here and there was so much material that it could be even better than my range suggested. Well, I agree with my initial prediction as the Valmur is indeed better in bottle than it was from cask and a flat out magnificent wine. 95


The glass farm after round 1.

“Chirashi Sushi”. Blue Fin Tuna, Hamachi, Salmon Pearls, Sea Urchin. Very yummy, and unusual to get something so faithfully Japanese in a non-Japanese restaurant.


Various bread.

Flight 2: Meursault

Colin-Morey Meursault Genevrieres

Stephen Tanzer: not reviewed

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: A completely different nose is present here with seductive, spicy and slightly exotic fruit aromas marry into intense, delineated and explosive medium plus weight flavors, all wrapped in a vibrant and terrifically long finish that is picture-perfect Meursault in character. There is also a touch of wood on the backend but it’s subtle and will be absorbed in time. 92

Mikulski Meursault Genevrieres

Stephen Tanzer: not reviewed

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 31, July 1, 2008: A subtly spicy and wonderfully seductive nose features notes of citrus, pear and green fruit that precede the racy, gorgeously intense and seriously pure flavors that are textured, sweet and mouth coating on the energetic and penetrating finish. This is one of those ‘wow’ wines that really grabs your attention with its effortless grace. This bears more than a passing resemblance to the ’06 version except this is more concentrated and slightly more powerful. Either way, it’s most impressive as well. 93

Henri Boillot Meursault Charmes

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Cool aromas of citrus fruits and stone. Dense, concentrated and sappy, with sweet citrus and mineral flavors firmed by surprisingly sound acidity. A classic Charmes with terrific inner-mouth energy. Finishes long and brisk, with excellent cut. 93(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: An extremely subtle touch of pain grillé works well with the ripe peach, apricot, floral and lemon rind aromas that introduce rich, pure and generous flavors that coat the mouth with sappy extract and there is a lovely minerality that surfaces on the highly complex and impressively long finish. This combines most of the power of the Poruzots with most of the elegance of the Les Cras to create a more complete effort. Note that there was a bit of CO2 on the finish and I would suggest decanting this for 20 minutes first. In a word, gorgeous. 93

Lafon Meursault Charmes

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Aromas of peach and vanilla. Rich, fat and classically dry, with compelling purity to the lemon, crushed stone and mineral flavors. Perfectly integrated acidity extends the palate-staining, layered finish. With a blend of 15-, 45- and 75-year-old vines in his 1.7-hectares holding in Charmes, Lafon has the flexibility each year to make one of Burgundy’s top Meursault bottlings. 93-95

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 31, July 1, 2008: Here the reserved and tight nose is less spicy but no less complex with high-toned aromas of white peach and pear nuanced by subtle notes of hazelnut and orange blossom that give way to rich, full and mouth coating flavors that evidence a silky mouth feel and culminate in a focused, linear and intensely mineral finish that offers both class and finesse. This really expands on the borderline tannic and almost painfully intense finish and it seems like an even bigger wine than it is. As good an example of Lafon Charmes as I have seen in a while. 94

2005 Roulot Meursault Charmes

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Reticent, pure aromas of lemon and crushed stone, with a hint of vanillin oak; a more exotic mango note emerged with aeration. Rich, dense and young but with a distinct sweetness in the middle palate, in part a function of the wine’s vanillin oak component. This is fat and sweet but doesn’t quite come alive today. Roulot finds this a bit anonymous, “in the warm style of 2005.” 91

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: A moderately exotic nose of honeysuckle, mango and apricot trimmed in discreet brioche notes leads to delicious, round and sweet flavors that are generous and nicely harmonious if not as intense and persistent as the best in the range. Still, this is really quite lovely as it has already found its center. 91

Domaine Henri Boillot Meursault Genevrieres

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Aromas of soft citrus fruits, pear and crushed stone. Wonderfully dense and sweet but with great precision and juicy cut to the fruit and mineral flavors. Finishes impressively long and pure, with superb cut. An outstanding Genevrieres in the making. 94

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: The first wine to display any real wood influence, which in this case manifests itself with touches of pain grillé and vanilla that highlight the naturally spicy and equally seductive aromas where the spiciness continues onto the round, rich, concentrated and impressively powerful flavors blessed with huge dry extract levels that lend an almost chewy quality to the hugely long finish. This is not quite as elegant or racy as the Pucelles but it’s close. 93


The glasses keep coming!

“Uova da Raviolo”. Ricotta Cream, Parmesan, Black Truffle. This was yum, yum, yum as it’s filled with poached egg (complete with runny yolk). A great buttery rich dish that paired brilliantly with the Burgs.

Flight 3: Meursault Perrieres

Matrot Meursault Perrieres

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Good pale color. Classic aromas of pineapple, citrus fruits and wet stone; this reminded me of a Riesling Schlossberg. Wonderfully dense and intense, with terrific cut and acidity giving sharp definition to the mineral and citrus flavors. Thick but uncompromisingly dry wine that finishes with great verve and a stony whiplash of flavor. This needs a decade of bottle aging. 92+

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: A superbly elegant nose of green apple, spiced dried rose petal and orange and lemon citrus nuances merge into almost aggressively mineral suffused medium-bodied flavors that are classic Perrières in character, all wrapped in very tight, linear and gorgeously detailed finish. This is a seriously impressive effort but one that will need plenty of cellar time. Terrific. 94

Colin-Morey Meursault Perrieres

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Classy aromas of superripe peach and crushed stone. Rich, broad and full, offering most of the Perrieres food groups: peach, apricot, oatmeal, minerals, hazelnut, vanilla. Finishes extremely broad and long, with the wine’s very ripe apricotty fruit not yet in harmony with its powerful minerality. A great wine in the making but this will need five or six years of cellaring. 94(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: A very deft touch of wood frames ripe and strikingly elegant white flower aromas that are somewhat higher-toned and airier than those of the Genevrières while introducing rich and full yet finely detailed medium-bodied flavors that also positively exude an almost pungent minerality on the gorgeously persistent finish. This is built on a base of minerality and it lends a completely different textural impact to the wine, particularly on the finale. 93

Le Moine Meursault Perrieres

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: (sugar fermentation finished, malo almost complete) Nose dominated by crushed stone and lemon; precise and vineyard-typical for 2005. Dense and fat with fruit, showing the sweetness of the vintage in spades. Very promising but can’t quite match the 2004 for precision or length. 90-92

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: A stunning nose of subtly spiced white flower and green apple is trimmed in background hints of pain grillé that merge into sophisticated, pure and strikingly textured medium-bodied flavors oozing with both minerality and dry extract that really coats and stains the palate on the wonderfully precise and moderately strict finish. This will require a few years to really unfold and blossom but the material to do so is here. 92-94

2005 Roulot Meursault Perrieres

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Vibrant aromas of orange, minerals and crushed stone. Juicy, sexy, taut wine with terrific energy to its flavors of orange and stone. This has the clarity and breed that the Charmes is not showing today. Wonderfully minerally and long on the aftertaste. Almost deceptively accessible today, this is built for extended cellaring. 94

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 31, July 1, 2008: A strikingly pure nose of white flower and spice aromas complements perfectly the delicious, intense and stony flavors that are wonderfully vibrant and gorgeously detailed on the transparent and equally pure finish that explodes with more minerality. This is beautifully balanced and understated with a Zen-like sense of calm. I very much like this and it’s very Perrières in character. In a word, brilliant. 94

Don Cornwell, from a dinner with Jean Marc Roulot on Feb 21, 2012: Medium yellow color; quite forward floral and pear aromas; this was bigger and clearly richer than the 2000. It had more body and more alcohol – but it lacked the minerality and grip of the 2000. This was a wine of greater weight and higher alcohol – a thicker style of MP. 93

Lafon Meursault Perrieres

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Explosively ripe fruit aromas of apricot and pineapple currently dominate underlying minerality on the nose. Silky, rich and powerful, with the pineapple and peach flavors framed by harmonious ripe acidity. A wine with superb stuffing and back-end breadth, finishing with palate-saturating mineral and dusty stone flavors. This boasts impressive aging potential, but the Charmes is at least as impressive in the context of the year. Just 10 barrels of this wine were produced, compared to 18 in 2004. 94(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 31, July 1, 2008: Once again the Perrières is the class of these 1ers with its cool and reserved nose of white flower and green apple that complements to perfection the textured, pure and stylish flavors that possess excellent volume but also wonderful detail and punch and the intensely mineral finish that is refined, pure and long with plenty of underlying tension. A ‘wow’ wine. 95

Flight 4: Corton-Charlemagne

Black Bass. Crispy Scale, Littleneck Clams, Herb Coulis, Garlic Purée. The sauce was wow tasty.

Jadot Corton Charlemagne

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: A strikingly complex nose of green apple fruit, pear and a distinct floral note complements perfectly the hugely powerful flavors brimming with dry extract and built on a base of solid minerality. This is a borderline massive wine that is textured, concentrated and sleekly muscled yet it remains precise, pure and balanced with positively huge length. A very impressive wine that could actually surprise to the upside as the underlying material here is as good as any 2005 Corton-Charlemagne. 95

Bouchard Corton Charlemagne

(3.65 ha of east-facing vineyards in Ladoix-Serrigny-climats; vine age presently unknown)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Pungent stone fruits, cold steel, marzipan and charred oak on the nose. Large-scaled, tactile and quite powerful, with captivating, utterly pure flavors of pineapple, wet stone and minerals. Wonderfully sweet and smooth on the back end, with a lovely light touch, but the dusty, tactile aftertaste is stony and uncompromising. I’d forget about this extremely backward wine for a good decade. 95(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: An expressive and highly interesting nose of cool and fresh green apple surrounded by freshly baked brioche aromas leads to big, rich and sleekly muscled flavors that are quite ripe yet there is a very firm acid backbone that maintains outstanding focus on the almost painfully intense mineral-infused finish. This is a ‘wow’ wine that cedes nothing to the Montrachet in terms of power and weight. 95

Don Cornwell, notes from a tasting on January 24, 2008: Very light yellow gold; pear, citrus and some S02 (though a bit less than the second wine); bright, sweet pear/green apple flavors with the best acidity of the flight; this demonstrates some power, some minerality, and some elegance and minerality in the finish. Some of the guys thought this was Chevalier. My clear favorite of the first flight. 94+

Girardin Corton Quintessence

(from 0.30 ha of 70+ year-old vineyards located in En Charlemagne and Le Charlemagne, with southwest exposures)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Smoky aromas of flinty silex and chicken broth; in an awkward stage. Then sweeter than the basic Corton-Charlemagne bottling, at once more opulent and more closed. Can’t match the ’06 for grip or class but this boasts superb richness and smoky depth. Today I find this less pristine and less vibrant than the regular bottling, but it’s also extremely unevolved, and longer and more powerful on the back end. 93(+?)

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: Here the wood is a background nuance if not invisible, highlighting spicy, pure and wonderfully expressive green fruit aromas that are really quite classy while merging into rich, round and stylish medium full flavors brimming with huge amounts of dry extract and an explosive, driving and persistent finish where the wood resurfaces. This is a serious effort but one that is generous and beautifully balanced, which will permit it to age well. 92-95

Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne

(9.5 ha contiguous plot of southwest-facing vineyards planted from 1950 to 1994 with an average age of 47 years; 4.52 ha is located in En Charlemagne and just under 5.0 ha in Le Charlemagne.)

Stephen Tanzer: not reviewed

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 31, July 1, 2008: A ripe and classic nose of distinctly discreet and reserved green fruit and floral aromas that are airy, pure and lightly spiced merge into intense, precise and penetrating medium full flavors blessed with terrific acid/fruit balance and huge length. This is really a lovely wine that is presently a tightly coiled spring and in need of extended bottle aging to really put on display the superb potential here. An understated stunner of a wine as well as ultra refined and one of the best examples of this appellation in 2005. 95

Le Moine Corton Charlemagne

(Negociant wine; produced from two plots in En Charlemagne with a western exposure; the larger plot is 40 year old vines and the smaller one is 18 year old vines)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: (Bottled in March of ’07) Very fresh aromas of cold steel and menthol; distinctly medicinal in the context of the year. Then wonderfully full but with superb energy, combining flavors of lemon, lime, ginger and crushed rock. The minerality here is almost painful. A compellingly taut wine with great palate-staining length and cut. 95

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: As one would reasonably expect, this is much more elegant and refined with moderate wood highlighting the fresh and stony green fruit aromas that offer real depth and leads to precise, minerally and exceptionally powerful flavors that positively drench the palate in dry extract on the hugely long finish. This is still sorting itself out but the quality of the raw materials is impeccable and it possesses impressive potential. 92-94

Boillot Corton Charlemagne

(beginning with 2005, the Boillot Corton was sourced from a different vineyard located in Aloxe-Corton [I believe it is Le Corton] which has a “full south facing” exposure)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 2007: Wonderfully ripe, deep aromas of lime, minerals and crushed stone. An incredible mouthful of stones and minerals, with uncanny intensity, juiciness and lift. At this point in my marathon tasting with Boillot, my handwriting was degenerating and I was using exclamation marks rather than adjectives. Flat-out great white Burgundy. Incidentally, Boillot changed his supplier of Corton-Charlemagne as of this vintage; he now works with vines in Aloxe-Corton that face full south. 98(+?)?

