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Archive for Saddle Peak Lodge

Home on the Grange

Jun12

Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]

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

Date: July 27, 2023

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

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

Tonight’s dinner was Penfolds Grange themed.

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

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The menu.
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Amuse of potato leek soup. A bit too “carby” for my taste.
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Pretzel bread.
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CAST IRON JOHNNYCAKE. Maple Butter. Like dessert cornbread.
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WHITE SHRIMP “COCKTAIL”. Cocktail Sauce & Charred Lemon.
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PORK BELLY. Vietnamese Flavors, Pickled Vegetables, Herbs, Nuoc Mam, Lime. Nice tangy & fatty flavors. Rich. Some reach crunch to the pork.
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6 INCH SPLIT ROASTED BONE MARROW. Chimichurri Sauce, Grilled Ciabatta.
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HAND ROLLED CAVATELLI PASTA. Périgord Truffle Sauce, Potatoes, Parmesan, Fine Herbs.

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CAESAR SALAD (w/ anchoives). Romaine, Parmesan, Grilled Ciabatta. Oddly sweet dressing.
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PINK LADY APPLE SALAD. St. Agur Blue Cheese, Arugula, Shallots, Candied Pecan.
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“Tomato salad” (made up by Yarom).
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A simple green salad.
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NEW ZEALAND LAMB. Chanterelle Mushroom, Farro, Artichokes, Black Truffle Butter.
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CHEF’S GAME TRIO. Rabbit | Miso Mash | Baby Carrots | Balsamic Onions | Red Wine Jus Elk Tenderloin | Braised Bacon | Morello Cherry | Celery Root | Sweet Potato Bison Short Rib | Smoked Miso-Potato | Blistered Asparagus | Spicy Pepper & Apple Salad.

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Rabbit | Miso Mash | Baby Carrots | Balsamic Onions
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Sweet Potato Bison Short Rib | Smoked Miso-Potato | Blistered Asparagus
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Red Wine Jus Elk Tenderloin | Braised Bacon | Morello Cherry | Celery Root
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2LB BONE-IN WESTHOLME WAGYU BEEF TOMAHAWK FEAST. Westholme Australian Wagyu Beef Ribeye (Marble Score A5-7) | Cooked in herbs & butter over charcoal with Seasonal Accompaniments Served Table Side | Spring Accompaniments: New Potato Puree, Asparagus Cooked 3 Ways, Mushrooms “Bordelaise”.
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BRUSSEL SPROUTS. (sweet, sour & salty).
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Spinach.
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ASPARAGUS
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MASHED POTATOES
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The dessert menu.
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Nocciola Crunch Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) base made with egg yolk and Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste mixed with Nestle’s Buncha Crunch — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — new higher fat base formulation — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #hazelnut #nocciola #Chocolate #Nestle #crunch
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Salty Pistachio Gelato NSA – Pistachio di Bronte DOGC produces an intense pistachio base to which I added just a touch of salt — this version was formulated No Sugar Added with Allulose — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pistachio #sicily #nuts #salt #nsa #allulose
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The wines.

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The gang.
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Fun evening, and the wines were incredible. But I do remember Saddle Peak’s food being better than this. Both menu and execution getting a touch tired. Service was awesome though.

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

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, game, gealto, hedionists, Meat, Saddle Peak Lodge

Saddle Up Again

Feb20

Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

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

Date: January 11, 2018

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

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

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

The private room.

They offer a tasting menu, but our party likes to order ala carte. I’d actually like to build our own custom tasting menu which we sort of half managed to do tonight.

The regular menu. They have confusingly moved a bunch of the sides into starters — even though they make no sense as starters.

Stuffed animals!

The place was DEAD on this particular night. I didn’t see anyone else upstairs.

A freebee from my cellar. It’s a cheap “like rose champagne” from the Jura. Many of us actually liked it better next to the Billecart!

Pretzel bread and butter.

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 cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.

2013 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest. VM 91-94. Bright, subdued aromas of pear drop and citrus fruit. Densely packed and saline in the mouth, offering terrific stony energy and depth along with a sexy impression of sucrosite . Still tight, austere and uncompromisingly dry for all its richness. More obviously soil-driven than the foregoing samples–really classic stony Chablis premier cru.

From my cellar: 1985 Nicolas Potel Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. BH 91. A very fresh yet mature nose of citrus, white flower and lightly toasted nut aromas combines with round and vibrant middle weight flavors that possess a seductive and rich mouth feel, all wrapped in a sappy and mouth coating finish. This is really a lovely effort with complexity and ample finishing punch and is a wine that will continue to hold well if not improve.

agavin: this bottle was more oxidized than the first I opened

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ancegnières. BH 89-91. Mild reduction doesn’t significantly diminish the appeal of the citrus and slightly exotic fruit and petrol aromas. The solidly intense and delineated middle weight plus flavors are supported by a well-integrated acid spine and refreshing citrus nuances on the lingering finish. This is a quality Chassagne villages and worth considering.

2009 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. BH 93. A discreet touch of wood sets off aromas of dried rose petal, lemon grass and green apple that precede rich, full and obviously well-muscled big-bodied flavors that possess an intense minerality on the powerful, driving and palate staining finish that delivers simply terrific persistence. This imposing effort is most impressive and should offer up to a decade of potential improvement.

Potato leek soup. These soup amuses are kinda boring.

1999 Château d’Yquem. JG 93.  I was very surprised to like the 1999 Yquem a bit better than I liked the 2001, as the vintage in general seems to be decidedly stronger in Sauternes in 2001. The 1999 Yquem offers up a complex and classic nose of toasted coconut, oranges, honey, butter, lovely soil tones, fresh apricot and a lovely framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and quite crisp, with lovely focus and balance, excellent mid-palate depth and a very long, bright and poised finish. A lovely bottle of Yquem.

Seared Foie gras with brioche and apples. An excellent seared prep, special ordered.

And served with the perfect pairing of d’Yquem!

1994 R. López de Heredia Rioja Viña Tondonia.

Warm Octopus “Pouche-Grille”, Chermoula, Potato, Mache, Parsley, Lemon Vinaigrette. This was the weakest dish, overly warm and tough.

1999 Delas Frères Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette. VM 90+. Moderately saturated medium ruby. Roasted berries and leather on the rather shy nose. Juicy, firm and flinty on the palate; not nearly as full or explosive as the Cote-Rotie La Landonne but very nicely delineated and subtly aromatic in the mouth. Finishes very long, with fine but serious tannins.

Bandera Quail, Charred Onions, Fingerling Potato, Sage Soubise. This was tasty enough with a very strong char flavor.

1998 Le Petit Cheval. 89 points. Deep colour. And on the nose, deep fruit, seasoned with a little fresh garden mint and green peppercorn. This is fine. Integrating tannins on the palate which still provide a good structure, flavoured with a little coffee and mint. Delightfully structured wine, very approachable now, but will do some short term development I think.

Beef Tartare, wasabi, smoked avocado, crispy rice, herbs.

1997 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon. VM 94.  Bright, dark red. Wild, sexy scents of raspberry, game, olive tapenade, pepper, cedar, mocha and mountain herbs are wonderfully perfumed and subtle. This firmly built, aromatic midweight Cabernet is not especially voluptuous or generous but has the energy and definition to continue to improve for years. Savory more than sweet but still with terrific dark fruit retention. This classic ageworthy wine (Old World comes to Spring Mountain?) still shows some reserve but is impeccably balanced. Finishes with perfectly buffered tannins and subtle rising length.

Mushroom agnolotti.

2002 Lail Vineyards J. Daniel Cuvée. 92 points. Not my type of wine. Big wine, might be more approachable in 5 – 10 years, but now it was way too big a wine for my taste. palate and nose dominated by cherries and chocolate, almost sweet. Wine was huge, good balance, tannins were resolved…just not my cup of tea.

