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Uovo – Italian Sugarfish

Aug26

Restaurant: Uovo

Location: 1320 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 425-0064

Date: August 26, 2017

Cuisine: Italian Pasta

Rating: Very good classic Italian pastas

Uovo is an interesting new concept from at least one of the Sugarfish owners — but instead of over-ponzued sushi, it’s classic Italian pasta. Uovo means egg in Italian (used in the pasta).

Just across 2nd street from the Sugarfish in Santa Monica — 2nd street is being taken over by fast concepts.

The decor is a lot like Sugarfish, small, modern, mixing bar and tables.

Lots of pasta bar.

Look at the hyper focused menu. Just pasta. A couple veggies. No salads. Nothing else at all. No desserts even!

There is a bunch of song and dance about the pasta being made in Bologna. Truth is, they are right about the eggs for the most part. Italian eggs are fabulous and along with the flour and olive oil are key to great pasta. You can get some similar eggs here, but they are very pricy organic fertile eggs.

There are a few very simple wines and beers. All by the glass. Sugarfish has always been minimalist on the beverages.

Tortellini Crema di Parmigiano. Handmade tortellini in cream of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Butter/cream/parm sauce. Very simple but nice tortellini. There was pepper in the stuffing too as their should be. Extremely simple flavor, and rich, but very well done.

Tonnarelli al Pomodoro. Imported tomatoes & 24-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. My 8 year-old loved it.

Ravioli di Ricotta. Ricotta ravioli in pomodoro sauce. Simple also, very soft ravioli — they could have been more al dente.

Tonnarelli all’Amatriciana. Imported tomatoes, pecorino, onion, guanciale & red chili pepper. I prefer the more traditional tubular pasta shape with all’Amatriciana but the sauce was excellent and the guanciale crispy.

Lasagna Verde. Meat lasagna made with green pasta. Rich creamy/nutty sauce. A nice baked lasagne.

Service was slightly confused for being a few days open, but very attentive and nice. Dishes came out one by one. 16% tip (taxed too) is included. This is hyper focused both in menu and service. It didn’t take long and it was certainly fine.

Pasta was very solid. It’s not as good as Felix, and certainly way less adult. Very “classic” Italian, like you’d get at an old fashioned Italian restaurant in Italy. Fairly limited set of noodles and flavor profiles. Not much in the the way of actual vegetables in the dishes and pretty focused on cheese and simple meats. Lots of red sauce. No sausage. No Pesto. No guazetto. No walnut sauce. All very traditional pasta types not included. They can of course add them later but these are fairly tailored to appeal to really straight up American tastes while being drawn from a classic Italian playbook.

For me, a good spot for a quick pasta lunch or a very casual family dinner with the kids. Don’t bring more than 4 people. Uovo doesn’t take reservations and you pay at the counter (after your meal, it is full service more or less).

There was already a line by 5:30pm.

There was no dessert so we walked down to the Promenade.

Ok but not great gelato at the Promenade kiosk.
Light milk chocolate and hazelnut.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Italian cuisine, pasta, Santa Monica, Uovo

Eating NY – Marea

Aug16

Restaurant: Marea

Location: 240 Central Park S, New York, NY 10019. (212) 582-5100

Date: July 2, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great “fancy” Italian

My family loves Italian food and New York is famous for its Italian, so I figured we try a bunch at a bunch of different levels.

Marea is the modern style of fancy Italian, which some Italian-American lovers dismiss, but is actually fairly representative of high end (Michelin) restaurants in Italy. I know, I’ve eaten at plenty of them. And in fact, Marea has 2 stars itself.

The menu. We all went for the 4 course “deal.”

An amuse of sardine/anchovy and cheese on polenta.

They had a lot of very nice breads like this olive focaccia.

And since two groups ordered the whole fresh Branzino, the fish came out first to show off — just as they do in the Mediterranean.

2013 Azienda Agricola Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva Villa Bucci. 91 points. I visited this winery 2 years ago. The nose was alive with saline-minerality and zesty citrus tones. On the palate, I found soft, lifted textures with tart citrus, spice and mineral tones. It finished fresh and lively.

Insalta. Sesonal greens, sherry dressing, almond, nectarine, parmigiano.

They have a lot of crudo al taglio on the menu, like this: Tonno. yellowfin tuna, oyster crema, crispy artichoke.

Scampi. Pacific Langoustine, murray river pink salt.

And my Assaggio di tre. From left to right: Scampi Pacific Langoustine, murray river pink salt. Passera. Long island fluke, stone fruit, almond, chive blossom. Dentice. Pacific snapper, lime coriander, crispy skin.

These were nice. I’ve decided that these “western sauces” are MUCH better on crudo (aka sashimi) than on sushi (like Sushi Gari). It doesn’t play well with the rice.

Polipo. grilled octopus, smoked potatoes, radish pickled red onions, chilies, tomato.

1999 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva. VM 90-93. Good ruby-red. Red plum, sweet spices, roast coffee, flowers and a loamy nuance on the open-knit nose. Then juicy and stylish in the mouth, combining peppery and soft red fruit qualities with a subtle touch of oaky sweetness. Not a hugely concentrated wine and surprisingly forward, finishing with suave, spreading tannins and an almost sweet quality. There’s nothing wrong with this balanced wine, although I would have expected a little more complexity and depth; I wonder if the production of the 130-year anniversary bottling in the same vintage caused this Riserva to be less concentrated and deep than it might otherwise have been. Readers should take note that 1999 in Taurasi was characterized by a cool growing season, and thus was nothing like the outstanding ’99 vintage in Montalcino or Barolo. Still, I always felt that 1999 in Campania was unjustly overlooked by wine critics at the time, and I think that the wines are starting to show well now.

Twisted trofi pasta with pomodoro sauce. Great texture.

My son’s lizard toys get their own plate of parmesan.

Gnocchetti. Gulf shrimp, chillies, rosemary. First there was Gnocci, then there was gnocchetti.

Spaghetti neri. Seppia, ink, mussels, fresh chili, saffron.

Pansotti. Lamb, bagna cauda, english peas. How can you go wrong with fresh made pasta stuffed with meat and covered in butter?

Rosotto funghi. Wild mushrooms, parmigiano. Perfect creamy texture.

Branzino. Here comes the fish, perfectly filleted.

With sauces.

Brodetto di pesce. Adriatic seafood soup, clams, langoustine, scallop, prawns, bass.

With the broth. The flavor was great and the seafood fresh. It wasn’t the strongest or richest broth, channeling a lighter more delicate vibe rather than the more southern heavy garlic/tomato thing.

Tagliata. Grilled creekstone 50-day dry aged sirloin. braised romaine.

Fingerling potatoes, rosemary.

Wild arugula and lemon.

Market beans, romesco, almonds.

Wild mushrooms, savory.

Dolce.

Trio of sorbetti. Cherry amaretto, strawberry balsamic, blackberry lemon.

Chocolate gelato.

Affogato. vanilla gelato, espresso, amaro, almond sbrisolona. I haven’t seen affogato (mostly) straight up on a 2 star menu before.

Semifreddo tropicale. coconut semifreddo, passion fruit, kiwi, mango, basil.

With a gooey center! This dessert was an 11 by my standards. A perfect expression of coconut and bright tropical fruits. I will make a coconut gelato with almonds and passionfruit coulis to riff off of it.

Cioccolato. domori chocolate, white chocolate ganache, almond stracciatella gelato.

Petite fours. Raspberry pate de fruit.

Mini tiramisu.

My son likes dressing up now.

Overall, Marea was very good. Execution was top notch across the board. Pastas were amazing. Interesting that it’s Adriatic in style, most closely resembling these places I’ve eaten at on Italy’s Adriatic coast: Madonnia del Pescatore and La Frasca. The format is a bit different more American at Marea, with fewer larger courses. I, of course (pun intended), prefer the more smaller dish format. Marea plays it fairly safe too, avoiding some of the weirder (to American taste) choices you might get in Italy. But it is quite Italian.

Service was top notch. Our server was simultaneously very New York, punky, not explicitly Italian, and excellent. Very nice, knowledgable, responsive, accommodating, etc.

The wine list was good and only slightly high. Clientele was more staid and there were quite a number of wealthy Chinese.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating_new_york, Italian cuisine, marea, New York, Wine

Culina with Friends

Jun14

Restaurant: Culina Modern Italian [1, 2]

Location: 300 S Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310) 860-4000

Date: May 12, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great Italian – Hotel or No

Hotel restaurants are always rebooting themselves, and so it goes with the 4 Seasons Beverly Hills. This time around they have brought in master Italian chef Mirko Paderno who just a year or two ago was cooking up amazing meals at the tiny Avalon Hotel and then had a brief stint at Downtown’s hot Officine.

Cool modern art bread.

From my cellar: 2015 Vietti Roero Arneis. 90 points. Granny Smith apples. Nice structure. Seems almost like it has tannins.

Burrata e pesche. Imported burrata cheese, fresh peach, frisee salad, garda olive oil. Nice salad. Don’t choke on the frisee.

Pie Cauliflower. Cauliflower Soufflé, Reggiano Cheese Fondue, Truffle Butter. Yum city! Cheesy truffle goodness.

Beat of Tuna in Knife. Sashimi Grade Tuna Tartare, Quail Eggs, Chives, Spicy Sauce, Lemon Fresh Shallots. Almost like a beef tartare.

Beef Carpaccio Seared. Seared Beef, Garlic Bagna Cauda, Wild Arugula, Cheese Raspadura.

From my cellar: 1996 Roagna Barbaresco Pajé. 93 points. Stunning Barbaresco – depth, layers of fruit, earth notes, with tannins and acid beautifully balanced. Takes a lot of time to come into its own. If you open one now, decant for half a day. Will be at peak in 2020-2024.

Tartufone pizza. Fior Di Latte, Parmesan Cheese, Duck Egg, Fresh Truffle. I wonder what Fior Di Latte means here — to me it means sweet milk gelato :-). Pizza was awesome though. Another rice dairy truffle eggy combo.

Special order cheese risotto in a cheese. Awesome cheesy goodness.

Ossobuco. I love this rice dish.

Sea Bass Baked. Mediterranean Sea Bass, Roasted Fennel, foraged Mushroom, Onion, Fregola, Garda Olive Oil.

Butterscotch Budino. Whipped Crème Fraiche, Sea Salt Caramel, Coconut Cookies. I adore these. Salty too.

Warm Dark Chocolate Liquid Tart. Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato. Nice combo.
Various Gelati.

Not only is Culina now one of the best hotel restaurants in town, it’s one of the best Italian restaurants. Mirko has always been an amazing chef, and particularly when he just “makes stuff for you.” His particular classic but quite contemporary Northern Italian is very much you get at a great (high end) place in Northern Italy — and totally scrumptious. He does lean toward the rich (i.e. cheese and truffles etc).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Culina, Italian cuisine, Mirko Paderno

Dirty Dozen at Doma

Jun09

Restaurant: Doma

Location: 362 N Camden Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (310) 277-7346

Date: May 4, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Good food, big “formal” space

The Dirty Dozen is a sub group of the Hedonists that does themed blind tasting meals a couple times a year.

Tonight’s was at Doma, a new Beverly Hills Italian very much in a 90s (high end) vibe. The theme — oddly for Italian — is Bordeaux.

The Doma interior is large, formal, very white tablecloth and so different than more hip Italians like Bestia.

These champs and whites were bonuses, and not served blind.

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this <em>cuvée</em>, but with no lack of vivacity.

From my cellar: 2009 Domaine Latour-Giraud Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières. BH 91-94. An airy, cool and pure nose of white flower, spiced pear, lemon and hazelnut complements the rich, full and relatively powerful flavors that possess good concentration and an explosive, mouth coating and palate staining finish. This is not quite as mineral-driven as the Perrières but this is really quite impressive and the length is genuinely outstanding.

2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet Le Trézin. BH 91. Surprisingly, given how cool and elevated this terroir is, there is a trace of exotic fruit present here as well with its notes of dried peach, apricot and honeysuckle. There is fine richness to the stony middle weight flavors that are bigger than is typical, all wrapped in an exuberantly energetic, mouth coating, delicious and complex finish. A fine villages that should be approachable young if desired.

Flight 1:

The Bordeaux were all served double blind in flights.

1979 Château Margaux. Parker 93. This wine is just now reaching full maturity, much later than I initially expected. It is a classy, elegant example of Margauxpossessing a dark ruby/purple color, and a moderately intense nose of sweet black currant fruit intermixed with minerals, vanillin, and floral scents. The wine is medium-bodied, with beautifully sweet fruit. This linear, more compressed style of Margaux possesses a good inner-core of sweet fruit, and a charming, harmonious personality. Although not a blockbuster, it is aging effortlessly, and appears to take on more character with each passing year.
1975 Lynch Bages. Parker 86. After the number of disappointing tastings I have had of this wine, I was surprised that it showed reasonably well at the blind tasting in December. The color exhibits significant amber/orange at the edge, followed by a dusty, herbaceous, cedary nose with some ripe fruit. Full-bodied but slightly hollow, the wine exhibits more sweetness and expansiveness than I expected. This above average wine is beginning to reach full maturity. Given the number of washed-out, excessively tannic examples of 1975 Lynch-Bages I have tasted, I am now more optimistic about this wine.

1970 Palmer. Parker 95. Not yet fully mature, the 1970 Palmer is one of the great wines of the vintage. It exhibits a dark, opaque garnet color, and an emerging, fabulously complex, exotic nose of licorice, over-ripe plums and blackcurrants, soy, cedar, and minerals. Rich and concentrated, with medium to full body, a sweet inner-core of fruit, firm but silky tannin, and a long, rich finish, this remains a youthful, potentially superb Palmer. While approachable, it will benefit from another 3-5 years of cellaring, and will keep through the first 10-15 years of the next century.

Liver, balsamic, mushroom, pizza. Pretty rich and delicious.

Flight 2:

1981 Palmer. Parker 81. This is a relatively light, almost indifferent style of Palmer, lacking depth, and coming across as straightforward, with a simple plummy fruitiness intermingled with scents and flavors of herbs, oak, and cedar. It is medium bodied and austere for a Palmer.

1989 Palmer. Parker 96. Tasted at the Château Palmer vertical in London, the 1989 Château Palmer has always been my favourite vintage from that decade after the 1983. The first bottle was unfortunately corked. The second was as it should be: the nose tensile with red berries, sous-bois, potpourri and strawberry pastille – lively and energetic. The palate is medium-bodied and vibrant right from the start, silky in texture with plenty of citrus fruit, gently building to a harmonious and detailed finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a magnificent Château Palmer that continues to effortlessly dish out so much vinous pleasure.

1986 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 95. Now at 30 years of age, there is a gulf between the two Pichons in this vintage that no longer exists. The 1986 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has long been one of the best wines from the estate alongside the 1982 (even if the first bottle was a little oxidized). The second bottle was representative. It has a classic pencil-lead, cedar-infused nose that rockets from the glass, a subtle floral note developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple red berry fruit, a pinch of white pepper and cedar, structured compared to coeval vintages and perhaps further along its drinking plateau than previous examples. Certainly à point, I would be reaching for bottles of this now if you cannot locate those 1982s, or alternatively seek out the superlative 1996. This still remains a fine, rather regal Pichon-Lalande.

Carpaccio with white truffles and fontina cheese. Amazing dish. Too small, but incredibly delicious.

Flight 3:

1999 Palmer. Parker 95. Though I have tasted many vintages of Palmer in recent months, it has been some time since I tasted the 1999 Palmer. Now at 17 years of age, it has a really quite splendid bouquet that is so fresh and vital, pure brambly red fruit, sloes and iodine. It has certainly lost some of the headiness that it showed over its first 10 years, but it is still a Palmer that likes to party. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is good depth here, clean and fresh with wonderful poise. This is a “correct” Palmer, self-aware that it was not born in a propitious vintage, therefore it might seem a little restrained, even conservative in character. That would ignore its precision and grace, the manner in which it gently builds to the finish. You can drink this now but I would be inclined to give it another 3-4 years. There are few better Left Bank 1999s than Palmer.

