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Vega Sicilia – Hearth and Hound

Dec10

Location: 6530 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. (323) 320-4022

Date: November 18, 2017

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Amazing wine and really good food

Liz Lee at Sage Society organizes some of the most amazing wine maker dinners and this night of Vega Sicilia is no exception.

The dinner took place at Hearth and Hound which is opening in the old Cat & Fiddle space in Hollywood — but it wasn’t even open yet. Still, the chef and crew beta tested (superbly) on us.

There is a gorgeous patio here that I failed to photograph well.

We have a few stems for the night — one for each wine and all individually labeled.

The inside has been completely redone.

Everyone is jumping on the “Asador” (wood fire grill) bandwagon these days.

Lamb legs spinning in front of the fire.

Octopus legs.

Mushrooms ready to cook.

And other prep.
Including cauliflower.

Tonight’s special menu.

All the wines are from Vega Sicilia except for this intro Champagne (they don’t make champ).

NV Petit & Bajan Champagne Grand Cru Ambrosie Brut.

Parmesan Beignet. Chickpea flower I think, as I was told they were gluten free.
Whipped Cod Toast. This was my favorite amuse. A nice briney quality.

Shigoku Oyster. Garlic.

We were situated in the private room — of course we had the whole restaurant so that didn’t matter tonight. The room was fairly open though and connected to the kitchen and as such the white noise drone of the hood was fairly loud.

Liz stands and presents our honored guests.

Pablo Álvarez, owner of Spain’s greatest estate, Vega Sicilia.

On the right is Taylor Parsons, former wine director at Republique and a friend of Liz. He coordinated the wine service for the evening. Behind him is some of Liz’s staff and the restaurant managers. Apparently Make D of the Beastie Boys helps with the wine list too! Whacky.

Brit April Bloomfield of New York’s the Spotted Pig is a partner and helms the kitchen here at Hearth & Hound. She is partnered with Ken Friedman.

2012 Bodegas Pintia Toro Pintia. VM 93. Bright violet. Suave oak-spiced black and blue fruit, pipe tobacco and floral pastille aromas are complicated by mocha and vanilla flourishes. Plush and broad on the palate, offering sweet cassis and blackberry flavors that tighten up slowly on the back half. Rich yet surprisingly energetic in style, finishing sweet, sappy and impressively long; youthful tannins add framework and grip.

agavin: very fresh and fruity. 300k bottles made. Tinto del toro (which is a kind of tempranillo). Mixed American and French oak for 10 months.

2013 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero. JG 91. I routinely bought a case of Alion for my cellar each vintage for the first several years after Vega Sicilia started this project, but as the years rolled by, I somehow lost track of this wine and was delighted when the team at Vega sent the new vintage in my box of samples. The 2013 Alion is comprised entirely of tempranillo and raised in new French wood. The wine is ripe at 14.5 percent octane, but also refined and beautifully balanced. The bouquet offers up a classy blend of black cherries, plums, cocoa powder, cigar wrapper, a fine base of soil and smoky, nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely transparent in profile, with a good core, fine focus and grip, ripe tannins and good length and grip on the well-balanced finish. This wine is beautifully made in its style, with the new wood very well done and the ripeness level managed with dexterity.

agavin: French oak for 12-14 months.

2012 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero. VM 93. Opaque ruby. An explosively perfumed bouquet evokes ripe dark berries, violet, licorice, pipe tobacco and toasty oak, and a suave mineral flourish adds vivacity. Sweet, seamless and broad on the palate, offering powerful cassis, cherry-vanilla and floral pastille flavors that become livelier and more spicy as the wine opens up. Distinctly rich but graceful as well, showing zero excess fat and no rough edges. Closes impressively long and sappy, with sneaky tannins adding gentle grip. This bodega, which is owned by the Vega Sicilia group, has been on a serious quality roll in recent vintages.

Wood-Roasted Cauliflower. Marinated with romesco. Very Spanish, and in some ways very much influenced by the asador style. Crisp and yet lightly pickled it was quite delicious. Very bright flavors.

2012 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. VM 93. Opaque ruby. Primary dark berry and cherry scents are complemented by suggestions of vanilla, coconut, cured tobacco and cedary oak and accented by a suave floral topnote. Sappy, concentrated and expansive in the mouth, offering sweet black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and candied licorice flavors that are supported by a spine of juicy acidity. Unfolds slowly with air, picking up a spicy quality that carries through the very long, gently tannic finish, which echoes the cherry and coconut notes. Hands off this one for at least a few more years.

2011 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. VM 94. Inky ruby. Sexy, high-pitched dark berry and floral pastille aromas are complemented by suggestions of oak spices and smoky minerals. Shows a surprisingly light touch on the palate, offering sharply focused blackberry, bitter cherry, licorice candy and floral pastille flavors that deepen and become sweeter with air. Harmonious tannins add grip to the extremely long, sappy finish, which leaves behind notes of dark berry preserves and candied lavender.

2010 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. VM 95. Opaque ruby. Powerful, deeply pitched red and dark berry preserve, incense and floral pastille scents are enlivened by an intense mineral quality. Concentrated yet strikingly vibrant and focused on the palate, showing bitter cherry, black raspberry and vanilla flavors that spread out with air while maintaining urgency. An extremely long, sweet, penetrating finish features velvety, harmonious tannins that provide gentle grip to the wine’s sappy berry fruit and candied lavender qualities. This stunning wine was aged for 18 months in new oak, half of it American and half of it French. I can’t recall a better version of this bottling at this stage of its development and I hesitate to apply an arbitrary drinking window here as I’m sure that it will outlive me.

2009 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. VM 94. Opaque ruby. Spice- and mineral-accented aromas of dark berries, cherry pit and potpourri, with a toasty topnote. Minerally, incisive and sweet on the palate, offering smoky cherry and blackcurrant flavors complicated by vanilla, mocha and licorice. Shows impressive power and vivacity on the youthfully tannic finish, with the smoke and spice notes strongly repeating.

Grilled octopus with puree and basil oil. Super tender. Very nice tentacle.

2008 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. VM 94. Vega Sicilia’s 2008 Tinto Valbuena 5 Anos is compelling. A young, intense wine, the 2008 is going to need significant time to fully come together, but it boasts superb depth, persistence and a total sense of harmony. Hints of cedar, tobacco and sweet spices wrap around an intense core of dark fruit.

agavin: these “older” Valbuenas have more Merlot and Malbec in them.

2007 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. VM 93. Ruby-red. Aromas of dried cherry, raspberry, vanilla, mocha and Cuban tobacco, with smoke and potpourri accents. Supple and expansive, offering sweet, spice-accented red and dark berry and floral pastille flavors that stain the palate. Dusty tannins add shape and grip to the very long, smooth, penetrating finish. I find this wine quite approachable now but it has the balance to age. Not the weightiest Valbuena but very impressive for the vintage.

2006 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. VM 94. Deep ruby. Heady, exotic bouquet evokes candied cherry, cassis, sassafras, vanilla and potpourri, plus a smoky overtone. Sappy and expansive but energetic, offering sweet cherry and floral pastille flavors lifted by spice and mineral notes. Gains sweetness with air and finishes with superb clarity and spicy persistence. This benefits enormously from aeration but really should be stashed away for at least another five years.

Seared duck breast with pumpkin. Rather delicious and gamey.

2008 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 96. Opaque ruby. Powerful, expansive aromas of cherry liqueur, cassis, pipe tobacco, incense and pungent flowers show outstanding clarity and pick up a smoky mineral quality with air. Stains the palate with concentrated dark berry, bitter cherry and rose pastille flavors that are complicated by notes of mocha, cola and Indian spices. Distinctly generous in style but there’s outstanding energy here as well. The gently tannic, dark-fruit-dominated finish emphatically echoes the spice and floral notes and lingers with striking persistence. Production for this bottling was cut by over half in this challenging vintage and the result shows what can happen when severe selection is applied in the vineyard and cellar. Speaking of tough years, the 2002 version of this iconic wine, from a vintage that has been ignored at best and vilified at worst, is drinking beautifully right now. In fact, it appears to have just entered its drinking window: its fruit is still a bit on the youthful side while its tannins have begun to recede. Like this 2008, it’s a textbook example of what great vineyards, diligent farming and serious winemaking can accomplish under difficult circumstances.

agavin: Unico is released very late, only in good years, and is 85% tinto (Tempranillo) and some Cabernet.