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: Here the nose is completely different with pungent and almost aggressively intense green apple aromas infused with an underlying sense of wet stone that is in keeping with the character of the pure, chiseled and fantastically intense full-bodied and muscular flavors that possess serious punch and verve on the equally explosive and very fresh finish. This also has that ‘wow’ sensation because of the beautiful sense of tension that is like a tightly coiled spring. Terrific. 95

Montille Corton Charlemagne

(1.04 ha of south-facing vineyards located in Pougets; these were old Corton (rouge) vines grafted over to chardonnay beginning with 2004 vintage)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2006: Perfumed aromas of apple and nutmeg. Large-scaled, tactile and wonderfully ripe, with rich apple and peach flavors. Very sweet and broad for young Corton-Charlemagne, combining impressive volume and lovely finesse of texture. This was acidified, but one would never know it. Finishes rich, sweet and very long, without the austerity so often shown by this grand cru. There’s just a single barrel of this juice from the family’s new half-hectare holding on 25-year-old roots. (This is actually a south- facing parcel in Corton Pougets that was grafted over to chardonnay two years ago.) 90-93

Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue No. 27, July 1, 2007: While the entire parcel eligible to be declared as Corton-Charlemagne measures 1.05 ha, it was originally planted to pinot noir and was grafted over to chardonnay in 2004. As a result, the net production was only about 15% of what it will eventually be in 2010 and the vines produced a total of one barrel. An expressive nose of discreetly toasty oak, green apple and spicy pear aromas gives way to rich, full and impressively intense big-bodied flavors that possess excellent volume and a fresh, vibrant and pure finish that just goes on and on. If 2005 is indeed representative of what we can expect going forward, room will need to be made among the very best producers of this appellation to welcome a new member as this is extremely impressive. 93-95

Colin-Morey Corton Charlemagne

(Negociant wine; half comes from 25 year-old vines En Charlemagne vines with a southwest exposure and half comes from 45 year-old vines in Le Charlemagne with a south/southwest exposure; both parcels are usually picked the same day and vinified together)

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2006: First cuvee, from Aloxe (fermentation finished): Aromas of apple, spices and liquid stone, with the metallic aspect often shown by young examples from this grand cru. Then wonderfully concentrated and precise, with uncanny sucrosite for a dry wine (this has just 1.3 grams of r.s.). Rock-solid yet supple and ripe, with captivating ginger apple flavor. Finishes with outstanding persistence. A great sample. Second cuvee, from Pernand: Ginger, apple and crushed stone on the nose; just a hint of malic acidity remaining. Then thoroughly ripe and sappy, with a dominant crushed stone character suggesting cool soil. Offers the combination of density, strong acidity and length that normally points to a very long evolution in bottle. These two lots, both from purchased grapes, will be assembled into a single wine, which is likely to be extraordinary. 93-97

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database. Tasted Dec 4. 2011: There are still noticeable toast elements coupled with overtly ripe and complex green fruit, white apple and pear aromas that merge into big, textured and notably big-boned flavors that feel almost opulent as the texture and mid-palate fat render the acidity almost invisible. This is a big and very rich wine that is impressive through its sheer size and weight and as such will most please those who enjoy power white burgundy as it’s here in spades. For my taste, this has arrived at its apogee and while it will certainly continue to hold for many years to come, I don’t foresee any additional upside development. 93

Don Cornwell, notes from a tasting on January 24, 2008: Light yellow-green color; brilliant citrus and green apple aromas; bright citrus and pear flavors yet fatter than virtually all 2004’s I’ve had; some minerality in the back half of the mid-palate; long fruit and effect finish. 92+


By round four the glass explosion was nearly overwhelming! This is even AFTER some had been cleared.

Trio of Veal Loin, Cheek, Tongue, Oven Roasted Maitake Mushrooms, Apple-Celery-Vanilla Purée, Confit Lemon. Very tasty reduction.

2001 Chateau de Fargues

Wine Advocate: Still in barrel, this Chateau d’Yquem look-alike exhibits powerful creme brulee characteristics along with some volatile acidity, huge, full-bodied, unctuously textured flavors, ample intensity as well as purity, and caramelized tropical fruits. This brawny heavyweight requires 5-6 years of bottle age, and should evolve for three decades. 94-96

Passion, Pineapple, Mango. Rum Baba Boules. Passion Fruit Frozen Kumo. Oven Roasted Pineapples. Paired brilliantly too.


All the wines in  a line. Wow!

This was a stunning dinner. The food was really spot on and Wolfgang himself popped in to say hi. He really gets around as I’ve seen him a large percentage of the time when I eat at ANY of his places. There was plenty of food too, although my food snob preferences would have been for more dishes, but each one was extremely well executed, some memorable even (like the Ravioli).

What can you say about the wines? Those of you who only know Chardonnay through its pathetic internationalized and manipulated variants are really missing something. White Burgundy, which I find many (less serious) wine drinkers aren’t really aware of, is in a rarefied class by itself and this was a hyper focused peak into a slice of the best of the best. Now, I still prefer great red Burgundy — nothing really matches the brilliance of an awesome Bonnes-Mares, Richebourg or the like — but it was great to really delve into a comparison of the different vineyards. One of my take aways was invest in more Meursault Perrieres because it’s a really sexy wine, and not quite as pricey as some of the grand crus.

I eagerly await night 2, which will focus on the “hyphenated” Montrachet’s like (Batard-Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet) and will be hosted at Valentinos. I’ve learned some things about how to taste at these events and will be better prepared to do it a different way. I would like to reach the point where I can write up a competent professional report myself, but I still have a way to go with whites (and to a lesser extent with reds).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists climb the Peak
  2. Never Boaring – Il Grano
  3. Hedonists at Dahab
  4. Hedonism at Esso
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 2005 White Burgundy, Allen Meadows, Burgundy, Chablis wine, Chardonnay, Corton-Charlemagne, Foodie Club, Meursault, Spago, Stephen Tanzer, White Burgundy

Hedonism in the Desert – Azeen’s Afghani

Feb04

Restaurant: Azeen’s Afghani [1, 2, 3]

Location: 110 East Union Street, Pasadena, Ca, 911103. 626-683-3310

Date: January 31, 2013

Cuisine: Afghan

Rating: Awesome!

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Another week and another Hedonist dinner. We braved traffic to take on Azeen’s Afghani in Pasadena, dominating the restaurant as usual with a giant table.


The elegant room is covered in murals.


We aren’t the only ones who love Azeen’s.


The menu. This place is amazing AND will not break the bank.


Billecart-Salmon Champagne to open.


Pakawra-e-badenjan. Batter dipped, sautéed slices of eggplant topped with yogurt and meat sauce.


This 25 year-old white Burgundy had a cork so dry that it popped down into the bottle at the slightest touch of the screw – still, it wasn’t in bad shape for it’s age. Perhaps it was a tad thin, although it opened up nicely in the 10-20 minute (after uncorking) time frame, then shut down again.


Aushak. Leek and scallion filled dumplings, topped with yogurt and meat sauce, sprinkled with mint.


From my cellar, Parker 93, “This estate’s Corton-Bressandes is a wine I search out in vintages with good ripeness. It is never huge, muscular, or a blockbuster but can often be sultry, seductive, detailed, and simply lovely. A recently tasted 1990, while at least three years from maturity, was fabulous. The 1996 displays sweet red cherry and Asian spice aromatics as well as a gorgeously refined character filled with candied and delineated cherries. This elegant, sexy, and feminine offering is medium-to-full-bodied, silky-textured, and possesses a long and refreshing finish.”


Mantu. Steamed dumplings filled with chopped beef, onions and herbs topped with yogurt and sautéed Mixed vegetables.


Parker 91-93, “The 2007 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast displays plenty of raspberry and floral notes, has a deep ruby/purple color, nicely integrated wood, medium to full body, and a spicy finish.”


Bulanee. Turnover filled with leek, scallions and herbs.


This other new world pinot gets about a 91 online.


Bulanee-e-katchalu. Turnover filled with potatoes, ground beef and herbs.


Parker 94-97, “The saturated ruby/purple-colored 2002 Pinot Noir Three Sisters-Lambing Barn Vineyard reveals a powerful, complex bouquet of blackberry and black cherry liqueur intertwined with notions of framboise, violets, and loamy soil. Plum, fig, and pure red and black fruit aromas soar from the glass of this full-bodied blockbuster.”

Parker sure loves these. It was still too oaked for my Burgundian taste, although smoother than the 2003 we had the previous week. All that oak is hiding some gorgeous fruit.


Aush. Vegetable, noodle and yogurt soup sprinkled with dill topped with meat sauce.


Aush has many of the same ingredients as some of the other dishes, but the soup factor really  works. Great stuff.


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Parker 94, “Still one of the most backward wines of the vintage, Leoville-Barton’s 1982 is a wine of huge extract, high tannin, and a somewhat ancient style that recalls some of the Bordeaux of the late forties. The color is still a dense, even murky, opaque ruby/garnet. The wine offers up notes of licorice, cedar, black truffles, and sweet currant fruit. I had the wine twice in 2002, and my tasting note was almost identical to the last time I had it, in 1997, showing just how slowly this wine is evolving. The wine is enormous in the mouth, but still has some rather gritty, high tannins. It is a classic St.-Julien, with meat and black currants, great structure, and an amazingly youthful, vigorous feel.”

This wine was really drinking VERY nicely.


Smarooq challaw. Tender pieces of breast of chicken sautéed with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and green peppers.


From my cellar, Parker 92, “The 1996 Hermitage La Sizeranne exhibits a saturated dense purple color, a classic, smoky, cassis-scented nose, and fresh acidity nicely meshed with the wine’s rich, concentrated black fruit character and high tannin. This full-bodied, muscular, backward La Sizeranne requires patience. It is aged all in cask, of which 50% were new.”


Kabob-e-gousfand and kabob-e-tika. Tender cubes of lamb and beef respectively.


A very nice Syrah. Parker high 90s, “There are 400+ cases of Kongsgaard’s distinctive Syrah. Aged in 50% new French oak, it is fashioned from a special parcel of Hudson Vineyard vines planted in volcanic soils. The wine possesses striking blackberry, ground pepper, fried bacon fat, barbecue spice, and underbrush/composty characteristics that are also meaty and primordial. The volcanic soils may give this wine a more smoky, scorched, meaty character than other Northern California Syrahs. As the wine sits in the glass, notes of melted licorice also emerge. Extremely layered and long. This cuvee always benefits from 2-3 hours of decanting, and a young vintage might even be better if decanted 24 hours in advance. It is unquestionably the most singular expression of Syrah in Northern California.”


Kabob-e-murgh. Tender chunks of breast of chicken.


Parker 95, “The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, which comes from multiple fruit sources in Rutherford, Oakville, Yountville, Coombsville, Oak Knoll and Carneros, was aged in 100% new French oak. A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it exhibits an opaque purple color, great intensity and a sweet nose of blue and black fruits intermixed with toasty oak, lead pencil shavings and forest floor. Rich, layered and full-bodied with silky tannins.”


Challaw. Seasoned rice.


Vegetarian dishes. In the back is some Katchalu. Potatoes cooked with onions, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic.


Sabsi. Sautéed spinach cooked with onions and garlic.


This cilantro chile sauce is awesome.


Parker was not a fan, 75 points! “One of the thinner, leaner, more malnourished Cabernet Sauvignons in my tasting, this primarily Cabernet Sauvignon blended with touches of Merlot and Cabernet Franc did not perform well. It is under-fruited and medium-bodied with a short finish.”