1998 Angelus. Parker 96. Another great showing for a Right Bank wine, the 1998 Angelus shows a saturated opaque, plum/purple color and a beautiful fragrance of blueberry and black raspberries with licorice, asphalt, truffle and a touch of white chocolate. Beautiful texture, full-bodied opulence, striking purity and overall equilibrium make for a stunning wine that is just entering its plateau of full maturity. Drink it over the next 20 years.

1994 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 91-93. One of the stars of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored wine possesses a gorgeously perfumed, exotic, smoky, blackcurrant, Asian spice, and sweet vanillin-scented bouquet. It is followed by thick, rich, moderately tannic flavors that exhibit medium to full body, good structure, outstanding purity, and a classically layered, long, pure finish. This terrific Pichon-Lalande should evolve effortlessly for 18-20 years.

Home Made Pappardelle Bolognese – House made Flat Ribbon Pasta Meat Ragout Sauce. Another great dish.

Flight 4:

1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron. VM93+. Full medium ruby. Nose at once subtle and flamboyant, with slightly roasted aromas of currant, cedar, lead pencil and minerals. Large-scaled, sweet and rich, with utterly primary fruit suggesting a long future ahead of it. Tasted next to the ’89, this was a much more massive and somewhat softer wine. Very long on the finish, with big but smooth tannins. Of more recent vintages, only the 2000 has a chance to be in the same quality class as the ’90 and ’89.

From my cellar: 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.

Mushroom risotto.

Cotsen brought: 1990 Margaux. Parker 100. The 1990 Chateau Margaux has turned into a sensational wine that eclipses both the 1988 and 1989…and then some. It has a gorgeous, ethereal bouquet with sumptuous red berry fruit, leather, camphor and licorice—it is the kind of nose in which you just immerse yourself. Is there a hint of brettanomyces here? If there is, I don’t really care. The palate is soft and sensual with incredible depth. Fleshy and corpulent for Chateau Margaux, and yet surfeit with breeding and finesse, there are layers or red fruit, kirsch, sage and fig, later tobacco and cloves. I feel that this 1990 Château Margaux is at its peak and yet the harmony, the sheer swagger of this wine just wins you over. Magnificent. Tasted May 2016.

agavin: Cotsen sweeps the win by craft and force, as the 1990 Margaux is just one of those wines that always blows everything away.

2000 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 98. Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 2000 Leoville-Las-Cases is a quite fabulous, magisterial Saint Julien that is only just beginning to flex its muscles. It has a very intense and beautifully defined bouquet with mineral rich blackberry and bilberry scents, outstanding focus and harmony, and very well-integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, impressive backbone and focus in situ. There is a touch of mint infusing the fruit here, superb tension with a touch of mulberry and Hoi Sin lingering on the finish that still feels backward and sinewy. What was remarkable was to observe the melioration in the glass, achieving wondrous energy and delineation with time, still improving after a couple of hours. Buy it, cellar it, drink it. Tasted December 2016.

Roast quail with polenta. Ugly, but tastes good.

My notes.

Flight D:

2007 Coutet. Parker 94. Tasted single blind against its peers. The Chateau Coutet 2007 has a very intense bouquet with lemon curd and orange blossom mixed with clear honey. There is impressive precision here, almost crystalline. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine viscous entry, great weight and intensity with racy acidity. There is also much tension cutting through the layers of viscous fruit on the sorbet-like finish. This is a typical Coutet through and through and it should age effortlessly over 20-30 years.

2011 Doisy Daene. Parker 95. Tasted blind at the Sauternes 2011 horizontal tasting. The Château Doisy-Daëne 2011 builds upon its outstanding performance from barrel. It has a powerful bouquet with seductive scents of wild honey, yellow flowers and orange blossom that are well defined, perhaps a little more extravagant then Denis Dubourdieu’s wines of yore. The palate is mellifluous on the entry with well-judged acidity, sensual and harmonious, poised on the entry and then fanning out gloriously with Clementine and honeyed notes that shimmer. This is an irresistible Barsac.

Panna Cotta Alla Vaniglia. Berry compote.

Certainly delicious.

Most of the gang. Notice our studly T-shirts. Jen, who isn’t wearing the hat, was in charge of pairing, opening, pouring etc. She rocks!

The lineup.

Overall the food was quite good. Service was pretty glacial despite the place being empty, and the waiters seemed on the verge of moving down the street to a convalescent home, but they were extremely nice and accommodating.

Wines were great for the Dirty Dozen. Nothing out and out “bad” or spoiled, 1-2 with a little bret that needed to blow off (or not), and a whole mess that were great. Particularly that 1990 Margaux. It really is a fabulous wine and Cotsen steals the wine (and the free meal) for the 3rd of 4th time. He does know how to pick them for these dinners.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: blind tasting, Dirty Dozen, Doma, hedonists, Italian cuisine

Valentino – 2009 White Burgundy part 1

May19

Restaurant: Valentino Santa Monica [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

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

Date: March 1, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fun and educational!

This dinner is the first part of the annual White Burgundy Premox test series, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. Tonight’s particular dinner covers 2009 Chablis, Meursault, and Corton Charlemagne. Other dinners in the series are listed at the bottom of the post.

As usual, the dinner was 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.

And with regard to the wines. The relatively low acidities in 2009, especially low malic-acid levels which accelerated the malolactic fermentations, mean that many white 2009s are relatively soft and rich. Ripe grapes meant no added sugar to boost alcohol levels but yields were relatively high. This suggests they will make satisfying early drinking but should probably be consumed long before the more structured and long-term 2008s. This applies particularly in Chablis to the north of the Côte d’Or.

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

Notice the awesome array of glasses in the background. Only about half of them are visible. Few restaurants can handle this sort of thing, as they need over 400 stems of the same type and a dedicated Sommelier with sufficient experience and skill. Ours tonight handled the whole wine service with extreme professionalism and personality.

Tonight’s special menu.

Flight 0: Champagne

2004 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee. 94 points. Light gold color; citrus, biscuit and lemon zest aromas; bright citrusy flavors with a lightly toasty element which adds complexity; a very long citrus and minerals finish. Very nice champagne.

Parmiggiano Schegge.

Bruschetta with wild arugula.

Shrimp Milanese.

Oysters.

Grilled flat bed pizza.

A word about tonight’s format. Every bottle was served blind, except we were aware of what flight it was and what was in the flight, just not of which wine was which. The reveal was held until the end of the entire evening so that we could vote on favorite wines without bias.

Personally, I’d prefer a reveal halfway through each flight for a number of reasons. True, this would compromise the voting a bit, but that’s not super important to me. I’d prefer to be able to taste the wines both not knowing which was which and knowing, so that I can continue to build up my subjective memory for each house style. I also find it very difficult to remember back across multiple flights for “best” comparisons. I took notes and marked my favorites of each flight and compared those, but I’m not even really sure it’s fare to compare a Chablis to a Corton.

The tasting notes below are cribbed from Don C who organized the dinner.

Flight 1: Chablis

2009 Raveneau Chablis Montee de Tonnerre. 90 points. Light gold color; sweet lemon (Meyer lemon) aromas; very light lemon flavors, and a mid-palate which is mostly some glyceryl effect and some modest minerals; this is a fairly thin wine. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 points (0/0/0/0/1)

2009 Dauvissat Chablis Preuses. 91 points. Color between light and medium gold; distinct honeysuckle aromas that remind me much more of BBM than Chablis; light green apple and citrus flavors; this has better acidity than #1, but less minerality; a light mineral finish. Four tasters thought this was advanced. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Fevre Chablis Preuses. 90 points. Light yellow gold color; very light green apple and lime aromas; on the palate this is thin with a little green apple but not much other discernable character on the palate My score in retrospect is probably generous. This got one vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Raveneau Chablis Valmur. 91 points. Medium gold color; light green apple and some very faint anise aromas; very light bodied wine with mostly minerals and glyceryl elements; the finish is very light but minerally and fairly long (best feature). This got five votes for best in flight and our Somm. Paul Sherman had it in his top 5 for the night. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 points (0/0/0/0/1)

2009 Dauvissat Chablis Clos. 87 advanced. Medium gold color; Lychee fruit and faintly oaky aromas – but as this sat the aromas started to get more like apricot; this has some odd, sour apple juice flavors; there is notable acidity, but the acidity reminds me more of “end acidity” when the wine is oxidizing rather than natural malic or lactic acid. This is definitely advanced. That is also the group consensus. Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Faiveley Chablis Clos. 86 advanced. Medium gold color; light green apple aromas; modestly rich green apple flavors and seemed to be more like a Cote de Beaune wine than a Chablis to me; not all that much to be excited about in the finish though. After some air there were some pineapple notes in the aromas on the second pass. Hard to see this as Chablis and I’m almost suspicious of what’s in the bottle. Three votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Fevre Chablis Clos. 86 advanced. This between medium and full gold color – definitely the darkest of the first flight; forward apple cider aromas with slightly oaky/toasty note – definitely advanced; advanced red apple fruit flavors. This was definitely advanced and the group all agreed. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Raveneau Chablis Clos. 90 points. Medium gold color; aromas of oyster shell and light lime – finally a Chablis aroma set; on the palate, this had richer fruit than the other wines in the flight, but it was still in a lighter and softer style. Some fairly light minerality and a short finish. While the aromas were definitely Chablis, the palate wasn’t and this wine didn’t seem to have anywhere left to go. Five votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 17th, 1 points (0/0/0/0/1)

Crab cake with white wine caper sauce.

Flight 2: Meursault part 1

2009 Roulot Meursault Charmes. 91 points. Medium gold color; overly sweet lemon/lime aromas – I immediately said “7-Up” with agreement from several in the room; on the palate, it had similar, overly sweet, almost syrupy lemon-lime flavors, but it had very good acidity and a decent finish. This wine strongly reminded me of what I didn’t like when I first tasted the 2009 vintage on release. [NB Retasting this after the reveal, it was impossible to identify this wine as either Roulot or Meursault Charmes] Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Henri Boillot Meursault Charmes. 90 points. Medium gold color; white flowers and pear aromas; lightly sweet citrus fruit on the palate but with some grilled nut background character; this reminds me more of a Meursault than #9; but this one is a bit harsh and almost phenolic on the finish. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Colin-Morey Meursault Charmes. 93+ points. Medikum plus gold color; light white flowers and some lemon – lime fruit aromas; very bright, medium bodied and charming lemon citrus and light pain grille flavors; a very long subtle fruit finish with a minor degree of acidity in the finish. Real Meursault with just a hint of upside. Four votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

Andre Jobard Meursault Charmes. 89 advanced. Between medium gold and full gold color; aromas of cheerios with sweetness (an aroma Ron Movich has traditionally flagged as outright oxidiation); on the palate, the wine is very fat, buttery, and has a sweet caramel flavor. This is exceedingly advanced and the group unanimously concurs. In hindsight my score seems too generous. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres. 94 points. Very light gold color; aromas of green fruit (like Midiori liquer) and oysters; on the palate, intense, bright citrus flavors with excellent acidity and a good dollop of minerality; this also had a very long minerals and citrus finish that just kept improviing as the night went on. A genuinely impressive Meursault. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 15th, 3 points (0/0/0/1/1)

2009 Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres Cuvee des Pierre. 94+ points. Light gold color; bright lemon citrus aromas with a hint of grilled nuts; very bright lemon-lime flavors with lots of minerality and noticeable acidity; some powerful citrus fruit and abundant minerality on the finish – excellent; this has a bit more fat on the finish than #13. Five votes for wine of the flight. My number four wine of the night. Group Rank: Fifth , 13 points (1/0/1/2/1)

2009 Roulot Meursault Porusots. 93 points. Light gold color; aromas of lemon citrus and hints of green midori liquer; very bright wine with good acidity, moderate intensity lemony fruit and intensely minerally mid-palate; nice components but there seem to be mismatches in intensity levels here; fairly long sweet finish. This got two votes for favorite of the flight, but five people thought it was advanced. On my second pass through it definitely seemed to have lost something. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

Risotto al frutti di mare. Some years we have had seconds of this — could have used it tonight.

Flight 3: Meursault part 2

2009 Lafon Meursault Charmes. 92 points. Between light and medium yellow gold color; light lemon citrus and minerals aromas; not much fruit here, but some intense minerality on the mid-palate and finsih; this is classic but dry; nice minerality on the finish. Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Roulot Meursault Perrieres. 94 points. Between light and medium gold color; fresh peach and hazelnut aromas; some lemon citrus, with stony, ground rock mid-palate and great acidity; a very long, mostly mineral and light lemon finish. I love this wine for the stoniness and mineral intensity, though some could find it too austere in the fruit department. Group Rank: Fourteenth , 6 points (1/0/0//1)

2009 H. Boillot Meursault Perrieres. 94 points. Between light and medium gold color; again peach and hazelnut aromas; unlike #17, this has some fat and richness on the mid-palate, the biggest wine of the flight; a nice minerally finish too. One vote for best in flight. Group Rank: Tied for 12th, 8 points (0/1/1/0/1)

2009 Bouchard Meursault Perrieres DIAM. 94+ points. Light yellow gold color; light green apple aromas; clean and bright citrusy flavors; very good acidity here; a very long minerals and fruit finish. There is some upside here. Four votes for best in flight. My No. 6 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tenth, 10 points (1/1/0/0/1)

2009 Coiin-Morey Meursault Perrieres. 94+ points. Light plus gold color; very subtle white flowers and lemon pastry aromas; on the palate this had some more dense lemon fruit character and minerality; decent acidity; very long minerals and citrus finish. Impressive with some upside. Three votes for best in flight. My No. 3 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for sixth, 12 points (0/1/2/1/0)

2009 Drouhin Meursault Perrieres. 94+ points. Between light and medium gold color; light green apple aromas that don’t really seem open or developed yet; on the palate this was backward, with very good acidity and had intense mineral-saline character over some light citrus fruit. This one needs time to open, but seems very impressive. Four votes for best in flight. My No. 2 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for sixth, 12 points (0/1/1/2/1)

2009 Lafon Meursault Perrieres. 94+ points. Between light and medium gold color; very light white flowers aromas; this wine has very bright acidity, light citrus and intense minerality; a long minerally finish too. Two votes for best in flight. This was my No. 5 ranked wine of the night. Group Rank: Tied for 8th, 11 points (0/0/2/2/1)

Pan roasted Napa quail stuffed with wild mushrooms on soft polenta. Not a bad quail.