2007 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 93. Vivid ruby-red. Spice- and mineral-accented redcurrant, cherry, cured tobacco and candied rose on the highly perfumed nose. A juicy, sharply focused midweight offering lively red fruit and floral pastille flavors and earthy suggestions of chewing tobacco and succulent herbs. In a graceful, energetic style (due to the cool vintage, no doubt), with strong finishing cut, resonating floral character and velvety tannins coming in late to add shape and grip. A successful wine for the vintage, no question.

2005 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 97. Saturated ruby. Explosively perfumed aromas of fresh ripe red fruits, floral oils, pipe tobacco and incense take on sexy vanilla and woodsmoke nuances as the wine opens up. Densely packed yet shockingly lithe on the palate, offering intense cherry liqueur, red currant and spicecake flavors given spine by a core of juicy acidity. Shows superb energy and clarity, finishing sweet, smoky and extremely long; velvety tannins add gentle grip.

2003 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 95. Inky ruby. Highly aromatic scents of ripe cherry and dark berries, singed plum, cured tobacco and succulent herbs, with a vanilla undertone. Sweet, expansive and powerful, offering intense black and blue fruit flavors with smoke and floral accents. Rich and full but surprisingly lively, with excellent finishing thrust and sweet, harmonious tannins adding grip. Shows the ripeness of the vintage to good effect; this is a somewhat approachable and exotic Unico, especially with some air, but it has the concentration to age slowly.

2002 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 92. Bright ruby. Smoky, floral-accented aromas of redcurrant, cherry pit and plum, with a peppery topnote. Sweet and open-knit, offering musky red fruit and floral pastille flavors and notes of mocha and succulent herbs. Shows very good depth and power for the vintage, finishing smooth, sweet and long. Not the greatest Vega by any means but highly successful for 2002, and you can actually enjoy it right now.

Dry aged beef ribeye. Definitely could taste the age. Nice mushrooms with it too.

The glasses keep adding up.

And the piece de resistance: lamb.

Plus potatoes bravos.

The whole team worked to assemble this dish.

NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 2003, 2004, 2006 (2017 Release). VM 96. Vivid ruby-red. Ripe cherry, dark berries, cigar box, vanilla bean and incense on the deeply perfumed, expansive nose. Shows impressive weight and breadth on the palate, offering sappy blackberry, candied cherry and spicecake flavors complicated by hints of rose pastille, vanilla and licorice. The smooth, strikingly long finish shows a seamless quality and repeating floral and dark berry notes that build as the wine opens up. While this wine has plenty going on right now, I’ve no doubt that it will enjoy a long, positive evolution as well.

agavin: next to the “regular” unicos you can taste how much more powerful and broad the blended reservas are — they are amazing.

NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 1994, 1995, 2000 (2014 Release). 95 points. Extremely concentrated with aromas of leather, blackberry, vanilla, butter. One of the best oaked young wines iv’e tasted. Outstanding quality with high potential for agening, 95p at least, higher score for the future.

NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 1994, 1999, 2000 (2013 Release). 95 points. Nose of plumbs, chocolate, vanilla and tobacco. Rich complex palate. Lovely.

NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 1991, 1994, 1999 (2012 Release). 93 points. Savory nose of umami, freshly plucked seaweed, and a beguiling mix of coffee bean, dark spices and blackberry juice. Medium toward full-bodied at first, this adds weight but also elegance with each successive glass, thanks to abundant acidity and seamlessly layered fruits. A joy to drink now, with great upside as well. Ideally, I would/will try again in 5 years, if possible. Still scratching my head at just how approachable this is today, yet with obvious structure for the long run as well.

Lamb leg a la Ficelle. Potatoes bravos. Apparently Ficelle is wood fire cooked while spinning. Super delicious lump of lamb. There was a lot left over and I could have eaten 3 of these.

1982 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 98. Even better than the 1990, the 1982 Unico is simply one of the very best wines I have tasted in some time. Powerful, fleshy and full of energy, the 1982 Unico is another wine that is almost overwhelmingly beautiful. A striking mélange of savory herbs, smoke and tobacco add complexity, but the 1982 is about the total package. And the 1982 has it all going on. In a word: Magnificent.

agavin: our bottle unfortunately wasn’t drinking at its best. It wasn’t bad or anything, but just a little flat.

1970 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 94. The 1970 is the most subtle of these Unicos, although I have tasted fresher examples. Delicate and perfumed throughout, the 1970 is laced with the essence of crushed flowers, tobacco, dried cherries and mint.

agavin: our bottle was amazing. Fresh, young, tight even, but massively powerful and delicious.

Ossau-Iraty cheese and roll.

2007 Oremus Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos. 94 points. The bouquet was deep and rich with notes of ripe peach, mango, plum, dried flowers and hints sweet herbs. On the palate a velvety wave of textures was offset by stunning acidity, ripe tropical fruits, sweet inner florals and spiced apple. It finished unbelievably long with a contrast of rich textures, tart citrus and zesty acidity.

agavin: tons of acidity and hence really delicious

Rush Creek Reserve cheese. Not too far off from a vaucheron. Like cultured butter.

My cryptic notes.

The wine lineup.

Taylor tastes all the bottles and puts out a glass of each for the staff.

The final glass count.
They didn’t use this for our meal, but they have the same Carpigiani batch freezer (for making gelato/ice cream) that I have in my basement for my experiments on Sweet Milk.

Overall, the food was great. I’m not sure what’s on the menu normally, as this was a very Spanish inflected meal — which worked perfectly with all that Vega Sicilia, of course. And the wines were amazing, particularly the Reserva’s.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: April Bloomfield, Hearth & Hound, Hollywood, Ken Friedman, Liz Lee, Meat, Pablo Álvarez, Sage Society, Taylor Parsons, The Hearth & Hound, The Hearth & Hound review, Unico, Vega Sicilia, Wine

Republique of Old Nebiolio

Dec16

Restaurant: Republique [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Location: 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (310) 362-6115

Date: December 16, 2015

Cuisine: Modern Bistro French

Rating: Nice (loud) space, tasty hip food, great service

OMG, Republique again! This time with the Babykillers group for some serious old Nebiolio. Gaja and Giacosa, 1990s, 1982s and older!

1996 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé. VM 93. Musky, pungent, leesy nose hints at spice, fresh hay, chlorophyll, toast and Sancerre-like gaminess. Very rich and full, with superb concentration and density and a solid dosage Crushed stone and lime skin flavors carry through on the tactile, gripping, almost dusty finish. This struck me as distinctly Krug-like, as in Krug Clos de Mesnil, but then this chardonnay specialist is also located in Le Mesnil. A superb example of the ’96 vintage, offering an uncanny combination of sheer material and stylishness.

They had dug into a charcuterie plate before I arrived and these pates were about all that was left of it.

It’s also worth noting that tonight we ordered off the menu family style, while normally I’m upstairs in the private room with a set dinner. So this fare is (menu and season allowing) exactly what you can get just walking in.

It might be an old B dinner, but you still have to have some Chard.

2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières. Burghound 91-93. A spicy, cool and airy nose of slightly exotic white orchard fruit, acacia blossom and Asian tea nuances leads to rich and palate coating medium-bodied flavors as there is plenty of dry extract that adds a real sense of volume to the mid-palate. There is really lovely intensity and detail to the lemony and bone dry finish that is presently notably austere. This beauty will also require extended cellaring.

2012 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières. Burghound 90-93. Strong reduction. The mouth feel here is slightly finer than that of the Charmes with a bit more minerality as well to the relatively broad-shouldered flavors that are shaped and supported by a firm acid spine on the impressively long finish. This is more refined but not quite as complex though both wines are lovely and worth your consideration.