Kadu. Sautéed butternut squash topped with yogurt and meat sauce. Incredibly succulent.


The flat bread goes great dipped in the green sauce – or the Aush!


No space on the table.

I’m always a big fan of old Madeira’s and this didn’t disappoint. Parker has his “technical” opinion below, but this was an extremely enjoyable treat.

Parker 88, “The 1875 Malvasia is showing a little flabbiness on the nose, with smudged notes of brown sugar, nougat and coconut. The palate is sweet and a little saccharine on the entry. It shows good weight and substance, but it feels a little cloying towards the finish. There are better bottles out there and, indeed, returning to the same bottle after two weeks it had gained more composure.”


Baghlava. hin layers of pastry with walnuts and pistachios, syrup soaked.


Firnee. A light pudding with almonds and pistachios served chilled. Yum, yum! This was creamy and saturated with rose water, which I love.


Gelabee. Fried Pastry Dipped in Sugar Syrup.


Yarom, the owner Abdul, and I.


Annik didn’t get enough food (haha), so she popped next door for some ice cream!


The chaos.

This was another amazing Hedonist blow out. The food is so tasty here. Afghan is a really delectable cuisine. Middle eastern with a hint of China, Persia, and India. It’s not spicy but is packed with flavor. Growing up, we used to frequently enjoy this cuisine in the Washington suburbs. You can check that out here.

The service at Azeen’s is fantastic. Abdul really makes you feel welcome. And Azeen’s is probably the best kitchen execution I’ve experienced in an Afghan restaurant  I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s better than 99% of the places in Kabul.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.


Related posts:

  1. Hedonism at Esso
  2. Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge
  3. Hedonists at La Paella
  4. Hedonists at STK
  5. Hedonists at Dahab
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Afghan Cuisine, aush, Azeen's Afghani, Foodie Club, hedonists, mantu, Pasadena, Yoghurt

Never Boaring – Il Grano

Jan25

Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: January 23, 2013

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Not boaring in the least!

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As any frequent reader knows, I feast all the time with my Hedonist buddies, and recently, our fearless leader Yarom hunted down his own boar. Yeah, that’s right, here’s the bloody proof.


On the left above is Yarom posing with his boar. On the right is a friend of his, who shot a monster of a male boar. Yarom went for a nice juicy sow because, well, they taste much better. The fellow on the right is probably tough and gamey as hell. And that is the point of this post after all, to talk about food. Namely, the epic feast the above boar turned into. Yarom had her butchered and gave different parts of the meat to different restauranteurs. A big chunk went to Il Grano’s Sal Marino to turn into a spectacular Italian meal.

As usual we Hedonists brought some stellar wines to go along with it.


Ron, the master of bubbly and white brought this. Parker 94+, “The 2002 Brut Coeur de Cuvee is absolutely stunning. This young, towering Champagne bursts from the glass with layers of mineral-infused fruit, showing fabulous intensity and purity from start to finish. Hints of tropical, opulent fruit are very nicely tempered by the wine’s underlying structure. Think Montrachet with bubbles. The Coeur de Cuvee is made from 50 year old vines in Les Blanches Voies Hautes. The blend is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Disgorged May 2010.”

Really one of the best champagnes I’ve had in some time.


Our boaring menu for the night.


We sat in the private room at a nice round table. This is the same spot where I hosted my birthday sixth months ago.


Burghound 93-95, “It seemed relatively supple and forward, indeed more or less ready to drink. To be sure, there was no obvious secondary nuances in evidence and still good freshness to the rich, intense and vibrant flavors brimming with minerality on the impressively long finish. Impeccably stored bottles might need another few years to arrive at their peak but absent this bottle being an aberration, I don’t think that opening one today would be infanticide.”


Parker 95, “The 2008 Echezeaux is flat-out great. It is a deep, dark wine graced with exquisite balance, lovely inner perfume and a layered, eternal finish. Here the slightly higher percentage of new oak (70%) gives the wine an additional measure of volume.”

Burghound 92, “A ripe, spicy and relatively elegant aromatic profile presents a fruit array that is primarily red-fruit based. The rich and full-bodied flavors possess ample volume and the tannins are really quite fine but dense and as such, the persistent and solidly well-balanced finish is firm and mildly austere. This will not be an early drinker.”

This was a great wine and just didn’t taste 5 years old, more like 15!


House made mini boar meatballs. These had a wonderful simple flavor: meat, with just a few spices.


From my cellar, Parker 96, “The fabulous 1998 Barolo Falletto del Serralunga reveals intensity and volume. A dark plum color is accompanied by a classic Nebbiolo perfume of rose water, melted tar, truffles, and cherry jam. As the wine sits in the glass, aromas of spice box and cigar smoke also emerge. Full-bodied, dense, and powerfully tannic, yet extremely harmonious.”


House made boar sausage, mozzarella & rapini pizza. Like the ultimate sausage pizza!


Parker 94, “The 2004 Barolo La Serra reveals a generous personality in its dark red fruit with notable depth and richness that carries through to the persistent, sweet finish. With air, floral notes develop to round out this particularly multi-dimensional, full-bodied and beautiful La Serra. 2004 is a great vintage for this wine, which can sometimes be austere.”


Then Sal gets funky, straying from the Italian beat. Boar empanadas! Really yummy.


Parker 96, “Two great back to back vintages are the 1990 and 1989. The more developed 1990 boasts an incredible perfume of hickory wood, coffee, smoked meat, Asian spices, black cherries, and blackberries. Lush, opulent, and full-bodied, it is a fully mature, profound Beaucastel.”

… except, it was corked. Bummer, but it happens.


And boar tacos.


With homemade guacamole and salsa (not pictured).


Parker 99, “Marcassin Estate continues to grow, although still ever so tiny, with just over 20 acres of tightly spaced vineyards on the Sonoma Coast. They also supplement their estate bottlings with purchased fruit from vineyards owned by the Martinelli family which they help manage, the Three Sisters Vineyard for Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir from the Blue Slide Vineyard. Their dominant Chardonnay clones continue to be based on the old Wente clones taken from the Hudson and Hyde Vineyards, and the Mt.Eden clone. The Pinot Noir material is dominated by California heritage clones. Little changes under the firm’s leadership of Helen Turley and her husband John Wetlaufer (now married 42 years), and as someone raised in Maryland, I am proud to say they were schooled at the renowned St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. They have always been committed to the highest quality of wines possible. It is akin to being tutored by a great master to sit down and taste through their series of Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. They added a few wrinkles this time by throwing into the tasting a 2005 Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet, which was completely obliterated by their own Chardonnays, and with the Pinot Noirs, a highly rated grand cru red Burgundy from the 2005 vintage that didn’t fare particularly well either. Their point was that not only are their wines superior (and I would certainly agree with these comparisons), but also that some of the most famous names in Burgundy have more sizzle and snobbery behind them than actual quality. The Pinot Noirs are very complex and need lots of aeration/decanting to strut their stuff. They continue to remind me of grand crus from Morey St.-Denis, especially wines such as Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche because of the following. NOTE: Prices noted are from the winery’s mailing list. These wines sell for 2 to 3 times more in the secondary market.”

I don’t know what Parker is smoking, but this sure shows he doesn’t know Pinot Noir. This was over oaked and my least favorite wine of the night. Not that it was bad, but I just don’t like the new world style of Pinot.

To the right, and much more to my liking, Parker 91, “The 1996 Barbaresco exhibits a dense ruby color as well as a forward nose of cherry liqueur, earth, truffle, mineral, and spicy scents. Rich, full-bodied, and seductive, with its moderate tannin largely concealed by the wine’s wealth of fruit and extract, this gorgeously pure offering gets my nod as the finest Barbaresco produced by Gaja since 1990.”


Then the best “sausage and peppers” I’ve ever had. The meat had this succulent game spiciness.


Parker 99, “The 250-case cuvee of 100% Merlot, the 1999 Redigaffi has an astonishing 36 grams per liter of dry extract, which exceeds most top Pomerols in a great vintage! Unfined and unfiltered, it is as close to perfection as a wine can get. The color is a deep saturated blue/purple. The powerful, pure nose offers smoke, licorice, black cherry, and blackberries. It boasts awesome concentration, a fabulously dense, viscous mid-section, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. This is riveting juice.”


Polenta with boar ragu. This was pretty stunning too with a wonderful soft texture.


Parker 90, “In 2003, we will finally see several releases, including his 1997 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier. Although this is an outstanding effort from a difficult vintage, Bonneau is used to producing wines that are far better out of bottle than from barrel. This 1997 has gotten better with each year of aging, and from bottle, it is an outstanding example of Chateauneuf du Pape. A heady concoction of kirsch liqueur, licorice, pepper, and ripe black cherry fruit is offered in a rich, full-bodied, surprisingly intense style. The acid is low, the fruit ripe, and the wine plump and juicy. Typical of many Bonneau efforts, it offers notes of smoke, beef blood, earth, figs, and prunes.”

Again Parker misses, as this was a wonderful wine.


And the classic: Pappardelle al Cinghiale. Sal makes this normally and it’s fabulous, but this one might have been extra good.


Parker 95, “If it were not for the prodigious 1996, everyone would be concentrating on getting their hands on a few bottles of the fabulous 1995 Leoville-Las-Cases, which is one of the vintage’s great success stories. The wine boasts an opaque ruby/purple color, and exceptionally pure, beautifully knit aromas of black fruits, minerals, vanillin, and spice. On the attack, it is staggeringly rich, yet displays more noticeable tannin than its younger sibling. Exceptionally ripe cassis fruit, the judicious use of toasty new oak, and a thrilling mineral character intertwined with the high quality of fruit routinely obtained by Las Cases, make this a compelling effort. There is probably nearly as much tannin as in the 1996, but it is not as perfectly sweet as in the 1996. The finish is incredibly long in this classic. Only 35% of the harvest was of sufficient quality for the 1995 Leoville-Las-Cases.”


Boar chops, peal barley, and pea tendrils. Wild boar isn’t the tenderest pork chop you ever tasted, but it does have a great flavor.


Parker 96, “The prodigious 1997 Insignia (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 3% Petit-Verdot) lives up to its pre-bottling promise. Tasted on three separate occasions, every bottle has hit the bull’s eye. The color is a saturated thick-looking blue/purple. The nose offers up explosive aromas of jammy black fruits, licorice, Asian spices, vanillin, and cedar. Full-bodied as well as exceptionally pure and impressively endowed, this blockbuster yet surprisingly elegant wine cuts a brilliant swath across the palate. A seamless effort with beautifully integrated acidity, sweet tannin, and alcohol, it is still an infant, but can be drunk with considerable pleasure.”


Then the leg. This reminds me of Jose Andres’ “secreto” which you can see here.


Parker 95, “L’Evangile’s sublime 2005, a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, is the first wine made in their brand new cuverie. Sadly, there are fewer than 3,500 cases of this deep purple-colored offering. A gorgeous nose of meat juices, black raspberries, chocolate, espresso, and notions of truffle oil as well as smoke is followed by a full-bodied Pomerol displaying sweet tannin, a flawless texture, and stunning complexity. While surprisingly showy and forward for a l’Evangile, it will undoubtedly shut down over the next year or so.”


A slice of the leg. Really gamey and tender.


Then some bones for gnawing.


Chef/Owner Sal surveys the carnage.


This wonderful medium old maderira “served” for dessert.


And for dessert itself, this orange tart which was a lovely finish to all the meat.


Check out what we did to the table!

This was another knock down great evening and it was fun to see Sal cook in a different style. He really rose to the occasion and treated the boar right.

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,
Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.


Yarom pigs out on some knuckles.


The impressive spread for the evening.

Related posts:

  1. Il Grano Birthday
  2. Il Grano part 2
  3. Il Grano – Only 19 courses?
  4. Tomato Night at Il Grano
  5. ThanksGavin 2011 – The Main Event
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: boar, Chardonnay, Dessert, Foodie Club, hedonists, Il Grano, Nebbiolo, Pinot noir, Sal Marino, Santa Monica California, Wild boar, Wine tasting descriptors

Hedonists climb the Peak

Dec31

Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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

Date: December 27, 2012

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

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For the last Hedonist dinner of the year, we return to Saddle Peak Lodge. It’s pretty much the perfect venue for a winter food and wine blast, with charming lodge interior, a crackling fire, 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) and this event has several 100 point blow out wines.