Flight 4: Corton Charlemagne

2009 Faiveley Corton Charlemagne. 92 points. Light plus gold color; aromas of pears and white flowers; nice medium density pear flavors, nice depth; it didn’t seem to follow through on the finish though. Group Rank: Tied for 8th, 11 points (0/2/0/1/1)

2009 Javillier Corton Charlemagne DIAM. 93 points. Just short of medium gold color; this had pear and green apple aromas; also similar flavors; this has an elegant and long finish which distinguishes it from #23. Group Rank: Tied for 15th, 3 points (0/0/1/0/0)

2009 Montille Corton Charlemagne DIAM. 93 points. Between light and medium gold color; white flowers and pear aromas; this has some greater richness and depth on the mid-palate with good acidity; minerality isn’t obvious here; fruity finish with some acidity. Group Rank: Tied for 20th (last), 0 points (0/0/0/0/0)

2009 Vougeraie Corton Charlemagne. 94 points. Between light and medium gold color; sweet white flowers aromas; intense pear flavors; this has more power and depth and more minerality than the preceding wines in this flight; it also has brilliant acidity, and very nice minerality; a very long minerally finish.. Two votes for best in flight. Group Rank: 11th, 9 points (1/0/0/2/0)

2009 Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne. 93+ points. Between light and medium gold color; light white flowers and sweet citrus aromas; less depth of fruit than the others, and more citrus here, good acidity, but I found this somewhat dry, almost phenolic on the back of the palate; nice minerals on the finish. May round out with more time. Two votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Third, 22 points (2/2/1/0/1)

2009 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne. 93+ points. Between light and medium gold color; aromas of white flowers and lemon blossoms; on the palate this had some sweet citrus and a long dry minerally finish. Needs more time. This got five votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Fourth, 15 points (/3/0/0/0/0)

2009 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne DIAM. 93 points. Light yellow gold color, the lightest of the flight; light white flowers and green apple aromas; this had relatively simple green apple flavors but an incredibly long structured minerally finish. At first I thought this wine had good development potential, but by the end of the night, I just wasn’t sure. Group Rank: Twelfth, 9 points (0/1/1/0/1)

Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne. 94 points. Just short of medium gold color; light white flowers and green apple aromas; the most complex mix of fruit flavors of the flight – lemon, lime and green apple, with very nice depth and length; a very pretty wine though not as much minerality as some of the others. I liked this even a little more on my second pass. Five votes for best in flight. Group Rank: Second, 30 points (3/2/2/0/1)

Colin-Morey Corton Charlemagne. 95 points. Light gold color; very light white flowers aromas with some green apple undertones; very bright green apple flavors which are intense and snappy; this wine is extremely long on the palate and has amazingly good minerality on the finish. A wow wine. Three votes for best in flight (including mine). My number one wine of the night. Group Rank: First, 34 points (2/3/2/3/0)

Sicilian boneless rabbit with prosciutto, caciocavallo, a hint of chocolate. Not sure we needed TWO meat in brown sauce dishes.

Flight 5: dessert

Fight the hangover!

1976 Schloss Eltz Auslese. Deep brown color; some burnt sugar and apricot aromas; from a personal perspective I had a real problem getting past the strong burned toast and earthy character on this wine that made the sweetness unreachable for me. Not my cup of tea, but I’ve never been a fan of the 1976 German vintage.

Cassatina di rocotta with pistachio gelato. My gelato is much better but the cassata tasted about 80% like a real Sicilian Cassata, which in my books makes it awesome as that dessert is almost impossible to find properly done outside of Sicily.

Conclusions

No glasses to be found anywhere (else).
Have a few white burgs!

There is a lot to say about this tasting. First of all, Valentino did a good job as usual. The wine service was impeccable, and this is a difficult task (pouring lots of big blind flights). Overall service is absolutely first rate. It’s a large quiet room, and the staff was highly attentive. The food was solid, although not as bright or modern as some places. The decor and food are a tad dated now, very very 90s — and not even as good as I remember back in the 90s. But memory is a funny thing.

There wasn’t quite enough food and the flights were WAY too large. Really this dinner could use 6 flights, no bigger than 5 wines each and about 6 savory dishes. This was more a planning/budget issue than anything under the restaurant’s control.

Thanks to Don C again as always for organizing a super fun and education event! It’s an enormous amount of organization and we all really appreciate it.

Speaking of Don, his compiled results and comments from this dinner are as follows. The top five ranked wines of the evening were:

The group’s top five ranked wines of the evening were:

1. 2009 Colin-Morey Corton Charlemagne.
2. 2009 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne
3. 2009 Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne
4. 2009 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
5. 2009 Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres Cuvee Pierre

The details are all in the attached spreadsheet along with my ratings on the wines.

Of 31 wines, we had 0 corked, 0 oxidized but 3 were advanced (9.7%). In the four months leading up to this dinner I opened 11 different 2009 whites and didn’t experience a single bottle that was either advanced or oxidized. We had four bottles with DIAM cork closures at the dinner and none of them were advanced or oxidized.

Some general comments –

This was the fourth consecutive dinner where a Colin-Morey wine finished either the number one or number two ranked wine by the group (and all of the voting has been totally blind.) BDM Corton made the top five for the first time ever. Vougeraie made a very impressive first time appearance.

Except for the Chablis, the wines from 2009 far exceeded my initial expectations. When the Cote de Beaune wines were released, I thought most of them were excessively sweet (I frequently used the descriptor of “7-Up”). As a result, I cellared very few 2009s. But the Cote de Beaune wines today, for the most part, far exceed my initial expectation. The level of improvement was even more profound than what we experienced with the 2006 vintage.

The bad news for 2009 is that, in my judgment, 2009 is the least impressive vintage of Chablis that I’ve ever tasted – far worse than the 2007s or the 2005s. The Chablis were extremely thin and mostly lacking in Chablis character. The three best wines of the flight, all from Raveneau, were very light bodied wines with some minerality but very little else to commend them. In my opinion, it’s a vintage of Chablis to avoid.

But in contrast to the disappointing Chablis, the flight of Meursault Perrieres was, when considered as a whole, the most consistent flight of Meursault Perrieres, from one wine to the next, that we’ve ever had. Excluding the Lafon Charmes, (which I usually include with the MPs because of those vines’ immediate proximity to Perrieres and the fact that the Lafon Charmes usually tastes more like MP than Charmes), the wines were uniformly very impressive. They were fairly light in color and had varying pleasant fruit esters (mostly citrus, but in two cases green apple and two with some peach) along with grilled hazelnut in a couple of them. They also all had surprisingly good acidity and strong minerality. After writing my notes and provisionally scoring the wines I was astonished to realize that I’d rated every MP at 94 points and it was very hard to pick a favorite in this flight. Four of the wines are likely to improve a little more with additional bottle age (which to me was unexpected for the 2009 vintage.)

The Corton flight, while it had a greater range of variation, was also quite good. The aromas were mostly white flowers and green apple or pear (though a couple had some light citrus elements). The wines were bigger bodied and richer than the MPs, as you would expect. They were surprisingly classic in style compared to how sweet and 7-Up like many of the wines tasted like at the time of release.

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2008 White Burgundy part 1

2008 White Burgundy part 2

2008 White Burgundy part 3

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2007 White Burgundy part 2

2007 White Burgundy part 3

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 2009 White Burgundy, Chablis, Corton-Charlemagne, Don Cornwell, Italian cuisine, Meursault, Santa Monica, Valentino, Wine

Crafty Culina

Feb25

Restaurant: Culina Modern Italian [1, 2]

Location: 300 S Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310) 860-4000

Date: February 9, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great Italian – Hotel or No

The space has been redone in a more classy contemporary way. With a big eating bar too.

Market Oysters, Mignonette, Cocktail Sauce. Simple but great.

Crudo. Some kind of yellowtail, I can’t remember which. But the fish was superb and the olive or and bright citrus drizzle incredible. Really some great sashimi.

The wine list has some nice unusual Italians.

2014 Volpe Pasini Colli Orientali del Friuli Sauvignon Zuc di Volpe. 93 points. Dry, but intensely aromatic in a fruity, almost floral way. The fruitiness wafts up from the cup but is not fleeting or transient, but rather, evolves and persists as I drink it. Only lightly sour. Tastes very clean and leaves me feeling very good after drinking it.

Tuna tartar with quail egg and parmesan. You would barely know this was tuna, given that it was treated just like beef tartar. And an amazing tartar it was!

Sea bass on salt. A delectable chunk of fish served (cooked?) on a block of Himalayan salt.

Bread tower.

Cauliflower panna cotta with egg and truffles. A signature of Mirko’s and an AMAZING dish. Very classic and the light velvety base just brought out the intense truffle.

2005 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco Pagliaro. VM 94. The 2005 Montefalco Sagrantino Vigna Pagliaro has put on quite a bit of weight over the last year. Today it is a rich, sumptuous wine that totally covers the palate with dense, dark fruit. In 2005 the Pagliaro is impressive in the way it achieves superb density while retaining the elements of delicate, nuanced subtlety that inform Bea’s finest wines. This is a fabulous effort from Bea. The 2005 Pagliaro saw 46 days on the skins, followed by a year in stainless steel and two years in cask.

Gnocchi with truffles and mushrooms. Some incredible light and fluffy gnocchi, again showcasing the truffles.

They have a lot of good looking cheese.

Gorgonzola dulce on crisps. Amazing!
Chef Mirko above to mix some risotto with braised meat inside the half wheel of parmesan!

I first saw this technique at Forma.

Risotto with braised beef. Classic pairing, but awesome. The rich cheesy risotto perfectly mars with the succulent meat. Very Northern Italian.

Warm dark chocolate liquid tart. Mint chip gelato. Fabulous chocolate.

And a glass of great vin santo.

2005 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Vin Santo del Chianti Classico. 93 points. This is a great deal in nice dessert wine.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 4 seasons hotel, Beverly Hills, Culina, Dessert, Italian cuisine, Italian wine, Mirko Paderno, Wine

Italian House Party

Sep19

The Hedonist gang periodically converges for a some house party goodness, this time for a home cooked Italian meal by Linda di Franco.

Elisabeth and Jake were very generous to host us at their lovely 20s Hacienda.

This setting always shows off some interesting views, in this case a cool orange reflection off some far off buildings.

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

From my cellar: 2011 Villa Diamante Fiano di Avellino Vigna della Congregazione. 92 points. Excellent, one of the best white wines I’ve had in some time. Beautiful golden color, with delicious fruit but not too fruity. It has the composed, focused quality of a Jobard from Burgundy. I can imagine that this wine would age nicely, but it is awfully good right now.

2013 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis. 93 points. It’s late summer, we were dining outside. So we brought this. Fabulous.

Cheese.

Crackers.

2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros. BH 92-95. A classic Chablis nose of mineral reduction, oyster shell and green fruit aromas merges into sappy, rich and powerful flavors that possess more refinement than usual on the long, sappy and beautifully detailed finish. I’m impressed that this seems to have to rusticity and in this sense, it’s a bit atypical.

Gorgonzola stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto. Very nice soft fresh sweet figs and paired very well with the salty ham and gorgonzola.

2014 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. BH 94. Mild notes of wood and reduction mask the underlying fruit though I can say that it appears to be ripe. Otherwise there is outstanding volume and concentration to the big-bodied and openly muscular flavors that exhibit evident power and punch on the hugely long finale. This is presently very compact and like the Perrières very clearly built to age. I should note that while this is certainly going to need time it is not especially austere and I suspect that it will begin to drink well after only 5-ish years or so if that’s your preference.

Younger than my fiano!

Zucchini mint onion frittata on a bed of baby greens.

2011 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. VH 90-93. A restrained, indeed almost mute nose of Granny Smith apples and citrus aromas is in keeping with the rich and full-bodied but reserve flavors that possess very good size and weight, all wrapped in an intense, deep and sneaky long finish where noticeable wood surfaces. I like the concentration and this should be a rare Corton-Charlemagne that will be approachable in its youth.

Cannellini and Italian Salsiccia Crostini. A classic dish of central Italy, certainly including Tuscany and Umbria.

2014 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill. 91 points. light-to-medium deep yellow core with nice viscosity. As others have noted, nose is quite reminiscent of a very good PC Chablis (or better?). Lemon zest, apple, pear, wet stone/minerality and a deft touch of oak; quite pretty. Palate of white flowers, apple pie, peach pit and minerals. Lovely, balanced, medium-bodied wine with no sharp edges that should pair nicely with most foods, unlike many of its Cali counterparts. Good acidity, as it should have, along with a nice midpalate and reasonably long finish. With the acid and minerality and balance I wonder if this would age like a good Chablis? Hmmmm . . . .

Bresaola with Parmiggiano. The dog liked it so much he licked the edge of it (dangerously close to the table edge). Rolled up with the cheese was a great meaty/cheesy snack boosted up by the olive oil drizzle.

Linda (right) making pasta with some “help” from Jennifer.

From my cellar: 2004 Podere Il Cocco Brunello di Montalcino. 94 points. I love this rare bio-dynamic Brunello.

2010 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino. VM 94. The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is one of the very best wines I have tasted here in recent years. Dark red cherries, mint, game, smoke, tobacco and licorice are all deeply expressive in a mid-weight, very classic feeling Brunello long on class and personality. Big yet silky tannins frame the dramatic, intense finish. The Valdicava wines are always big, but the 2010 is a bit pulled back, and striking.

2006 Le Presi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. 93 points. Nice!

Lasagne with Besciamella.

2008 Tantara Pinot Noir Le Colline Vineyard.

Pizza with prosciutto.

Cheese pizza.

2009 Rocca di Frassinello Maremma Toscana Baffonero. VM 91+. Full ruby-red. Cool, brooding aromas of cassis, blackberry, violet and minerals. Concentrated, densely packed, minerally and brisk, with ripe black fruit and coffee flavors carrying through to the creamy, ripe, very long finish. This is an important wine for this estate, and one that it would like to become one of Italy’s most important merlots in the future, in the mold of Masseto or Messorio.

agavin: very nice giant ripe merlot

1997 Bava Barbera d’Asti Superiore Stradivario. 91 points.

2003 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate. VM 91. Bright ruby-red. Sweet aromas of black cherry, flowers, menthol and creosote. Supple, sweet and fine-grained, though not especially nuanced for this wine. Strong note of chocolate. Finishes with a fairly fine dusting of tannins and lingering notes of cherry and licorice. This seems a bit less vibrant than it was from barrel a year ago. Barrett noted that the December 2005 bottling date was quite late for this wine, and my sample had not yet recovered.

2012 Chris Ringland Shiraz. BIG!

Balsamic beef rags with arugula. Very thin tender meat, a little like Korean BBQ.

Roasted red potatoes with rosemary and garlic.

2003 Château Duhart-Milon. VM 88-91. Bright ruby-red. Blackcurrant, blueberry, black cherry, violet, tobacco, fresh herbs and currant leaf on the slightly medicinal, quintessential cabernet nose. Then broad, fat and rich, with a layered texture and enticing sweetness. Showing its cabernet side today, but this is thoroughly ripe, seamless cabernet.

Hand made mushroom agnolotti with butter and sage. I love these classic butter and sage pastas. There wasn’t a lot, so we each got about two.

2003 Château Gravas. 87 points. pale golden yellow; honey, apricot, dried pineapple and mango aroma; full-bodied; a relatively unimpressive palate as a Sauternais; short finish.

Tiramisu.

I brought this in my new Gelato cooler, made by moi: Gianduia Gelato – not only is this from a hardcore Italian recipe, properly stabilized for that gooey texture, but I used all Valrhona chocolate and Piedmontese hazelnut paste. Seriously it’s like frozen Nutella! A huge hit if I do say so myself — and I do!

A lovely group of ladies!
This one is a little less dignified.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Linda di Franco, Rose, Wine

Quick Eats – Obica SM

May13

Restaurant: Obica Santa Monica

Location: 606 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 393-6633

Date: April 10, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Solid (modern) neighborhood Italian

Obica is a new casual addition to the Santa Monica downtown, replacing Hostaria del Piccolo, right next to the (also new) Inotheke. I went once to the Century City version with my Italian wine class and found it quite good.

I swear that when I went the Century City one was spelled Obika with a K and this one with a C. Go figure, it actually changed — I’m not going crazy.

The space is sleek and modern, avec bar.
And the hard surfaces + nice wood decor style.

Il menu.

Acciughe di Sciacca. Sciacca Anchovies and Sundried Tomatoes. Salty but good. Particularly with…

Burrata al Tartufo. With Black Truffle. Putting this and the anchovies together on bread was excellent.

Pici pomodoro. One of my favorite pasta shapes, little hand made twists.
Schiaffoni di Gragnano. Paccheri Pasta with tomato sauce. Basil. Mozzarella di Bufala.
Pappardelle al Ragu di Anatra e Arancia. Homemade rosemary pasta with Tuscan style duck ragu. Orange Zest. A nice interesting pasta.

