Wine :: Page 21 :: All Things Andy Gavin

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cote Rotie, Guigal, hedonists, Lala, pasta, Valentino, Valentino Santa Monica, Wine

Meat under the Moon

Oct02

Chef: Andrew Greene

Date: September 27, 2015

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome meats

Jake and Elizabeth’s yard has been the site of several awesome Hedonist gatherings, and tonight is no exception.

It’s a gorgeous warm night and twenty-some of us are ready to chow down.

The chef tonight is Hedonist veteran Ron’s son, Andrew Greene (with the beard), shown here with a bunch of other chefs in attendance, including Kaz from Totoraku! Andrew is the chef at Troya in San Francisco and he’s prepared some epic meaty feasting for us tonight.

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.

Salami. Out in the beginning are a few nibbles.

Cheeses.

2004 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. VM 97.5. Racy, silky and vibrant in the glass, the 2004 Dom Pérignon is all about energy. Here the flavors are bright and delineated throughout, with veins of acidity and minerality that give the wine its sense of drive. Mint, rosemary and yellow-fleshed fruits linger on the finish with the classic DP reductive overtones that are such a signature. Once again, the 2004 Dom Pérignon truly shines. The 2004 Dom Pérignon is a wine to treasure over the next thirty or so years.

More cheeses.

Crackers.

From my cellar: 2004 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 95. Knockout nose combines pineapple, orange and spices, with a subtle leesy suggestion of nuts. Wonderfully sweet, supple, fine-grained and full, with a captivating sugar/acid balance and an intriguing suggestion of exotic fruits. Extremely broad, silky, palate-saturating wine of great purity and persistence. I underrated this when I tasted it from barrel a year ago. From Domaine Caillot vines located high on the hillside. A great Batard.

hamachi with fennel, pickled with ponzu, Persian cucumbers.

This was a nice sashimi starter.

2010 Marcel Deiss Schoenenbourg. VM 94+. Bright straw-green. Spicy aromas of lime, honeyed peach, anise and quinine. Dense on entry, then spicy and vibrant in the middle, displaying juicy, fresh flavors of peach, flowers and earth. This structured, very long wine magically combines an impression of strong extract and a weightless quality. Very impressive.

Uni. Isn’t much of a looker on the plate.

But sure tasted great on crackers.

w

Mushroom dashi. A lovely light soup of bonito dashi and various mushrooms.

2008 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine. VM 94. Glass-staining ruby. Highly perfumed, precise aromas of cherry, blackberry, licorice, herbs and violet; much darker in character than the preceding wines. Sweet and firm on entry, then fresh and aromatic in the mouth, with strong cherry and dark berry fruit supported by a firm spine of minerality. Finishes sweet and long. This is built to age.

agavin: ain’t no Burgundy!

2006 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Elizabeth Bodega Headlands. VM 94. Deep red. Energetic red and dark berries on the nose, with sexy notes of potpourri and blood orange adding complexity. Lively raspberry and blackberry flavors stain the palate, taking on a richer mocha quality on the back. The red fruit repeats strongly on the strikingly pure and precise finish. An impressively tangy, pure expression of pinot, with the balance and intensity to reward cellaring.

Tomato corn salad.

From my cellar: 1995 Louis Jadot Echezeaux. 92 points. Deep colour, wonderful fruit (black fruits) and sweetness. Very long. A really pleasant surprise, and a perfect companion for salmon teriyaki. A true grand cru, excellent value for money. No hurry to drink the rest.

1990 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 96. Two great back to back vintages are the 1990 and 1989. The more developed 1990 boasts an incredible perfume of hickory wood, coffee, smoked meat, Asian spices, black cherries, and blackberries. Lush, opulent, and full-bodied, it is a fully mature, profound Beaucastel that will last another 15-20 years.

Lamb bacon. Chunks of tender lamb meat reduced and smoked. Very chewy, and amazingly delicious.