Escargots en Croûte. garlic, parsley. These are an awesome updated take on the classic snail prep. The snail is underneath, with all that garlic goodness. You can basically use the delicious puff to soak up the sauce.

Charcoal-Grilled Mediterranean Octopus. asian pear, pomegranate, cabbage, pistachio, chile, lime. This looks like a chickenless Chinese salad. It tastes vaguely Vietnamese. And while pretty good, the octopus is hardly to be seen.

Gruyère & Potato Beignets. tarragon, mustard aïoli. Curtsey of the house! Super gooey and cheesy inside. Yum!

1961 Gaja Barbaresco. Agavin 93. Really in great shape. Still tons of fruit and it opened up with classic Barbaresco nose.

1978 Gaja Barbaresco. Agavin 86. We had 2 bottles of this. The first was cloudy, and had a weird nose at first, but opened up and wasn’t bad.

The second bottle. Agavin 78. Was corked and pretty nasty.

Pappardelle. Italian white truffles (minimum three grams – price per gram).

With shaved truffles. This was a nice buttery mild pasta. The truffles this year are a bit flat (not Republique’s fault). The pasta was perfectly cooked.

Cavatelli. black trumpet, chanterelle & porcini mushrooms, parmesan. An awesome pasta. Light, bright, with a nice textural bite.

Green Fettuccine with crab and uni. Not your ideal Barbaresco pairing, but actually the uni was very mild in this dish and it worked well. Very tasty pasta too.

New Bedford Sea Scallops. baby root vegetable slaw, red flame grapes, capers, verjus, brown butter.

1982 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco. agavin 88. We called this the “classico” or “villages”. It was a little weird at first, not funky, but off kilter, then opened up really nicely and balanced. It never got nearly as good as the single vineyard, but it was nice. Very tannic though, as all the 82s were.

1982 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rocche Falleto. 92 points. Very tannic also, but much more expressive and complex than the classico.

1982 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn. 94 points. The 1982 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn, on the other hand, was awesome. It revealed superb depth in its core of generous fruit, with superb concentration as well as balance. It was a memorable wine in every way. In the late 1970s and 1980s Gaja often waited to harvest until very late in the growing season in order to achieve the ripeness he was looking for. 1982 was the last vintage made with this method as subsequent vintages brought warmer weather than had previously been the case.

Mary’s Organic Rotisserie Chicken. fingerling potatoes, black kale, mustard, chiles, chicken jus. Good chicken. The sauce/kale was amazing. The only problem was that we waited exactly 56 minutes from our last pasta until this came 🙂 Republique was slammed, and totally full even on a Tuesday, and their kitchen does it right, but takes a while.

Cassoulet. white beans, pork belly, duck confit, sausage. Great stuff. Full of all sort of rich goodies and a really tasty bean sauce.

1990 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba. 96 points. WOTN. Just an awesome, young, complex Barolo. Massive still, but really nice long flavors. All Barolo nose.

From my cellar: 1990 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn. VM 97. The 1990 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn opens with a wonderfully expressive, floral bouquet that leads to a finely-knot core of ripe red fruits, sweet tobacco and spices. Here the warmth and generosity of the vintage offer superb balance and fleshiness to the wine’s sculpted, well-articulated aromas and flavors. The wine’s overall sense of harmony is spectacular. agavin 95. So big, purple, brooding. Still tons of tannin but tons of powerhouse fruit. Not yet as integrated as the Giacosa. This puppy needs at least 5, maybe more years.

Sliced steak. A solid good steak.

Frites. Double fried. Awesome.

And some hollandaise or whatever.

Apple & Blackberry Tart. vanilla ice cream. I almost never have dessert here for a variety of reasons. Wine dinners with only cheese. Or like tonight, they take so long. So I just had Taylor bring this. It was a very nice tart.

Overall, a super fun evening.

Food was super delicious. It did take forever. It often does downstairs. You just have to be prepared for it. The kitchen is very on point though. Every dish was hot, fresh, and as it should be.

As usual Taylor did an amazing job with the wine service. We had new glasses for each flight. He decanted and opened with his usual expertise. Awesome.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Babykillers, Barbaresco, Barolo, Gaja, Giacosa, République, Taylor Parsons

Sauvage Republique

Apr22

Restaurant: Republique [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Location: 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (310) 362-6115

Date: April 10, 2015

Cuisine: Modern Bistro French

Rating: Nice (loud) space, tasty hip food, great service

Back to Republique again? I was just there last night!! Well, it seems in 2014 half the serious wine events are here. Possibly it’s because Sommelier Taylor Parsons is so good. In any case, today is Sauvages annual “Grand Cru Lunch.” How could I resist more great Burgundy?

The building is an interesting fusion of pre-war factory…

The main interior is nearly church-like. It’s been all opened up and looks great, but it’s big, tall, and covered in hard surfaces. That means loud!

Our lunch is in the back half, where is just ever so much less loud. We have this big table in the middle of an even bigger room.

A close up of our table and below our menu:

Flight 0: Whites

2004 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Melville Vineyard. 90 points. This wine is very traditional for this winery. Not huge nose, but fragrance of lite melons and honeysuckle. Straw hue. Cold, it is closed, but as it warms, it starts to open with notes of melon, cream and sweet pineapple– but not acidic. It also has some effervescence, and a clean, Stoney finish. Some vanilla and hay and a little stone fruit.

2010 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. Burghound 94. A reserved yet classic Chablis nose that is ultra-fresh, pure and elegant with the hallmark floral and stone notes of a fine Montée de Tonnerre complement well the rich, dense and impressively well-detailed flavors that culminate in a mineral-inflected and driving finish. A wine of harmony and balance that should age well plus it offers so much Chablis character that this would be almost impossible to miss blind. In sum, one to buy.

agavin: I have 6 bottles of this stuff in my cellar.

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

The famous bread.

Flight 1:

It should be noted that Sauvage lunches always have the lunch itself arranged into (usually 4) flights of food with wine flights matched by the organizer (in this case, Kirk). They are not blind.

1971 Louis Latour Romanée St. Vivant Les Quatre Journaux. agavin 93. Surprisingly fresh. Lots of fruit. Very mature, but a nice singing finish.

1974 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. agavin 87. Brown and tired. Tea like. Got a bit better with a few minutes and was enjoyable.

From my cellar: 1985 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux. agavin 92. Round, mature, and delicious. A very nice well balanced Ech with considerable fruit and power.

1995 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes. Tanzer 96. Similar deep ruby-red. Pure perfume on the nose: cassis, kirsch, violet, licorice, tobacco, game. Like a rare liqueur whose formula is locked up in the heads of two monks. Great volume and sweetness in the mouth; fruit saturates the entire palate and anything else it can reach. Really extraordinarily concentrated. These grapes were picked with near-14% potential alcohol; the yield, according to Roty, was about 28 hectoliters per hectare, not particularly low for these ancient vines planted in 1881. Fabulous brooding fruit on the finish, along with suave, superripe tannins. Another dimension of concentration and texture.

Rhode Island Black Bass. A perfectly nice bit of fish “juiced” up by the bacon based sauce.

Flight 2:

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.

2002 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir West Block. Burghound 90. An expressive nose of violets and ripe black cherry introduces complex, elegant and sweet medium full flavors that coat the palate with ample dry extract, culminating in a sappy, persistent and generous finish underpinned by firm and ripe tannins. This is clearly a ripe effort yet the finish displays only the barest trace of warmth. Lovely stuff and recommended.

agavin: one of the better New World pinots I’ve had, very Burgundian.

2002 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 92-94. Dramatically earthy, spicy and sappy black pinot fruit beautifully frame the dense, intense, superbly complex flavors that are supported by ripe, solid, firm tannins and incredible length. As good as several of the preceding wines are, there is a class and presence here that only the Musigny possesses and this is extremely impressive and built for the long haul.