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.


The gamey interior has a lot of charm.


Our lovely little private room. The menu can be found here.


We open with this champagne. The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


Pretzel bread.


Carrot soup. Tons of cream, which gave it a fantastic richness like a lobster bisque.


A bit of salmon on blini with creme fraiche and caviar.


Burghound 91-94, “Power, size and weight to the concentrated and mineral-driven broad-shouldered flavors that possess excellent length on the bone dry and overtly austere finish. This should be a classic Latour Corton-Charlemagne in time.”

Pan seared Maine scallops with Nueske ham, sautéed brocolini, leek-potato cream, parsley gremolata and sweet potato crisps. The ham and cream factor added some serious richness to this dish.

First in a pair of top flight red Burgundies.

Parker 93-95 and Burghound 91-93, “The 1999 Clos de Tart is certainly outstanding and potentially exceptional. It displays a gorgeous nose of rich plums, sweet black cherries, candied blueberries, and loads of spices. Medium to full-bodied and opulent, this is a lush, deep, and fresh wine. Its velvety-textured flavor profile is crammed with blueberries, red cherries, and blackberries that seem to burst in the mouth, revealing their sweet, refreshing juices, in a way not dissimilar to the finest 1996s. It also displays complex nuances of spices, oak, and hints of orange zest. This marvelous wine should be at its peak of maturity between 2005 and 2012. Bravo!”


Caesar Salad with garlic croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano.


From my cellar: Parker 94, “The profound Echezeaux is one of the best examples I have tasted from this grand cru vineyard, which has a tendency to turn out light wines. This 1990 displays a super nose of sweet black-raspberries, toasty new oak, and violets. In the mouth, there is full body, a generous yet gentle, expansive richness, an unctuous texture, and an explosively long, lovely, impeccably well-balanced finish.”

Belgian endive salad with roasted Pink Lady apples, St. Agur blue cheese, shallots, candied pecans, watercress and white balsamic vinaigrette.


From my cellar, the 1973 Mouton Rothschild. The year Mouton was officially made a “first-growth” was celebrated by a beautiful label done by Pablo Picasso. This is an example as to storage variation and rating. Parker considers this wine long gone, but I found two bottles from the same original cellar at an event where we were tasting one of them. That bottle was excellent so I took a chance on this, which was pretty fantastic too. This isn’t a blockbuster, but had moved into that really interesting secondary stage that characterizes fully mature Bordeaux. Very enjoyable.

Roasted butternut squash soup with maple mascarpone, micro basil and brown butter brioche croutons.

Brown butter yam agnolotti with toasted pine nuts, sautéed purple kale and cranberry white port sauce.


A much younger mature first growth, the 1993 Haut Brion, Parker 90-93, “Quite a surprise in a difficult vintage, a strict selection and the superb terroir of Haut Brion triumphed over a very challenging year that produced many hard, relatively herbaceous wines. The color is a surprisingly saturated deep plum/ruby. Some sweet berry fruit intermixed with menthol, graphite, damp earth, and a hint of mushroom emerges in this medium-bodied, very elegant Haut Brion that is still firmly structured but has sweet tannin and surprising length and ripeness. The wine will always represent a sleeper style.”

Ahi tuna sashimi with Hawaiian papaya, cilantro, red onion, mango, avocado, orange-ginger and pea tendrils.


Because of the next course we cracked this wonderful example of aged Chenin-blanc. Sweet without being cloying, it revealed all sorts of interesting notes.


Fatted liver of a certain fowl, rumored to be on the endangered list. With brioche and black cherry reduction. Yum!


Parker 90-93, “A charming, lush, round, generous Lynch Bages, the 1999 offers plenty of sweet black currant fruit, damp earth, licorice, cedarwood and spicy herb-like characteristics. Medium-bodied, savory and broad in the mouth with no hard edges, this fully mature effort is a somewhat underrated vintage for this estate.”

New Zealand elk tenderloin with brandied cherries, braised cipollini onions, stuffed crimini mushroom and vanilla butternut squash.

Now to go with the meat, two amazing Syrah based wines. This one is one of the best out of the Rhone Valley in France.

From my cellar, 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!”

Grilled Australian lamb racks with Swiss chard, Nueske bacon, golden raisins, piquillo pepper and pommes aligot.


And Ron brought the magnificent 1981 Penfold’s Grange Hermitage. Parker 97, “The 1981 stood out as slightly superior. Winemaker John Duval always felt this was a tannic style of Grange, but the wine has shed its tannins, and this is one of the few vintages where the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon was above 10%. Sweet notes of creme de cassis, cedarwood, charcoal, and barbecue spices are followed by a full-bodied, opulent wine displaying heady amounts of alcohol, glycerin, and density in its full-bodied, skyscraper-like texture. I was drinking this wine with great pleasure in the mid-nineties, yet here it is nearly 15 years later, and the wine does not appear to have budged much from its evolutionary state. This is a testament to how remarkably well these wines hold up, and age at such a glacial pace.”

Wild Game Trio – the Chef’s sampling of three different, game meats with individual accompaniments.


Parker 95, “I was blown away by the 2004 The Maiden, which out of bottle is even better than it was from barrel. This wine exhibits a rather flamboyant scorched earth, lead pencil, incense, licorice, and blackberry and cassis-scented nose and flavors. The wine has superb concentration and is opulent, fleshy, and very much in keeping with the style of the vintage. Despite its accessibility, I suspect this wine will drink well for at least two decades.”

Grilled buffalo New York with creamed kale vol a vent, bacon-gruyere-potato terrine and horseradish crème.


Parker 98, “this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits a brooding black/purple color as well as strong aromas of forest floor, creme de cassis, blackberries, vanillin and barbecue smoke. Rich and full-bodied, with a flawless integration of acid and tannin, this amazing wine was aged nearly 30 months in 100% new French oak, all of which is well-concealed.”


Parmesan truffle fries!


A private label version of the Harlan 2007. Parker 100! “The prodigious 2007 Harlan Estate reminds me of a hypothetical blend of the 2002 with a touch of the controversial 1997. Dense plum/purple-colored with sweet aromas of barbecue smoke, blueberries, blackberries, cassis, licorice, hot rocks and subtle oak, it is a splendidly opulent, pure wine with a skyscraper-like texture as well as stunningly deep fruit that expands gracefully across the palate. The finish lasts nearly a full minute. Because of its overwhelming richness and sweet tannins, this brilliant wine seems to be approachable now, but I suspect further nuances and complexity will emerge after 4-5 years in the bottle. This wine will still be going strong at age 25-30. Like the offerings from its sister estate, Bond, these Harlan Estate offerings are uncompromisingly brilliant examples of Napa viticulture and winemaking at its finest. Kudos to proprietor Bill Harlan.”

Apple cinnamon bread pudding served with salted caramel ice cream.

Farmer’s market caramelized pear beignets with crème anglaise.

Daily selection of house made sorbets served on ice. Coconut, Chocolate, and Banana.


And a little liquid black jelly bean to finish.

Chocolate molten whiskey cake with Guinness ice cream and Bailey’s whipped cream.


They juiced it up with this flaming brandy cherry sauce.


On fire.


Woot!


A lineup of just some of the empty bottles!


And our wonderful servers.

This was a total blow out event. The food was impeccable and the service fantastic. Plus we had a really great mix of people and some of the most awesome wines. Not one was even mediocre, it was one blockbuster after the next with the dueling mature Syrah’s (Penfold’s and Chaputier’s) as my standout favorites.

What a way to end the year!

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,
Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge
  2. Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab
  3. Hedonists Cook the Goose
  4. Hedonists at STK
  5. Hedonists at La Paella
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Foodie Club, hedonists, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Hedonists Cook the Goose

Dec19

Restaurant: Sham Tseng BBQ

Location: 203 West Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA. 626-289-4858

Date: December 17, 2012

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Awesome goose!

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It’s time for the next Hedonist adventure, this time out into the San Gabriel Valley for some really serious Cantonese.


The interior is typical of Inland Empire Chinese restaurants.


We had a private room and (for a Chinese restaurant) excellent service.


The menu. Haha. You can find one in English here.


Parker 90. “This 100% Semillon made from relatively young vines in the Haut-Brion vineyard is crisp, steely, with plenty of grapefruit, lemon zest, and white currants in a medium-bodied, fresh, lively style.” Very youthful for a 15 year-old white, it had plenty of mineralogy and floral components.


These peppers were on the table in case things grew too bland.


The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


c

A bonus wine from my cellar, “Incorporating fruit principally from Wehlener Nonnenberg, Graacher Himmelreich, and Bernkasteler Johannisbrunnchen, the generic Prum 2010 Riesling Kabinett displays an archetypal Mosel Riesling nose of fresh apple, lemon, and clover allied to faintly cheesy, leesy youthful “stink”; and comes to the palate bright and zippy, with hints of wet stone, and prominent cyanic piquancy of apple pit invigoratingly extending its mouthwateringly juicy, if tart and relatively simple finish.”


And another lovely Riesling, this one with more age and sweetness. As I’ve said before, Riesling pairs very nicely with Asian food.


Sliced suckling pig. The layer of fat notwithstanding, this was some delectable stuff. It had the plum based duck sauce on the side too which I love.


Another white, in the Sancerre style more or less.


A vegetarian dish combining mixed Chinese vegetables and this kind of spongy stuff I’ve had lots of times but have no idea what it is. It’s one of those textural Asian ingredients that is a bit weird to the American palette.


Some more whites.


Crispy roast goose with sweet sauce. This stuff was awesome, like Peking duck, minus the pancakes, but even darker and richer. It went perfectly with the sweet sauce too.


Parker 92, “The 2002 Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard offers wonderful sweet raspberry and cherry fruit with a hint of framboise, a deep plum/ruby/purple color, medium body, and good vibrancy in a medium to full-bodied, feminine style.”

Not bad for a new world pinot, and in the Burgundy style. Of course it’s no Burgundy.


Parker 91-93, “Following the brilliant success of Kistler’s 2007s, Steve Kistler and his sidekick, Mark Bixler, deserve kudos for what they have achieved in the more challenging 2008 vintage. This is the first vintage in which 100% of the fermentations were indigenous, and, fortunately, all their Sonoma Coast vineyards were far enough south that they were not tainted by any of the smoke from the ferocious fires that spread through Mendocino. The 2008s appear to be slightly more fruit-forward, with a touch less minerality than the 2007s.”


Duck tongue in spicy oil. These looked disgusting. The idea is repulsive, but hey, they tasted pretty damn good. Sweet and very fried.


The last of the new world pinots.


Soy sauce crispy quail. Also very good, although there is that high bone to meat ratio that is always the case with small birds.


From my cellar, the first of the “real” pinots. Burghound 95, “A perfumed, complex and mostly still primary nose offers up earthy red berry fruit, underbrush and a touch of animale that can also be found on the generous and quite fleshy flavors that possess excellent volume as well as buckets of dry extract that almost render the firm and ripe tannins invisible on the massively long finish. Wow, this is a stunner of a wine with still plenty of upside potential remaining.”


Shredded potato with dried chili. It is what it is.


This Burg was my favorite wine of the night and, alas, I didn’t bring it. It had mellowed into that wonderful brick colored secondary flavor vibe that older Burgundy gets. Lovely.


Green Mustard greens with garlic in supreme broth.


From my cellar. This puppy was still a bit closed and the fruit was hiding. Nice, but it should have been better.


Deep Fried Crispy Intestine with Fruit Nectar. Okay, this stuff LOOKS nasty. It tasted so fried that you couldn’t really tell what it was. I’m still feeling a little queazy.


Another grand cru. Parker 91-93, “The Bocquenet 2005 Echezeaux – from high up in the Rouges du Bas section, adjoining Les Beaux Monts – exhibits abundant, nose- and palate-filling black fruits, prominent sweet spiciness, formidable though fine tannins, and a long, sweet, smoky, very lightly cooked and caramelized finish that is sumptuous even with the tannins. It will take years for them to round out, but some progress may well be made in tank prior to bottling.”


Goose intestine stir fried with green onions.