Roasted Mushrooms, bone marrow, persilade, red wine, butter pastry. This was delicious. Like a mushroom pot pie.

Spaghetti Rustichella, white shrimp, uni butter, chili flake and garlic. Solid dish. Nice and buttery. Hint of spice.

Cast Iron Johnnycake, maple butter. Awesome!

Mac & Cheese, 4 cheeses, gouda, aged cheddar, reggiano, jack. Good, but a little dry.

1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. JG 93+.  I have always been a fan of the 1989 Château Beaucastel, which I rank just behind the superb 1981 at this fine estate. The most recent bottle I tasted of this wine was still just a touch youthful, but offered up fine complexity on both the nose and palate and shows excellent promise. The bouquet is a blend of roasted fruitcake, cherries, new leather, venison, incipient notes of sous bois, woodsmoke and hot stones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with a bit of tannin still to resolve, fine focus and grip and a very long, classy and slightly chewy finish. I would be tempted to give this wine a few more years to really resolve, as it will be a superb wine and it would be most enjoyable to drink it at the same plateau that the 1981 has been enjoying for a good decade already.

From my cellar: 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. JG 92+. The 1990 Château Beaucastel is a lovely wine and is just about ready for primetime drinking, but will continue to improve over the coming five or six years and then cruise along for decades from that point forward. The bouquet offers up a fine blend of dried raspberries and red currants, roasted game, incipient autumnal tones (fallen leaves) and a potpourri of spice tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and a touch leathery in personality, with a good core, melting tannins and fine length and grip on the complex finish. Having had the good fortune to drink several older vintages of Beaucastel at peak maturity, my gut instinct with the 1990 would be to let it rest in the cellar for just a few more years and allow the last layer of aromatic complexity to emerge here, though it must be said that the wine is really lovely on the palate right now.

2003 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 92. Dark red. Vibrant raspberry, blackberry, floral and spice aromas convey impressive purity and freshness. Supple and sweet, with deep red fruit flavors, hints of floral pastille and baking spices and gentle tannins. This wine has more grenache than usual for the property, which makes it one of the most graceful (despite the hot vintage) wines I’ve had from the Perrins. Clean and energetic on the finish, which echoes the red fruit and floral qualities. A touch of heat takes my score down a hair, but this is Chateauneuf, after all. I scored this wine 93 points on release.

Game Trio with Emu, Elk, and Bison.

Game Quadro adding in Water Buffalo.

Braised Bison Short Rib, smoked miso-potato puree, blistered asparagus, peppery jelly.

Water Buffalo Loin, dates, brown butter, brussels sprouts, grapes, juniper, blackberry.

Amaroo Farms Emu Strip, balsamic onions, potato, spinach, red wine jus.

Elk Tenderloin, bacon jam, cranberry, crispy yam strings.

Left over from the night before.

8oz Filet Mignon, mushroom, potato puree, pea greens, cider glazed carrots & turnips.

New Zealand Lamb Rack, smoked miso potatoes, blistered asparagus, pepper jam.

French fries.

Dessert menu.

1971 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Gran Reserva. 92 points. Seb brought this and didn’t even know it was super sweet. It was great though!
Cappuccino Cream, hazelnut fudge & cocoa crumble.

Banana & huckleberry bread pudding, Tahitian Vanilla bean ice cream.

Valrhona Brownie, chocolate cremeux caramelized white chocolate, raspberry, bourbon barrel ice cream.

Sorbet. Coconut, blackberry, and I can’t remember. Nice texture but way too mild in flavor.

This night was typical of Saddlepeak in recent years. Food is good. Prices are a bit high. Service is super nice and they really try — but the format isn’t perfect for wine dinners. I’d rather do it in family style waves rather than a few huge courses.

Our wines were mixed tonight with many very good but a few flawed.

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

Related posts:

  1. Saddle Peaked
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  5. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Foie gras, Meat, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

Winter at the Peak

Jan22

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

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

Date: January 21, 2016

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

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

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

The private room (this photo is actually from the year prior, but it doesn’t look much different).

The regular menu tonight, although we had some off menu specials.

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

Roasted Vegetable Soup. It tasted a bit like Eastern Shore Crab soup (tomato based for sure).

Bonus from my cellar: 2005 Morey-Blanc Corton-Charlemagne. BH 91-94. More evident wood with hints of spice and vanilla frames the green fruit and spiced apple aromas and a trace of it can also be found on the full-bore, rich and intense big-bodied flavors blessed with excellent concentration and muscle, all wrapped in a minerally, delicious and serious finish of superb length.

Pretzel bread and butter.

2008 Domaine Michelot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 92. Deep yellow. Initially reticent stony, saline and smoky aromas gave way to butter and stone fruits with extended aeration. Complex and mineral-driven on the palate, with a dusty gingery spice quality and an impression of firm acidity. Broad, rich and dense wine with a long, tactile finish, but very young and in need of cellaring. In fact, this improved markedly with 48 hours in the recorked bottle.

Chef’s daily selection of market oysters.

Caesar salad, garlic croutons, Parmigiano-Reggiano. With anchovies, which rule.

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

This begins the first of our three red flights. The theme tonight was “Rhone Style”, and in this case, actual Rhone.

1989 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 97. The 1989 is inkier/purple in color than the 1990, with an extraordinarily sweet, rich personality offering up notes of smoke, melted licorice, black cherries, Asian spices, and cassis. Full-bodied and concentrated, it is one of the most powerful as well as highly extracted Beaucastels I have ever tasted. It requires another 3-4 years to reach its plateau of maturity, where it should remain for at least two decades.

agavin: nice, in great shape for this wine.

1990 Les Cailloux (Lucien et Andre Brunel) Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire. Parker 100. One of the greatest vintages for Andre Brunel, aside from his extraordinary succession of vintages from 1998-2001 is 1990. The perfect Cuvee Centenaire is still dense ruby/purple-colored with a sumptuous nose of white flowers, raspberry and cherry liqueur, smoke, and mineral scents. The gorgeous aromatics are followed by an unctuously-textured, pure wine that combines the best of Chateauneuf du Pape with the floral, earthy complexity of a great grand cru red Burgundy. This is a riveting tour de force in winemaking. Don’t miss it.

agavin: Great. Tasted very mature, almost a little Burgundian, but great. Another contender for WOTN.

1995 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 95-97. The brawny, black/purple-colored 1995 Cote Rotie La Landonne reveals the animal, sauvage side of the Syrah grape. Licorice, prune, iron, and vitamin-like aromas compete with copious quantities of black fruits and smoke in this complex, structured, muscular, massive Cote Rotie. It will require 5-6 years of cellaring, and should keep for 30+ years.

From my cellar: 2000 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 98. The 2000 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage À Jacques Perrin (60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise, and 10% Syrah) was singing! Open, upfront, sexy and seamless, with awesome notes of saddle leather, Provencal herbs, barnyard, spice and licorice-soaked black cherry and sweet cassis, it hit the palate with full-bodied richness, no hard edges, and an unctuous, heavenly texture. Reminding me of the 1990, yet perhaps just slightly less intense, this is a profound effort that will drink nicely for another two decades or more.

agavin: a delicious, even slightly bretty, anise-starred monster. Many people’s WOTN.

Foie gras with toast, berries etc. Really nice tonight with a generous slab of the good stuff.

Or sauternes to go with the foie: 1997 De Suduiraut. Parker 88-90. The 1997 Suduiraut reveals surprisingly crisp acidity for its weight, as well as excellent richness. An intense, weighty, moderately sweet feel in the mouth, with copious quantities of buttery, honeyed fruit, impressive power, and a corpulent style, characterize this well-delineated wine. It should develop more complexity, and may merit an outstanding score after bottling. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2022.

And back to our regularly scheduled program of heart reds, this time the Grange flight!