2004 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot. Burghound 90-2. This too displays more than a trace of wood with very floral and unusually high-toned red pinot fruit aromas nuanced by hints of iron, underbrush and earth that lead to sweet, round and again unusually supple and forward flavors that are textured, punchy and vibrant and finish with excellent length and precision. While there is a touch of the youthful finishing austerity that a typical Clos de Vougeot often displays, this is more forward and expressive than normal.

agavin: green on the nose, green on the palette. Disgusting really, I couldn’t handle it.

Stinging Nettle Cavatelli. Same pasta as last night, but with an oxtail ragu, cheese, and a bit of bone marrow. This pasta was a “10.” A really rich tasty concoction of goodness.

Flight 3:

1996 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot. Tanzer 92+. Deep, bright red-ruby. Complex, wild aromas of raw crushed blueberry, violet, raw meat and iron. Intense, primal flavors of crunchy berries and powdered stone. Integrated acidity gives the fruit an urgent quality. Quite powerfully structured for aging. Very long and bright on the back end, with tannins nicely supported by extract.

1996 Domaine Robert Jayer-Gilles Echezeaux du Dessus. Tanzer 93+. Deep, bright ruby-red. Explosive nose combines dark berries, kirsch, violet, spice and smoked meat. Sweet, sappy and large-scaled, but with great delineation of flavor for a wine of this size. Like a solid today, and quite backward. Finishes with substantial but silky tannins and a whiplash of fruit. Along with the example from Emmanuel Rouget, this is as impressive an Echezeaux as I’ve tasted from 1996.

2001 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart. Burghound 95. I have been in love with this wine since I first encountered it in barrel and it seems only to have gotten better and better. An elegant, pure and refined nose of earth, coffee, spice and intensely perfumed black cherries combine with focused, tautly muscular, remarkably complex and precise full-bodied, sweet and palate staining flavors that seem to go on and on. But the quality that impresses me the most is the dazzling combination of finesse and power, all wrapped in a finish of near perfect harmony and balance. This should be capable of aging well for at least two decades. A great wine that is not as dense or monumental as the ’05 but this is finer. Multiple, and consistent, notes.

2000 Dominique Laurent Bonnes Mares. Tanzer 92-5. Ruby-red. Confectionery aromas of tiny wild fruits, minerals and smoke; the Chambolle character dominates today, whereas last year the ’99 Bonnes-Mares was more Morey. Sappy, sweet and quite refined; an extremely pure wine that already exudes compelling inner-mouth perfume. Finishes with firm tannins and superb fruit intensity and persistence. Tasted from only 100% new oak, as this wine had not yet been racked into a second new barrel. A wine of extravagant sweetness, and the best in the cave on this day.

Sonoma Duck Leg Confit. A rather perfect and meaty duck leg with a great sauce, over a bit of nice oatmeal with some blueberries. A stunning wine pairing too.

Flight 4:

1990 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes. Burghound 91. The classic truffle-infused Ruchottes nose is missing though the usual game, subtle earth and spice notes are present with remarkably rich, full, broad-scaled flavors that offer lovely balance and fine length. Many ’90s are overly ripe and over the top but this remains balanced and really quite pure and understated if not particularly dense. In sum, this is an attractive and satisfying effort that is just now coming into its own.

1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 89. As long time readers know, I have never thought very highly of this wine and I have had on the order of 3 cases of it without ever finding one that I thought was very good, let alone great. This would include a bottle that was air expressed directly from the domaine so my objections have nothing to do with storage, provenance or shipping. However, the bottle in this tasting displayed the best fruit/acid/tannin balance of any ’90 VV that I’ve yet had and while I would stop well short of according it the accolades that it once received in abundance, it didn’t not display the green finishing tannins and overtly advanced aromas that its predecessors have. In short, a wine of moderate promise and while by no means great, at least acceptable in the context of the extremely high standards of this wine and this vintage.

1995 Domaine Philippe Charlopin-Parizot Clos St. Denis. No reviews. Woah!

1995 Dominique Laurent Romanée St. Vivant. 90 points. Typical pinot noir aroma but sense of inbalance. Hint of barnyard but does blow away. Sour oak juice! Mouth puckering dryness from the acid. Does not resemble my previous RSV experience which was warm. Light bodied and smooth tannins. Spicy with bitter pears, chempaka and granny smith apples. Medium finish.

Cheese.

Finish:

2001 Marc Colin et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. agavin 90. A nice Corton Charlie drinking in a good spot.

Expresso. Needed after a wine lunch.

My notes on the wines.

Chef Walter Manzke pays us a visit.

Wine director / Somm Taylor Parsons handled this event himself and did a superlative job.

Enough wine for a Friday afternoon?

This was probably the best Suavages lunch I’ve attended, and that’s saying a lot as these are very fun events.

While the food wasn’t as extensive as the previous night, our three non-cheese courses were still fabulous. The pasta and duck in particular were killer. I generally like the private room, but this big downstairs space was cavernous and comfortable — although at night it would be too loud. Each course was brought by an army of 6-7 waiters and dropped elegantly in front of us.

As usual Taylor did an amazing job with the wine service. My only regret is that we had just four glasses each and so had to dump the previous flights.

An overall fabulous afternoon.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Kirk juggled the credit cards

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Pinot noir, République, Sauvages, Taylor Parsons, Walter Manzke, Wine

Republique of Vosne

Apr17

Restaurant: Republique [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Location: 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (310) 362-6115

Date: April 9, 2015

Cuisine: Modern Bistro French

Rating: Nice (loud) space, tasty hip food, great service

Back to Republique again? Well, it seems in 2014 half the serious wine events are here. Possibly it’s because Sommelier Taylor Parsons is so good. In any case, tonight’s special dinner is an exploration of my favorite wine sub region,Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Echézeaux. This dinner was organized by Dan Perrelli of the Wine Hotel.

The building is an interesting fusion of pre-war factory…

The main interior is nearly church-like. It’s been all opened up and looks great, but it’s big, tall, and covered in hard surfaces. That means loud!

Tonight our dinner was in the private room upstairs, but our champagne and appetizers began on a little table in the upstairs hall.

Flight 0: Champagne

1996 Alfred Gratien Champagne Brut Millésimé. AG 94. The 1996 Brut Millesime shows why this vintage is so highly regarded. Everything is in the right place. Rich, voluptuous, yet also structured, the 1996 impresses for its superb overall balance. There is lovely complexity in the glass, but none of the aggression found in some wines. A soft, gracious finish laced with a totally refined mousse rounds things out in style. The 1996 is 65% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Noir and 17% Pinot Meunier.

agavin: nice oxidized notes.

NV Doyard Champagne Cuvée Vendémiaire Brut.

Here is our host Dan, who combines an eerie resemblance to George R. R. Martin with a deep voice and an equally deep wine knowledge.

Fresh oysters.

Tonight’s menu.

Flight 1: Replacing Expectations with Experience

2012 Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée. Burghound 89. A very spicy nose is comprised of mostly black pinot fruit that is also cut with plenty of earth, plum and floral notes. Once again there is a completely different texture to the velvety, pure and relatively refined medium weight flavors that possess good mid-palate concentration, all wrapped in a slightly austere and beautifully persistent finish. This is also recommended as it’s a fine Vosne villages that should repay 7 to 9 years of cellar time.

agavin: very young, almost with a bit of cherry lifesaver

2011 Jérôme Chezeaux Vosne-Romanée. AG 87. The 2011 Vosne-Romanée comes across as a bit wild and rough around the edges, with less density and fruit than is typically the case. Today, the 2011 is dark and brooding. Hints of smoke, earthiness and tobacco add nuance to the dark fruit, while firm tannins support the finish.

agavin: had a vegetal green character that I really didn’t like. I even thought it might be corked.

2010 Cecile Tremblay Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 91. An exuberantly spicy nose of both red and black cherry liqueur aromas leads to suave and silky medium-bodied flavors that are blessed with plenty of sappy dry extract that coats the mouth. Once again there is a lovely mouth feel due to the extremely fine-grained tannins and while this is not the most complex of these villages level wines, the sense of harmony and outstanding length make up for it. This is also worth looking at carefully.

agavin: Fabulous. Tasted like a nice 1re cru. Very vosne.

Turbot with chanterelle mushrooms. Supposedly line caught in the English channel. A very lovely bone in fish.