The dessert menu.

Chocolate gelato.
Semifreddo al Croccante Salato. Salted Caramel Brittle, Zabaglione gelato. I love semifredo. Although the Zabaglione didn’t have that Masala/citrus flavor that I like.

Overall, Obica is a solid casual Italian and a nice edition. I have to try more menu items but it’s closer to what you’d get at a mid level place in Italy than all the Italian American places.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dessert, Italian cuisine, Obica, Obika, pasta, Santa Monica

Mountain Eats – Campo

Mar28

Restaurant: Campo

Location:6201 Minaret Rd Suite 240, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546. (760) 934-0669

Date: January 17 & March 20, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: decent, for Mammoth

Mammoth Lakes isn’t exactly a culinary capital, so we twice went to:

Campo, the Village’s designated Italian.

Campo calls itself Rustic Italian. Well, I guess that’s reasonable. More Rustic Contemporary Italian American, but who’s being specific.

Bread and olive oil / balsamic.

This is a composite of two dinners, both times I brought Brunello. Forgot to photo the first one.

From my cellar: 2004 Tenuta le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. VM 93. Deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines red cherry, smoky plum, minerals and licorice. Enters creamy, fleshy and smooth, with decadently rich red and black fruit flavors, but turns more austere towards the back. Finishes with above-average complexity and depth, featuring ultra-smooth tannins and an enticing mineral persistence. Lacks the length for an even higher score, but this very serious wine only needs a few years in the cellar to show all it’s got. This is the first Riserva ever made by this estate.

agavin: I got this bottle (and a couple cases of others) at the winery. It was bricking slightly but in a really good spot.

Charcuterie. Meats!

Butternut soup.

Simple Green Salad. White balsamic vinaigrette.

Kale salad. Various extras.

Wood fired cauliflower. Calabrian chilies. garlic. Not bad.
Beet Salad. roasted baby beets, butternut squash, rosemary goat cheese, chile oil. Strange neon glow to the beets!

Special with burrata and prosciutto and very salty crackers. Super yummy though.
Pizza!

Kid’s pasta.

Special Pappardelle with orange and duck. A little sweet but quite good.

TAGLIATELLE wild boar bolognese, grana padano. A decent, but slightly dry version of this classic dish. The meat needed more flavor somehow.

Special seafood risotto with shrimp and scallop.

Steak and potatoes. This is Mammoth.

A very unattractive split of a root beer float.

Caramel budino. These are always great. Love it.

Campo is great for Mammoth and sort of decent by LA Italian standards. It’s got a good menu and execution is decent. Some dishes are tasty and some are a tad flat. Service is overwhelmed. Both times we were there — granted with big parties — they couldn’t really handle it and there were issues. They were nice though. Mammoth servers usually are. They just couldn’t get it all right / timed / etc.

For more dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Campo, Italian cuisine, Mammoth Lakes, pasta, Pizza

Valentino – 2008 White Burgundy part 2

Feb26

Restaurant: Valentino Santa Monica [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

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

Date: February 25, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fun and educational!

This dinner is the second part of the annual White Burgundy Premox test series, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. This dinner covers 2008 Bienvenues-Bâtard, Criots-Bâtard,Bâtard-Montrachet, and Chevalier-Montrachet. 2008 White Burgundy Dinner series Part 1 can be found here. You can also read about previous year’s 2004 Red Burgundy dinner and 2006 White Burgundy tasting.

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.

And with regard to the wines. In Burgundy, in 2008, up to the middle of June, when the moon was full on the 18th., the season had been cool, wet and miserable. The flowering was late and drawn out, promising a late and uneven harvest. The next six weeks happily saw a marked inprovement: plenty of sun, not too much rain – and what there was was sporadic and localised – though it was warm rather than hot. Temperatures rarely exceeded 30°C. Then the weather deteriorated. There was more rain and less sun right through to mid-September. A bleak summer indeed! Overall there was less precipitation on the Côte de Nuits than the Côte de Beaune, and less still in the Côte Chalonnaise. Chablis seems to have enjoyed the mildest weather of all. But inevitably, the incidence of mildew, oidium and botrytis became ever more serious as the weeks progressed. At various times from the beginning of May onwards, hail damaged the vineyards of Marsannay, Volnay and Meursault, Chassagne and parts of the southern Màconnais and northern Beaujolais.

At the last minute, however, more benign conditions returned and continued well into October. The harvest kicked off in the Beaujolais, as I have said, on September 15th. A week or more later the growers began to attack the Mâconnais and to some extent the Côte de Beaune. But many in the Côte d’Or held off until Monday 29th or even, in the Côte de Nuits, into October, and were able to profit from natural sugar levels of 13° and higher. It was the latest harvest for some years, requiring 110 or more, not 100, days from flowering to fruition.

Our private room. Notice the large table with a lot of space. This is important when you have 29+ glasses a person!

Tonight’s special menu.

Flight 0: Champagne

1998 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses. Burghound 95. A brilliant, complex and broad-ranging nose offers up floral, citrus, yeast and extremely subtle red berry hints that complement perfectly the delicious, restrained and still quite youthful flavors that are very crisp and impressively precise with a medium effervescence on the deep, palate staining and lingering finish. The ’98 isn’t quite in the league of the superb ’96 but it’s not far off either and in my view, trumps the ’97 and ’99 as well.

agavin: had a very nice mature oxidative tone which I really enjoyed.

Prosciutto And Grana Padano “Schegge”. Basically ham wrapped Parmesan!

Burrata Caprese. On a spoon.

Ahi Tuna Tartare Crostini.

Oysters.

Bruschetta With Wild Arugula. The cheese and greens took this up another level.

Bread. I particularly liked the cheesy sticks.

Flight 1: Bienvenue / Criots

agavin: Also, some general comments on this flight and the vintage. 2008 is really round and ripe. The wines are darker in the glass than average and have Botrytis and tropical notes. Some of them still have a lot of acid too.

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 94. Soft if not invisible wood sets off strikingly pretty and solidly complex honeysuckle, white peach and spiced pear aromas that give way to intense, delicious and equally complex middle weight flavors that possess ample concentration and outstanding balance and length on the palate staining finish. This is really classy juice and quite stylish as well.

agavin: One of my two favorites of the flight — well, it is Ramonet.

2008 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 95. A discreet touch of pain grillé frames an equally expressive and every bit as pure nose of honeysuckle and lemon-lime aromas that combine seamlessly with rich, round and quite generous middle weight plus flavors that possess even better depth and stunning length. This is the complete package with a textured and palate staining finish as the level of dry extract here is most impressive. A stunner of a Bienvenues that should reward at least a decade of cellar time.

agavin: a little darker and more advanced, although drinking nicely

2008 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 91-94. Peach, ginger, honey and medicinal herbs on the nose, plus a more exotic suggestion of lichee. Dry and penetrating on the palate, but with a distinctly tactile quality to the flavors of pineapple and flowers. Today this comes across as more austere than the Corton-Charlemagne, which is probably not a bad thing for a 2008.

agavin: our bottle was a bit corked

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 91-4. A subtle touch of pain grillé highlights citrus notes that, like the Pucelles, exhibit hints of honeysuckle and fennel nuances that complement perfectly the textured, rich and sweet medium plus weight flavors that are quite supple yet remain detailed, energetic and strikingly long on the explosive finish. This is a relatively powerful Bienvenues. In a word, terrific.

agavin: a bit darker than most.

2008 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 94. Here too the nose speaks of honeysuckle, citrus and lightly spiced pear aromas that serve as an elegant introduction to the pure, cool and understated middle weight flavors that possess outstanding depth of material and stunning length. This is a hugely long and quite serious yet impeccably well-balanced Bienvenues.

agavin: My second favorite of the flight. It was darker, but it was drinking very nicely with a rich honeysuckle quality typical of BBM.

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 94. This possesses arguably the ripest nose of the range with its mildly exotic aromas of white flower, spiced pear, apricot and mango that combine with rich, full, powerful and overtly well-muscled flavors that offer impressive volume and power on the textured, indeed even opulent finish that is amply concentrated and seriously long. Overall, this is no more elegant than the La Romanée but there is another dimension of depth and length present. A terrific Criots.

agavin: Lots of Botrytis and a touch darker. Perhaps a little advanced.

2008 Henri Boillot Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 94. As one would reasonably expect given Criots’ natural tendency to high ripeness levels, the nose is notably riper than that of the Caillerets with ample amounts of highly complex yellow orchard fruit where a hint of exoticism comes into play. The equally ripe, rich, powerful and sappy full-bodied flavors display impressive size, weight and volume yet the finish remains focused and even reasonably well detailed with so much extract that there is the impression of chewiness. As is usually the case, this is not as refined as the rest of the grands crus but this is imposing.

2008 Hubert Lamy Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 92. The most complex nose in the range with an elegant array of citrus, floral and pear aromas that are less ripe than usual. The rich and precise medium weight flavors are delicious and pure with good if not great volume though there is fine balance and excellent length. This is really very stylish and sophisticated.

Dover Sole Involtini With Wild Mushroom Sauce. The mushrooms were really good, but sole is never that exciting and so this wasn’t a show stopper. It did pair well with the wines and didn’t conflict.

Flight 2: Batard

2008 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 96. Here the nose is notably tighter and more reserved with aromas of citrus blossom and zest, spice, smoke, fennel and hints of acacia that introduce big, muscular and wonderfully complex broad-scaled flavors that culminate in a long, focused and explosive finish of breathtaking length and intensity. This should reward at least a decade in the cellar and drink well for a similar period thereafter. This too is terrific and very Bâtard and like the Combettes, the ’08 version is one of the very best young examples from Leflaive that I have ever seen.

agavin: rich, good stuff.

2008 Ramey Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard. VM 95. Bright gold. Energetic aromas of green apple, jasmine, minerals and lemon zest. Dry and nervy, with brisk acidity and a saline nuance giving energy and lift to its citrus and orchard fruit flavors. Vibrant and impressively pure chardonnay, finishing spicy, long and dry, with an intriguing floral quality.

agavin: A 2008 California ringer. Not bad for a Cal Chard. Burgundian. Tropical too, with a bit more oak than most white Burgs.

2008 Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 95. A more open and expressive nose speaks of white flower, white peach and spiced pear before sliding gracefully into delicious, mouth coating and serious big-bodied flavors brimming with dry extract and power on the driving finish. Despite the substantial size and weight, the flavors and finish retain a fine sense of cut while avoiding any sense of heaviness or loss of focus. This is a knockout.

agavin: rich with a lot of acid

2008 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 95. A less expressive but more complex nose speaks of notably ripe but not exotic aromas of lightly spiced and toasted green, yellow and citrus fruit that complements to perfection the reserved, intense, round and very powerful big-bodied flavors that display obvious concentration and muscle on the dry but attractively textured and detailed finish. This is a knock-out effort and worth a special effort to find and cellar as it’s going to require at least a decade to reach its apogee.

agavin: lots of acid

2008 Domaine Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 94. A restrained but stylish nose of pain grillé, citrus blossom and apple combines with understated, pure and refined medium full-bodied flavors that culminate in a stunningly intense finish that displays a good deal more minerality than is typical for Bâtard. This is still very primary yet oozes class and refinement but even so it will clearly require a few years in bottle before it’s really ready for prime time. In particular, I really like the overall sense of balance and harmony and this should eventually be quite special.

agavin: a bit weaker than most in the flight

2008 J.M. Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 93. Very rich aromas of pineapple, nut oil and smoky oak; the most exotic of these 2008s and the highest in alcohol at 13.5%. Rich, powerful and generous, combining strong acidity and an impression of sweetness and viscosity of fruit. Very smooth, silky wine with a long finish that throws off hints of very ripe stone fruits, nut oils and brown spices.

2008 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 95. An almost completely inexpressive but relatively high-toned nose of lemon rind, acacia blossom, ripe peach and apricot gives way to almost painfully intense full-bodied and overtly muscular flavors that offer exceptional richness on the magnificently long, mouth coating and palate staining finish that is wrapped around a very firm core of ripe acidity. Chez Pernot, I typically prefer the Bienvenues but as good as it is, and it is very good, in 2008 I give the nod to the Bâtard, if only by a nose, no pun intended.

agavin: finish like Tropical Flavored Skittles!

2008 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 92-94. A strikingly complex if somewhat less elegant nose offers a considerable breadth of aromas that include ripe peach, spiced pear and white floral hints that serve as a flourishing introduction to the equally ripe, rich, muscular and mouth coating big-bodied flavors that are quite serious and hugely long. Just as the nose is more complex than that of the Bienvenues, so is the finish as there is just another dimension of underlying material present.

agavin: rich with a lot of acid

Pan Seared Scallops “In Porchetta” Wrapped In Pancetta, White Wine Sauce. While tasty, the bacon was so potent that this really distracted from the wines and threw off the palate.

Flight 3: Chevalier part 1

2008 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 96. A notably more elegant, cooler and more reserved nose of white flower, green apple and ample minerality complements to perfection the silky-textured, pure and stylish medium weight plus flavors that possess excellent volume but also wonderful detail and punch while culminating in an intensely mineral finish of superb intensity while remaining a study in purity and refinement. This is one of those ‘wow’ wines that amazes through transparency and delicacy rather than brute force. Still, don’t be fooled by the finesse as the intensity is such that a deep breath is required after sampling this.

agavin: rich and tropical

2008 Domaine Jacques Prieur Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 92-95. An ultra elegant nose features notes of citrus, pear and rose petal that precede the racy, gorgeously intense and seriously pure mineral-driven flavors that are textured, naturally sweet and mouth coating on the energetic and penetrating finish that delivers spectacular length. A wine of sheer class.

agavin: slightly darker. lots of acid and tropical ripe notes

2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte. Burghound 96. There really isn’t much to modify since my last review was only a few months ago, except to say that if anything, my score might be one point too conservative as this is going to be a great, great Chevalier. The original note from Issue 39 was: Discreet wood sets off a slightly riper but otherwise similar nose to the “straight” Chevalier, which leads to bigger, richer and fuller well-muscled and impressively scaled flavors that culminate in a powerful and beautifully textured finish of simply stunning length. Despite the weight and obvious heft, there is absolutely no sense of heaviness as the underlying minerality imparts a real sense of lift. In a word, terrific.

agavin: rich, tropical, Botrytis

2008 Domaine Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 95. This hasn’t changed much since my 2010 review as it remains strikingly complex with an ripe, pure and airy nose that speaks elegantly of white flower, spice and subtle pear aromas\nthat complement perfectly the rich and mouth coating flavors that are built on a base of fine minerality, all wrapped in a sappy and explosive finish that oozes dry extract. This is really a stunning effort that is perhaps a bit more forward than I originally envisioned and thus I have shorted my estimated initial drinking window slightly. Seriously beautiful juice.

agavin: slightly darker, with sweet tart like acid

2008 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 91-94. A reserved and quite discreet nose reflects notes of ripe green fruit, white peach and rose petal are trimmed in visible wood spice while complementing well the rich, full and intense flavors that are built on a base of firm minerality which contributes to the textured mouth feel on the beautifully balanced and powerful finish. While there is no question that this is a classy, stylish and delicious effort, the flavors seems quite forward for a young Chevalier though again, it’s possible that this is a side effect of being prepared for bottling. Note that my drinking window assumes that it will tighten up once in bottle.

agavin: very reductive, with an almost potty like nose at first

Risotto With Prawns And Maine Lobster. The seafood risotto’s here are really quite excellent and this one was no exception, particularly with its big chunks of lobster.

We even got seconds in the form of a prawn only variant.

Showing off the golden chard.