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

agavin: still lots of fruit and life. After about 30 minutes, most people’s favorite of the flight. Tons of eucalyptus.

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

agavin: young. Everyone’s favorite at the start, but the 1980 seemed to get better with time.

1990 Penfolds Grange. Parker 96. Deep garnet-brick colored, the 1990 Penfolds Grange has an evolved, earthy character of damp loam, black truffles and tar with an underlying core of figs, dried mulberries, salami and aniseed. There’s a good amount of savory flesh supported by a crisp acid line and medium to firm level chewy tannins, finishing long with some smoked meat coming through. Drink this one now to 2020+.

agavin: younger and more massive. Lots of great fruit.

Goose. Our special goose and berry and potato course. The goose was a bit over-cooked.

And onto the Chris Ringland flight!

1997 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Randall’s Hill Vineyard Shiraz. Parker 96. Deep garnet colored, 1997 Randall’s Hill Shiraz offers notes of warm mulberries, figs, sandalwood, cinnamon stick, cloves, underbrush, tree bark and black truffles. Decadently full bodied, rich and dense, it has just enough refreshing acidity and a medium to high level of velvety tannins to support. The finish is long and layered of baking spices and dried fruits. Drinking beautifully now, it should continue at this plateau for another 6 to 8 years+.

Look at the cool case and sign that came with it.

1999 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz. Parker 98. The Chris Ringland (formerly known as Three Rivers Shiraz), is aged 42 months in 100% new French oak, and is rarely racked until bottling, represents an extraordinary expression of Barossa Shiraz. The intense 1999, released in 2004, demonstrates that this vintage is somewhat underrated after all the hype over 1998. From a vineyard planted in 1910, its inky/purple color is accompanied by aromas of lavender, lard, smoke, licorice, blackberries, cassis, espresso roast, chocolate, and pepper. Full-bodied, slightly less voluminous than the perfect 1998, with an unctuous texture, sweet tannin, and a 70+ second finish, this magnificent, still young Shiraz should be accessible in 3-5 years, and last for two decades.

2000 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz. Parker 97. This is a re-review of the 2000 Shiraz since I significantly underrated it previously. It is clearly the Barossa wine of the vintage, and has put on considerable weight since it was bottled. This stunning cuvee, which used to be known as the Three Rivers Shiraz, was aged 33 months in new French 300 liter hogsheads. A beautiful bouquet of crushed rocks, white flowers, blueberries, blackberries, incense, and subtle pain grille is followed by a rich, full-bodied red revealing supple tannin as well as tremendous texture and richness, and more depth and intensity than it did last year. By Chris Ringland’s standards, it is quite approachable, and should age beautifully for 10-15 years.

2001 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz. Parker 100! The monumental 2001 Shiraz, from a 91-year old vineyard, spent 43 months in new French 300-liter hogsheads. The result is a compelling wine of great richness, flavor breadth, and length. An inky/blue/purple color is accompanied by extraordinary scents of flowers, blackberries, blueberries, and cassis as well as hints of espresso roast, truffles, roasted meats, and incense. This sexy, beautifully balanced, loaded Shiraz should keep for three decades or more.

agavin: sadly, our bottle was mildly corked.
 Because there was so much food, we shared 3 of these “game quartet” plates for 12 people.

Amaroo Farms Emu Strip, apple-wood bacon, broccoli rabe, corn fricassee.

Braised buffalo short rib. Pommes puree, bloomsdale spinach, globe carrots.

Elk tenderloin, brandied cherries, vanilla-butternut squash, baby portabella, cipollini.

Rack of Venison. Pine nuts, glaze.

Sauteed wild shimeji mushrooms.

Jumbo asparagus, béarnaise.

Four cheese mac & cheese gratin.
 Buttermilk biscuits, honey butter. Oh yes! Voted a 10 by the group.

Truffled french fries, parmigiano.

A dessert madeira we didn’t open.

Beignets, apple.

Banana huckleberry croissant bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream.

Chocolate raspberry brownie.

Trio of house-made sorbets. mango, coconut, blackberry.

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

A note on the wines. The flighting really helped, and even helped me enjoy the New World’s better because they drink much better amongst their own kind.

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,

Or for Hedonist extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. Saddle Peak Peaks
  2. How many Saddles to Peak?
  3. Saddle Peak Again?!?
  4. Hedonists climb the Peak
  5. Summertime Peak
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: hedonists, Malibu California, Meat, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

Saddle Peaked

Aug10

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

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

Date: August 5, 2015

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

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


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


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


Which on a lovely summer night is pretty incredible.


Our table out on the patio.


The current menu.

We had more organization on the wines than usual tonight (thanks Dr. Dave!). These whites were served while we lingered. The reds were organized by Dr. Dave into three flights, which was great.

NV Pierre Gerbais Champagne L’Originale. JG 92. The wine is clear and bright with a pale lemon colour and presence of many small bubbles. The nose is clean and fully developed, showing medium(+) intensity aromas of green fruits (green apple, pear), MLF (cream, butter) and yeast (bread dough, brioche). The wine is off-dry in the mouth with a high refreshing acidity. It has a medium alcohol and a medium body with a creamy mousse. It has medium(+) intensity flavours of green fruits (green apple, pear), MLF (cream, butter) and yeast (bread dough, brioche). The finish is medium(+).

From my cellar: 2005 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières. VM 92. Complex, leesy aromas of stone fruits, flowers, smoke and nutty oak. Dense, suave and ripe, with nuanced, lightly sulfidey flavors of white fruits, flowers and nuts. Layered and quite long. This, too, has turned out very well.

agavin: this bottle was drinking absolutely fabulously. Reductive, but perfectly fresh.

Mushroom cappuccino.

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

Yummy Pretzel bread.

From my cellar: 1997 Maison Roche de Bellene Chambertin Collection Bellenum. 93 points. Nose – rose, cherry , hint of smoke Mouth – very classical pure and unmanipulated. Light red fruit and orange rind. A wine of finesse with power showing purity moreso than fruit. At age 17, admirably fresh. A charming drink.

1995 Trotanoy. Parker 91-95. Certainly the best Trotanoy between 1998 and 1982, the 1995 has a deep saturated ruby color that is dark to the rim. Relatively shut down when tasted in 2002 on several occasions, the wine, with coaxing, does offer some notes of earth, raspberry, black cherries, and a hint of licorice. Medium to full-bodied, powerful, and backward, it is an impressively constituted Trotanoy that is relatively large-scaled but the huge level of tannin also means it might be a modern-day version of the 1970. Time will tell. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.

agavin: really nice “youngish” Bord.

1982 Haut Brion. Parker 95. I know Jean Delmas, whom I respect as one of the world’s greatest wine producers, has always thought the 1982 Haut Brion was similar to the 1959, but I have yet to see that. It seems to me the 1989 is closer to the 1959, another perfect wine and one of the all-time great Haut Brions. While the 1982 is a beauty, it has never hit the highest notes this vintage or terroir can achieve. Complex aromatics of scorched earth, smoked herbs, and sweet red and black currants are followed by a full-bodied, silky-textured wine, but I have never felt this offering has possessed the concentration, texture, or multidimensional personality found in such vintages as 1989, 1990, and more recent years. Nevertheless, this is essentially splitting hairs as the 1982 remains a superb Haut Brion. Seemingly less evolved than the 1990, it is capable of another 20-30 years of longevity. Perhaps there is something in reserve that will reveal itself in the next decade.

agavin: I was wary about this wine because of the faded label and a suspicious bricking looking through the neck — but it turned out to be in good shape and fairly purple in the glass. Nose was fabulous and spicy, the fruit was hiding a little, but there was a nice cedar box thing going on.

While not part of the official flight, we opened this to pair with the foie gras.