Flight 2: Vintage Characteristics and Terroir

2010 J. Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 91-4. Again, reduction is present but not enough to totally diminish the appeal of the spice notes that continue onto the rich, intense and remarkably vibrant flavors that also possess excellent volume along with an abundance of dry extract that confers a velvety texture to the linear and austere finish. It is a very good thing that there is so much sap because this is especially firmly structured and will need every bit of 15 years or so to fully resolved the underlying tannins.

2009 J. Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 91-3. A highly spiced and very Vosne nose offers up cassis and black raspberry aromas that precede the very seductive, concentrated and mouth coating flavors that are suave, indeed even silky yet culminate in a firm, powerful and balanced finish.

2008 J. Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 92. A notably ripe and ultra fresh nose of spiced black cherry and cocoa powder nuances combine with more typical hints of soy and anise that also are reflected by the rich, full-bodied and relatively supple flavors that are blessed by concentrated mid-palate but the long, palate staining and youthfully austere finish tightens up immediately to become very firm. Patience will be required.

Pig’s Head, frisee, lardons, duck egg, and lentils. A sort of breakfast-style dish, and rich rich all around. The pork (wherever it came from on the animal) was rich and delicious. Particularly smothered in egg yolk and laced with lardons.

Fresh baked bread and normandy butter. I had to skip, passover and all.

Flight 3: Style in Middle Age

2000 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux (from magnum). Burghound 92. Ripe, rich and spicy with crushed black fruit flavors that display good power, impressive length and simply outstanding precision and focus. This has an element of the floral quality of the Beaux Monts but there purity of expression here is stunning and this displays wonderful density for the vintage. Complex, subtle and very classy.

agavin: great for about 20 minutes, really great, then started to close down a bit.

1998 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Echezeaux. Burghound 89. A mildly toasty note detracts slightly from the otherwise expressive, fresh and mature nose of spice and some secondary fruit aromas. There is good verve and detail to the middle weight flavors that offer reasonably good depth and length on the ever-so-slightly astringent finish. I would advise drinking this over the next 5 to 10 years as it risks drying out if cellared too long. Tasted only once recently.

1998 Forey Père et Fils Echezeaux. AG 89+. Medium-deep red. Expressive aromas of plum, cherry, coffee, spices and mint. Supple and sweet but firmly built; already displays enticing inner-mouth aromas. Less forbidding and more elegantly styled than most of these ’98s but still rather unforthcoming and tannic on the end. Is it long enough for outstanding?

Cavatelli, four story hill farm avian poularde. The chicken here is some kind of special milk fed chicken. Awesome dish.

Flight 4: Cru Classification & Vintage are no Guarantee of Longevity and Age is no Guarantee of Enjoyment

2007 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. AG 92. Captivating, fruit-driven aromas of cherry, raspberry, minerals and cocoa powder lifted by rose petal. At once sweet, pure and penetrating, with excellent vinosity and energy. Quite refined and suave on the back end, where the late-arriving tannins give the sappy fruit a chance to expand and linger. As sexy as this is now, I’d give it three or four years in the cellar as it’s still a bit hardened by CO2.

agavin: young but good.

1996 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée. Burghound 88. Bright and spicy, somewhat earthy fruit aromas introduce racy and moderately structured flavors that have enough richness and sweetness to buffer the tannins. With food, this is easily approachable today but it will continue to positively evolve for another 3 to perhaps 5 years. A lovely effort at this level. Consistent notes.

agavin: good, but the 96 Suchots was better

1996 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. AG 92+. Fresh, deep red-ruby color. Sappy, higher-pitched, very complex aromas of cassis, raspberry, minerals and game. Terrific concentration and freshness, but slow to open in the glass. Thick but lively; a floral note contributes to the wine’s impression of brightness. Finishes very long and subtle, with a burst of dark berries. Premier cru with the palate presence and nobility of a grand cru.

1973 Joseph Drouhin Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. agavin 92. Popped and poured. Surprisingly fresh and delicious, although certainly an old Burg.

Risotto, Oregon morel mushrooms. A classic rich and buttery risotto and a fabulous pairing.

Flight 5: Five Decades of Similar Geology, Three Classifications

2012 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulees Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 91-3. A strikingly complex nose features notes of Vosne spice, black cherry, plum and sandalwood. There is first-rate intensity and verve to the beautifully well-detailed medium weight flavors that display plenty of minerality and dry extract on the firm and austere finish that delivers marvelous length. This is also an exercise in harmony allied with finesse.

1991 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulees Vieilles Vignes. Much more mature.

1964 Charles Noellat Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 91. Heavy bricking to the core. Upper register aromas of ripe secondary aromas cut with really lovely oriental spice nuances and hints of sous bois, earth, leather and truffle that introduce fully mature, velvety and utterly delicious older burg flavors and a finish of sneaky persistence. As pretty as this is, there is real grace and style underneath the spice veneer and while it must be noted that the flavors are now in gentle decline, I very much like the overall package. That said, it’s time to drink up. Another recent bottle with ullage of ~ 5 cm was almost as good but was exhibiting a somewhat curious nose of celery and peat-infused aromas. Otherwise, the flavors were consistent with the first bottle.

agavin: our bottle was sadly pretty gone, very brown, like tea. Not much fruit.

Beef, sauce bercy. The sauce is made from bone marrow, and there were little bits of bone marrow on top. This was a super rich, soft, beefy slab.

Flight 6: Another Geology, Another Wine Entirely

1995 Domaine Jean Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas. Burghound 88. Tasted blind and immediately identified as a lower level Vosne 1er because the nose is wonderfully spicy and if not particularly elegant, then certainly expressive and pretty. The flavors are nicely complex and offer good authority and a certain beguiling velvety texture, which helps to smooth out the otherwise rough tannins. This could be drunk now or held for a few more years.

1971 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. Burghound 95. Classic and very ripe mature burg fruit intermingles with a wonderful array of spices, especially anise and soy all of which are framed by a touch of caramel. The flavors are extremely rich, sweet and wonderfully concentrated with a deep, very sweet essence of pinot finish that still retains glimpses of its former power. The tannins are fully resolved and the finish is nothing but pure silk and velvet. Tasted many times and while there is some bottle variation, well-stored bottles are consistently marvelous.

agavin: long long finish and a lot of fruit (considering the 44 years!)

Consomme, four story hill farm avian poularde, foie gras.

With the actual soup added. Delicious stuff. Moist and tender meat, and the fat from the warm foie distributed into the broth in an amazing fashion.

Flight 7: Bonus

1961 Palmer. Parker 99. The 1961 Palmer has long been considered to be a legend from this vintage, and its reputation is well-deserved. The wine is at its apogee, with an extraordinary, sweet, complex nose with aromas of flowers, cassis, toast, and minerals. It is intensely concentrated, offering a cascade of lavishly ripe, full-bodied, opulent fruit, soft tannins, and a voluptuous finish. This is a decadent Palmer, unparalleled since in quality with the exception of 1983 and 1989.

agavin: great stuff, even if I had the sediment at the end of the bottle.

Chef Walter Manzke pays us a visit.

Wine director / Somm Taylor Parsons handled this event himself and did a superlative job.

I’ve now been to Republique 7-8 times and the restaurant is at its best in the private room with a special tasting dinner. Walter really cooked his butt off for this one, carefully pairing each course to the wines. Downstairs, the room is very loud and there are some timing and pacing problems. We had none of these. Each course was brought by an army of 6-7 waiters and dropped elegantly in front of us. All the wine glasses had individual labels for each wine, etc.