Flight 4: Chevalier part 2

A ringer: 2008 Bouard-Bonnefoy Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru en Remilly.

agavin: darker and a bit advanced

2008 Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru en Remilly. Burghound 92. A background note of sulfur does not detract unduly from the citrus, anise and rose petal suffused nose. The nicely rich, round and detailed medium-bodied flavors are utterly delicious and display an intense minerality on the elegant, refined and stylish finish. Lovely juice.

2008 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 97. Like the Bâtard, here the nose is quite restrained but exceptionally elegant and pure with white flower, green apple, pear and wet stone where the latter element continues onto the rich, full and highly energetic flavors that tighten up considerably on the detailed, minerally and bone dry finish that displays distinct citrus mineral nuances. This is long, tight and linear with huge amounts of dry extract that renders the very firm acid spine almost invisible at present though the finish is clearly shaped by it. This magnificent Chevalier should be a genuine stunner in 12 to 15 years.

agavin: also a little darker and more advanced

2008 Domaine Ramonet Chevalier-Montrachet. 97 points. a really great wine. Reductive, rich, with a super long finish.

2008 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 92-94. Not surprisingly, this is the most elegant wine in the range with a spicy nose of citrus peel, acacia blossom and plenty of wet stone nuances that merge seamlessly into rich, vibrant, fresh and beautifully detailed middle weight plus flavors brimming with an intense minerality on the firm and hugely long finish that is almost painfully intense. In sum, this is a wine of harmony and supreme grace.

agavin: tropical and quite nice

2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 94. This is also wonderfully elegant with high-toned, pure and airy aromas of white flower, light toast, spiced pear and a hint of green apple that gives way to supple yet detailed mineral-suffused middle weight flavors that are perhaps even more refined than those of the Perrières, all wrapped in a balanced, stylish and lingering finish. As good as this is, and it is very good, it’s not necessarily leagues better than its junior partner, just different though it will most likely require a few more years to reach its apogee.

agavin: very nice

2008 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 93-96. This offers up the most elegant nose in the entire range with its stone, lemon, chalk and citrus characters that complement the ultra precise and intense flavors of crystalline purity and the same penetrating minerality as the Perrières displayed, indeed this seems constructed on a base of stone that is like rolling rocks around in your mouth. The finish is very much in keeping with the rest of the wine as it’s explosive, bone dry and palate staining. A classy, balanced and harmonious effort that brims with energy. In a word, outstanding.

agavin: strong reductive bandaid qualities, super long finish, very nice.

Grilled Veal Chop With Sage And Parmigiano Fonduta Served With Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Haricots Verts, Carrots. A hefty slab of veal and a nice sauce.

Flight 5: Dessert

Walker brought this old bonus: 1984 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. 86 points. Very mature, although certainly not totally over the hill. Very strong “nutty” tone.

Ron brought: 1976 Schloss Eltz Eltviller Sonnenberg Gewürztraminer Auslese.

Sicilian Cannoli With Pistachio And Prickley Pear Sorbet. I love cannoli and while this didn’t have the candied fruit tone, the honey pistachio mix was awesome.

The bagged bottles.

And opened up.

There is a lot to say about this tasting. First of all, Valentino did a good job as usual. The wine service was impeccable, and this is a difficult task (pouring lots of big blind flights). Overall service is absolutely first rate. It’s a large quiet room, and the staff was highly attentive. The food was solid, although not as bright or modern as some places. The decor and food are a tad dated now, very very 90s — and not even as good as I remember back in the 90s. But memory is a funny thing. All the dishes tonight were tasty. Pairing with the Burgundy was spot on (thanks to Don and Ron who worked hard on this aspect).

There wasn’t quite enough food and the flights were too large, although maybe not as bad as at the Chablis dinner. Really this dinner could use 6 flights, no bigger than 5 wines each and about 6 savory dishes. This was more a planning/budget issue than anything under the restaurant’s control. I wanted to go for awesome porky ramen after, but we were just a little too tired and full.

2008 as a white vintage is subjective. It’s very very ripe. These are golden wines with a ton of ripe fruit, a touch of advancement, and a lot of Botrytis. Sometimes they are almost honeyed. We had just one corked bottle and no out and out premoxed bottles, but several were “advanced” although in my mind drinking pretty well right now, as I like creme brûlée in my white Burgs. The real question is how will they age. Hard to say. Most at the table thought not well. But these wines do have a lot of acid. They remind me quite a bit of the 2000 vintage, which I have been enjoying in recent years — so who knows?

As usual, these bigger grand crus are rounded and richer than the Chablis etc we had last time, so they seem riper and even more tropical.

In terms of dinner mechanics, I also think we should vote on each wine in the flight and then reveal that flight. Keeping them blind until the end seriously reduces the learning aspect of the evening, as you can’t really remember or effectively revisit. Plus, my “voting” is pretty random, consisting of picking my favorites from each flight anyway. I just don’t have it in me to go back and retaste 30 wines or to compare Chablis and Corton Charlie against each other. Just my opinion.

Thanks to Don C again as always for organizing a super fun and education event! It’s an enormous amount of organization and we all really appreciate it.

Speaking of Don, his compiled results and comments are below:

The top five ranked wines of the evening were:

2008 Ramonet Chevalier Montrachet, which edged the Colin-Morey Chevalier by just one point (48 vs. 47)
2008 Colin-Morey Chevalier Montrachet
TIE 2008 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet
TIE 2008 Ramonet Bienvenues Batard Montrachet
2008 Jean-Marc Pillot Chevalier Montrachet

The Ringers for the evening – 2008 Ramey “Hyde” Chardonnay, 2008 Bouard-Bonnefoy Chassagne-Montrachet “En Remilly” and 2008 Colin-Deleger Chassagne Montrachet “En Remilly” did not fare as well as the ringer on the first night. The group consensus was that two of them were advanced and four more of us thought all three ringers were advanced.

Of 28 wines, we had 1 bottle which was corked, 1 bottle which was oxidized (Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet — not in agavin’s opinion), 3 bottles which were advanced by group consensus. We had two other bottles for which the group consensus was that the wines were clearly off from technical perspective. In this tasting, 25% of the bottles were either premoxed to some degree or had obvious winemaking defects.

A few generalizations –

once again, many of the wines showed obvious botrytis. The professional reviewers did no one any favors in failing to report the overwhelming incidence of botrytis-affected wines in the 2008 vintage. A few of the wines had so much botrytis they were almost undrinkable (to Don — agavin likes botrytis, as this is a highly personal palate thing).
The Puligny/Chassagne grand crus all exhibited a greater degree of ripeness than did any of the wines on the first night. The wines had more buttery textures and flavors on the mid-palate and the acidity on the palate seemed softer, although I think was likely just the impression left by the greater level of ripeness and viscosity.
Except for many of the Chevalier Montrachets, the colors again tended to be much deeper gold in color than the 2007s at the same stage.
The Batard flight was easily the least impressive since the 2005 vintage and quite possibly the least impressive flight of Batard I’ve ever tasted in the premox series (agavin didn’t mind it as much because he likes botrytis). Thankfully, the first flight of Bienvenues and Criots was very good and the last flight of Chevaliers (aside from the three oxidized or advanced bottles) was pretty exceptional.

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2008 White Burgundy part 1

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2007 White Burgundy part 2

2007 White Burgundy part 3

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 2008 White Burgundy, Bâtard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Valentino, Wine

Valentines at Il Secreto

Feb15

Restaurant: Il Segreto Ristorante Belair

Location: 2932 Beverly Glen Cir, Los Angeles, CA 90077. (310) 474-8644

Date: February 13, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Decent neighborhood Italian

Giacomo Drago, one of the brothers in LA’s mini Drago Italian empire has opened yet another little Italian restaurant, this time a local joint in Belair. We snuck up here the day before Valentine’s day because the fixed menus on the day itself are annoying.

The name is apropos, because it’s tucked away in a mini-mall at the top of Beverly Glen.

The interior is cute, and actually surprisingly large, with an upstairs and a couple of different rooms.
PANZANELLA. Bread and Tomato salad with cucumbers, onion, and extra virgin olive oil sprinkled with burrata. Always one of my wife’s favorites.
BRESOLA. Dry cured beef with arugula and parmesan cheese. Not a bad version of this dish.
PUMPKIN RAVIOLI. pumpkin and ricotta stuffed ravioli with sage and cream sauce. The rich Drago version of this dish. Tasty, but the original Northern Italian one is just butter and sage.

UNI PASTA. handmade green and black penne with rock shrimp and uni sauce. I was disappointed in this. The pasta itself was good, but the sauce smelled a bit fishy and didn’t come together right.

Creme brûlée.
Lemon Meringue tart. Nice components, but the tart itself tasted very slightly “fridge burned,” which is something I’m really not a fan of.

Overall, service at Il Secreto was great, and the location cute, but the food (in our extremely limited sample) was just okay. Certainly well above average for an LA Italian, but not nearly as good as Il Pastiao, Giacomo’s flagship.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Drago, Il Secreto, Italian cuisine, valentines day

Valentino – 2008 White Burgundy part 1

Feb10

Restaurant: Valentino Santa Monica [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

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

Date: February 9, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fun and educational!

This dinner is the first part of the annual White Burgundy Premox test series, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. This dinner covers 2008 Chablis, Meursault, and Corton Charlemagne. 2005 White Burgundy Dinner series Part 1 can be found here. You can also read about previous year’s 2004 Red Burgundy dinner and 2006 White Burgundy tasting.

A couple of us got here early and decided to get the party rolling with a great value off the Valentino wine list:
1969 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. 94 points. This is just ridiculously young. Even the color doesn’t indicate its age. There’s a fair amount of sulfur, which could explain its vibrancy. Gently oaked, light nuttiness with plenty of lemon with a hint of minerality. Good acidity, round and rich, very Charmes. A treat to drink.

agavin: WOTN actually, as the upcoming 2008s just don’t have the age to compete with this kind of complexity.

Our private room. Notice the large table with a lot of space. This is important when you have 29+ glasses a person!

Tonight’s special menu.

Flight 0: Champagne

2005 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons. VM 93. The 2005 Brut Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons from Pierre Peters is beautifully open and expressive, which is quite unusual in young Chetillons. That is good news for those who want to catch a glimpse of one of Champagne’s most exciting wines. This is about as good as it gets in what turned out to be a very challenging vintage in Champagne.

Bruschetta with wild arugula and parmiggiano schegge.

Oysters.

Parmigiana crisps.

Crab cakes.

Pizza Margherita.

Flight 1: Chablis

2008 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. BH 95. A highly complex if discreet nose of noticeably cool aromas features notes of limestone, lemon, oyster shell, iodine and dried white flowers that marry into beautifully precise flavors blessed with an abundance of dry extract on the tightly wound, seriously long and intense finish. This is flat out gorgeous and perfectly balanced with that Zen-like character this wine always seems to evidence.

agavin: lots of Chablis acidity

2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. BH 95. The reflections are the classic light gold-green hues of a fine Chablis. The barest touch of oak highlights the green fruit, menthol, saline and iodine aromas that precede the extremely stony, concentrated and driving flavors that are also blessed with ample amounts of dry extract that provides a much needed balancing element to the ripe acid backbone on the chalky and sappy finish. When Valmur is really good, it rivals Les Clos for the best grand cru in Chablis and this 2008 is really good.

agavin: slightly darker than most, a bit of oxidized advanced notes on the nose.

From my cellar: 2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. BH 97. A background touch of wood frames green fruit, white flower and salt water aromas that introduce ultra pure, refined, elegant and cool flavors that possess terrific vibrancy and focused power before culminating in a driving, understated, firm and altogether serious finish. I very much like this as it’s classic Valmur and should age beautifully as the balance is perfect. Perhaps the best way to capture the spectacular potential of this wine is to call it brilliant. Don’t miss it but note that patience is required.

agavin: reductive nose, and really singing. Clearly the best of the flight.

2008 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. BH 96. A ripe, pure and airy nose of classic Chablis aromas is trimmed in the barest hint of pain grillé while complementing perfectly the rich, mineral-driven and beautifully intense palate staining and mouth coating flavors brimming with oyster shell nuances on the penetrating, delineated, focused and bone dry finish. I love the underlying sense of tension here and like the Preuses, this has so much dry extract that it will require at least a decade to fully mature. Brilliant.

agavin: much darker, with strong oxidative notes on the nose. Tasted of apple, and at the moment, fairly decent, but probably significantly advanced.

2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. BH 96. Here too the elegance of the nose is simply stunning with a layered and perfumed aromatic profile trimmed in an almost invisible touch of oak that allows it to ooze Chablis character and in particular, a fine minerality that continues onto the impressively concentrated and palate staining flavors that possess striking precision on the explosively long and bone dry finish. This is a great Les Clos that will make old bones.

agavin: my glass smelled soapy, which was distracting.

2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. BH 96. This too is impressively pure and cool with an airy but reserved mix of floral, spice, mineral reduction and iodine notes merging seamlessly into gorgeously intense and almost aggressively stony medium-bodied flavors that exude a subtle sense of harmony, indeed this is Zen-like on the explosive, balanced and lingering finish that positively screams Chablis. This is simply fantastic and while I have a very slight preference for the Valmur, this is certainly an inspired effort as well. If you can find it, don’t miss this either but also like the Valmur, be prepared to be patient.

agavin: very nice, with a lot of Chablis acidity and apple notes.

2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot. BH 95. A restrained, even discreet nose of toast, white flower, stone and quinine notes can also be found on the silky, pure and sophisticated medium-bodied flavors blessed with ample amounts of dry extract that completely buffer the firm acid spine on the detailed, minerally and lingering finish that is almost painfully intense. A classic Blanchots of both style and grace.

agavin: also a nice Chablis

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

agavin: nice, probably second best in the flight — showing that Rav MDT is a serious value.

Pan seared scallops with wild mushrooms and a crustacean reduction. A lovely seafood salad with good solid hunks of lobster.

Flight 2: Meursault

This flight included all the Meursaults that were not Perrieres.

2008 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères. BH 92. A classic Meursault nose of roasted hazelnut, fresh white flower, pear and white peach aromas trimmed in a touch of citrus marries into vibrant and impressively detailed flavors that also deliver ample power and punch on the intense and lively finish. This has real personality and in contrast to many examples of the appellation, this is really quite fine. Worth considering.

agavin: lots of acid.

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots. BH 92. An extremely fresh green fruit and herbal nose cut with hints of underbrush and citrus where the latter element can also be found on the rich, powerful and serious but not rustic medium weight plus flavors that culminate in a mouth coating and impressively long finish. This is robust but actually slightly finer than it usually is.

agavin: very punchy.

2008 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. BH 92. As one would reasonably expect, this is much more elegant with an ultra pure nose of apricot, peach, lemon and toasted nuts that slides seamlessly into supple and very seductively textured medium-bodied flavors brimming with dry extract that really coats the mouth on the almost painfully intense finish. This is exceptionally well-balanced and will age though the extract is such that it will be enjoyable young.

agavin: one of the best wines of the flight

2008 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. BH 90-92. A slightly more elegant nose features ripe white peach, pear and lemon aromas that introduce the rich, full-bodied, intense and mouth coating flavors that, not surprisingly, possess more depth as well as more underlying material, all wrapped in an impressively long finish. This is very Charmes as it’s generous but classy.

agavin: at first seemed like a hint of premox, but a very rich wine

2008 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. BH 93. A discreet but not invisible touch of oak frames the ripe orchard fruit aromas, particularly peach and apricot, as well as pretty floral notes. The fresh, intense and notably sweet flavors possess excellent intensity and vibrancy before culminating in a generous and mouth coating finish that displays real verve. I really like the sense of underlying tension and the abundant amount of dry extract confers an almost chewy quality on the gorgeously long finish. In a word, terrific.

agavin: slightly darker, possibly advanced

2008 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. BH 93. An impressively pure if somewhat reserved high-toned nose features wonderfully stylish aromas of white flower, hazelnut, wet stone and ripe lemon-lime nuances where the minerality also adds punch and lift to the mineral-infused, racy and punchy medium-bodied flavors that possess real finishing verve and seriously impressive persistence. The old vine sap is very much in evidence as it confers a seductive texture onto the mid-palate yet does not compromise the precise and chiseled quality of the backend. In a word, marvelous.

agavin: some people thought this might be off

Pan seared scallops with wild mushrooms and a crustacean reduction.