1998 Château Rieussec. VM 93. Pale yellow-gold. Superripe, nuanced nose combines peach, apricot, honey and a suggestion of tropical fruits. Silky, suave and opulent; very concentrated and spicy. This very rich Sauternes carries its 130 g/l r.s. quite gracefully, thanks to firm acids. Finishes very long, with spice and honey notes. Impeccably balanced wine with terrific material.

Foie gras with toast, berries etc. Really nice tonight with a generous slab of the good stuff.

2001 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 100! This wine, which first debuted in 1990, has probably garnered more perfect scores than any other Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2001 is just entering a young adolescent stage of development, exhibiting extraordinary nuances such as sweet, loamy soil and earthy minerality intermixed with some background smoke, black currant liqueur, plum, Asian spice and new saddle leather. Full-bodied, it possesses great intensity, with stunning flavors that are viscous enough to coat the mouth, but never become heavy or overbearing. The wine has a remarkable purity, concentration and intensity that should carry it for another 30+ years. This is already very promising, and for those who own it, I would suggest a good two to three hours of decanting prior to service.

agavin: Monster! 🙂 Many people thought it wine of the night.

NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 1994, 1995, 2000 (2014 Release). 97 points. Didn’t find an official review.

agavin: At first this wine was silky smooth and perfectly balanced. After an hour or so I thought it entered a slightly weird phase.

2003 Domaine de Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes. Parker 99. The blockbuster 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (16.3% alcohol) is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah that usually emanates from the three old-vine parcels they own – La Crau, Gallimardes, and Esquirons. The fruit from the latter vineyard, which usually goes into the Vieilles Vignes as it did in 2004, did not make it in 2003. This wine is built from the back forward, meaning there is huge tannin and structure, so at first the wine seems somewhat backward, but with air, the extraordinary perfume of lilacs, sweet licorice, blackberry liqueur, and kirsch soar from the glass. There are even hints of roasted meats, smoked herbs, and underbrush as well as truffles. The wine has superb concentration, remarkable intensity, full-bodied flavors, sweetness, opulence, and a multi-layered palate and finish that literally have to be tasted to be believed. This wine spent 100% of its time in tank and is a modern-day monument to Chateauneuf du Pape, and the glories of the old vines of this appellation. I would give this wine another 1-2 years of bottle age and drink it over the following two decades. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it merit a perfect score in a few years – it’s that special.

agavin: super dense and chocolatey. Really nice.

This also wasn’t part of the flight, but was opened to provide some white for the apps.

2004 Philippe Colin Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 91. A subtle hint of wood spice mixes with airy nose of white flowers, acacia blossom, anise and clove that dissolve into pure, refined, intense and mineral-packed medium weight plus flavors that offer a lovely sense of detail and overall finesse. If there is a nit, it’s that the mid-palate concentration could be better and while this is certainly a lovely effort, it could easily be better still.

agavin: our bottle was advanced 🙁

Frog’s hollow peach salad, burrata, wild greens, pistachio granola, oro blanco.

Olive oil braised octopus, fingerling potato, tequila vinaigrette, chermoula.

Summer golden corn agnolotti, roasted garlic, broccoli di ciccio, fennel pollen.
Caesar salad, romaine, garlic croutons, shaved parmigiano-reggiano.

Oh, and white anchovies!

1999 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace. Parker 98. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 1999 Hill of Grace presents fragrant notes of warm blackberries and black cherries with hints of menthol, dried thyme and sage, licorice, dark chocolate and black olives. Full-bodied, rich and powerful, it has firm, chewy tannins, crisp acid and a long finish. It is still very youthful in the mouth with lots of flavor layers. It is drinking well now and should continue to cellar through 2035+.

agavin: hot!

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

1988 Penfolds Grange. Parker 91. A blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, this was considered to be “an uncharacteristically soft, fruity Grange.” Everyone at the tasting agreed with those comments. This wine shows a syrupy creme de cassis, earthy note, some pepper, and caramel. It is somewhat soft and accessible for such a relatively young Grange, but there is plenty of structure and tannin in the finish. It is certainly perfumed and more evolved than some of its siblings that are actually older, chronologically speaking. This wine has sweet, full-bodied, plum, cherry, and cassis flavors, with some distinct truffle and asphalt notes. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2016.

agavin: I loved this wine. Very balanced.

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

Taylor Preston Farms lamb Rack.

Durham Ranch bison T-bone steak, chimichurri sauce.

Prime bone in cowboy ribeye chop.

Chef’s Game Trio (details to follow).

And new this visit, the Chef’s Game Quartet. 1/3 better than the trio!

Australian Kangaroo Loin, Curry Cauliflower, eggplant, raisin condiment, pomegranate.

Amaroo farms emu strip, morels, white asparagus, pinot sauce, almond coffee.

Barbeque Braised Buffalo Short Rib, pommes puree, glazed baby vegetables.

New Zealand Wapiti Elk tenderloin with berry reduction.

Just a few sides.

Brussel Sprouts, garlic, apple cider.

Jumbo asparagus, béarnaise, ham.

Blackened shishito peppers, soy, sesame. loved these!

Heirloom tomato, burrata, mint, onion.

Sauteed wild shimeji mushrooms.

Buttermilk biscuits, honey butter. Oh yes!

Brown butter yukon potato puree.

Four cheese mac & cheese gratin.

Truffled french fries, parmigiano.

Portabella fries, sherry & thyme aioli. These were awesome.

The dessert options. We were so full we didn’t go whole hog on desserts.

We had enough wine left that we didn’t actually open this, but I put it here because we could’ve :-).

1983 De Suduiraut. Parker 87. This looks to be a good Suduiraut. A medium golden color, with a very honeyed, rich, floral bouquet, this full-bodied wine is not as profound as the other 1983s. Sweet, with fine honeyed flavors, this is an elegant, graceful Suduiraut with plenty of character. However, given the vintage, I had expected even more. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005.

But we did get a cheese plate.

Vanilla panna cotta, frog’s hollow peaches, brook’s cherries, honey & pistachio granola.

Banana huckleberry croissant bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream.

Trio of house-made sorbets. Guava, apricot, strawberry.

This was a total blow out event. The food was impeccable and the service warm. We had so much wine we left them a little overwhelmed, but that’s par for the course. Plus we had a really great mix of people and some of the most awesome wines. The vibe outside on the lovely warm Malibu evening was perfect too.

A note on the wines. The flighting really helped, and even helped me enjoy the New World’s better because they drink much better amongst their own kind. I enjoyed the Australian flight a lot, particularly that 88 Grange.

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

Related posts:

  1. Saddle Peak Again?!?
  2. Saddle Peak Peaks
  3. Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge
  4. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
  5. How many Saddles to Peak?
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: bufalo, Domaine Leflaive, Elk, emu, game meat, hedonists, kangaroo, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

How many Saddles to Peak?

Dec26

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

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

Date: December 18, 2014

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

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


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


Our private room.

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


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


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


And the sauternes looks good in the glass.


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


An amuse of tomato soup.


Pretzel bread.


Chef’s daily selection of market oysters.


We tried to organize the Burgundies into a flight.


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


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

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

agavin: best of the 3 by a longshot.


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


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


Spanish octopus, fingerling potato, tequila vinaigrette, chermoula.


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


Caesar salad, garlic croutons, Parmigiano-Reggiano.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


Dover sole.


New Zealand Lamb Rack.


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


Elk with bacon.


Buffalo short ribs.


Venison.


Durham Ranch Bison T-Bone 20 oz.


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


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


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

In magnum, a mega monster!


Sautéed Vegetable Selections.


Lobster Mac & Cheese. Good but needed more lobster.


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


Onion Rings, Black Garlic Ketchup. Amazing.


Sautéed Wild Shimeji Mushrooms. Really yummy.


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

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


Cheese plate.


Bread for the cheese.


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


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


Chocolate raspberry brownie.