I was extremely impressed with Dan’s dinner series (this was my first). Like Liz at Sage Society he got the very best out of Walter’s already great cooking, and he brought an interesting and intellectual set of Vosne’s. Very interesting flights, and he was quite knowledgable. We had 5 straight hours of wine discussion too! Very nice people as well. An overall great evening.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Dan Perrelli, La Tache, poularde, République, Taylor Parsons, The Wine Hotel, Vosne-Romanée, Walter Manzke, Wine

Trimbach Republique

Oct31

Restaurant: Republique [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (310) 362-6115

Date: October 28, 2014

Cuisine: Modern Bistro French

Rating: Nice (loud) space, tasty hip food, great service

Back to Republique again? Well, it seems in 2014 half the serious wine events are here. Possibly it’s because Sommelier Taylor Parsons is so good. In any case, tonight’s tasting is a serious vertical exploration of Trimbach Close St Hune, one of the world’s most rarefied dry Rieslings. This dinner was organized by Sage Society (and Sage’s founder, Liz Lee) for Sage Society clients. Not only did we enjoy 16 vintages of CSH, but Anne Trimbach, ambassador from the winemaker joined us.

The building is an interesting fusion of pre-war factory…

The main interior is nearly church-like. It’s been all opened up and looks great, but it’s big, tall, and covered in hard surfaces. That means loud!

Tonight our dinner was in the private room upstairs, but our appetizers began on a little table in the upstairs hall.

NV Jacquart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru “Mesnil Expérience. 92 points. Light pale color, micro beading. Nose is acute and clean, showing very pleasant saline, schist and lemony/citrus tones. Touch of browned toast as well. Mouth feel is excellent and integrated. On the palate very defined citrus, lemon, grey stone, green apple and hard wood, some secondary weight on the back palate indicating good structure. Mouthwatering in nature, with great acid elements. An excellent value, worth seeking out.

Tart. Nueske’s Bacon. Carmelized onion, gruyere. Addictively sweet and salty.

NV Jacquart Champagne Brut Rosé Experience. 89 points. Pleasant rose champagne with strawberry aromas. It has a vibrant acidity which gives it a good refreshing quality.

Gioia Burrata Crostini. Green kadota & black mission figs, speck, some purple leaf. Burrata and cured meat is always a winner.

Tonight’s special menu (mostly listing the wines). We also had an 1992 CSH.

Anne Trimbach, ambassador for the Trimbach family presided over our dinner, offering comments on each of the wines.

We begin with Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile, which is a blend of two Grand Cru vineyards.

2007 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile. IWC 91+. Good pale color. Rather austere on the nose, hinting at underripe pineapple, crushed stone and menthol. Dense, ripe and dry, with terrific sappiness giving a tactile quality to the dusty flavors of pineapple, grapefruit, lime, spices and stone. There’s something subtly full about this broad, very long riesling. Here, too, the acidity is nearly eight grams, and the residual sugar less than one gram. Still an infant.

agavin: acid bomb!

1997 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile. IWC 93+. Subdued but deep aromas of white flowers and lime. Dry (just three grams per liter r.s.), deep and impressively structured. Slow to evolve but already long on personality. Very densely packed and deep. This should develop in bottle for many years. Very long, adamantly dry finish. Jean Trimbach considers this a great vintage for the Frédéric Emile, perhaps in the class of the ’83.

agavin: the best pairing with the food (of the flight). First bottle was corked, we opened a second and it was great.

1990 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile. 94+ points. Elegant, almost rubbery nose with very delicate and nice fruit aromas. This is actually complex with tender yellow fruit, dried, elegant herbs, and pure citrus fruit. Perfect development. A palate loaded with mineral and grinded stones. Elegant and pure. Absolute balance and a tremendous grip. The acidity and finish goes on and on. Medium-fullish body.

agavin: more Boytritus and my favorite by itself.

Hamachi crudo. Oysters. Oyster gelle. Singapore curry oil. This actually paired very well. You wouldn’t think so, but it did. All three main elements (hamachi, oysters, and curry) were present and in balance.

With this flight we start up the endless progression of Clos St Hune.

2007 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 94+. Very pale, clear color. Extremely unevolved aromas of quinine, mint, lime, white flowers and white truffle. Dense and exhilarating, with an oily texture and piquant lime and mineral flavors that saturate the palate. Wonderfully pure and stony riesling, but still a baby. Today this is all about grip. The r.s. here is just 1.7 grams per liter, according to Pierre Trimbach, who compares this wine to the superb 2001 Clos Ste. Hune.

2005 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 93+. Subtle aromas of lime skin, peche de vigne and wet stone, with complicating notes of vanilla and mint. Denser and richer than the Frederic Emile, and a step up in concentration; shows a more glyceral texture to its peach and spice flavors. Round, mouthfilling and horizontal. Finishes dry, broad and very long, with a bracing edge of acidity. This and the Fred were picked in mid-October, and “not too late,” notes Pierre Trimbach, who is certain that these wines will shut down soon.

agavin: good, but in a slightly awkward stage.

2004 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 95. Pale, bright yellow. Ripe pineapple, liquid stone and exotic honey on the nose, with a spicy lift that suggests an oak influence this wine does not possess. On entry, this is sweeter and creamier than the Frederic Emile, but it livens up quickly in the middle, showing powerful minerality and sharply delineated flavors of liquid stone, pineapple and citrus peel. Still, this conveys a distinctly glyceral impression that suggests more sweetness than its 5 grams of residual sugar, no doubt a function of the 20% or so botrytized berries (in contrast to the Frederic Emile, which included no botrytis). Communicates an impression of power with elegance, finishing minerally and long but not austere. Pierre Trimbach compared this wine to the estate’s great 1990. This is already showing more Rosacker terroir than riesling character. About 9,000 bottles were made from 1.5 hectares of vines.

agavin: best of the flight right now

John Dory. Leeks. Potato moussaline. Leek and CSH butter sauce. Caviar. The fish was a little dry but the potatoes and sauce were scrumptious. All that butter balanced beautifully with the acid in the wine.

2001 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 92+. Pale color. Musky aromas of lime and powdered stone, complicated by spring flowers and a hint of marzipan. Densely packed and slightly sweet but with lively acidity framing and lifting the citrus, floral and mineral flavors. A note of baked bread gives this wine plenty of appeal today, but this still-young ’01 has the framework and grip to reward another decade of bottle aging.

2000 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 95+. Wonderfully pure, high-pitched nose melds quinine, pineapple, crushed stone, orange zest, violet and lavender; smells like a current release. Densely packed and very rich, with seamless flavors of crushed wet stone, lichee and grapefruit complicated by notes of baked bread and honey. This is very much like licking a rock, and yet there are complicating hints of tropical fruits here too. Wonderfully classy, pure wine with a tactile, classy, very subtle and long finish. Still a baby, and compellingly vibrant for a wine from the 2000 vintage. The driest wine in this vertical tasting, at just 1.3 grams per liter of residual sugar.

agavin: my favorite of the flight

1999 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 91+. Very pure, subtle aromas of grapefruit, minerals, lemon. Then rather unyielding on the palate, with an almost Chablis-like pepper and grapefruit pith austerity dominating today. Finishes with strong mounting acidity and lingering notes of lime and licorice. Lighter than the 2000 but perhaps more expressive today. Extremely dry at just 1.9 grams per liter r.s. Will this gain in richness with more time in bottle?

agavin: I found this too powerful/acidic.

Chicken. Chicken consume and chicken meat laced with foie gras. Diced vegetables. The broth was amazing, but by itself and in pairing. Who knew simple chicken broth could be so good. The meat itself was nice too.

Sommelier Taylor Parsons carries not a decanter of old dessert wine — but chicken broth!

Taylor does an amazing job. There were backups to every bottle (thanks Liz!). They were opened at the same time, checked. We had (identical) glasses for every pour! Each labeled with the wine and vintage. He poured himself, flawlessly and elegantly working an event pour around the table. Really, this is as good a wine service as I’ve ever seen.