Flight 3: Meursault Perrieres

2008 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots. VM 92+. Classic aromas of lemon, lime, minerals, hazelnut and grilled almond; smells rich in dry extract. Then dense and superconcentrated, with terrific inner-mouth energy to the flavors of peach, orange blossom, lemon and crushed stone. Time-capsule Meursault, finishing with superb length. This too should age very well.

agavin: nice, very focused and linear

2008 Hospices de Beaune Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Cuvée Baudot Pierre Yves Colin Morey. 96 points. WOW….there’s that pycm lime! SO friggin good…..piercing lime acidity, crushed slate, chalky limestone….the age has creamed it up well…actually quite rich…dried honey, florals galore…chiseled and drinking perfect! A true pleasure.

agavin: very reductive and lovely. We all swore this was the Coche. It tasted so like Coche. I guess we were wrong. Best wine of the flight.

2008 Comtesse Bernard de Cherisey Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru La Genelotte. 89 points. Showing just a hint of the wax and lanolin I associate with age (and I do not like). Showing more gunflint and power. The many fruit tones are lessened. Very complex. Very well made. We shall see where it ages too but I do enjoy it. But is it better young or old?

agavin: rich and strong with some soy sauce notes

2008 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 93. This is the most elegant wine to this point with a strikingly perfumed nose of spiced pear, wet stone and rose petals that gives way to minerally and focused middle weight flavors that are crystalline in their purity, all wrapped in a seriously deep and long finish. Like several wines in the range, a classic example of the appellation.

agavin: solid and tasty

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

agavin: flat nose, but good taste

2008 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 91-93. A striking nose of exceptionally fresh and layered aromas of fennel, green apple and spiced pear complement the round, intense and gorgeously detailed flavors that possess outstanding depth and length on the finish that is like rolling small pebbles around in your mouth. As with a few other wines in the Mikulski range, there is a saline character on the almost painfully intense finish that reminds me vaguely of Chablis.

agavin: cork flake nose? a touch darker? apple on the pallete

2008 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 92. There is still a trace of mild reduction that only marginally detracts from the appeal of the otherwise pretty aromas of acacia blossom, spiced pear and wet stone aromas. The delicious, gorgeously elegant and pure flavors possess a silky palate impression on the concentrated, explosive and stunningly long finish that seems to be composed of liquid rock. This classy example doesn’t quite have the precision of the Charmes though the length is certainly most impressive. We’ll see how this develops but for now, I would rank this just below the Charmes in terms of overall quality.

agavin: very solid

Seafood Risotto. Always a favorite. A very nice risotto, although not cheesy. Last year we had two portions, we could have used that this time!

Flight 4: Corton Charlemagne

2008 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. VH 92-94. An upper register and highly complex nose of green apples, white pear and citrus notes introduces almost painfully intense, pure and impressively powerful big-bodied and overtly muscular flavors that possess an almost aggressive minerality on the palate staining, tension-filled and driving finish. This is really a striking wine that is built to age as there is an abundance of dry extract. Gorgeous.

agavin: nice, with green apple. Quite good for the flight.

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

agavin: pretty big

From my cellar: 2008 Joseph Drouhin Corton-Charlemagne. BH 91-94. Discreet if not invisible wood highlights a ripe white flower and green fruit nose nuanced by spice and wet stone hints where the latter elements are also reflected by the intensely soil-driven flavors brimming with both salinity and minerality on the explosive and strikingly long, palate staining and overtly austere finish. This is a sublimely classic Corton-Charlemagne that offers formidable cellar potential.

agavin: Vanilla, big, a well liked Corton

2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. BH 96. This is a classic example of Corton-Charlemagne with its impressively layered floral, green fruit, lime and stone-infused nose that precedes citrusy, precise and powerful mineral-driven flavors that possess real muscle on the almost painfully intense and steely finish that delivers striking length. While it’s not quite as great as the Montrachet, it easily holds its own. A wine to own but note that only the patient will ever see it at its best as this is likely to evolve glacially.

agavin: rich

2008 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. BH 94. A highly complex nose of pain grillé, cool green fruit laced with floral and anise hints leads to rich, powerful, naturally sweet and impressively intense full-bodied flavors that possess an overt muscularity as well as buckets of dry extract that really coats the mouth on the long and distinctly dry finish.

agavin: slightly darker with maybe some advanced notes

2008 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley. BH 91-94. Almost invisible wood allows the lightly spiced and earthy red berry fruit aromas that are admirably pure to merge into relatively supple yet well-detailed broad-shouldered flavors that culminate in a lingering and solidly firm finish. This is unusually approachable but I expect that it will tighten up considerably after it is bottled. If so, this will definitely be a wine for the patient.

agavin: solid

2008 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. BH 96. Hints of oak toast add nuance to the green apple, lime and classic dried white flower aromas that precede the well-muscled, firm and impressively broad-shouldered flavors that are clean, dry and ultra intense with real drive on the penetrating and intensely mineral-suffused finish that delivers stunning length. This beautifully chiseled effort does not deliver quite the same length as the Montrachet but it’s perhaps even more complex. In sum, part of why I like this so much is its sense of completeness.

agavin: a bit weird. caramel notes?

2008 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne. VH 93-95. A reticent nose of lightly spiced green apple, white peach and white rose petal aromas leads to exceptional pure, detailed, tautly muscular and stony medium weight plus flavors that possess superb intensity and huge length on the mouth coating cuts-like-a-knife finish. This is presently an understated yet powerful wine possessing huge amounts of dry extract and stunning verve. A serious effort that will undoubtedly be long-lived though arrive at its apogee before its 10th birthday.

agavin: nice and fruity, probably my favorite of the flight

Pan roasted Napa quail rapped in pancetta. The bacon added a lot of salty goodness. The meat had a nice gaminess too, although was perhaps a touch over cooked.

A side of ravioli in butter sage sauce. A simple classic prep, and great as always.

Flight 5: Dessert

2004 Turley Roussanne LPR Alban Estate Vineyard. VM 93. 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: very sweet and fruity, with a pink almost cloudy tone. Tasty, but not amazing or anything.

Pear tart tartin with gelato.

Above is the revealed flight list.

And the full array of revealed bottles.

The crew is getting young as a new generation of Chardonnay fiends gets in on the action.

Wine service was impeccable.

There wasn’t quite enough food and the flights were too large. Really this dinner could use 6 flights, no bigger than 5 wines each and about 6 savory dishes. This was more a planning/budget issue than anything under the restaurant’s control. I wanted to go for awesome porky ramen after, but Tsjuita was closing so we couldn’t quite get mobilized.

2008 as a vintage was quite good. We had no corked bottles and 3-4 advanced bottles. No totally premoxed bottles like with 2005. The vintage character is broad and ripe, with a good amount of acid, but not the unrelenting sourness of 2007. Chablis remains tight. The richer wines, particularly Meursault Perrieres and Corton Charlie were very impressive. Some really nice wines there. The Chablis were good, but very Chablis with that acidic linearity. The MPs were the roundest, but I always like MP.

I also think we should vote on each wine in the flight and then reveal that flight. Keeping them blind until the end seriously reduces the learning aspect of the evening, as you can’t really remember or effectively revisit. Plus, my “voting” is pretty random, consisting of picking my favorites from each flight anyway. I just don’t have it in me to go back and retaste 30 wines or to compare Chablis and Corton Charlie against each other. Just my opinion.

Thanks to Don C again as always for organizing a super fun and education event! It’s an enormous amount of organization and we all really appreciate it.

Speaking of Don, his compiled results and comments from this dinner are as follows. The top five ranked wines of the evening were:

1. 2008 Colin-Morey Meursault Genevrieres Hospice de Beaune, which got nine of fourteen possible first place votes and a pretty astounding 55 total points.
2. 2008 Drouhin Corton Charlemagne
3. 2008 Raveneau Chablis Blanchots
4. 2008 Raveneau Valmur
5. 2008 Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne

The Ringer for the evening – De Cherisey Meursault Blagny Genelottes (located above Meursault Perrieres) fit right in with the Meursault Perrieres flight as expected and did quite well finishing tied for 7th overall.

Of 29 wines, we had 0 corked, 0 oxidized but 5 advanced (17.2%). The latter group included only one surprise (Dauvissat Clos) and four of the usual suspects. The pleasant surprises were that Bonneau du Martray was not on the POX list and neither were any of the Henri Boillot wines.

It was a great performance by the Chablis overall – the best vintage of Chablis we’ve had since 2002 and infinitely superior to the disappointing 2007s.

A couple of generalizations – the colors on the wines were all in the gold range, mostly between light and medium gold – generally deeper-colored than the 2007s at the same point. All of the wines showed good acidity. So far, the vintage seems very successful though we ran into a couple of wines where there seemed to have been an underlying rot problem that wasn’t dealt with well.

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2007 White Burgundy part 2

2007 White Burgundy part 3

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 2008 White Burgundy, Chablis, Corton-Charlemagne, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Meursault, Valentino, Wine

Theatrical Terroni

Nov09

Restaurant: Terroni [1, 2]

Location: 802 S Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90015. 323-954-0300

Date: October 4, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Solid Italian

Terroni is a small chain (5 restaurants) of high end Italians out of Toronto. They have two locations now in LA, Beverly Hills and Downtown.

The Downtown location is situated in a stunning early 20th century space with great vaulted ceilings.

From my cellar: 2007 Podere Il Cocco Brunello di Montalcino. 94 points. Great young Brunello. It needs a few more years as it’s intense and hot.

Barbabietole. arugula, beet, goat cheese, pistachios, balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.

Nizzarda. arugula, Italian tuna, potatoes, eggs, red onions, tomatoes black olives, green beans, anchovy, white wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.

Prosciutto d’Anatra e Burrata. duck prosciutto, burrata, fresh spinach and extra-virgin olive oil.

Kids spaghetti.

Kids penne.

Cavatelli alla Norma. cavatelli in a light tomato sauce with deep fried eggplant, aged ricotta, basil and garlic.

Gluten free pasta.

Spaghetti al Limone. spaghetti with spinach, onions, capers, shavings of parmigiano with lemon and extra-virgin olive oil.

Pasta Norcina. Spaghetti with ground sausage, Pecorino, black truffles. The oddity here, is that the “real” (Italian) version of this Umbrian dish is LOADED with cream and cheese. It’s basically a cream sauce (and delicious). This lighter version was tasty, but it isn’t real Norcina.

Pizza C’t Mang. white pizza with mozzarella, gorgonzola, fresh pears, walnuts, speck (smoked prosciutto) and honey. Delicious pizza with that sweet and salty thing I love.

Zabaione and pear gelato. My gelato is way better. This Zabaione was just a eggy vanilla. No citrus or marsala that I could detect. Weak!

Chocolate gelato. Also not the greatest gelato. You couldn’t taste the milkiness. I think they used too much cacao powder so there wasn’t enough cocoa butter.

Nutella fritters and hazelnut gelato. These were good though, and the hazelnut gelato the best of the bunch.

Crema Catalana. Classic.

Overall this was a totally solid Italian meal. Trying to be “more Italian” than most, but not quite getting all the way there. Still, most dishes were quiet good. Bear in mind that I’m a serious Italian snob :-).

Service was solid, although there seemed to be a few too many rules about modifications (which is corporate I’m sure).

Oh, and they are open through (i.e. they don’t close between lunch and dinner). That can be convenient sometimes, and it was here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brunello di Montalcino, Italian cuisine, Terroni

Forma – Cheese Bowl!

Sep25

Restaurant: Forma

Location:1610 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Date: August 16 & November 7, 2015 and August 12, 2016

Cuisine: Neo Italian

Rating: Interesting modern concept / great taste

Early in our marriage, my wife and I went to a little place on Montana in Santa Monica called 17th St Cafe as a go to “Saturday brunch” place.

Well sadly, it closed a few years back and was replaced by a place that was similar but not as good. Well disappeared too and it has now rebooted as a considerably more upscale Italian concept.

They opened up the middle of the old casual space with a nice and very clever (given the space) buildout very much in the 2015 vibe.

Now I said Forma is Italian, but what’s different is: 1) small plates 2) they are also a cheese bar! 3) they have this pastas churned in the cheese concept. More on that later.

The menu.

FRESH BABY KALE. red and white quinoa, fennel, heirloom cherry tomatoes, manchego.

BRUSCHELLA. grilled levain bread, heirloom tomatoes, mango, goat cheese.

FRESH MOZZARELLA KNOTS. zucchini “scapece”, heirloom cherry tomatoes, micro basil.

Burrata, cutella, white peaches and melon. Pretty awesome actually.

FILET MIGNON TARTARE. avocado, fresno chile pepper, capers, shallot, parmigiano, grilled bread.

A very nice tartare. Good flavor on the meat, and the cheese really added.

Penne pomodoro.

RAVIOLO BROCCOLINI. single raviolo, cherry tomatoes sauce, shaved raspadura cheese.

Gluten free pasta with lentils and tomatoes.

I ordered one of the “dalla forma”, which are basically pasta dishes “finished” in the giant hollowed out drum of cheese. Here the pasta is dumped in the cheese and stirred around a bit.

GRANA PADANO. garganelli pasta, speck, radicchio, peas.

This was a great pasta. Nicely al dente. It had the cheesy / meaty / creamy thing. Nice peas. My only problem was an occasional hard bit of radicchio.

PECORINO ROMANO. spaghetti cacio e pepe.

I adore this classic pasta. In fact I make it at home in an artisanal way. I didn’t try this version done in the cheese, but given that one normally mixes in a bunch of cheese in the pan, this has to be similar. My only issue might be that at $22 it’s kinda pricey for spaghetti, cheese, and black pepper!

Risotto with butternut squash. Drizzle of pomegranate glaze, sage, tossed in parmesan Reggiano. Very cheesy with a nice bit of sweetness. This is also “tossed” in the cheese.

Rigatoni white amatriciana gricia. Cured pork cheek, pepper, tossed in pecorino. Nice al dente bite to the pasta and a good crunch to the pork. Made it vaguely like a carbonara, just not quite as rich.

TROFIE AL PESTO. fresh pasta, basil pesto, vegetables, pine nuts, parmigiano cheese. Pretty authentic.

FETTUCCINE “BOLOGNESE”. beef ragu’ – tossed with butter in parmigiano reggiano cheese. Not a bad Bolognese, but the whole cheese bowl thing is totally a gimmick.

The dessert menu. But we were trying to be good. They looked yummy.

Overall, Forma has a good kitchen. Every dish was bright and tasty, and I like the small plates “updated” Italian. Not that it serves as a substitute for a more rigorously Italian place, but it’s a great option. The cheese bowl thing is more or less a gimmick, but I’m a cheese lover so I have no problem with more cheese and the one I tried was a very nice pasta, if a little pricey for simple pasta.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Forma, Italian cuisine, Santa Monica

Bestia – Bring out the Beast

Sep21

Restaurant: Bestia

Location: 2121 E 7th Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90021. (213) 514-5724

Date: September 17, 2015

Cuisine: New Italian American

Rating: Super tasty, super hip, and a good bit of attitude

Bestia has been on my “to eat at” list since it opened. Opinions generally include the sentiment that the food is great. Some adore it. Some think the place has too much attitude and is too hard to get into. I wanted to see for myself.