Parker 93, “Based on the strength of his 1994s, proprietor Roman Bratasiuk was named one of my “Wine Producers of the Year” in issue #108. His skill in turning old head-pruned vines into majestic wines of extraordinary richness and purity has been confirmed with the release of the 1995s. These wines are massive and rich as well as extraordinarily well-balanced and pure. I have never tasted an Australian Merlot that was more concentrated than Penfold’s Grange, a Shiraz-based wine. Clarendon Hills’ 1995 Merlot (250 cases available for America) is an opaque purple-colored wine with a knock-out nose of raspberry liqueur, chocolate, smoke, and spice. The wine is enormously extracted with a density and texture reminiscent of pre-1976 vintages of Petrus. Sumptuous, and almost over the top in its richness and density, this unctuously thick, full-bodied wine is fabulous to smell, taste, and consume. This is great stuff! As youthful as this Merlot is, I have no doubt it will last for 15 or more years. These are amazing wines.”


Crispy tofu with 3 ingredient. This stuff was pretty good. Very soft and fluffy, like tofu marshmallows.


Parker 90,”The 1999 Altagracia, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon cuvee from estate vineyards, is the debut vintage. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with low acidity, and plump, sweet, pure, black currant fruit intermixed with mineral and licorice notes. This delicious Cabernet is on a faster revolutionary track than its more profound sibling, the celebrated Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.”


Crispy fried frogs. They tasted like fry but had all sorts of little bones inside.


Parker 91, “Smoke, cedar, tobacco and earthiness are among the nuances that come to life in the estate’s 1999 Barbera d’Asti Vigna del Noce. Some of the primary fruit has melted away, resulting in a highly complex, engaging Barbera that is very rewarding to drink now.”


Honey BBQ Ribs with Black pepper. Good stuff. Another of my favorite dishes. A tad chewy, but very tasty (and fried).


Parker 93, “This is unquestionably a profound Grand-Puy-Lacoste, but it is excruciatingly backward. It reveals an essence of creme de cassis character which sets it apart from other Pauillacs. The wine is displaying plenty of tannin, huge body, and sweet black currant fruit intermixed with minerals and subtle oak. Massive, extremely structured, and with 25-30 or more years of longevity, this immensely-styled Grand-Puy-Lacoste will require 7-8 years of patience, perhaps longer. A superb, classic Pauillac.”


Goose webs (feet) in brown sauce. Ick!


Another new world red I don’t know much about.


Crispy fried fish. Good, and again, very fried.


One of those Rhone style new non-AOC French wines. Not unlike their Spanish counterparts, these are big, bold, grapey beasts.


Sweet and sour pork. Also really tasty, because of all that fry. There were little bones and gristle bits in here, so you kind of gnaw pleasantly on them.


A big, bold classic Saint-Joseph. A bit rustic, but full of flavor.

Black cod with Ginger, Green Onion & Dry Bean Stick.



This was way, way too young, but it is a raison/grape monster and actually fairly enjoyable. Imagine mixing Welches Grape Concentrate with a 1/4 the water you should.

Parker 94, “The 2009 Bone Rock is a round, enticing red laced with sweet, succulent dark cherries, plums, flowers and spices. It shows remarkable intensity and fabulous balance. Bone Rock is made from the first blocks planted in the James Berry vineyard and is predominantly Syrah, while the James Berry Vineyard (the wine) is Grenache focused. In 2009 the blend was 57% Syrah, 31% Mourvedre and 12% Grenache. The Syrah component was vinified with 100% stems and saw a maceration lasting 50 days. The wine was aged in 60% new oak. Smith bottled the 2009 in May 2011, earlier than the norm (around 30 months), as he wanted to preserve the freshness he had in the tannins.”


Red cod with soy sauce and green onion. Another fish. I think half of this one was actually our fried fish! Pretty typical Chinese whole fish in this prep.


Mango pudding. These were tasty little mango cups. There was some sweetened condensed milk on the side too one could add on top. A nice finish.

Overall, this was fabulous fun, food, and wine. There were a number of really outstanding dishes (like the goose, roast pig, etc) and everything was well executed — even if a few were a little squirmy for my taste (intestines!). Things were very fried, but that’s this cuisine. I actually like many other regional cuisines in China better than Cantonese. Szechuan for example, but that didn’t stop this from being a wonderful meal.

Umm, that goose was so good!

For more crazy Hedonist and Foodie Club meals.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Yes, he’s chomping down on a goose foot!

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab
  2. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  3. Hedonists at Jitlada
  4. Hedonists at La Paella
  5. Hedonists at Dahab
By: agavin
Comments (10)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, bbq, Chinese cuisine, Foodie Club, Goose, hedonists, Riesling, Roast Goose, Sham Tseng, suckling pig, Wine tasting descriptors

Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab

Nov19

Restaurant: The Boiling Crab

Location: 3377 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 115, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Date: November 15, 2012

Cuisine: Cajun Seafood

Rating: Negative frills, but really tasty

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Good food doesn’t always have to be fancy. My most recent Hedonist adventure was to The Boiling Crab, the Korea-Town outpost of a cajun seafood joint.


The place is located in a built up K-Town food oriented minimall.


And, boy, is it popular. This was a random Thursday and the wait was over an hour. I’ve heard that on weekends it can be 2-4!


Hedonists events require that everyone bring a bottle of wine. I brought three! Just in case. On this particular night, we had eleven people, but only a few wine drinkers. Boiling Crab doesn’t even serve wine, so I’ve learned to bring my own glasses (Riedel restaurant grade) in my rolling wine carrier. The wines are shoved in the back along with some icepacks (whites) and a bunch of cork screws and the like.


Le menu. Simple, and pretty much all market price. The market price was damn reasonable too, for example, just $17/lb for main lobster and $8/lb for blue crab!


And this is because TBC does not spend any money on extras. There are no plates. No glasses. No utensils. Food is served in plastic bags. Yes, that’s right, plastic bags. I’ve never even seen this before!

Given that this place serves seafood covered in spice, butter, and garlic, two of us brought good German Rieslings.

Parker 93, “The complex 2003 Riesling Auslese Erdener Treppchen boasts a nose of honeysuckle blossoms. Medium-bodied, supple, and silky-textured, it exhibits an expressive flavor profile composed of red fruits, pears, and spices. In addition, this luscious, pure wine possesses a long, fruit-filled finish.”

This one had a little age and a hint of classic Riesling petrol.


TBC is bib worthy. In fact, it’s the messiest restaurant I can remember eating at.


This is Dungeness Crab with Sha-Bang sauce (cajun, lemon pepper, and garlic butter). It comes just like that, crab in a bag with sauce. No utensils, you just reach in and crab the hot crab.


Then you pull it apart with your hands. They throw a couple lousy nut crackers on the table. Again, no forks. No plates! But it was delicious!


We also had a bag of king crab legs. Here’s one that escaped.


From my cellar: Parker 96, “After a performance like this for a Spatlese, the warning was hardly necessary! Donnhoff’s 2009 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese offers a riot of herbal aromas reminiscent of but far more intense and diverse than that of the corresponding Grosses Gewachs, and here, too, accompanied by grapefruit and passion fruit in a manner that calls to mind Sauvignon. Horehound, licorice, sage, mint, black tea, nut oils, candied grapefruit rind, and crushed stone inform a silken-textured palate. As with the corresponding Brucke, there is a remarkable interactivity on display, and a depth of mineral and animal savor that goes beyond crustacean shell reduction or veal demi-glace, leaving me salivating helplessly.”

This was my Riesling, and it was considerably sweeter than the first one. In my opinion, both paired fantastically with the spicy garlic seafood.


Some really yummy cajun sausage. It didn’t even come by itself but was “in the bag” (literally) with the shrimp.


Here are the shrimp (and some refuse). Again, bag of shrimp. You have to reach in and grab them. By the time you do, your entire hand is coated to the wrist with spicy garlic butter!


Parker 93, “David Powell consistently excels with The Steading, an 8,000 case blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Shiraz. Aged 22 months in 300 liter hogsheads (foudres), it represents Australia’s version of Chateauneuf du Pape. The 2002 The Steading’s big, spicy, earthy nose reveals notions of cherry liqueur, licorice, pepper, dried Provencal herbs, raspberries, and leather. Ripe, medium to full-bodied, chewy, and heady, it is best drunk during its first 7-8 years of life, although it will last a lot longer.”

This was a nice wine, but I thought it clashed pretty badly with the food. Really any red would.


Cajun fried catfish over cajun fries. Pretty delectable, hot as Bejesus, and had a nice earthy catfish taste. Eaten with your hands, of course.


Some of the shrimp on the table. The cost savings here is passed onto the consumer: you have to de-head and de-leg and de-vein your own shrimp. They were, however, awesome, and probably even better than the crab. The sauce was literally finger licking good.


And we also had a bag of corn. It was a little mushy, but very sweet and I loved it with the salty garlic sauce.

Sweet potato fries.


Parker 94, “The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape is dominated by Grenache with major amounts of Mourvedre, Syrah and other authorized varietals. Its dense ruby/plum color is followed by aromas of smoked meats, roasted Provencal herbs, a gamy character and lots of kirsch, black currant and blue fruits. Rich and full-bodied, it is softer than most young vintages of Vieux Donjon tend to be.”

Very nice, smooth wine, but too strong for the food.


We ordered up a lobster. $42 for a 2.5 pounder!


Quite the fellow, and delicious.


Here is his tail, sitting in a bloody pool of cajun juice.


And a bit of repulsive leftovers. We had to periodically venture forth, grab some plastic bags from the counter, and then return and sweet this crap away. It’s very self serve.


But I doubt they’ve ever had a party that brings 4-5 of their own wine glasses each!

Despite the mess, this place was pretty fantastic. And what a deal, $39 all in for each person (including tax and tip). The above was food for five too! You’re paying entirely for the seafood, and nothing extra. I don’t mind the atmosphere or mess (it is what it is), but I wish there wasn’t such a long line :-). I guess nothing is too good to be true.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for more crazy Foodie Club meals.

At The Boiling Crab, even girls get their hands dirty (this is some random adjacent table).

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at Dahab
  2. Tidewater Crab
  3. Hedonists at La Paella
  4. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  5. Hedonists at STK
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Boiling Crab, Cajun, Chateauneuf du Pape, corn, crab, Donnhoff, Foodie Club, hedonists, Lobster, Los Angeles, Riesling, Sausage, Seafood, shrimp, Spätlese, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Hedonists at Dahab

Nov09

Restaurant: Cafe Dahab

Location: 1640 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca, 90025

Date: November 6, 2012 & September 21, 2015

Cuisine: Egyptian

Rating: Tasty!

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Just a mere three days after the Hedonists tore up Totoraku, we return to this nearby casual Egyptian cafe and Hookah bar: Dahab.

This was a decidedly more casual affair, although the basic rules are the same. Each person needs to come with at least one great bottle of wine. Standards aren’t as high as for a stellar meat dinner like Toto, but there was still some great stuff. And this drew a crowd of over 20!

The Dahab menu can be found here.


This is a third of the table. It was a crazy warm November night and we sat outside, filling the entire patio. There were so many of us that Yarom (our fearless organizer) had to float chairless! There also wasn’t even close to enough space on the table and the restaurant doesn’t even own wine glasses. Good thing I brought 8 Riedels of my own and several others did as well.


We started with this champagne brought by white and bubbly maestro Ron. The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


Olives and pickled radishes.


Parker 95, “This year there is also only one Willi Haag wine with the name 2006 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese, athough for the record this carries the A.P. #6. It mingles white peach, vanilla, honey, and nut oils in a wine of uncanny refinement, delicacy and palate-saturating richness, representing a classic example of the magic in the Burgerslay section of the Juffer, whence Marcus’s father drew some of the greatest (if too-little appreciated) Middle Mosel wines of the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s. Juicy melon and white peach and kinetic citrus are beautifully folded into a creamy, vanilla-tinged envelope, then burst forth in a lusciously long finish with a distinct note of slate stone. It’s impossible not to compare this Auslese with the great 1975, and I believe it to be the masterpiece of Marcus Haag’s career thus far. If you are lucky enough to latch on to bottles of this incredible value – and I have seen them floating around at prices far lower than the already low suggested retail price noted above – treasure them and if possible wait 8-10 years before opening. There exist more than enough wonderful 2006 Mosel Auslesen you can enjoy younger. This one may well be worth following for 30 or more years.”


Warm pita bread.

A dry styled Oregon Riesling and “The opaque blue/black/purple-colored Noon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is even more impressive from bottle than it was from barrel. This is a great effort displaying first-growth quality. It boasts a stunningly pure nose of creme de cassis, cedar, licorice, smoke, and vanilla. As it sits in the glass, notions of chocolate also emerge. This full-bodied Cabernet builds incrementally in the mouth. The finish lasts for 45 seconds. A magnificent example, its seamlessness and concentration are profound.”