1998 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 92+. Very complex nose melds lime, mint, powdered stone, licorice and a light petrol note. Dense, rich, chewy and firm; supple and ripe but solidly structured for aging. Finishes very long and minerally. Loads of potential. (But the ’97 Clos Ste. Hune, a wine of compelling minerality, is even richer and more layered; I’ll stick with my original score of 94(+?) for the earlier wine, which I retasted in May alongside the ’98.)

agavin: our bottle might have had a little premox

1996 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 95+. Full yellow-gold, deep for its age. Nose began with very ripe suggestions of honeycomb, toffee, maple syrup–even a suggestion of nut skin. Would inexperienced tasters have written this off as prematurely oxidized without giving it a chance to blossom with air? Ten minutes in the glass brought much more vibrant aromas of peach, Christmas spices and orange oil, and an impression of powerful acidity (ten grams per liter, if I recall correctly from my first tasting of this wine from bottle at Trimbach). Densely packed and brisk in the mouth, with lovely sweetness of stone fruit flavors complicated by minerals and a chewy saline quality. This dry, bracing wine began with a slight sour edge but the strong acidity harmonized with air. In the recorked bottle 72 hours later, the wine hummed with citrus and stone fruit flavors and showed no oxidative notes.

1995 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 94+. Bright yellow-gold. Powerful aromas of pineapple, peach, ginger, crushed stone, botanical herbs and lemongrass, with a hint of earthiness quickly blowing off. Moderately sweet on entry, then primary and imploded in the mid-palate, thanks to bracing acidity and a mineral-driven saline quality. Tactile, palate-staining finish displays outstanding grip and length. A brilliant bottle of 1995, but others have shown clear signs of premature oxidation.

1992 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 93. Highly complex, musky nose offers smoky, stony minerality, honey, mocha, mushroom and saline and grassy nuances. Rich and seamless, with an impression of sweetness to its grapefruit and pineapple flavors, but the wine’s fruity acidity gives it shape and life. This very supple Clos Ste. Hune is perfect right now.

Pumpkin Angolotti. Shaved Gouda. Butter sauce. Delicious sweet soft pasta pillows. Again the butter totally worked with the wine. I could have eaten three plates of theses.

Chef Walter Manzke introduced each dish.

1988 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 93+. Good pale, bright yellow. Subdued but very pure aromas of grapefruit and orange peel and crushed stone. Then bracing and remarkably youthful in the mouth, offering highly complex flavors of peach, tarragon, licorice, herbal tea and dried flowers. Wonderfully nuanced and true to its site, and yet this uncompromisingly dry riesling comes across as extremely young today. Blind, I would have guessed this to be no more than ten years old.

agavin: my favorites of the flight and one of my favorites of the night

1986 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. JK 93. had a great nose. There was this dollop of what I would call pungent, mature Riesling . the dried grapefruit along with yellow citrus fruits, a healthy and appealing streak of wood, minerals and tang. The pinch in the nose was super sexy, and the palate was big with youthful acidity, although the flavor profile was on the sour side. Elaine said, ‘it tastes like grapefruit that was picked from the tree too soon,’ and she was also bothered by its ‘stemminess’ as its wood flavors were more pronounced. The wine was still quite layered with the longest acidity of the three by far. It needed a lot more time and started to come around more and more; we ran out of time before it did in the end, and Frans wisely noted that ‘in twenty years, the 1986 will still be here.’

1985 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 94+. Pale bright yellow. Aromas of peach, grapefruit and pineapple, along with a sake-like saline quality. Compellingly youthful and juicy on the palate, with petrol and crushed stone notes lifted by mint and grapefruit zest. I’ve seen reports of advanced bottles of this vintage, but my bottle was pale in color and had plenty of positive evolution ahead of it. Impressively long and brisk on the aftertaste.

Chanterelle mushroom “outmeal.” Hazelnuts. Chef Manzke basically cooked oats in risotto style, slowly cooking them so the starch is drawn out to make them rich and gooey. Oh, there was also probably a ton of butter in there.

1979 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. 94 points. Nice yellow that doesn’t reveal too much age. Delicious nose of motor oil, smoked fruit and intense minerality. In the mouth this is fat yet well-defined with good underlying acidity and the same delicious notes as the nose (the motor oil gradually blows off).

1976 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. 94 points. Pretty awesome.

1973 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. IWC 95. Full bright gold. Subdued but not at all tired on the nose, opening slowly to reveal notes of peach syrup, musky pineapple, botanical herbs, coffee, mocha and truffle. Fat, sweet and seamless on first sip, then hugely rich but quite dry in the middle, showing more crushed stone and saline extract than fruit at this point. The chewy finish displays terrific lift and verve, thanks to strong acidity. Nearly 40 years old and still full of life.

Crispy Pork Belly. Cabbage and truffles. One rich cut of fatty pork with a nice crispy skin.

2004 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre. IWC 89+. Subtle but precise nose hints at cured meats, ginger and cinnamon. Sweet, spicy and concentrated, with penetrating cinnamon flavor and noteworthy inner-palate energy. Finishes with a youthful austerity. Not at all overly perfumed. This firmly built gewurztraminer would be perfect with many Asian cuisines.

agavin: too dry for my taste (in a dessert wine) but a good pairing.

1990 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre. 93-96 points. Honeyed nose with baked apple, cucumber peel, fresh herbs, floral notes and warm spices. Nicely dried and balanced palate with rich and pure fruit expression of pear to greenish banana. Honey, spices and liquorice. Good length finish with a bitter bite. Finely aged wine with still many years left.

Pineapple Pana Cotta. Berry sorbet. A stunning and fresh dessert. The pana cotta alone was worth the price of admission.

I’ve now been to Republique 6-7 times and the restaurant is at its best in the private room with a special tasting dinner. Walter really cooked his butt off for this one, carefully pairing each course to the wines. Downstairs, the room is very loud and there are some timing and pacing problems. We had none of these. Each course was brought by an army of 6-7 waiters and dropped elegantly in front of us. All the wine glasses had individual labels for each wine, etc.

Plus, there was the Clos St Hune itself. I have only had a few of these before, but in tasting so many in sequence the unique character of the vineyard (and winemaking) was very evident. Every single bottle was underlined by a strong — no intense — acidic backbone. But incredibly, as this white wine gain in years, past 10, then 20, then 30, toward 40, the fruit, minerality, and acid came together into better balance. Really good stuff, and very food friendly (particularly with butter!).

Sage Society knows how to put on one heck of a dinner!

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By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Clos Ste. Hune, Liz Lee, République, Riesling, Sage Society, Taylor Parsons, Trimbach, Walter Manzke

Vive la République

Jan10

Restaurant: Republique [1, 2]

Location: 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (310) 362-6115

Date: January 7, 2014

Cuisine: Modern Bistro French

Rating: Nice (loud) space, tasty hip food, great service

Republique is certainly one of LA’s most anticipated recent openings. Taking over the gorgeous old Campanile space, this replacement is helmed by Walter Manzke and Margarita Manzke (of Church & State and Milo & Olive). As you’ll see, while the core cuisine marries Brasserie with neo-tapas, this is a place that draws intensely on the current (2013-14) trends. LA Zeitgeist for sure.

On this particular night, I was invited by Liz Lee of The Sage Society. She’s a friend of mine, wine dealer, and overall awesome foodie. She sure organizes an amazing evening. This one was mostly top flight Burgundy, and 13-14 bottles for 6 people! (Good thing I never drive to wine dinners)

The building is an interesting fusion of pre-war factory…

And classic LA vibe. This outside fountain is a remnant of the old space, as there used to be a bunch of them.

The main interior is nearly church-like. It’s been all opened up and looks great, but it’s big, tall, and covered in hard surfaces. That means loud!

The bar is packed and setup with all those fancy little fixings that are the hallmark of the fancy mixologist style of expensive yummy weak drink making. Being a wine guy, I don’t much care.

The front appears to be a kind of takeout(?) pastry and raw bar. The presentation was top notch.

Along with the hard (read loud) surfaces, open kitchen, mixologist and the like, our obligatory aged wood communal tables are graced with this paper menu.

1985 Krug. Parker 96 points. The freshest bottling I’ve had of the 85 Krug yet. It tastes so young, in the sense that there isn’t that heavy toast/oxidative character, but just all this vibrant acidity and bright lemon fruit. Really freaking delicious right now.