It’s located in the Arts District, near Factory Kitchen. Funny to see much energy in an area of town that was nigh on terrifying 10 years ago. But urban renewal is a good thing.

The interior is typical in recent years, brick factory building, I-beams, hard tables.

Open kitchen too.

We sat outside on the porch. It was a lovely evening and this was great because it was a perfect temperature and not nearly as loud as inside.

The menu, with our marked up orders.

We ordered so much that we swore a pact to reaffirm our commitment to hedonism.

2013 Alberto Nanclares Albariño Soverribas. 93 points. Medium gold colour. Mature nose with medium intensity aromas of quince, ripe peaches, very ripe yellow apples, savoury yeast, lemon peel and hints of neutral white flowers.

A very nice Albarino we ordered off the list. A very nice food white. I have some issues with the wine service, but more on that at the bottom.

Smoked Whitefish Crostino. Dill, potatoes, scallions, fresno chillies, celery leaf. An early start on Yom Kippur break fast! Very nice.

Veal Tartare Crostino. shallots, parsley, lemon, tonnato sauce. This was even better, super meaty, totally delicious. The grilled bread was amazing.

Pan-Fried Ciccioli. pickled fenne, candied kumquats, crème fraîche, pea tendrils. Our first server, who was awesome, recommended this. Wow! Like a pulled pork confit crab cake (no crab). Oodles of fatty goodness. In case that wasn’t obvious, the brown stuff is a “cake” made of heavy rich pork meat cooked in some kind of fat and then pan fried.

From my cellar: 1998 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo. 93 points. Initially quite tight with reductive nose, some tar and rose petal. Middle weight palate, that at first seemed to lack a bit in fruit, but then flowered brilliantly. Nice perfume of dark fruits, some tar, rose petals. Good structure. Drinking well now with very nice balance. Not overly tannic. Aldo was a genius.

Salumi. chef’s selection of house-cured meats, mostarda, grilled bread. All sorts of pig. All amazing. Left to right: prosciutto crudo, salami, lardo & fig jam, prosciutto, some kind of head meat. The far right was my least favorite. The pinker prosciutto was amazing, and the smoked lard toast was out of this world!

Burrata pizza. san marzano tomatoes, castelvetrano olives, oregano, fermented chilies. A wonderful pizza in the current style. I normally like some meat on my pizza, and not olives, but this was bright, acidic, and delicious. Another recommend from the excellent server.

Mussels and Clams. housemade spicy ‘nduja sausage, fennel seed, preserved orange, grilled bread. A 10. The sauce had all that salty, sausage, spice, tomato acidity awesomeness. We kept a bunch of grilled bread to dip in it.

Quadretti alla Carota. mushroom ragu, summer squash, squash blossoms, carrot puree, carrot tops. My least favorite pasta, but still nice, and quite rich for a non meat pasta.

From my cellar (picked by Seb): 2006 Fattoria Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino. AG/Parker 97. The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino is an explosive, structured wine bursting with dark fruit. It is one of the most inward, brooding wines of the vintage. Black cherries, menthol, spices and new leather are some of the nuances that flow as this expansive Brunello literally covers every inch of the palate. This is a totally mesmerizing, sublime wine of the highest level.

agavin: A great wine, although it took a few minutes to get going (no surprise).

Roasted Marrow Bone. spinach gnocchetti, crispy breadcrumbs, aged balsamic.

I didn’t even realize this was sort of a pasta, but you dump the bone marrow on the gnocchetti and stir up. Nice, rich, mild.

Cavatelli alla Norcina. ricotta dumplings, housemade pork sausage, black truffles, grana padano. This was one of my favorite pastas during my recent month in Italy. This rendition had the right ingredients, and was very good, but it wasn’t as rich as a really good one in Umbria and was lacking the creamy cheesy strong truffle intensity. Instead it came off a bit more buttery, less cheese. Also in Umbria they pile on the truffles.

Spaghetti Rustichella. lobster, sea urchin, garlic, calabrian chilies, squid ink bottarga, breadcrumbs. But this was to die for. Almost a rich uni Gauzetto sauce. Just awesome umami brine yum. Perfectly al dente too.

From my cellar: 2007 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco Pagliaro. 94 points. A rich, sumptuous wine that totally covers the palate with dense, dark fruit. The Pagliaro is impressive in the way it achieves superb density while retaining the elements of delicate, nuanced subtlety that inform Bea’s finest wines. This is a fabulous effort from Bea. 46 days on the skins, followed by a year in stainless steel and two years in cask.

I actually brought this because they had pasta norcina on the menu!

Pici al Sugo di Agnello. lamb ragu, saffron, capra sarda, fig leaf, breadcrumbs. Another stunner. So rich, meaty, lamby. Really fabulous stuff. Great thick al dente bite to the pici too. One of my favorite pasta shapes.

Grilled Pork Tomahawk Chop. served family style. $80 for 37 ounces of meat, but we had to get it. Perfectly cooked. Fatty, but not obviously so. Rich. Delicious. Just a wonderful slab of meat. Not as strongly flavored as the similar Chi Spacca version, but great too.

Grilled long beans. Came with the pork.

The wine lineup, all awesome.

Maple Ricotta Fritters. maple butter ganache, sour cream and huckleberry jam ice cream. Some awesome fried goodness, totally notched up by the ganache and ice cream.

Valrhona Fair Trade Bittersweet Chocolate Budino Tart. salted caramel, cacao crust, olive oil, sea salt. Wow this was great. Soft rich chocolate boosted by the salt and olive oil. A bit like some of Jose Andre’s olive oil chocolate desserts.

Butterscotch Coconut Tart. fresh coconut sorbetto. Not bad, but I was dissapointed as I expected something more “coconut creme.”

Overall, an awesome night. But I’ll break it down.

Ambiance: Exactly what you’d expect from a super trendy DTLA spot in 2015. It’s all there, the rough surfaces, open kitchen, naked wood tables, paper menus, loudness, etc. I suspect if we were inside I would have found it too loud.

Food: Great food. Really quite excellent. Not mind blowing or totally innovative, but a sort of 2014-5 blend of “faux rustic” Italian with gastro pub and other current LA/NY sensibilities. The flavors have been brightened and punched up. There is more of a “grill” thing going on. It isn’t very authentically Italian, but takes itself in a different direction.

Service: General wait service was very good, although not formal. Oddly we had two waiters. Our first one was awesome and not only recommended some good changes but coursed it out really nicely. After ordering he was mysteriously replaced by another guy who was totally fine, but didn’t stand out as much.

Attitude: There is a bit of attitude. It’s hard to make a reservation and hard to move. They didn’t want to seat us partially even though the place was half empty still. The whole wine policy shows attitude. But overall it didn’t bother me too much and they did lean toward customer service.

Wine Service & List: Here were the biggest problems, although admittedly I come at it with a particular viewpoint. Let’s start with pure service. They decanted, if unconventionally into magnum bottles. Stems were mediocre, just regular small crystal tasting stems. They didn’t appear to have good ones, but they gave us 3 each of the little ones without complaint. They didn’t really pour for us, but I don’t like that anyway when we have a small group. Now onto the list. Not a big fan. It’s very small, hard to read, and has extremely few wines for a very good restaurant. The wines it does have re mixed. Far, far too many new world wines. They don’t belong here. Way too few Italians. I couldn’t even find an Italian white at a price I was willing to pay and there were only 5 total. We ended up with the Spanish Albarino (which was very good), but there is no reason for that given the outrageous number of inexpensive but nice Italian whites. Prices were about 3X retail which is a little higher than I’d like (2X would be nice) but not outrageous. There were very few “very good” wines. Most of the bigger reds were way too young. I know new restaurants don’t want to invest in a big inventory, but these are all part of the reason I almost never buy off wine lists. If you are a serious wine guy, and you know prices you just can’t bring yourself to do it.

Corkage: From up on my soapbox, this is a sore spot. All my wine friends talk about how Bestia isn’t really wine guy friendly. It’s sort of middle road. I had to call for the policy and it was first two bottles at $30 and after that $50. While relieved there was no limit (don’t get me started on limits, those are asinine), the hike to $50 is annoying. Really. Particularly given that I opened and poured the bottles myself. I realize they need to make money on the wine, but $30 seems a reasonable max. This isn’t Providence/Melisse type wine service. There also seemed to be an undocumented “can’t bring a wine on the list” rule. Given the list changes everyday and isn’t online, this seems unreasonable. But that being said, the Somm told us he doesn’t enforce it. So why have it? Also to their credit, Bestia made an accommodation for us. There was a little eye rolling with it, and some general somm-attitude, but their actions and words (if not tone) indicated they put customer service first. And after all, tone is just tone so I found this amusing. In the end, they did right by us. But still, one doesn’t get the feeling that Bestia would be a great place to host a Foodie Club type event. At those we have too many bottles to handle more than maybe $10-15 of corkage. Maybe they’d cut a deal, but I think they think they’re too popular to need to. A shame, because the food is amazing and it’d be a fun place to do that sort of thing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bestia, Corkage, Dessert, Genevieve Gergis, Italian cuisine, Ori Menashe, pasta, Wine

Drago Centro

Sep11

Restaurant: Drago Centro

Location: 525 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071. (213) 228-8998

Date: September 3, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great high end Italian

I’ve been a Drago fan for years. Celistino Drago has even cooked at our house half a dozen times. Hedonist regular Larry has been wanting to setup a formal dinner her at the Downtown location for some some.

We were situated in the “Vault” room, an awesome, huge private room over to the side of the restaurant (past the patio). It featured its own bar and kitchen and a huge table.

Drago went full out with the wine glasses and the like, which is always nice even if I am used to bringing my own.

Our special menu.

The first amuse. Goat cheese and tomato tarts. Even I liked them — and I’m not a tomato fan.

Tuna tartar “sandwiches”. The roe gave this a nice briny flavor.

Pizza Margarita. Gooey cheese!

Special Sicilian olive oil.

On the left the Chef de Cuisine and on the right the Wine Director.

I brought a collection of “interesting” Italian white food wines because this is contrary to the usual surplus of “hearty reds.” And besides, they go with the food.

From my cellar: 2008 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. 91 points. Oxidative nose with some lemon zest and dairy notes as werll as yeast, macadamia, white meat and plaster. With time tropical fruit starts to emerge. Dry and a tad oily palate with deep acidic core and classy round tropical fruit of good concentration. Meadow flowers and wet earth. Some spritz upon opening and this wine needed quite a bit of time to find balance otherwise as well. Very good stuff, but will only get better with further cellaring.

From my cellar: 2010 Paolo Bea Arboreus. 90 points. Normally an intense amber hue, in the 2010 vintage the Arboreus in fact has quite a light color and initial presentation of aromas. The aromas build quickly once the wine is given a few swirls in the glass, revealing a truly magnificent bouquet of honey, white flowers, spices, reduced stone fruits, sweet petrol (a contradiction?), and, yes, cat urine. Mild tannins give the wine excellent body and structure. Great persistence of flavor.

From my cellar: 2011 Paolo Bea Santa Chiara. 95 points. Apple juice to dark amber colour. It showed pre-oxidized white wine characters. Interesting taste of apple, apricot, citrus, white flowers with aroma of smoke, tar, salted fish in between. Full body. Good acidity and rich mineral support. It’s so stylish and unique. Complicated aromatic profile. It kept changing at different temperature. An interesting and enjoyable orange wine.

King crab legs, lemon, basil aioli. Very fresh and simple. Went perfectly with the oxidative Italian whites.

Baby kale and barlett pear salad, pinenuts, shaved ricotta salata, champagne vinaigrette.

1996 Domaine Jean Grivot Richebourg. Burghound 92. A bottle opened in Burggundy showed quite differently than that opened at the big Richebourg tasting held in late 2001 with still reserved but elegant and spicy aromas that offer exceptional purity of expression followed by young, tight and powerful flavors that are racy, fresh and very long. This seems more refined than the bottle at the Richebourg tasting that was very much in a rough and tumble style with big, robust, almost aggressively tannic flavors supported by powerful black fruit and good if not exceptional extract.

agavin: unfortunately our bottle was a bit corked.

2005 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia. 95 points. What a glorious wine. One of the best wines of the 2005 vintage I have tasted. The wine displayed great balance, complexity, finesse and focus and finished with considerable length and elegance. The wine is drinking beautifully now and will provide great drinking for the next decade.

From my cellar: 1996 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss. 94 points. evolved very nicely. Dark deep fruits with lovely aromatics; funk and brett not a problem with decanting. Amazing complexity, a lot happening in the mid palate and in the finish. Tannins and acidity will carry this forward but certainly enjoyable now.

2001 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Riserva Vecchie Viti dei Capalot e delle Brunate. 94 points. A delicious monster.

Pappardelle, roasted pheasant, morel mushrooms.

With cheese. This has always been one of my favorite pastas at Drago. The al dente bite on the pappardelle and the rich mushroom / pheasant sauce are fabulous. Off season, as this is ideally a winter pasta, but good anytime.

Roasted corn and ricotta agnolotti, parmesan, chile foam.

Truffle!

Prepping the next pasta.

And another.

1996 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia Sassicaia. 93 points. Fresh, moderately deep ruby-red. Spicy, lively aromas of cinnamon and vanilla. Round in flavor and rather elegantly styled, but doesn’t offer the weight or impact of a major wine.

2003 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 95. Made from a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, this spectacular 2003 hits all the sweet spots on the palate. A glorious bouquet of cedarwood, jammy black currants, cherries, licorice and truffle is followed by a dense, opulently textured, full-bodied wine with terrific purity and freshness as well as deep, velvety textured tannins. Enjoy this beauty over the next 10-12 years.

2003 Tua Rita Redigaffi Vino da Tavola. Parker 90. Tua Rita’s 2003 Redigaffi, 100% Merlot, opens with notes of over-ripeness on the nose. An initial suggestion of reduction blows of with air. It presents plenty of fruit, chocolate and toasted oak along with a richly concentrated, opulent personality, yet a note of gaminess and hard, unripe tannins ultimately convey the impression of a less polished version of this wine than is normally the case. My preference is to drink Redigaffi on the young side.

2005 De Suduiraut. Parker 93. Tasted blind at the 10-Year On Tasting in Sauternes. The 2005 Château Suduiraut seemed a little out of sorts at first, although it comes together with honey, barley sugar, orange blossom and mineral scents that become more delineated as its aerates. The palate is very intense on the entry. There is a beautiful line of acidity that cuts through the viscous fruit, though the finish does not quite exude the precision of a top vintage, but still delivers that sense of class one expects from this address.

Seared foie gras, porcini mushroom cavatelli. I’m not sure I’ve ever had full on seared foie AND pasta in the same dish. It certainly didn’t suck. I loved the chewy bite from the cavatelli too.

Summer truffle fettuccini.

2006 Ridge Monte Bello. Parker 94+. While it is eclipsed by the brilliance of the 2005, the 2006 Monte Bello (68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc) is a very strong effort. Its dense purple color is followed by copious aromas of creme de cassis, licorice, spice box, and a touch of oak. Well-balanced, dense, pure, layered, and rich, its big, rich style is similar to the 2003. This cuvee should keep for 25-30 years in a cool cellar.

2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 100! The 2002 boasts an inky/purple color along with notes of graphite, violets, blackberries, creme de cassis and hints of charcoal and barbecue in addition to a full-bodied, multilayered mouthfeel that builds incrementally with great purity, staggering fruit concentration, and a long, velvety, 50+-second finish. This prodigious effort should continue to drink well for 20+ years.