2001 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 95. The classically styled 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape has plenty of the telltale kirsch and sweet spice notes that always seem to be present in Avril’s wines. Showing more mature notes of truffle, olive, licorice and garrigue as it sat in the glass, it’s medium to full-bodied, elegant and balanced, with a great texture and finish. It has solid mid-palate depth, as well as sweet tannin, so, while there’s no harm enjoying bottles today, it has another decade of longevity.

braised oxtail. Tender meaty oxtail.

Warm humus.

1991 Beringer Chardonnay Private Reserve. Parker 96. The second largest production of Beringer’s Private Reserve, the 1991 came in just behind the 24,000 cases of the 1997. Interestingly, these are among the greatest Private Reserves made, and as Ed Sbragia told me, it was just one of those perfect vintages. One of the longest and coolest growing seasons in the history of California, it was marked by cool temperatures throughout the summer and a perfect Indian Summer. The hang time of the grapes, ranging from the date of flowering to the date of harvest, was historically long (I do not believe it has been equaled since). The Cabernet Sauvignon came from the same three sources as the 1990, Bancroft Ranch, the Home Vineyard in St. Helena, and Chabot Vineyard, and the tiny dollop of Cabernet Franc was from the Bancroft Ranch site. I’ve enjoyed many bottles of this spectacular effort, which still possesses a dense ruby/purple color as well as a sumptuous nose of spring flowers, graphite, loamy soil, creme de cassis, black cherries and blackberries. With sweet tannin, a full-bodied mouthfeel and incredible purity as well as youthfulness, this wine has another 15-20 years of life left in it. If this were a Bordeaux, one would think it was 8-10 years old, not two decades. There are no hard edges, and the seamless integration of all the component parts make it one of the prodigious Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserves to drink now as well as over the next 20 years.

fig marmalade. These four, the bacon, oxtail, humus and marmalade were served together.

Things are cooking!

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis. Parker 96. A wine I’ve been lucky enough to have numerous times recently, the 2003 Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis is an off-the-hook effort that gives up plenty of plum sauce, smoked duck, licorice, tar, vanilla bean and violet aromas and flavors. Never acidified, it has awesome freshness and focus to go with full-bodied richness, a hedonistic texture and a blockbuster-styled finish. While it’s not for those craving delicate-styled aromas and textures, I think it’s a gorgeous effort that will continue to drink nicely over the coming decade or more.

Salmon with tomatoes and onions.

2007 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino. Parker 95. The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is gorgeous. Dark red cherries, plums, spices, leather and tobacco wrap around the palate as this dense, powerful wine starts to open up. Expressive aromatics are woven throughout, giving the 2007 a measure of polish and sophistication that is not always present in this wine when it is young. Finessed, suave tannins reinforce an impression of elegance. The 2007 can be enjoyed with minimum cellaring, but it will also age gracefully for many years. Readers who want to try the 2007 today should give the wine plenty of air, as the more refined qualities only emerge over time. When tasted next to the 2006, the 2007 shows redder tonalities of fruit and less sheer muscle. Hints of tobacco, crushed flowers and spices wrap around the sensual finish.

2010 Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown. 92 points.

Venison loins.

Seared venison. Incredibly tender slices of venison.

Some Turley Petite Syrah. I don’t usually bother with these monsters.

Served with blueberry demiglase.

2000 Pavie. Parker 100. Just beginning to come around and strut its enormous potential, this wine at age 15 has been evolving like a glacier. The wine has an inky, opaque, plum/purple color and a stunningly rich nose of mulberries, bramble berries, blackberries, licorice and incense as well as touches of toast and graphite. Fabulously concentrated and full-bodied, with a multidimensional mouthfeel, this profound Pavie is in mid-adolescence. It should evolve and continue to drink well for at least another 30-40 years. This is clearly the first compelling effort made by the Perse family.

agavin: bottle was empty before I got to it 🙁

Maitaki mushrooms.

1996 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 94-96. This estate’s staff believes that the 1996 Mouton-Rothschild is very complex. I agree that among the first-growths, this wine is showing surprising forwardness and complexity in its aromatics. It possesses an exuberant, flamboyant bouquet of roasted coffee, cassis, smoky oak, and soy sauce. The impressive 1996 Mouton-Rothschild offers impressive aromas of black currants, framboise, coffee, and new saddle leather. This full-bodied, ripe, rich, concentrated, superbly balanced wine is paradoxical in the sense that the aromatics suggest a far more evolved wine than the flavors reveal. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030. By the way, the 1996 blend consists of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc.