Another third of the table.


An awesome shaved rice sake with that soft anise thing that I love from great sake.


Things are just starting to get going.


Ron, always good for great white Burgundy, brought this 2008 Dom Dublere Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 92, “Here too mild wood sets off extremely fresh aromas of pear, green apple and wet stone the latter of which is also reflected by the vibrant and overtly muscular broad-scaled flavors that possess impressive drive and length. Interestingly, this is not as complex as the Chaumées though it’s longer.”


I actually convinced my lovely wife to join us this time. She’s a sucker for the vege plate (below).


I brought this older Grand Cru Mazy-Chambertin (1996). It also had a funky nose that blew off, but this bottle wasn’t nearly as good as the other 3-4 I’ve opened recently of the exact same wine. Pity, those previous bottles were fantastic.


Parker 91-93, “The 2007 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast displays plenty of raspberry and floral notes, has a deep ruby/purple color, nicely integrated wood, medium to full body, and a spicy finish. Drink it over the next decade.”


Lana was generous to donate this Parker 100 blockbuster, “The 1998 Cote Rotie La Landonne is a perfect wine … at least for my palate. Its saturated black/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of smoke, incense, tapenade, creosote, blackberry, and currant aromas. It is densely packed with blackberry, truffle, chocolate, and leather-like flavors. The wine possesses high tannin, but perfect harmony, impeccable balance, and gorgeous integration of acidity, alcohol, and tannin. It is a tour de force in winemaking.”


From my cellar. Parker 95, “The profound 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul (85% Grenache and the rest equal parts Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault) tips the scales at 15% alcohol. From an old vineyard and cropped at 15 hectoliters per hectare, and aged only in foudre, it boasts a dense purple color in addition to an exquisite nose of violets, minerals, blueberries and blackberries. Pure and concentrated, but atypically tannic, it requires considerable aging as it is one of the vintage’s more backward, broodingly powerful efforts.”


Big assembled feast plates of various vegetarian mezze. In the center, grape leaves  stuffed with rice, chopped tomato, parsley and special seasonings. The white stuff is lebnah, Middle eastern style yogurt mixed with mint, red pepper & topped with olive oil. Then clockwise are falafel: ground fava beans and vegetables with special seasonings. Next hummus: ground garbanzo beans with garlic, lemon juice and special seasonings. Then foul: pureed fava beans with garlic, tomatoes, onions and special seasonings. And last, babagannouj: eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings.


This alternate version has in the 7 o’clock position, yogurt salad: yogurt with chopped cucumber, mint and garlic.

Below then are detail pictures of most of the mezze:


Tabouleh. Chopped parsley, onion, and tomato mixed with lemon and special seasonings.


hummus: ground garbanzo beans with garlic, lemon juice and special seasonings.

lebnah, Middle eastern style yogurt mixed with mint, red pepper & topped with olive oil. I love this stuff, particularly with the meat.


babagannouj: eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings.

foul: pureed fava beans with garlic, tomatoes, onions and special seasonings.

Gibna bel tamatim: feta cheese and chopped tomato mixed with olive oil and special seasonings.


Parker 97, “The 2006 Broken Stones (63% Syrah, 24% Grenache, and 13% Mourvedre) blew me away. An inky/purple color and a dazzling, explosive bouquet of black raspberries, camphor, cassis, forest floor, and spring flowers are followed by a rich, elegant wine offering laser-like precision as well as a striking minerality. It is a powerful yet graceful effort.”

The other side of the bottle.


Parker 89, “The 2008 Ventillo 71 is named after the address of the old winery and is 100% Tempranillo. It has a soft, leather-infused nose with strawberry, mint and a touch of orange blossom. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and ample freshness. There is a core of wild strawberry and red cherry fruit, finely integrated oak and a composed, elegant finish. This is a commendable Rioja.”


Fattoush salad. Romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, onions, and suemock topped with pita chips.


Another salad, more classic middle eastern.


Cole slaw like salad.

Falafels. Chickpea paste fried with tahini sauce.


Meat pies. Falaffel filled with a meat patty. Delicious.

Kobehbah. Beef and pine-nuts covered in burgur wheat and fried. Hot and delicious.


Parker 90-92+, “Aged completely in demi-muids, the 2008 Syrah Halcon is a tannic, young, promising effort that may merit an even higher score next year if it puts on the weight and flesh that the 2007s did in barrel. At present, it reveals abundant blue and black fruits intertwined with hints of forest flora and spice. While not as powerful as the 2007s, it exhibits lots of minerality and structure.”


Shrimp kabob: 10 pieces of shrimp grilled to perfection served with rice and green salad.


Parker 87, “Soft, ripe, and fruity, with big, smoky, charred berry-like scents intermixed with tobacco and plum aromas.”


A line of trouble makers.


Parker 94, “A spectacular offering, the 1998 Command Shiraz (which spent 3 years in French and American oak) is the type of wine that is impossible to duplicate outside of selected Barossa and McLaren Vale vineyard sites. An opaque purple color is followed by spectacular aromas of toasty oak, camphor, blackberry liqueur, and asphalt. It is humongous in the mouth, decadently rich, and luxuriously fruited, with a viscous texture as well as a 40-second finish. Low acidity and ripe tannin add to the succulent impression.”


Grilled squab. Yum.

Liver. Quiet good, tender and with a lot of flavor.


Peppers, tahini, and garlic paste (for chicken, yum!).


On the left the 2004 Kosta Browne Russian River Pinot.

On the right, Parker 95, “Chapoutier makes no bones about the fact that he prefers his 1996 Cote Roties to his 1995s. Wealthy readers with access to Chapoutier’s wines will have fun determining whether the 1995 or 1996 Cote Rotie La Mordoree is the superior wine. Both are terrific examples of Cote Rotie with 20-25 years of evolution. Chapoutier prefers the 1996. The 1995 is a superb wine, but I am not sure the 1996 isn’t a point or two better. Both wines possess intensely-saturated black/purple colors, and smoky, black raspberry, coffee, and chocolate-scented noses with black olives thrown in for complexity. The 1996 may have greater length, but that is splitting hairs at this level of quality. Both are medium to full-bodied, rich, extraordinary examples of Cote Rotie that possess power as well as finesse. Both will require cellaring to reveal their personalities. I suspect the 1995 needs 4-5 years of cellaring.”

Getting the buzz on.


Bamia: okra.


Robin brought this 1994 Heitz (regular) and it was drinking very well, youthful even, full of tasty tannins.


A big meat plate! We have shrimp, chicken, shish kabob (felit mignon), and kofta (ground beef and lamb mixed with onions and parsley).


An Amarone (I can’t read the details unfortunately).


Another view of the meat.


Rice pilaf.


French fries.


Parker 91-93, “The extraordinary 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau offers up aromas of chocolate, black cherries, dusty, loamy soil, scorched earth, garrigue, and spice. This full-bodied, powerfully concentrated, meaty, expansive, substantial wine should age well for a decade.”


Koshari: traditional vegetarian dish (lentils, brown rice and pasta served with a spicy tomato sauce & topped with fried onions).


Parker 89, “The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon (545 cases) reveals evolved fruitcake, cedary, tobacco, roasted herb, and cassis aromas, as well as rich, concentrated flavors. It is impressively rich, with an herb-tinged, black currant personality, medium to full body, sweet but noticeable tannin, and excellent purity, all framed by toasty new oak. The wine gives every indication of being ready to drink with another 2-3 years of cellaring.”


Yarom playing the hookah!


Parker 88, “The evolved, medium gold color of the 1990 is prematurely advanced, raising questions about future longevity. It possesses plenty of intensity, and an unctuous, thick, juicy style, but high alcohol and coarseness kept my rating down. There is bitterness as well as fiery alcohol in the finish. The wine does not offer much delineation, so cellaring should prove beneficial as it does have admirable levels of extract. Suduiraut can make powerful, rich wines that are often rustic and excessively alcoholic and hot when young. I am told they become more civilized with age, and certainly older, classic Suduiraut vintages have proven that to be true. I feel this estate’s propensity to produce a luxury cuvee (Cuvee Madame) in vintages such as 1989 tends to have a negative impact on the regular cuvee.”


Various traditional desserts. The gooey white toped one at 1-2 o’clock was particularly awesome.


Another plate of traditional sweets, including rice pudding in the middle.


In case the Hookah isn’t enough.


Little baked donut ball like pastries.


Rice pudding.


It was actually a birthday pudding!


The donut balls coated in Nutella. Certainly two good things are even better.

A coconut dessert.

This was another fun evening. Super casual and more than a little crazy. Dahab is a tasty little restaurant  serving delicious Egyptian food, but they aren’t really set up for either 20+ parties or wine nuts like us. They did manage with the food, and we managed the wine. It was cozy, but made extra fun by the warm evening and outside setting.

For more crazy Foodie Club dining, click here.



On September 21, 2015, we went again. I integrated the food pictures above, but the wines from that second visit are here:














Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at La Paella
  2. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  3. Hedonists at STK
  4. Hedonism at Esso
  5. Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Billecart-Salmon, Cafe Dahab, Cafe Dehab, Dahab, Dehab, Dessert, Egypt, Egyptian Food, Foodie Club, hedonists, Hookah, kabob, Los Angeles, Middle Eastern, Mosel, Restaurants and Bars, Riesling, Wine

Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up

Nov05

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: November 1, 2012

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

_

The Hedonists ride again, this time to my favorite Japanese beef joint, Totoraku. I‘ve reviewed this peculiar (but fantastic) invitation only restaurant before. It serves a very refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

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!

At Hedonist events everyone brings a bottle of two of great wine. We open with this champagne. The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


The only thing that really changes at Totoraku is this impressive looking appetizer spread. This is for four people. Everyone gets a bite sized bit of each.


Sockeye salmon wrapped in jicama, with avocado and a kind of soba.


Melon and salami, a different take on the classic.


Tuna sashimi in a sauce.


Little cubes of tofu.


Hard boiled qual egg stuffed with cod row and crab. Tasted like a deviled egg!


Asparagus in a butter sauce.


Really tender fresh abalone with yuzu pepper.


Shrimp on radicchio with caviar.


Chef Kaz and his assistant plating the food in the kitchen.


This older 1984 Grace Family Cab was a surprisingly fresh entrée into the world of reds.


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


We moved up to a more recent vintage of the same wine. Parker 90. “The 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon (260 cases) offers plenty of up-front sweet black currant fruit mixed with toasty new oak and mineral characteristics. It is medium-bodied, plump, and accessible, revealing good fruit in its subtle, restrained personality.”

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.


A new release from Vega Sicilia, Spain’s most renowned winery, is the 1995 Valbuena (magnum). A plum/ruby color is followed by aromas of sweet black fruits intermixed with licorice, earth, and spicy oak. Full-bodied, with excellent concentration, a juicy, layered texture, and fine purity, it is forward and plush.


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.


One of my favorites. Parker 99+! “The 1989 has taken forever to shed its formidable tannins, but what a great vintage of Lynch Bages! I would rank it at the top of the pyramid although the 1990, 2000, and down the road, some of the more recent vintages such as 2005, 2009 and 2010 should come close to matching the 1989’s extraordinary concentration and undeniable aging potential. Its dense purple color reveals a slight lightening at the edge and the stunning bouquet offers classic notes of creme de cassis, subtle smoke, oak and graphite. Powerful and rich with some tannins still to shed at age 22, it is still a young adolescent in terms of its evolution and will benefit from another 4-5 years of cellaring.”


Beef tongue with salt.


Don’t put your tongue on the grill!

BBQ to perfect, and add a bit of scallions, then dip in lemon juice and enjoy. This is about the most tender tongue I’ve had (and I’ve had plenty). It’s still a dense slightly rubbery texture, but delicious.


Parker 89, “The 1988 has an aroma of exotic spices, minerals, blackcurrants, and oak. In the mouth, it is a much firmer, tougher, more obviously tannic wine than the 1989. It is a beautifully made 1988 that will last 20-30 years, but the astringency of the tannins is slightly troubling. Patience will be a necessity for purchasers of this wine.”

I agree with Parker, this was full of heavy duty Bordeaux-style sour tannins. Not really a very pleasant effort.