Banana huckleberry croissant bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream.

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

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,

Or for Hedonist extravaganzas.

 

Related posts:

  1. Summertime Peak
  2. Hedonists climb the Peak
  3. Saddle Peak Peaks
  4. Saddle Peak Again?!?
  5. Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, hedonists, Malibu, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

Saddle Peak Again?!?

Jul30

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

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

Date: July 23, 2014

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

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


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


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


Which on a lovely summer night is pretty incredible.


Our table out on the patio.



The current menu.


NV Billecart-Salmon Rose in Magnum. Parker 90. The NV Brut Rose emerges from the glass with the essence of freshly cut flowers, berries and minerals in a mid-weight, gracious style. It shows gorgeous inner perfume, along with persistent notes of chalkiness that frame the long, sublime finish. Year in, year out, this estate’s NV Brut Rose is one of the most consistently outstanding wines in the region.


Salt and butter.


Yummy Pretzel bread.


2000 Yves Boyer-Martenot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 92. Very classy with still finer aromas of intense green apple and ripe pear and flavors that are crystalline in their minerality and detail. The focus here is really impressive and though this does not offer the Genevrières’ flavor authority or slicing acidity, it is superbly refined with outstanding persistence and perhaps the best overall balance to this point. Another impressive Boyer Perrières.


Corn and tarragon soup.


2007 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote de Bouguerots. Burghound 94. A somewhat riper but more reticent nose features the barest hint of wood spice that marries well with the explosive green and yellow fruit aromas and fresh, full, powerful, beautifully delineated flavors underpinned by a driving minerality and stunning length. Given the superb balance and firm acid spine, this should age effortlessly for at least 15 years, perhaps longer. In sum, this is a strikingly elegant, classy and altogether refined effort with flat out marvelous complexity with buckets of classic Chablis character. A stunner of a wine.


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


From my cellar: 1994 Domaine Jean Gros Richebourg. agavin 93 points. Straight up Richebourg nose. Mature, but still full of fruit, fruit. Lots of rich sour cherry syrup. The finish was a little unbalanced at first, but after an hour or so settled out. Very fine pinot.


Fava bean agnolotti with wild ramps and lemon cream. Very delicate and lovely.


1986 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection. Parker 94. In the blind tasting, I first thought this was a Spanish wine given the intense, pain grillee, toasty oak, and vanilla aromas. After ten minutes some of the oak dissipated, allowing the wine’s flamboyant blackcurrant fruit to emerge. Full-bodied, exceptionally concentrated, with a seamless, velvety texture, and a marvelously long, opulent finish, this 1986 Cabernet tastes like a jar of jam on the palate, with great purity and staying power. Although it appears to be fully mature, it will last for another 10-15 years. This impressive, sweet, creamy, exotic, and flamboyant wine merits the praise it has received.

agavin: to our taste, getting a little funky.


Yukon potato gnocchi glazed with perigord truffle butter and parmigiana-reggiano. Soft and mellow.


1982 Cos d’Estournel. Parker 95. This 1982 is still displaying a beautiful deep ruby/purple hue as well as a stunning set of aromatics consisting of blue and black fruits, loamy earth, flowers, licorice, and spice box. The wine is medium to full-bodied with sweet tannins, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and a silky finish. It appears to have hit full maturity, but it can easily be held in a cold cellar for another 10+ years.


Special oysters with a combined topping of lemon granite, mignonette, and some other tasty stuff.


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


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


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


Cesar salad with garlic croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano.


1998 Penfolds Grange. Parker 98-99. Very deep garnet in color, the 1998 Penfolds Grange has shut itself away into a closed stage at this time, offering a subdued core of blackberry preserves and blackcurrant cordial with nuances of smoked bacon, black olives, sandalwood and sweaty leather. The full bodied, taut, muscular palate is firmly structured with chewy tannins and enlivening acidity, finishing long and savory.


Roasted Scarborough Farms beet salad, watercress, mustard, pickled cherries, Humboldt Fog goat cheese, pistachio granola.


2001 Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois. Parker 100! Tasted on four separate occasions, and awarded a perfect score on three of those, the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois even surpasses the extraordinary Reine des Bois produced in 2000, 1999, and 1998 … and that’s saying something! An inky/purple color is followed by a heady perfume of graphite, blackberries, kirsch, licorice, truffles, and charcoal. This full-bodied effort displays endless concentration in its pure, dense, generous flavors. It is broadly flavored, with beautifully integrated acidity, tannin, and alcohol. A blend of 78% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, and small quantities of Cinsault, Counoise, Syrah, and Vaccarese, it is made from 60-year old vines, and aged both in cask and neutral foudres from what are obviously very low yields. Sadly, just over 1,000 cases were produced. This classic Chateauneuf du Pape requires 3-5 years of cellaring; it will last for two decades. A modern day legend, it is an example of what progressive winemaking can achieve without abandoning the traditions of the appellation.


Scarborough Farms heirloom tomatoes, Maine crab, pickled watermelon, garlic chips, basil vinaigrette.


2003 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 98+. One of the most backward yet promising wines of the vintage is the 2003 Harlan Estate. Its dense opaque plum/purple color is accompanied by a sumptuous bouquet of graphite, camphor, creme de cassis, smoky barbecue wood and a hint of forest floor. Similar flavors hit the mouth with full-bodied splendor, a multidimensional mouthfeel and texture, and the sensational finish lasts more than 45 seconds. Some tannins are still present, and this wine seems much younger than expected at ten years of age, so give it 4-5 more years of bottle age and consume it over the following 20-25 years.


Ahi tuna sashimi with cucumber, watermelon radish, avocado, pea greens, sugar snap peas, green apple, and white soy sauce.


Special albacore with soy sauce.


1997 Greenock Creek Shiraz Roennfeldt Road. Parker 98. The nearly perfect 1997 Shiraz Roennfeldt Road boasts a dense opaque purple color in addition to celestial aromas of blackberry liqueur, melted road tar, truffles, and earth. It is full-bodied, with massive layers of fruit and glycerin that cascade over the palate in a seamless, beautifully balanced fashion, and a 55-second finish. This enormous wine is fabulously young with its entire future ahead of it. It should hit its peak in 3-4 years, and last for two decades.


Special pork belly with watermelon. Very sweet and delicious.


English pea toast with burrata and candied citrus.


2003 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz). Parker 99. It’s hard to believe the 2003 Syrah Astralis Vineyard could be better, but it offers riveting richness, intensity, purity, and equilibrium. Structurally, it is similar to the Piggott Range, revealing abundant amounts of sweet, ripe tannin, and huge extract, richness, and depth. Meant for true connoisseurs who are willing to forget it for 5-8 years, it represents what Roman Bratasiuk and Clarendon Hills do so well … show respect for the great traditions of France, but recognize the extraordinary raw materials that emerge from old vines planted in McLaren Vale. This fabulous wine offers both power and elegance, and showcases the extraordinary talent of Roman Bratasiuk.


Idaho rainbow trout pan-roasted in lemon, garlic, and red onion, served with grilled eggplant and squash, salt-roasted carrots, fire-roasted red bell pepper and fingerling potatoes.


Pan-roasted wild king salmon with roasted baby beets, shaved fennel, glazed cauliflower, purple kale, cherry tomatoes, buerre blanc, and puffed salmon skin.


New Zealand elk tenderloin with caramelized figs, sauteed arugula, Nueske bacon, green garlic panisse, spring onion sauce, and fig jam.


1998 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz). Parker 98. A sensational wine, the 1998 Syrah Astralis is a candidate for perfection. It boasts an inky/purple color as well as a big, complex, sweet perfume of charcoal, spring flowers, blackberry liqueur, roasted meats, and damp, forest floor-like notes. Enormously endowed, with good acid, backstrapping tannin levels, fabulous concentration, and a layered mouthfeel, it is beginning to throw off some of its closed, impenetrable personality. A long-termer, it needs another 5-7 years to fully open, and should last for 2-3 decades thereafter.