1979 Louis Roederer Cristal. Parker 96. The 1979 Cristal remains one of my favorite vintages of this Champagne. This bottle is fully resolved, with pretty suggestions of honey, cinnamon, smoke, ash, menthol, hazelnuts and dried apricots. The bouquet remains deeply expressive and melds seamlessly into a succulent, expansive palate. Although the wine is mature, the mousse retains surprising elegance and finesse with a velvet-like softness. This bottle is an original disgorgement from around 1985/1986 and saw 13-14 grams of dosage. 25% of the wine was aged in oak.

As we sit we are offered some yummy bread sticks (a.k.a. grissini). The bakery here is clearly first rate, although there was nowhere to really put them and half of mine ended up tumbling to the floor.

Our Sommelier for evening, Taylor Parsons. Unlike my mostly more chaotic Hedonist Dinners, he opened and poured the wine properly in flights, and even ordered up food to match.

2008 Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Les Aigrots Blanc. Burghound 88-90. A less expressive and somewhat somber nose of dried flowers, wet stone and orange peel gives way to supple and detailed flavors that are also admirably pure and transparent culminate in an intensely minerality finish of good if not stunning length.

Escargots en Croûte. garlic, parsley

Like a mini pot pie containing a classic butter and garlic coated snail! Yum.

Eggs on Toast. santa barbara uni, soft-scrambled eggs.

The eggs substantially cut the briny quality of the uni. The taste was great, but I had two textural/physical problems with it. One, the bread was very toasted and hard to bite through, and so cut the mouth. Two, the compression caused the egg to squirt out and drop all over the place.

Warm Baguette with Normandy Butter. A completely first rate piece of bread. Utterly classic and unadorned.

1989 Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Meursault Pré de Manche. 94 points. Real treat to try this wine, only 248 btls made! The wine was initially tight knit until about 30 minutes in the glass. After some time it opened up to a nose of nuttiness and ripe apples. On the palate it was alive and vibrant filled with acidity and lean fruit. It wasn’t the most expansive wine on the palate but it had a lively energy that made it an enjoyable drink.

From my cellar: 1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused round intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.

Forest Mushroom tart. Comte, wild arugula. Lately, French restaurants (and some others) have been serving up these “tarts” as an excuse to basically serve pizza. I’m not complaining, as this was like a really nice cheesy earthy ultra thin bit of yummy.

Smoked Columbia River Sturgeon. Fingerling potato salad, baby beats, horseradish. This dish felt intensely Northern European (Dutch? Norwegian?) It had that dill, fish, potato, mayo thing going on. And it was white. Scandinavians love white food. However, it wasn’t mushy at all, with a nice firmness to all the components.

1950 Berberana Rioja Gran Reserva. Just enough corked to be annoying. Otherwise, lots of young fruit. I wonder if this bottle was re-conditioned. A little too youthful.

1964 Gomez Cruzado Rioja Gran Reserva Honorable. RJon Wine 92. Bricked medium dark red violet color; mature, tobacco, cigar box, cedar, dried black fruit, honeyed nose; mature, dried cherry, dried currant, tart black fruit palate with medium acidity; should go 7-8 years; medium-plus finish.

Our bottle was very young and red fruit.

Wild Atlantic Black Bass. Black trumpet mushrooms, potato gnocchi, brown butter, lemon. A nice classic whitefish in butter sauce. It was cooked perfectly. This is a very brasserie dish and was as good a take as I’ve had.

Spaghetti Rustichella. Dungeness crab. This dish was pretty Neapolitan in spirit. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce a simple garlic, olive oil, white wine? It retained both the sweetness and sea quality of the crab with a bit of heat from the cayenne (which is also Southern Italian). No dairy, as it should be. One of my favorites.

Wood Oven Brussels Sproats. Frisee, applewood-smoked bacon, soft egg. This is like deja vu, as this dish would have been right at home at Playground where I went 10 days before. Can we get more LA Zeitgeist than brussels, pork, and sous vide egg? Still, it was darn tasty. No complaints. Like most other dishes here there is a real precision to the execution.

From my cellar: 1978 Remoissenet Père et Fils Richebourg. 89-90 points. This is a controversial wine. It had a little funk that blew off and, I thought, a very expressive berry nose. There was a lot of red fruit and forest floor with good spice. Some didn’t like it. I happen to drink (and like) my Burgundy old, so I thought it was delightful if not as well made as a few of the other red Burgs tonight. It’s certainly not over the hill, merely not a perfectly balanced wine.

1988 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 92. The perfumed nose has now gone almost completely secondary with hints of sous bois adding nuance to the classic spice box character of a fine RSV. I particularly like the purity of expression (yet no lack of power) which combined with the outstanding length make this an excellent effort that should continue to hold at this level for a number of years.

I liked this a lot, and it had that searing acidity typical of the 88 vintage, but there was plenty of fruit and finish.

1998 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. IWC 91-94. Just two barrels made. Deeper ruby. More complex, sweeter aromas of blackberry, minerals, flowers and smoke. Firm, highly concentrated and very fresh, with terrific gras and volume partly hidden today by firm structure. The ripe tannins coat the entire palate on the very long finish.

This was still a baby, with a bit of oak, not fully resolved, but old enough to have lost that woody harshness I don’t like in young structured wines. Quite excellent. Lots of Vosne spice.

Liberty Duck Breast. Braised taiwanese cabbage, spatzle, whole grain mustard sauce. Another first rate adaption of a classic. Does anything get more French than duck breast and cabbage with mustard sauce? Well, baguettes, steak frittes, and poulet rosti, but we had those too.

Berkshire Pork Belly. Escarole, fuji apple, bacon, cider-peppercorn sauce. This was fabulous too, and not that fatty (which was great). This puppy was probably cooked in the sous vide and finished with some flame. It was awesome.

1995 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 94. Superbly spice aromas just explode from the glass leads to wonderfully concentrated flavors of impressive depth and simply incredible balance for such a big, structured, powerful wine. The length though is what separates this wine from the “merely” great and it just goes on and on. The material here is so good that it would not surprise me if this eventually merits an even higher score as this is a most impressive effort and it has the rare gift of presence, something very few wines have even at the highest levels. In sum, this is killer juice.

Thanks Liz for this bottle, which was pretty clearly WOTN. Rousseau is just so good. It was young, but not a baby and just so so so good.

1995 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux. Burghound 91. Remarkably supple and forward with elegant red fruits framed by traces of earth and a touch of oak followed by sweet, sappy, modulated, round flavors that offer excellent detail and fine length and the slight astringency that this displayed for years has finally rounded out. For my taste, this has arrived at its peak and while there is certainly no rush to drink up, neither is there any reason to hold for further upside development. Multiple, and consistent, notes.

Mary’s Organic Rotisserie Chicken. Red russian kale, roasted fingerling potatoes. The rotating spit was right in front of me and all night I watched a procession of these tasting fowl orbiting. Just classic roast chicken en jus but absolutely perfectly cooked. All good.

I don’t know if this was the Prime Strip Loin or the Prime Dry-Aged Cote de Boeuf, I suspect the latter. It was a fatty beefy perfectly cooked bit of cow.

Frittes of course. Just as I like them (crispy).

2011 Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé. 88 points. A bit of bitterness and some other flaws but frankly it’s nice drinking tipple, esp for the price. It’s clean and crisp at a cool temp.

Freshed baked goodies.

Cherry tart. Griottines, pistachio ice cream. Classic.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake. Milk eau de vie. Good stuff, although I could have easily tried a bunch more desserts (yes I’m a glutton).

And a selection of cheeses, always good with so much wine. However, at this point I was pretty drunk and more worried about getting too drunk than I would have liked. Basically we had too much good stuff.

Overall, Republique is a first rate place. It updates the classic French fare in a way that is contemporary without being ultra modern. And the whole everything here is so painfully (and I don’t mean in a bad way) contemporary. It just couldn’t be more “in” with the current dining trends. Not that I actually have a problem with that — in fact, my only problems with the restaurant was the volume (almost too loud for conversation) and a seeming total lack of large square or circular tables (I eat out in large groups and hate long skinny tables for more than 6). Most importantly, not only are these fresh takes on the classics, but the cooking is really on point. Even only being three months old this kitchen is executing very well.

I’ll certainly be back.

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