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


93 points, “Deep garnet purple color. Aromas of chocolate malt, vanilla, berry pie, and toffee with a supple dryish medium-to-full and a craisin, pencil shaving, baked apple, brown spice, and earth with chewy tannins. Very nicely balanced and elegant.”


Filet on the grill.


Parker 91, “The medium to dark ruby-colored 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Champoux Vineyard displays creamy, sweet, Connecticut white corn, and black cherry aromas. Medium to full-bodied and satin-textured, it is an intense, blackberry and dark cherry-flavored wine. This expressive, flavorful offering has outstanding follow-through from its attack to its long, seamless, and focused finish.”


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.


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.



Parker 95, “There are 475 cases of the 2007 IX Syrah Estate, which offers up flowery, roasted meat, balsamic, tar, and blackberry characteristics in a full-bodied format. The wine reveals sweet tannin, and layers of fruit, including a note of lavender that emerges as the wine sits in the glass. It should drink well for a decade.”

We also had a Colgin Cab, but I can’t remember what year and I missed taking a picture of it.


More meat on the grill.


From my cellar: Parker 96, “The 1995 is spectacular. When Emmanuel Reynaud said it was evolving quickly, in essence repudiating this vintage, I immediately drank two bottles of this glorious elixir. It does not reveal the over-ripeness of the 1990, bringing to mind a hypothetical blend of the great 1989 and 1978. Deeply-colored and still young, with black currant/creme de cassis-like characteristics, huge body, yet great structure and delineation, this is a classic Rayas that is totally different than the 1990. It should continue to improve in the bottle and may merit an even higher score. While it can be drunk now, it will be even better with 3-4 years of cellaring.”


Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.


Parker 94+, “A very great wine, the dark garnet-hued 1980. Still a young wine at age 29, it exhibits massive earthy, meaty, bacon fat notes intermixed with notions of scorched earth, blackberries, currants, pepper, and spice. Full and rich with slightly rustic tannins, it has a good 20 years of life ahead of it.

Grange, Penfolds’ flagship wine, is, by many accounts, the most renowned and world-famous wine produced in Australia, and these six vintages from my cellar all acquitted themselves well. These wines are almost always Shiraz, but many vintages include less than 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and there are cross-appellations blends from vineyards in the Barossa and McLaren Vale.”


Inside rib eye.


Parker 95-98, “The 1998 Syrah E-Raised is great stuff. The blended Syrah comes from different vineyard sources, primarily the Alban Vineyard in San Luis Obispo, and Bien Nacido and Stolpman Vineyards in Santa Barbara. These wines are always amusingly named (Black and Blue, Against the Wall, Imposter McCoy). All the components were tasted, and even the least impressive cuvee was tipping my olfactory and sensual charts at 93 and 94 points, with the finest cuvees ranging up near perfect 97 or 98 point totals. It is black-colored, jammy and super-intense with awesome concentration, terrific, chewy, explosive flavors of blackberries, cherries, and cassis interfused with creosote, pepper, and vanillin. All the cuvees are gorgeously pure, thick, and rich. As they sit in the glass, notes of roasted coffee, licorice, smoke, and barbecue spices emerge, giving them another dimension of complexity. It is hard to make a prediction at this point, given how sensational previous vintages have been, but it would not surprise me to see the 1998 Syrah turn out to be the finest yet from Sine Qua Non.”


I’ve been to Toto at least 10 times, but this is the first time I’ve ever had the lamb, which like all of Kaz’s meats, is pretty wonderful.


This was really a loaner from a neighboring table, but we drank some anyway. 1,000 thanks!

Parker 96-100, “During its first 10-12 years of life, this was a perfect wine, but it now seems to be in a stage where the fruit is still present, but the previous exuberance and intensity have faded slightly. There is plenty of amber at the edge, and this medium to full-bodied wine shows notes of menthol, cedar, spice box, plums, and black cherries. Owners of 750 ml bottles should plan on consuming it over the next 4-6 years. Magnums should be less evolved, and merit a score 4 to 6 points higher.”


King crab legs.


From my cellar: Parker 96, “What sumptuous pleasures await those who purchase either the 1996 or 1995 Pichon-Lalande. It is hard to choose a favorite, although the 1995 is a smoother, more immediately sexy and accessible wine. It is an exquisite example of Pichon-Lalande with the Merlot component giving the wine a coffee/chocolatey/cherry component to go along with the Cabernet Sauvignon’s and Cabernet Franc’s complex blackberry/cassis fruit. The wine possesses an opaque black/ruby/purple color, and sexy, flamboyant aromatics of pain grille, black fruits, and cedar. Exquisite on the palate, this full-bodied, layered, multidimensional wine should prove to be one of the vintage’s most extraordinary success stories.”


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


Another loaner (they sure had great wine). Parker 98, “A magnificent example of Chateau Margaux and one of the most tannic, backward Margauxs of the last 50 years, the 1986 continues to evolve at a glacial pace. The color is still a dense ruby/purple with just a hint of lightening at the rim. With several hours of aeration, the aromatics become striking, with notes of smoke, toast, creme de cassis, mineral, and white flowers. Very full-bodied, with high but sweet tannin, great purity, and a very masculine, full-bodied style, this wine should prove nearly immortal in terms of its aging potential. It is beginning to budge from its infantile stage and approach adolescence.”


Special beef on the grill.


And the final loaner. This was a total stunner. Parker 100, “For the fourth time, the Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has been produced, and for the fourth time, it has received a perfect score although I might back off the 2000’s perfect score based on the fact that it seems to be more of an upper-ninety point wine than pure perfection these days. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has distanced itself ever so slightly from the 2003 Cuvee Reservee. Before bottling and immediately after bottling, these two wines’ differences were not as evident. At present the Capo reveals that extra level of flavor, power, complexity and richness. It is a big wine (16.1% alcohol – less than in the 1998, but more than in the 2000 and 2007) boasting a dark plum/garnet color as well as a stunning bouquet of aged beef intermixed with pepper, herbes de Provence, and steak au poivre. This unctuously textured, full-bodied Chateauneuf possesses enormous body, huge flavors and sweet, velvety tannins. Still youthful, it has not yet begun to close down, and I’m not sure it ever will given this unusual vintage. It is a modern day classic that should continue to provide provocative as well as compelling drinking for 20-30+ years.”


Skirt steak.


This is a tasty but sometimes tough cut. Not here, soft as butter.


t

An unusual dessert wine from the town of Massandra in the Crimea which was an ancient Greek settlement. The Tzar had a palace here and for centuries they made special wine for the royal family. Raisin in a glass, this particular vintage must have been served up to Stalin!

Cool box.


And its own wine “passport.”


Toto serves homemade ice creams and sorbets as dessert.


Lychee and pistachio.


White chocolate and expresso. I like the ice creams better than the sorbets here. The white chocolate was fantastic.


Blueberry.

Chef/Owner Kaz Oyama on the left, Hedonist organizer Yarom on the right with the cigar.

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 with some really great meat, amazing wines, and good company!

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Totoraku – Secret Beef!
  2. Hedonists at STK
  3. No Beef with Mastro’s
  4. Hedonists at La Paella
  5. Manpuku – Not so Secret Beef
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, bbq, beef, Dessert, Foodie Club, hedonists, Japanese cuisine, lamb, Totoraku, Wine

CR8 – Savage Romanticism

Oct26

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

Location: LA

Date: October 24, 2012

Cuisine: Modern Art

Rating: Absolutely Amazing

When I received a last minute invite to the latest Roberto Cortez dinner, I immediately jumped on it. I won’t miss one of these unless I’m dying or otherwise seriously incapacitated. I even went to one ten days after breaking my arm in seven places! For those of you who don’t know, Roberto is a world class modernist chef and overall artist of many things.


Roberto disdains the idea of opening a restaurant and cooking the same thing everyday, so his food is performed (and that is the right word) at randomly located three day installations. In this case, as with last July, it was at the Redd Collection, a wine store and bar that I separately frequent. Redd has a really great space in Culver city, simultaneously cool and comfortable.


Some prep.


The drinks begin with a bit of Roederer Estate in the big bottle. It’s worth a few words about the format (and specifically the wine format) of these dinners. Twelve people attend, in small groups of friends. Everyone eats together at one table. Technically, everyone is just supposed to bring wine and figure it out. Pot luck wine can have mixed results. It works out fine at my Hedonist dinners as there is a high bar (maintained by the organizers) plus some recommendation and coordination of the types. Overall timing and pairing, even then, is a little off, but the stellar quality of the wine makes up for it.

So instead of bringing 2 bottles like a normal person, I brought 7, and I chose them ahead of time with the ingredients (supplied by Roberto) in mind. Michael Carpenter, one of the owners of Redd, helped fill in the gaps, then I organized these plus a couple of the random (but good) stuff brought by others into proper flights. I had correctly guessed that people would bring big reds so I made mine the more unusual pairings that Roberto’s cuisine really deserves. I’ll comments on the success (and minor mismatches) below. As a sommelier, wine nut, frequent organizer, and devotee of Dionysus, I take this stuff very seriously. I take a rather paternalistic “hard line” as well. It doesn’t bother me to leave someone’s wine under the table unopened if it doesn’t match or is subpar and I hate to waste good wine. I think that the net enjoyment of everyone  at the table is enhanced by some organization and discipline, and that while most diners don’t necessarily know enough wines to pair them, appreciate it when the effort is made.


After the sparkling, we enjoyed this special rum cocktail made by Roberto. It was fruity with a bit of spicy heat. I unfortunately was too busy organizing my wine to get the details. One server was out sick and this time around, I ended up opening the bottles and pouring myself. I don’t mind, actually, as I’m a control freak :-).


Roberto and crew always create an interesting space. Here is the single table. They enclosed a smaller area in the middle of the warehouse-like zone to make a more intimate “room.”

“Ceremonial: A consume of five mushrooms, maple, lovage, sherry vinegar and wine, farro, garlic.” The spoon is hollow and serves as the bowl. The dish showed off nice earthy notes and more than a little acidic tang.

Below (as with all the courses) you can hear Roberto discuss them in his own words. This first one is a little hard to hear, but the others are better.

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3


Roussane is a white Rhone grape and this new world example was very much in that mode. This bottle came from Michael, one of the Redd owners.


“Chanterrelles, egg, raspberries, leeks, forest.” Sort of like fancy scrambled eggs, but much better. Light and fluffy with interesting forest notes. There is enough richness to the eggs that the meaty (for a white) Roussane paired perfectly.

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3


Forest oil, homemade by Roberto. You were supposed to drizzle this on the dish of the person to your left as an aromatic.


From my cellar: Parker 90, “2009 Sancerre Cuvee GM (don’t ask me why he doesn’t simply write out its name) offers cooling, soothing honeydew melon and mint with hints of sage, chalk, lime zest, and white pepper. Vintage-typical in its lushness, it nevertheless doesn’t stint on minerality or refreshment, and is blessedly free of the alcoholic heat, roughness, or ungainliness that plagues many wines of its appellation in this warm and hail-challenged vintage. Impressively persistent and practically sumptuous rendition of Sancerre.”


“Diver’s Scallop tartar, dill oil, frozen avocado, sudachi, pomegranate, coconut butter, quinoa.” Scrumptious dish, but I adore raw scallop. As usual with Roberto, the seemingly chaotic ingredients gelled perfectly. Cool textures too, literally so with the frozen avocado!

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3

Based on the ingredient guesswork (Roberto improvises so heavily that pairing from his notes takes some interpretation), I paired the above Sancerre with the scallops. Michael, who is after all a wine pro, was initially a skeptic, as he thought the dish would be too rich. In the end, I think it was a (lucky but) sensational pairing. The scallops came off much like scallop sashimi and as such, the bright citrus notes from the wine did what I hoped, add the same zing that yuzu does on the best Japanese preparations.


From my cellar: Parker 96, “After a performance like this for a Spatlese, the warning was hardly necessary! Donnhoff’s 2009 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese offers a riot of herbal aromas reminiscent of but far more intense and diverse than that of the corresponding Grosses Gewachs, and here, too, accompanied by grapefruit and passion fruit in a manner that calls to mind Sauvignon. Horehound, licorice, sage, mint, black tea, nut oils, candied grapefruit rind, and crushed stone inform a silken-textured palate. As with the corresponding Brucke, there is a remarkable interactivity on display, and a depth of mineral and animal savor that goes beyond crustacean shell reduction or veal demi-glace, leaving me salivating helplessly. This should be worth following for 20-25 years.”