Seared New Zealand lamb rack with braised eggplant, golden raisons, grilled leeks, pine puts, curied cauliflower, piquillo yogurt, and pomegranate reduction.


Roasted New Zealand venison ch0ps with creamed morel mushrooms, lemon-scented white asparagus, sauteed English peas, and pinot reduction.


2003 Colgin IX Syrah Estate. Parker 95. Aubert demonstrates a superb know-how with Syrah. These wines are macerated for 35-45 days, and given frequent pump-overs as well as punch-downs. They are aged completely in French oak. Colgin’s 2003 IX Syrah Estate (330 cases) has added considerable complexity and weight since I tasted it last year, becoming very Burgundian in its huge aromatics and opulent, full-bodied power. Aromas of road tar, ground pepper, espresso roast, blackberries, and an exotic floral character emerge from this beauty. Enjoy it over the next 7-8 years.


Wild Game Trio.


New Zealand elk tenderloin.


A more short-rib like game meat.


Some kind of tenderloin.


Sweet potato fries.



1987 Massandra South Coast Kagor. This unusual light sweet red from the Crimea was very tasty with dessert.


Caramelized Pink Lady apple beignets with caramel.


Stoplman vineyards olive oil cake with Harry’s berries, tangerine agrumato, buttermilk sherbet, Meyer lemon curd.


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


Banana huckleberry croissant bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream.


Chocolate raspberry fun.


Trio of house-made sorbets. Strawberry, raspberry, coconut.


Our server tonight — we sure kept him busy.

This was a total blow out event. The food was impeccable and the service warm. We had so much wine we left them a little overwhelmed, but that’s par for the course. Plus we had a really great mix of people and some of the most awesome wines. The vibe outside on the lovely warm Malibu evening was perfect too.

A note on the wines. As usual, I found myself massively preferring all the old world wines despite the ratings gap. To my palette, Parker has like a +5 point bonus that he grants to massive, young, over-extracted wines — but many people love them.

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

Related posts:

  1. Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge
  2. Saddle Peak Peaks
  3. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
  4. Hedonists climb the Peak
  5. Summertime Peak
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Calabasas California, Food, hedonists, Malibu Creek, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

Saddle Peak Peaks

Dec13

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

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

Date: December 12, 2013

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

For one (and just one) of our Hedonistic Holiday Feasts, we Hedonists return to Saddle Peak Lodge. It’s pretty much the perfect venue for both a winter wine blast, with gorgeous lodge patio, cozy lodge, game driven food, and awesome wine service. For those of you who don’t know, Hedonist events have amazing wines (each diner brings at least one bottle) and this event has several 100 point blow out wines.


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

The restaurant is located in the middle of gorgeous Malibu Canyon and tonight we are set up in the “library”, complete with holiday decorations (and Jingle Bells playing on endless loop).


Tonight’s menu.


We begin with some champagne.


Pretzel bread.


Several kinds of butter (and salt).


2000 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée. Burghound 94. A moderately yeasty yet elegant nose that is fresh, complex and carries touches of both pain grillé and citrus blossom while leading to intense, pure and gorgeously deep flavors that possess first class breadth and genuinely excellent length. While still on the way up, after 30 to 45 minutes it began to display notably deeper and broader flavors that are at once powerful yet refined. A terrific effort that is absolutely worth your attention.


Cream of celery soup.


2004 Bouchard Aîné et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. 92 points. Lemony nose. Gives a sense of extremely concentrated but unyielding fruits, lemons,apples – and minerals. A long intense aftertaste. With no experience with aged white burgundy but having read a lot about them, I think I can sense what this would have become with age. We had another bottle of this about a year ago and it was much lighter and ready to go. Wondering about the first bottle caused this one to be opened and checked out. I’m going to assume our remaining two are like this one, hope to not read about premox issues – and let them age for many years and we’ll then experience a great white burgundy.


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


2002 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot. Burghound 94. Astounding purity of expression here with hints of gunflint, oyster shell, minerals and that gorgeous green fruit that is uniquely Chablis in style, followed by silky, ultra fine, linear and almost delicate yet with considerable power, precision and length. More importantly, there is another dimension here relative to the 1ers and this delivers simply stunning quality with a classic bone dry finish. This is an extremely impressive wine that has everything it needs for a very long life.


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


From my cellar, 1970 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Bonnes Mares. 95 points. Deep Burgundy color. It may be mature, but there is tons of earthy red fruits left in this lovely wine.


Roasted pumpkin-parmesan soup with basil oil, sage creme, brown butter croutons and Terre Bormaine olive oil.


Yukon potato gnocchi with shaved black Periguex truffles, glazed with parmesan cheese.


1983 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. Parker 90-95. The 1983 Unico Reserva is another stunning example of Spain’s greatest red wine. A sweet, penetrating fragrance of nearly over-ripe black fruits, intermingled with lavish quantities of vanillin and smoke is a knock-out. Forward, with massive, highly extracted, jammy fruit presented in a full-bodied, remarkably well-balanced format, this huge, rich, concentrated wine is already multi-dimensional and complex, as well as unbelievably delicious. However, do not be fooled by its precociousness. There is so much exquisite extract and richness that this wine should age effortlessly for 20-25 years.


Butternut squash agnolotti glazed in truffle buerre monte with sauteed shimeji mushrooms and parmesan foam.


Caesar Salad with garlic croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano.


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


From my cellar, 1995 Chapoutier Ermitage le Pavillon. Parker 99. The 1995 Ermitage Le Pavillon is magnificent. The wine is more accessible than the 1996 (due to lower acidity and more immediately accessible glycerin and fruit), with a magnificent black/purple color, and layers of cassis fruit, smoky, roasted meat, and mineral characteristics that are the result of barrel fermentation and high extraction of fruit. It is huge, but not heavy, gorgeously proportioned, and dazzlingly well-defined. A monster Hermitage of immense proportions, it somehow manages to keep everything in balance. This backward Pavillon will require 10-12 years of cellaring. It should age well through the first half of the next century.


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


Pan seared Maine scallops with saffron soffrito, mustard greens, chorizo and Carlsbad mussels.


1976 Coutet. Parker 86. One of the best Coutets of the seventies, the 1976 is a relatively big Coutet, with a surprising amount of alcohol (15pc), a ripe apricot, spicy, floral, lemon-scented bouquet, full body, fat, succulent flavors, and Coutet’s trademark — crisp, fresh acidity.


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


1996 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 98. Since 1991, Shafer’s Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon has unquestionably been one of the top dozen or so California Cabernets. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 32 months in 100% French oak casks (the majority Taransaud), it possesses the elegance and finesse one would expect from the Stags Leap area, but also monumental power, richness, and intensity. The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is one of the vintage’s super-stars. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by super aromatics, immense body, great fruit extraction, superb purity and overall symmetry, as well as a 40+ second finish. Revealing exceptional intensity (but no heaviness) as well as perfectly integrated acidity, tannin, and alcohol, this fabulous Cabernet will drink wonderfully for three decades.


Sweet potato fries.


Mac & Cheese.


Asparagus.


Spinach.


By some magical symbiosis of thought, four different Hedonists brought different vintages of the ultra-rare cult Shiraz: Chris Ringland / Three Rivers. So we were treated to an amazing mini-vertical including 96, 98, 99, and 2000!

1996 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz. Parker 98-100. The 1996 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz (now known as ‘Chris Ringland Shiraz’ due to a name dispute), has a very deep garnet-black color with intensely spicy aromas – plenty of vanilla, cinnamon and licorice – over a core of chocolate, kirsch, prunes and a whiff of dusty earth. Bacon fat and coffee notes emerge after a few minutes. Big, rich and buxom (15.3% alcohol) in the mouth with plenty of crisp acid and firm very fine tannins to support, it finishes long with layers of spice, dried plums and mocha. It’s still very youthful with many innings left.