Smoked fingerling purée. These mashed potatoes were insane, particularly with the blueberry sauce. Tasted like BBQ or something.

2005 Rol Valentin. Parker 92-94. A sexy, full-bodied, very drinkable style of 2005, Eric Prissette’s 2005 Rol Valentin displays loads of black cherry fruit, licorice, Christmas fruitcake and spice. Full-bodied and opulent, it can be drunk over the next 10-15 years.

Duck confit. One of the best duck legs I’ve had — not quite Peking duck, but what is?

2001 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 100! The 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is the first of these back-to-back perfect wines from Shafer that, at age 13, is still a baby, but, wow, what an amazing wine. A fabulous growing season produced a wine with inky/purple black color, stunning crème de cassis notes, with additional hints of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, cedar wood and forest floor. It is full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. This is a great, monumental Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that is still an infant, at age 13, going on 14. This has got at least three decades of life left in it, and probably won’t hit its peak for another 5-7 years.

agavin: slut!

Veggies cooked in duck fat.

2006 Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles Reserve. 93 points. Massive, complex fruit, with a nice layer of tannin. This is a whopper, with plenty of time left. Highly enjoyable now with a some air. Very masculine.

From my cellar: 1973 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia. 93 points. This is quite dusty but really complex. Coconut, sweat, mushroom, strawberry, cranberry and dark cherry flavours. The palate shows a strange lactic note that borders on yogurt and egg yolk which is a bit distracting but in the end, flavours of earth, mushroom, cherry, sweat, herbs, leather and cedar round this wine out and make it quite enjoyable. The finish is medium+ with moderate complexity but is really earthy which is just so captivating.

Charred fennel purée. Good stuff.

1932 Massandra Red Port. 94 points. Tawny in color, with a complex nose of smoke, caramel, butterscotch, toffee, coffee ban, banana and wild strawberries. The wine had great freshness and ample sweetness, but the nose was better than the palate, due to the shortness of the finish. But then the wine was close to 85 years of age. Massandra is not a wine I see often, making this a rare and interesting treat.

agavin: Joseph Stalin probably tasted this wine many times.

1999 Fred Prinz Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese. Really nice.

Kumefe (Turkish filo dough with cheese), with Meyer lemon syrup, hazelnut crumble. I’ve had this in Turkey a number of times. Great stuff with an interesting crispy/gooey texture.

Some extra hazelnut crumble.
It should be noted that we were able to see the “super blood moon” (super moon in eclipse) right as we ate.

Overall an incredible evening of amazing food — and way way too much of it too — and tons of great wines. We rolled out of there. The meats were super flavorful and extremely well cooked. They probably “suffered” slightly too from the family style plating, as I can imagine individually plated with all the elements integrated they would be even more impressive — and they were fabulous as is. Mmmm, lamb bacon.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Andrew Greene, duck, hedonists, Meat, super blood moon, venison, Wine

Salt’s Cure

Sep30

Restaurant: Salt’s Cure

Location: 1155 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 850-7258

Date: September 26, 2015

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Really tasty

Liz Lee of Sage Society really knows how to organize a dinner. Not only does she find some of the best chefs in town, but the wine is always crazy good.

Liz has long been a fan of Salt’s Cure, and now that they are moving to a new larger space wanted to do an epic dinner in the new location. Well, this is a very “soft” opening with regard to the construction, but the food and service are fully worked out.

This particular dinner was BYOB, and ended up with more than 25 wines for 15 people. All great too!

Our special menu for the night.

NV Champagne Savart Champagne L’accomplie. 91 points. Apricot, peach, wild flowers, honey, spices and mint all meld together in the NV Brut L’Accomplie. Here the style is round, succulent and approachable, with lovely up-front intensity and volume. The current release is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, based on the 2010 vintage with the addition of 45% Réserve wines. This is a very pretty wine, although the limits of the 2010 vintage are impossible to fully overcome.