“Romance X: Whisked ham, Honey caramelized pineapple, curry, horseradish, fried leeks, shaved ham.” Awesome, awesome dish. Intensely hammy and light (surprising when a whipped white ham product is involved).

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3

The Riesling Spatlese made for a stunning pairing, but not for the reason I chose. First of all, it is a great wine, a really great wine. Second the sweetness and pineapple notes matched the real fruit and just perfectly counterpointed the salty ham vibe. I’d actually chosen the wine because of the curry. That ingredient (if it was even still there after Roberto’s beta modifications) was muted to the point of nothing, but the pairing worked out anyway.


From my cellar: 1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. Variously 90-95 points. Started off with a bit of funky nose but quickly blew off and opened up gorgeously. This was one of those burgundies that makes you want to come back for more; cork was in good shape; a nose of cherries mushrooms and earth; fruit on the palate that softened with time; long finish that changed in a positive way with each sip.


“Forbidden: foie gras, maple, chive, ginger, mushroom rye, PX sour, coriander, rose, green apple tonka bean, corn cinnamon.” Very interesting  dish. You pour the below “secret sauce” on top and then eat like a salad.

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3


Corn cinnamon “secret #13 sauce” to add on top. Lovely sauce. The whole thing was great. Another example of Roberto’s savant-like ability to combine seemingly random flavors into a uniform whole.

The Burgundy was great by itself, and paired fine with the dish. Because of the foie, one could have gone sweet, but the whole salad like vibe (not that I knew about that from the notes) wasn’t traditional.


From my cellar: Parker 94, “I under-rated this medium-to-dark ruby/purple-colored wine (91-93 in Issue #111). This wine’s lively nose presents candied orange peels, black cherries, and Asian spices. It is powerful, layered, intensely complex, full-bodied, and ripe. Densely packed blackberries, cherries, and cassis are intertwined with minerals and hints of earth in this highly-impressive offering. As is spelled out in the margin of my notebook, Super! Bravo!”


“kabocha nimono: Red kabocha, caramelized shallot, parmesan sabayon, gelle of smoked dashi.”


With a puree of the squash poured in. Very lovely dish, appropriate for the season too. The smoked dashi cubes were hands down amazing.

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3

Pairing-wise, this dish was my biggest failure. The wine was great, and not a mismatch or anything, but heck if I know what would be perfect here. I’d give the wine 95/100 and the pairing 60/100. Maybe something spicier. Looking it up, I even find “squash soup” listed under “impossible food wine pairings!” People generally go with an Alsatian wine like a Pinot Gris, which would certainly work. I was trying to get some more reds in because most diners don’t like a pairing dominated by whites.


From my cellar: Parker 92, “The 2003 Boca Il Rosso delle Donne shimmers on the palate with layers of fruit, mineral, and herbs. This fresh, vibrant and impeccably pure wine is a jewel.”


Parker 93, “An impressive performance by Lagrange, the 2000 possesses a saturated ruby/purple color with obvious notes of melted licorice, creme de cassis, and toasty new oak. This ripe, dense, full-bodied St.-Julien is chewy, thick, high in tannin, large-bodied, and impressively long and dense. As always, it is less expressive than some of its peers, but it is loaded as well as reasonably priced.”

For this next dish we each had to blindfold ourselves and then pick an “ingredient” by shaking two containers. No senses other than sound and weight were allowed. Listen to Roberto introduce this concept:

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3


“Carnaoli Risotto with custard of black truffle, syrah reduction with honey and coffee, fig, plus special ingredient.” Wow, wow! Similar to a risotto he made for me at Dark Illuminated Forest, this is just so sumptuous.

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3

The pair of above wines both paired very nicely as they offered up mushroom, forest, and cherry (the Boca) and earth tones (the Bordeaux).


Parker 90, “Performing better than it did eight years ago, the 2001 Opus One reveals a classic, French-like style with notes of cedar wood, melted licorice, black currants, roasted herbs and tobacco leaf. While not one of the stars of the vintage, it is a medium to full-bodied, outstanding effort that has reached full maturity. It should continue to drink well for another decade or more. This was a reassuring showing, although vintages over the last five years have been stronger and more powerful, with greater aging potential than the 2001.”


Parker 90, “The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is uncommonly approachable. Its dark ruby color is accompanied by sweet aromas of plums, black cherries, and currants. With soft, silky tannin, medium body, and a Bordeaux-like weight, this Cabernet was clearly inspired by Bordeaux clarets.”


“Wagyu brisket sous vide cooked for eight hours. Glaze of fermented black bean and thyme. Pear and kale chip with smoked bone marrow.” Fantastic piece of meat. Soft, with a marinated tone not unlike North Carolina BBQ.

Smoked alder-wood butter brioche is added to the plate.

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3

The above “beefy” wines had enough grape to them to match very well.


From my cellar: Parker 96, “A totally compelling Climens and to my mind, every bit as good as the 1988, the 1986 is probably the best Climens made since their spectacular 1971. It is still light gold in color, with an expansive bouquet of new oak, oranges, pineapples, and other tropical fruits. In the mouth, the great richness seems all the more impressive because of the wine’s remarkable clarity and definition. There is as much botrytis in the 1986 as in the 1988. Despite the intensity and extract levels, this sweet wine comes across as crisp and relatively light. The 1986 is a stunning example of Climens at its very best.”

Really great Sauterne and at its peak maturity. Like rich honeyed nectar.


“Chocolate Drug: Armedei Chuao chocolate in the syringe, single original coffee gelee, Ethiopian cappuccino gel, tarragon hoja santa absinthe, caramelized brioche and creme whipped with salted butter and caramelized blood orange peel.”

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Beef2.mp3


After I pumped out the chocolate. Yummy stuff. A little bit of licorice flavor to it made the sauce one of those addictive ones. Great chocolate. Just so good.


Main line this puppy!


Our host and chef, the incomparable Roberto Cortez.

Overall, this was a spectacular dining experience, as good as my first Roberto meal, Dark Illuminated Forest. Sometimes there is a “chasing the dragon” effect to repeated events, but on all levels tonight was truly outstanding. The most similar (non-Roberto) meal I’ve had was this one at 2-star Calima in Spain — but this overall experience took everything to the next level. I think my wine-Nazism payed off to good effect too, helping elevate the whole sensory experience.

Roberto is like a Toscanini of food. It’s mind-boggling. Every single dish worked. Some were a bit better of course, but all were great. They show technical virtuosity, but more importantly, they show his incredible talent for predicting the nature of sensory experience. Like a Mozart symphony, the notes were all harmonious. Really, Food as Art.

A write up of this event can be found on Roberto’s own blog here.

Check out more of my grand Foodie Club meals.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art – CR8: Purotekuta
  2. Food as Art: Dark Illuminated Forest
  3. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  4. Food as Art: Chanukah in Style
  5. Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner
By: agavin
Comments (8)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: CR8, Dessert, Food, Foodie Club, Roberto Cortez, Roederer Estate, Wine, Wine and food matching, Wine pairing, Wine tasting descriptors

More Michelin at Melisse

Oct22

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

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

Date: October 17, 2012

Cuisine: California French

Rating: Awesome. Something the same, something different!

 

The Foodie Club was inaugurated at Melisse, and as such, it holds a unique place in our fatty little hearts. This week the restaurant is doing a special “guest chef” tasting menu with Michelin starred Christophe Dufau of Restaurant les Bacchanales (I approve of the name).


Le menu.


From my cellar as usual, Parker 96, “From this cru’s steep, riverside slopes, the Fevre 2006 Chablis Bougros Cote de Bouguerots reveals its oak in lanolin, toasted almond, and spice aromas, along with notes of chalk dust, sweet lime, and heady, lily-like floral perfume. With enveloping richness, luscious juiciness, and flattering creaminess, yet underlain by a vivid sense of crushed stone, this saturates the palate so completely and intensely and with such a palpable sense of extract, that the finishing stain seems almost severe. This remarkably concentrated and polished wine should be worth following for 15 or more years.”


The starter bread course along with some parsley pesto. Later they came around with the varied flavored breads like bacon and basil.


“Kumanto Oyster. Green Tomato Chutney and Basil Oil.” Nice fresh tomato flavor.


“Egg Caviar. Soft Poached Egg, Lemon Creme Fraiche, American Caviar.” This is the Melisse signature dish. I’ve had it countless times, but it’s still great. Really, the Creme Fraiche makes it.


“Truffled Brandade. Radish, Carrots and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.” This reminds me a bit of the elfin cuisine at Red Medicine. Underneath was a very Portuguese salt cod and potato blend that was very pleasant.


“Provencal Dashi. Santa Barbara Uni, Smoked Anchovy and Yogurt.”


Then with the dashi added. This dish is very N/Naka and totally delicious. I love dashi.


This older Grand Cru Burgundy had an initially funky nose but then opened up into a lovely example of mature pinot noir. Every time I have a good Grand or Premier Cru Burg with some age on it I remember why it’s my favorite wine.


“Roasted Sunchoke Veloute. Rich Mushroom Broth.” Really nice mushroomy flavor and a great foamy texture.


“Risotto Zen. Santa Barbara Prawn, Lemongrass and Ginger.” A nice creamy risotto and we got to suck the brains out of the prawn.


And I also brought this second older Grand Cru. It also had a funky nose that quickly blew off. Fantastic stuff and pairs very well with the complex (and buttery) French flavors.


“New Zealand John Dory. Hokkaido Squash, Shellfish and Passion Fruit.” The fish was perfectly done and moist, perhaps in the sous vide. I would have expected the the passionfruit to have more kick, but it was still good.


“Four Story Hill Farms Cochon de Lait. Gremolata, Yukon Potatoes and Watercress.” Cochon is a suckling pig.


“Elysian Farms Lamb. Red Amaranth, Onions, Hibiscus and Honey.” Yum!


To go with the entrees and desert, Parker 95, “As I stated last year, there is no Hommage a Jacques Perrin in 2006, but Beaucastel’s 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape is performing even better from bottle than it did last year. Its dense plum/ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet perfume of black truffles, camphor, earth, incense, new saddle leather, and loads of peppery, blackberry, and herb-infused, meaty, black cherry fruit. Deep, full-bodied, and dense, with sweet tannin, this explosively rich Chateauneuf is a stronger effort than the 2005, 2004, or 2003.”


My favorite part of any Melisse meal: Le Cart de Fromage (it’s a supplement).


Some of the condiments.


My personal plate. This includes Époisses de Bourgogne (the goo in the back left), Fourme d’Ambert (the blu in the middle), camembert, and several other stinky and gooey bits of goodness.


“Blu di Bufala. Quince and JuJuBe, Aged Balsamic.” The official cheese course. Really very nice, as the fruit flavors contrasted nicely with the sharp blu.


“Flavors of Banana Split.” I didn’t try this, as I hate bananas.


But I got instead this chocolate two ways. On the left a mini chocolate soufflé and on the right a chocolate cappuccino mouse.


We added in this “bonus desert,” the “sticky toffee pudding.” Not bad, but I prefer this dish pretty straight up like at Waterloo & City.


“Cracker Jack. Popcorn Sherbet, Peanut Butter Crunch, Caramel Water.” On the top is a homemade cracker jack and below was a light caramel syrup. Really pretty nice and refreshing, not to mention reminiscent of the cheap snack.


The usual petite fours. The macarons (which were cherry or strawberry) were delicious and intense.


Fresh strawberries and creme.

We’ve been several times for the full on Chef Josiah Citrin treatment and it was interesting to get this variant mixed up with Chef Dufau’s take. Very similar and compatible, I suspect they alternated dishes. Melisse has two Michelin stars, and it deserves every ounce of them. The service is amazing too. The setting is not as fully formal as some French three-stars, or the service quite so orchestrated (that level is more amusement than actually pleasant), and there are no zany carts for teas and sugars, but the food and creativity demonstrate Melisse’s deserved position as one of America’s top kitchens.

For another Melisse meal, click here.

Or for other Foodie Club meals, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Melisse – How much would a Woodcock…
  2. Food as Art: Melisse
  3. Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze
  4. Eating Florence – La Cantinetta Antinori
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Almond, Burgundy, Burgundy wine, Christophe Dufau, Foodie Club, France, French Cuisine, Josiah Citrin, Melisse, Michelin Guide, Poached Egg, Restaurant les Bacchanales, Tasting menu, Tomato, Wine
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