Idaho rainbow trout pan roasted in lemon, garlic, red onion and brown butter served with grilled Japanese eggplant, salt-roasted purple carrots, grilled summer squash, fire-roasted red bell pepper and baked fingerling potatoes.


They all came in these individual boxes.


1998 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz. Parker 100. The Chris Ringland (formerly known as Three Rivers Shiraz), which is aged 42 months in 100% new French oak, and is rarely racked until bottling, represents an extraordinary expression of Barossa Shiraz. The perfect 1998, made from a single, 88-year-old vineyard cropped at one ton of fruit per acre, soaked up its wood component as if it is not even present. It boasts a sumptuous texture, great delineation, and a huge fragrance of bacon fat, blackberry liqueur, creme de cassis, toast, espresso roast, and hints of chocolate as well as pepper. Full-bodied yet remarkably well-delineated and fresh, this stunning wine is still a baby, but it promises to evolve for two decades or more.


Mesquite grilled filet mignon with glazed heirloom carrots, sautéed Bloomsdale spinach, brown butter potato puree and mushroom bordelaise sauce.


Grilled New Zealand lamb racks with braised eggplant, pine nuts, curry cauliflower, piquillo yogurt and pomegranate reduction.


1999 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz. Parker 98. The Chris Ringland (formerly known as Three Rivers Shiraz), is aged 42 months in 100% new French oak, and is rarely racked until bottling, represents an extraordinary expression of Barossa Shiraz. The intense 1999, released in 2004, demonstrates that this vintage is somewhat underrated after all the hype over 1998. From a vineyard planted in 1910, its inky/purple color is accompanied by aromas of lavender, lard, smoke, licorice, blackberries, cassis, espresso roast, chocolate, and pepper. Full-bodied, slightly less voluminous than the perfect 1998, with an unctuous texture, sweet tannin, and a 70+ second finish, this magnificent, still young Shiraz should be accessible in 3-5 years, and last for two decades.


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


2000 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz. Parker 96-97. This is a re-review of the 2000 Shiraz since I significantly underrated it previously. It is clearly the Barossa wine of the vintage, and has put on considerable weight since it was bottled. This stunning cuvee, which used to be known as the Three Rivers Shiraz, was aged 33 months in new French 300 liter hogsheads. A beautiful bouquet of crushed rocks, white flowers, blueberries, blackberries, incense, and subtle pain grille is followed by a rich, full-bodied red revealing supple tannin as well as tremendous texture and richness, and more depth and intensity than it did last year. By Chris Ringland’s standards, it is quite approachable, and should age beautifully for 10-15 years.


A whole herd of game .


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


Elk.


Wild boar.


Antelope.


And the complete set!


I had just a few glasses going.


1999 Peju Province Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Rutherford. 92 points. Wonderful and full of flavor on the start all the way to the finish. The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Blackberry, Mushroom, Coffee, Smokey Bacon, Chocolate, Tobacco, and Bell Pepper.


Birthday ice cream for Erik.


Banana cake and caramelized bananas.


Farmer’s market caramelized pear beignets with crème anglaise.


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


Daily selection of house-made sorbets served on ice. Blackberry, guava, and coconut.


Apple cinnamon bread pudding served with salted caramel ice cream.


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

This was a total blow out event. The food was impeccable and the service fantastic. Plus we had a really great mix of people and some of the most awesome wines, the Chris Ringland being particularly notable. Our private floor with the roaring fire and dead bovines made for a fabulous atmosphere.

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,

Or for Hedonist extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge
  2. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
  3. Hedonists climb the Peak
  4. Summertime Peak
  5. Hedonists at STK
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Calabasas, hedonists, Restaurant, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

Summertime Peak

Jun21

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

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

Date: June 14, 2013

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

For the middle Hedonist dinner of the year, we return to Saddle Peak Lodge. It’s pretty much the perfect venue for both a winter or summer food and wine blast, with gorgeous lodge patio, game driven food, and awesome wine service. For those of you who don’t know, Hedonist events have amazing wines (each diner brings at least one bottle) and this event has several 100 point blow out wines.


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


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


Which on a lovely summer night is pretty incredible.


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


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


Pretzel bread.


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


Mushroom cappuccino.


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


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


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


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


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

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


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


Caesar Salad with garlic croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano.


1978 Rioja Bosconia Cosecha. Also interesting.

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


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

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


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

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


1968 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon. Also in great shape.

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


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

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

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


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


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


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

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


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


Just a few game plates!


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


Duck with morel mushroom sauce.


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

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


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


Mash potatoes.


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


Mac & Cheese.

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


Sweet potato fries.


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


Asparagus.

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


Apple cinnamon bread pudding served with salted caramel ice cream.

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

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

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


Farmer’s market caramelized pear beignets with crème anglaise.

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

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


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


Yarom and one of our wonderful servers.

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

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

Related posts:

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

Hedonists climb the Peak

Dec31

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

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

Date: December 27, 2012

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

For the last Hedonist dinner of the year, we return to Saddle Peak Lodge. It’s pretty much the perfect venue for a winter food and wine blast, with charming lodge interior, a crackling fire, game driven food, and awesome wine service. For those of you who don’t know, Hedonist events have amazing wines (each diner brings at least one bottle) and this event has several 100 point blow out wines.


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


The gamey interior has a lot of charm.


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


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


Pretzel bread.


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


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


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

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

First in a pair of top flight red Burgundies.

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


Caesar Salad with garlic croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano.


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

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


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

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

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


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

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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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


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


Parmesan truffle fries!


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

Apple cinnamon bread pudding served with salted caramel ice cream.

Farmer’s market caramelized pear beignets with crème anglaise.

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


And a little liquid black jelly bean to finish.

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


They juiced it up with this flaming brandy cherry sauce.


On fire.


Woot!


A lineup of just some of the empty bottles!


And our wonderful servers.

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

What a way to end the year!

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

Related posts:

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

Hedonism at Saddle Peak Lodge

Jul16

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

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

Date: July 12, 2012

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

_

Recently I joined an online club dedicated to hedonistic food and wine dinners. Officially the group is called Yarom & Hedonists and this event at Saddle Peak Lodge was the first I went too — and boy am I glad I did — as it was one incredible evening of debauchery. Each person brings a bottle, and the host okays them in advance. I used this successful formula myself for a series of high powered wine parties in the late 90s. The bar for this event is very high, including numerous 100 point wines, cult cabernets, old Bordeauxs, Grand Cru Burgundies and the like.


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


The gamey interior has a lot of charm.


Just some of the incredible wines.


I forgot to photo the entree page of the menu, but it’s all online anyway.


The first round begins.


The group eats here regularly and the service was first rate, treating us like royalty.


First off, but unphotographed, was a Billecarte Salmon Rose-NV and then a lovely 2004 Bouchard Corton-Charlemagne. White Burgundy is so much better than all that mere Chardonnay.

The first red was this venerable Bordeaux. Parker 87. “The fully mature 1970 is a fine example of Lascombes–darkly colored, ripe, full bodied, richly fruity, and fleshy, but it has the concentration of fruit and structure to hold for 4-6 more years. It is a spicy, fragrant, and altogether satisfying mouthful of amply endowed wine.”


A vegetable and cream “cappuccino” as the first amuse.


Then this smoked salmon, caviar, and creme fraiche on a blini.