Mussels with lemongrass.

NV Godmé Père et Fils Champagne Brut Reserve 1er Cru. Burghound 92. A markedly yeasty and impressively complex nose of various dried white fruits, particularly apple and pear, leads to equally complex, bold and robust flavors that are supported by a firm but not aggressive effervescence on the clean, dry and slightly austere finish. This is not an especially elegant Champagne but I very much like the frank character and the Réserve designation in this case is well warranted because it’s clear that there is a substantial percentage of older wine in the blend. Lovely and this could easily be drunk now but there is so much underlying material that this would make a great choice to age for another 5 to even 10 years if you enjoy the flavors of older Champagne. Recommended.

Crabcakes and tartar sauce. Lots of good solid crabby taste.

2002 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé. VM 95. Light, bright orange-pink. Heady mineral- and yeast-accented aromas of dried red berries, blood orange, buttered toast and tea rose. Densely packed and expansive on the palate, offering intense raspberry, cherry compote and floral pastille flavors and a smoky overtone that gains strength with aeration. The mineral quality comes back strong on the silky, focused finish, which goes on and on. An outstanding blend of power and finesse.

Steak tartar on potato crisp. I really liked these.

Chef Chris Phelps on the left, organize Liz Lee on the right (standing).

2009 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons. VM 94. The 2009 Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons is remarkably polished and balanced throughout, with plenty of vintage 2009 radiance. Apricot pit, smoke, peach and spice overtones take shape in a striking Champagne. Although quite open and expressive today, the 2009 is also holding back a considerable amount of pure, unbridled power as well as potential. Ripe and racy to the core, yet with no excess weight, the 2009 stands out for its exceptional balance. Dosage was 4.7 grams per liter, a bit higher than normal. Péters told me he thought the drier vintage needed a little bit more sugar.

NV Taittinger Champagne Nocturne Sec. VM 90. Bright yellow. Deeply perfumed aromas of poached pear, melon, nectarine and lemon curd are complemented by suggestions of buttered toast, anise and chamomile. Plush and broad on the palate, offering ripe citrus and pit fruit flavors with a touch of chalky minerality adding cut and lift. A floral quality builds slowly with air and carries through the spicy, sappy, gently sweet finish. I like this Champagne’s balance of fruitiness and vivacity and there’s no way that I’d have guessed that its dosage was so high.

2012 Prager Grüner Veltliner Stockkultur Smaragd Achleiten. Grapefruity, short finish, lots of acid.

Chicken liver pudding with soft pretzels and pickles. A great mix of bread, fatty liver, and bright acidic pickles and onions.

2008 Hanzell Chardonnay. 91 points. Carmel, citrus…nutty finish. Quite elegant. Drink over the next 2 yrs. Didn’t taste like Chardonnay!

Plum, cherry tomato and ricotta with basil vinaigrette. A nice bright salad.

1993 Kalin Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée LD. VM 92. Pale green-gold color. Knockout nose of orange blossom, minerals, apple and hazelnut. Thick, rich and uncompromisingly dry; already showing superb inner-mouth perfume of orange oil, apple, flowers and spices. Brisk but harmonious acids frame the deep flavors perfectly and contribute to the impression of strong structure. Finishes quite powerful and long. “This wine was still totally dumb six months ago,” notes winemaker Terry Leighton, who won’t release a wine until it ready for its close-up. Leighton’s LD bottling is from a north-facing slope, while the LV vines face south.

Chilled tomato soup with grilled cheese. The sandwich was fairly straightforward, but the soup was awesome, lots of vinegar, almost like a gazpacho.

2012 E. Guigal Condrieu La Doriane. VM 93. Bright yellow. Assertive aromas of nectarine, violet and smoky minerals, with a gingery nuance adding lift. Broad and silky on the palate, offering densely packed orchard and pit fruit flavors that become spicier with air. The mineral note comes back strong on the finish, which lingers with excellent tenacity and building smokiness.

Mackerel Toast with Sauce Gribiche. Tasty, but a real tough wine pairing with all that salt, vinegar, and strong briny tones.