2001 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder. Parker 100! An utterly perfect wine that exemplifies this extraordinary vintage for North Coast Bordeaux varietals is the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder, which comes from the Jackson family’s Veeder Peak Vineyard. Unfortunately, slightly less than 300 cases were produced, so availability is limited. A dense opaque blue/purple color is followed by notes of lead pencil shavings, ink, blueberry liqueur, raspberries and black currants. The wine is super intense as well as extremely full-bodied and opulent with great structure, purity and density. (I know this sounds weird, but when I smelled and tasted it, it reminded me of the 2010 La Mission Haut Brion that I had tasted a month earlier, no doubt because of its volcanic/hot rock-like character.) This phenomenal wine is a modern day legend from Napa. Still a youngster in terms of its development, it should hit its peak in another 5-6 years and keep for 30+.

Squab, eggplant, and roasted garlic “risotto alla norma.” Nice gamey chunks of foul. Yarom was hoping for more “meat on the bone action.” Although truth is, I like it like this. These are basically tiny squab versions of duck breast.

Branzino, potato gnocchi, zucchini.

2005 Chateau de Fargues. Parker 95. Tasted blind at the 10-Year On Tasting in Sauternes. The 2005 Château de Fargues has a rich and intense bouquet with layers of honey, dried peach, beeswax and acacia that soar from the glass. The palate is powerful and authoritative: intense botrytis-rich honeyed fruit with compelling mineralité underneath. It fans out in glorious fashion – a stunning de Fargues that is now beginning to show its talents. As I remarked a couple of years ago, just afford it a couple more years so that it can fully absorb the vestiges of oak.

Mascarpone cheesecake.

Chocolate brownie, black mission figs, hazelnuts.

Market mixed fresh berries.

Overall a great evening, although not without its differing opinions in our highly opinionated group.

Service, particularly wine service, was first rate. We had our own dedicated servers and they were on it. For a change, I barely had to pour any wine. They had tons of glasses and worked the wine around in a perfectly timely fashion (extremely rare at big dinners). We did have a bit of a snafu in that we had 2 no-shows and we were very late giving the restaurant notice. Sort of a gray area and we should have sorted it out earlier and let them know.

The room and setting were amazing.

Food was for the most part great. The pastas were all fabulous. I was disappointed though in the desserts. Instead of those minis I would have preferred normal sized desserts that were striped around. I never find that minis like that are the best. The cheesecake was pretty good, but it was just one little morsel. Fruit never does it for me :-).

Wines were pretty good. I loved the whites, although they are perhaps too sophisticated for everyone’s palette. Was bummed the Richebourg was corked. We could have used some Brunello. I loved all the Nebbiolos. The super Tuscans were good too, but not as good as the Piedmontese wines. I didn’t think the big Americans really belonged, even though they were very good wines. They just don’t pair well with Italian. Too extracted. But of course the “hearty red” crew adored them — which is their prerogative.

This dinner was similar in many ways to the recent Michael’s dinner. Michaels was a slightly better deal, as we had more courses for less money. Maybe the DTLA markup, haha. Both have great food and which was better varied on a course by course basis. Michael’s had a more Italian wine lineup (which is our doing, not the restaurant’s), but we had a few off wines that night. Tonight only the Riche (cry) was corked.

Great evening!

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Drago Centro, DTLA, Foie gras, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Wine

Eating Senigallia – Madonnina del Pescatore

Aug01

Restaurant: Madonnina del Pescatore

Location: Via Lungomare, 11, 60017 Marzocca di Senigallia AN, Italy. +39 071 698267

Date: June 21, 2015

Cuisine: Italian (2 Michelin stars)

Rating: Awesome high end

The second of Senigallia’s Michelin two star duo (not in any particular order) is:

We got to try these with only one night in between for close comparison.

Located a few miles south along the coast, Madonnina is on a slightly quieter stretch of beach than Uliassi — but also enjoys a lovely view.

The sea is visible beyond.

2013 Azienda Agricola Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore. Again we order this reliable and reasonable fresh local white.

An amuse of parmesan semi-freddo ice cream sandwich!

The menu. We went for the “close to tradition.”

Americano cocktail solido e viaggio intorno all’ alice. Another amuse, a prosecco foam with fruit gelee.

More amuses. I can’t remember exactly what. The right was a crisp with anchovy paste.

Bread.

roast beef : tonno bianco tataki, il sugo della fettina di mia madre salsa di sedano rapa e topinambur al forno. White albacore tuna.

insalata di polpo, gelatina di pane e aceto, la sua maionese. octopus salad, bread, jelly and vinegar, mayonnaise. Very very tender octopus.

ravioli al “plin” di pesce, salsa porro e curry, spinaci e sogliola. ravioli “pliny” fish , leek and curry sauce , spinach and sole. Little pastries of pliny fish.

2012 Fattoria La Monacesca Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva “Mirum”. 90 points. Quite a fruitier expression of this wine. Good ripe fruit, light touch of sweet and waxy core, nice mineral side and firm acidity. This as always is a nice, expressive and complex wine and always a joy to come across it.

carpaccio tiepido di spigola, purè al lime, salmoriglio e salsa di rucola. warm carpaccio of sea bass , mashed lime , seasoned salt and rocket sauce.

spigola di amo arrostita, salsa di fagiolini ed insalatina alla senape. Bass,roasted potatoes , sauce and green beans salad with mustard.

lasagna ai frutti di mare in bianco con salsa di cocco e prezzemolo. lasagna with seafood in white with coconut sauce and parsley. This was sort of a giant ravioli/lasagna. It was soft and delicate and rich and rather delicious with hints of thai type flavors.

guazzetto “al forno” di pesci, molluschi e crostacei. A version of the classic seafood stew.

A version with no shellfish.

tiramisù con gelato al caffè, mascarpone liquido gelatine al borghetti e pane del giorno prima. tiramisu with coffee ice cream, mascarpone liquid borghetti jellies and bread from the day before. A bit like a tiramisu gelato.

vulcani attivi. Volcanic activity. This interesting presentation of chocolates had a number of chocolates named after particular volcanos and placed on the map where they belong. The flavors were themed after the regions, for example with the “Vesuvius” having tomato and mozzarella in with the chocolate!

A granite of grappa with a final chocolate.

Alex had his own tasting of Penne Pomodoro.

Parmasean.

And vanilla gelato over chocolate cookie.

Overall, we had a fabulous meal at Madonnina. I’d pretty much place it and Uliassi at the same level, and they draw off the same base regional cuisine. They do differ in style. Madonnina is fancy, but somewhat more direct in its translation of the dishes, a bit less experimental. This resulted in a 100% “good dish” rate, which almost no highly experimental place achieves. These were really nice dishes that fundamentally tasted great (and very Italian).

Service was also fabulous. Attentive and reasonably speedy (as 2 star places go) with no late meal stall. It’s very common for elegant places to really slow down the pace around the last entree through dessert and check — just when you are getting tired!

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating-italy, Italian cuisine, Madonnina del Pescatore, Michelin Guide, Senigallia, Wine

Eating Senigallia – Taverna Porto

Jul31

Restaurant: La Taverna del Porto

Location: Via Giosue Carducci, 10, 60019 Senigallia, Italy

Date: June 20, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Pricy but tasty all in dining

Sandwiched between Michelin 2 star meals we asked our hotel for a restaurant recommendation.

They sent us across town to La Taverna del Porto.

It was located on a bustling square — and this being a summer Saturday in a beach town — the piazza was alive with activity.

At the restaurant, there were a few items written on a board, but we were just asked “meat” or “seafood” and they started bringing stuff.

Potato soup. A simple but tasty blend.

Like the food, the only option for the wine seemed to be “Rosso ou Bianco”. We went bianco and got this perfectly pleasant local Verdicchio.

Squid salad. Squid mixed with carrots and marinated.

Grilled vegetables.

Octopus salad. With tomatoes.

Various seafood. Seabass on pesto crostini. Salmon and tuna crisps.

Creatures of the deep. These ugly shrimp cousins look a bit like the monsters from the video game Journey and taste… well a bit like the sea bottom.

Shrimp and avocado.

Capresse.

Hot seafood. Stuffed mussels, fried anchovies, skewers.

Mussels in gauzetto sauce. Tasty.

Clams in tomato cream sauce. Even tastier. I love these local vongole.

Green beans.

Eggplant wraps.

Penne pomodoro.

Linguine vongolle. Classic linguine in clam sauce. Super simple. Very tasty. Lots of garlic.

The host asked if we wanted more. We were pretty stuffed. I guess he would have brought a main and dessert. Then we got a bill for 5 x E35. Given that it was 50% more than all the other casual places we ate at in Italy, and that one of the 5 was a 6 year-old who had the penne only and 2 others were vegetarians, it seemed kinda steep. I think it was just one price included, so if we had a main course and dessert and 5 real eaters it would have been fine — but still. Wine was included and seemed “all you can drink.” Of course, the local Verdicchio probably costs them < E5. It’s still not bad wine for seafood.

The more I travel the less I trust hotel recommendations for food, which is a shame as doing the research is a bit of work. The people at our hotel were extremely extremely nice so I think it was just a difference of what one is looking for. Still, the food was good and it was a fun evening.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating-italy, Italian cuisine, Senigallia, Taverna Porto

Eating Senigallia – Uliassi

Jul28

Restaurant: Uliassi

Location: Banchina Di Levante 6, 60019 Senigallia AN, Italy. +39 071 65463

Date: June 19, 2015

Cuisine: Italian (2 star Michelin)

Rating: Awesome and inventive

One of the reasons I was drawn to visit the town of Senigallia was its pair of 2 star Michelin restaurants. It seemed to me that any small resort town with TWO of them had to be a nice place.

I was right too. We visited both, but Uliassi was first and it’s tucked away in the corner of Senigallia’s main seaside drag right near the river, just a block or two from the center of the old city.

We began with a bit of bubbly.

Bread sticks. The darker one was anchovy flavored!

Rice puffed nori. Delicious crispy seafood puffs.

The menu. We opted more or less for the Classic (with supplements and substitutes).

Amuse. On the left was one of those wafer cookies… filled with foie gras and some kind of nut butter — delicious. The center was beef tartar crusted in something. The right was a bit of fish with truffles.

A shot of Kir Royal.

Tempura vegetables. Super light and delicious fry.

Artisan bread.

2013 Azienda Agricola Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore. 89 points. The young Bucci Superiore is very light and fruity. An excellent seafood wine.

Cuttlefish tagliatelle with nori seaweed pesto and fried quinoa. A “pasta” made of cuttlefish. As squirmy as the idea is, it was rather delicious.

Raw amberjack “a la puttanesca.” A lovely seafood carpaccio.

Crispy red mullet, parsley soup and rhubarb. The bread-like thing was the mullet. I don’t even like red mullet, despite it having been the most prized local fish by the Ancient Romans — but this was fabulous. It tasted like a super grilled cheese or something.

Salad of cheese and almonds.

Rimini fest skewer. Squid covered in bread crumbs and ham bits. The balls were sphereized frozen cheese!

Potato puree and truffles. A simple version for the vegetarians.

Albanella jar, shellfish and aromatic herbs. A semi-deconstructed seafood pot. Not so unlike an Italian version of the Lobster Pots we used to cook up on the East Coast as a kid. The sauce was nice but light, emphasizing the fresh seafood.

Seasonal vegetables and pesto.

Roasted cuttlefish, wild herbs and sea urchins water ice. Not for the average American pallet, with that briny squid ink taste and the frozen bits of sea urchin!

Cappelletti butter and sage. A simple but lovely pasta.

Potatoes puree, roasted teal, roots and black truffle. The more elaborate version of the puree, with teal meat and lots and lots of black truffle. Really delicious.

Smoked spaghetti, clams and grilled cherry tomatoes. Almost a classic vongolle pasta, but with a lovely smokey flavor.

Monkfish, pork cheek and wild fennel soup. We were getting pretty full here, but this monkfish and “bacon” (pork cheek) was rather delicious — if rich. You can see from the menu why they probably don’t sell a lot of red wine!

Strawberry, cream, mascarpone and cardamon merengue. This was amazing! The berry flavor was so strong, and the frozen berries were cold on the tongue. The merengue provided a nice crunchy counterpoint.

Molasses cookie, chocolate ice cream, coffee, caramel, and licorice.

passionfruit soup, yogurt ice cream, pink pepper, and candied banana.

The hazelnut in different consistence: cream, brittle, crumble, cookie, powder, ice cream, and sponge. Pretty awesome.

Alex’s special 4 course tasting:

Rigatoni pomodoro.

Crispy potatoes, two ways. Homemade potato chips above, beneath them are french fries.

Artisan parmesan.

Mascarpone and chocolate. Fresh sweet cheese (it’s basically cream set with lemon juice) and cocoa powder.
Overall, Uliassi served up a great meal. They were extremely accommodating to our various needs (small child and Kosher style eaters), particularly given that I had forgotten to warn them. The attitude was great too. The meal ran a little long, particularly as they got busy, but still, you could see how many (technical) courses there were.

Our evening was oddly rainy and blustery, so we sat inside. But the restaurant is in a lovely seaside location with a casual elegant shore vibe. On a nice night (and the other 4 we spent in the town were lovely) it would be fabulous to dine outside.

The food itself was DELICIOUS and very inventive. Extremely Italian, local to Le Marche, but also very modern. Perhaps there was one too many cuttlefish dishes, but many of the dishes were fabulous and most really spot on.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating-italy, Italian cuisine, Michelin Guide, Senigallia, Uliassi, Wine

Eating Senigallia – Niko Cucina

Jul27

Restaurant: Niko Cucina

Location: Lungomare Marconi , 60019 Senigallia, Italy. 071.7931087

Date: June 18 & 22, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great kitchen

Traveling east from Umbria we set up residence at the lovely beach town Senigallia. This is one of those delightful Italian resort towns that Americans don’t really visit. All the better for us.

Despite being off the American radar this town sports two 2 star Michelin restaurants! Plus our hotel had a top notch place called “By Niko Cucina” (the chef being Niko). You could eat on either the ground floor patio or up here with the terrible view and lousy stifling air — not!

The menu.

Campari spritz (with Prosecco).

2010 Azienda Agricola Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva Villa Bucci. 91 points. A fine mature Verdicchio with plenty of structure.

Bread.

Gluten free bread, which supposedly was awesome (for gluten free bread). The chef said he bakes it himself and adds vinegar to get the right fluffiness.

Un Salmone giapponese in grecia. Salmon with Greek yogurt.

Crudi by Niko. Niko’s choice of raw/cured seafood. Left to right, shrimps, tuna, and amberjack. All were extremely fresh and delicious.

Cheesy pasta. Alex took a break from penne pomodoro for some pasta with parmesan and cream.

And on a different say he got a different shape (rigatoni?).

Spaghetti seppia nera e pomodori bruciati. Squid ink pasta in a form of guazzetto (tomato and garlic) sauce. Delicious.

Like art!

Strozzapretti con sugo di mandorle all siciliana. A tomato/eggplant pasta.

And a gluten free version of same (yick).

Spaghetti vongole ndula e lime. A spicy southern twist on the spaghetti with clam sauce. Delicious too.

2013 La Marca di San Michele Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Capovolto. 90 points. Another Verdicchio in a different style. This was Niko’s favorite (he recommended it). A bit less fruity than the Bucci, but very good.

Frittura by Niko con yogurt greco. My dad and I agreed that this might have been the finest “Fritto Misto” (mixed fried) we’ve ever had!

Fresh roasted Turbo. Potatoes and tomatoes.

Here is a piece of the delicate fish.

Insalte mista.

Verdure croccanti. Crunchy vegetables.

French fries.

Limoncello. Fire in the hole!

My Mom with chef Niko. He was extraordinarily nice and friendly.

Overall, Niko really delivered. Not only did he cook, but he hung around and offered fun comments and advice — and his food was really spot on. More modern and seafood oriented than what we were eating in Umbria, this was some delicious stuff with really fresh ingredients and and on point preparation.