In the foreground is the wine I brought, the 1982 Certan de May. Parker 98! “Consistently one of the most remarkable wines of this great vintage, the 1982 Certan de May has tightened up. It gets my nod as the most backward wine among the 1982 Pomerols, as it is even more tannic than Petrus. The impressive saturated dark purple/garnet color suggests super flavor extraction. The nose offers scents of Asian spices, cedar, black fruits, truffles, and new oak. It is full-bodied and massive, with exceptional concentration to accompany the boatload of tannins. The wine’s thick viscosity and huge, unctuous texture are mouthfilling. It remains broodingly backward and little evolved since its early days in the barrel. Even half-bottles are youthful.
The 1982 Certan de May should easily turn out to be one of the great wines of the vintage. It will come close to perfection. Do not drink it until the end of this century; it will keep easily through the first two decades of the next millennium.”


We were outside and strangely enough for July in Southern California, it began to rain! Several of us resorted to putting our bread plates over our wines to prevent dilution.


“Rabbit roulade wrapped in bacon with huckleberry, shimeji mushroom stuffing, sautéed Fuji apples, and sage.”


Grand Cru Burgundy, always a favorite of mine. “Displaying a medium-to-dark ruby color and a lovely nose of spicy red berries, cracked black pepper, Asian spices, and distinctive notes of cedar, this is a medium-to-full-bodied, velvety-textured, and complex wine. Its enthralling flavor profile offers layers of rich black pepper-laced blueberries and blackberries that are intensely spiced with cinnamon, juniper berries, and hints of eucalyptus.”


“Peeky toe crab salad. Cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, on a bed of arugala.”


This was probably my favorite red of the evening, and is one of the signature wines of the Northern Rhone Valley. Although not as good as the 1988 I had a couple of weeks ago, it still rocked. “The 1996 Cote Rotie La Mouline possesses the highest percentage of Viognier (17-18%) Guigal has ever included in this offering. The deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by a superb bouquet of spice box, cedar, leather, honeysuckle, and jammy black fruits. It is remarkably tender and soft for a vintage that produced high acid wines. Medium-bodied, elegant, and complex, it is one of the more forward and evolved La Moulines.”


“Fried soft shell crab with cheddar jalapeno biscuit, gribiche, rock shrimp, frisée, and lobster Americana sauce.”


One evening, two pomerols! Parker 96+ “The finest Trotanoy since the 1961, this structured, formidably-endowed, deep ruby/purple-colored, full-bodied, super-rich wine exhibits notes of toffee, truffles, and abundant blackberry, cherry, and currant fruit. It cuts a large swath across the palate, and possesses copious but sweet tannin as well as a chewy, muscular mid-palate and finish. This is a compelling effort from one of the great vineyards of Pomerol.”


“Pan seared squab breast basted in thyme and garlic with chanterelles, artichoke puree, pea greens and truffle bird sauce.”


“Caesar salad.”


After the appetizers, we not only moved inside to escape the rain, but pulled out the big muscled Cabernets.

“The dark ruby/purple-colored 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa is brilliant. Small quantities (7% of each) of Cabernet Franc and Merlot have been added to the blend, giving the wine more aromatic breadth and flavor dimension. Dense and rich, with high extraction, sweet fruit, full body, outstanding purity, and mineral/spicy aromas.”

And then its big brother. Parker 100! “One of the world’s greatest wines year in and year out is Shafer’s Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. The 2002 was a candidate for perfection the first time I tasted it. The estate keeps this cuvee 32 months in 100% new French oak, so I had a number of chances to see it from barrel. Moreover, I purchased the wine for my own cellar and have had it at least a half dozen times since bottling, and it just gets more profound with each sip. This wine is beyond belief for how it balances its extraordinary richness, purity of personality, and the elegance and finesse of the Stags Leap District with massive cassis fruit, spring flowers, toasty oak and earth. The wine is fabulously concentrated, multidimensional and built like a skyscraper, yet nothing is out of place. The wood, alcohol, acidity and tannin are all in perfect balance. This offering is a tribute to the greatness of Napa Valley, which was recognized by men and women hundreds of years ago, and to the modern day genius of the Shafer family. This 2002 has 50 years of life ahead of it – but why wait!”

But my favorite of the trio was the Thorevilos, also Parker 100 points! “The classic 2002 Thorevilos, which comes from the white tufa volcanic ash soils of this site, exhibits notes of barbecue smoke, bouquet garni, incense, Christmas fruitcake and gobs of blue and black fruits. It is voluptuously textured and full-bodied, with sweet tannin as well as a flawless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. Both of these wines are tour de force performances from David Abreu and Brad Grimes. They appear set for 25 to perhaps 50 or more years of cellaring. If you can find them – buy them!

Northern California’s superstar viticulturist, David Abreu, makes between 400 and 600+ cases of a number of wines from various vineyards he owns throughout the valley. Since the mid-1990’s, the Abreu wines have ranked in the top half dozen or so of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines. To his original Madrona Ranch holdings in St. Helena, Abreu has added an adjacent vineyard called Capella. He also co-owns with Ric Forman the Thorevilos Vineyard situated behind the Meadowood Resort. There are 500 cases of the 2002 Madrona Ranch. While the blend is never specified, it is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon blended with a large percentage of Cabernet Franc, a varietal that both David Abreu and his winemaker/manager Brad Grimes adore. They achieve a level of aromatic intensity and complexity in their wines that few in the world can match. If you have access to these world class wines, don’t hesitate to purchase them if you can afford them – they are that special.”


“Trio of game: elk tenderloin, game hen, and bison short rib.” All excellent with wines of this power.


The elk tenderloin with a sweet onion puree.


The game hen with a cous-cous.


The buffalo shortrib and mashed potatoes.


This 1996 Barolo in magnum had barely begun to open up. This is about the right age to start drinking Barolo — in a normal bottle. This was a fine wine, but the tannins were out in force.


“Grilled Texas Nilgai antelope with brown butter cauliflower, red wine poached pear and truffled cauliflower puree.”


Another fine cab. Parker 96. “Joseph Phelps’ flagship wine is their fabulous Insignia, a wine with a tremendous track record back to the debut vintage of 1974. It is produced in significant quantities (18,000-20,000 cases) for a wine of such quality.

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


“Wild Pacific King Salmon crusted in pistachio with basil oil, glazed salsify, lemongrass foam, roasted pearl onions, Pernod braised baby fennel and poisson velouté.”


“Grilled Kurobuta pork porterhouse with rosemary gnocchi, grilled radicchio, poached apples and pomegranate sauce.”


Getting my drunk on.


“Rack of New Zealand lamb with Swiss chard, Nueske bacon, golden raisins, piquillo pepper and pommes aligot.”


“Truffle parmesan fries.”


This 1937 rose muscat was unusual, sweet, and very very good.


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


“Pierre Robert – triple crème brie France, pasteurized cow’s milk Saba, blackberry. Brigante – semi-soft Italy, pasteurized sheep’s milk Honey foam & pickled green apple. St. Agur – blue cheese France, pasteurized cow’s milk Poached pear & hazelnut crumble.”


1994 was one of the greatest port vintages of recent memory and this Warre’s is just coming into it’s own. A very fine port indeed, and perfect with the cheese and desserts to follow.

“Farmer’s market peach beignets with bourbon caramel sauce.”


“Banana and huckleberry bread pudding served with peanut butter ice cream.”


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


On the left one of our hosts, on the right the young and talented Christopher Kufek, Saddle Peak’s executive chef.

This hedonism dinner certainly lived up to the word. I hung out for a good hour at the end chatting with the chef and drinking water to balance out my humors. But it was a tremendous time. The food was great, the wine amazing, and the company excellent. My liver and heart aren’t necessarily in agreement, but my brain hopes to be back at the next event.

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

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
  2. Memorial Day Pig
  3. ThanksGavin 2011 – The Third Wave
  4. Thanksgiving Proper
  5. Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner
By: agavin
Comments (9)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bison, Bordeaux, Calabasas California, Chardonnay, Christopher Kufek, Corton-Charlemagne, Elk, game, Hedonism, hedonists, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine
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