2012 Domaine de Montille Meursault Perrières 1er Cru. Burghound 92. Here too strong sulfur and reduction render the nose impossible to assess. As one would reasonably expect this is intensely mineral-driven with an excellent sense of energy and tension to the saline-inflected flavors that display only moderate depth on the otherwise wonderfully long and well-balanced finish. My range offers the benefit of the doubt that more depth will develop with age.

agavin: Friend and dinner companion MZ owns a chunk of this estate and this was the first vintage from his collection! Very bright and delicious.

2002 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 93. More noticeable wood spice than in the prior wine combines with wonderfully pure green fruit and white pear aromas underscored by intensely stony notes, leading to ripe, chiseled, vibrant, wonderfully precise flavors that offer excellent definition. This really coats the palate and the finish lingers for several minutes. I like the punch here yet the intensity is delivered in an ultra refined, classy and pure style.

Yellowtail with succotash. I’m not used to having yellowtail fully cooked, but it was a nice flaky fish in this format.

2001 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Fourneaux. Burghound 89. Much finer and purer than the Suchot with detailed, precise, very earthy fruit and a subtle touch of finishing minerality. There is virtually no rusticity and while this is firmly structured, the tannins are almost completely buffered by an impressive sappiness that coats the palate.

1999 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin. VM 89. Full medium red. Floral, sappy aromas of red fruits, nuts and game. Tangy red fruit flavors are kept bright by healthy ripe acidity. Finishes with very good length and grip. An unusually strong showing for this cuvee.

2002 Louis Jadot Echezeaux. Burghound 93. Strong oak spice presently dominates the nose with round, sweet, rich and impressively complex flavors that deliver stunning length. This is quite a powerful wine yet there is almost no rusticity and I very much like the obviously high quality material. As with several wines in the range, my score awards the benefit of the doubt regarding the oak.

Roasted Chicken with Herbed Gravy. Chicken and mashers!

1998 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle. Very bright, like cherry juice.

1999 Domaine de L’Arlot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Forêts St. Georges. Burghound 92. More serious than the ’99 Clos de l’Arlot though not quite as ripe with color that is almost black as is the fruit with crushed herbs and intense minerality, succulent flavors and excellent pinot character. There are sizeable tannins that are completely wrapped in velvety fruit and this displays a slightly sweet finish. This is really very fine and fresh and while this is not a truly dense wine, it has filled out better on the mid-palate than I originally predicted. It will also need a bit more time as well to really arrive at its prime drinking window. Consistent notes.

1991 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie. VM 93. Dark red color. Classic aromas of black raspberry, smoked meat and bacon fat. Dense, spicy and sweet on the palate, with sappy inner mouth perfume. Kept firm and fresh by pepper and mineral components. Finishes long and subtle, with dusty, even tannins. A beauty.

Chorizo with sweet onion puree and peppers. Tasty sausage, although with some heat.

2002 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 95. A heavily toasted nose with spice, wood and tar nuances frames ripe but fresh black pinot fruit and cassis aromas that also display an extraordinary panoply of secondary nuances, including earth, underbrush, leather, soy and spice. The powerful, rich and utterly delicious big-bodied and very concentrated flavors coat and stain the palate and completely buffer the now softening tannic spine on the superbly long finish. In short, this is flat out incredible juice and while it’s clearly quite oaky, the wood somehow works quite well with the wine even though it’s far from invisible. As to drinkability, I would probably opt to hold the ’02 Charmes for a few more years but it could easily be drunk now with pleasure.

2001 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux. Burghound 91. This closely resembles the style of the Beaux Monts with its lighter ruby color and ultra elegant pinot spice aromas followed by medium weight, pure, complex, quite refined flavors and a creamy, slightly toasty finish. Relatively light by the standards of many vintages of this wine but it is so elegant that is it hard to fault.

2002 Mommessin Richebourg.

Duroc Pork Chop. Sides Farro Bowl, Mashed Potatoes, & Wood Roasted Seasonal Vegetable.

Louis Jadot Latricières-Chambertin. I can’t remember the vintage.

From my cellar: 1991 Camille Giroud Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. 93 points. Very rich with strong vosne spice.

1996 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. VM 94. Excellent deep ruby-red color. Subdued but vibrant aromas of cassis, blackberry and violet. Superb sweetness and flavor intensity; penetrating flavor of spicy blackberry. Lovely acidity gives the wine juiciness and great cut. Very persistent and fine on the finish. Has fruit of steel. Great Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru.

Duck, Oatmeal Griddle Cakes & Fruit Compote. This was a pretty awesome duck. Basically duck and pancakes, like a non-fried version of chicken and waffles?

Mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Grapefruit pie, date brownie. The brownie was much like a sticky toffee pudding.

Overall this was a really great night. A warm one too in this rough and half finished space. But for all the walls being unpainted, the staff both in the room and in the kitchen did a great job. The food was really solid. Excellent execution and slight variants on fairly classic ingredients and dishes — this isn’t radical food — but just very well done with a lot of flavor. We had A LOT of it too. Boy were we full.

The wines, and we had more than a few of them, were pretty spectacular. Perhaps a few too many great red Burgs pilled up on the last 2-3 courses, but one yummy bottle after another. We even managed our best at pairing with some difficult pairings (picked mackerel!), mostly because Liz is a master of pairing and brought some good ringers.

All around great times.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Chris Phelps, Liz Lee, Sage Society, Salt's Cure, Wine

Sauvages at Drago

Sep28

Restaurant: Drago Centro [1, 2]

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

Date: September 25, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great high end Italian

For the second time this month its off to Drago Centro, this time for an epic Sauvages lunch of 2001 and older Barolo!

Located on busy Flower in DTLA.

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

It’s worth noting that we had 23 people and 23 wines, so it was impossible to pour around. Therefore, we split the table into 2 sub tables, and each constructed four 3 wine flights based on the wines of those sitting on that side of the table. I matched the table 1 flights with the food, and grouped the table 2 flights all together at the end. I just didn’t know what else to do. It was just an excess of great Baroli.

Our special menu.

To begin with, a couple of us brought some nice Italian whites.

From my cellar: 2013 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse. 89 points. The 2013 Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse comes across as green and grassy in this vintage, with distinct Sauvignon-like inflections. Lemon peel, grapefruit, lemongrass and flowers are all expressive in the glass, but the overall impression is of an overly vegetal, aggressive wine that is best enjoyed sooner rather than later. The Vigne Sparse is always on the leaner side of Arneis. In 2013, that aspect of its personality is especially prominent.

2013 Luigi Boveri Timorasso Colli Tortonesi Derthona. Nice and acidic.

2012 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis. VM 89. Bright, pale yellow. Aromas of apple and flowers complicated by a musky leesy note (this wine spent just one month on its lees). Sappy, concentrated apple and honeysuckle flavors show noteworthy extract. Finishes with a refreshing bitter edge and lovely length and grip. A very good vintage for this wine. In comparison, noted Bruna Giacosa, the 2011 was less aromatic.

House selection of charcuterie. Various pig. Tasty, of course, although not one of the crazy good charcuterie plates like we had the previous week at Bestia.

1989 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra. VM 97. One of Domenico Clerico’s early masterpieces, 1989 Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra opens with a gorgeous, captivating bouquet of soy sauce, smoke, tobacco and cedar. The wine possesses sumptuous richness and beguiling inner perfume in an intensely powerful, mineral-driven style that coasts the palate in stunning style. I am not sure the tannins will fully soften here, but readers lucky enough to own this wine are in for a thrilling ride. This is stunning juice!

agavin: amazing nose! Very nice mature Barolo.

1990 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc. VM 97. The 1990 vintage may have given Scavino a little more to work with as his 1990 Barolo Bric del Fiasc (3-liter) is utterly profound. Rich, dark and sensual, the wine flows onto the palate with marvelous concentration and depth. Layers of menthol, spices, sweet roses and dark fruit swirl around in the glass as this magnificent, regal Barolo struts its stuff. A veritable fountain of youth, this towering Barolo promises to drink spectacularly well for anoter two decades. From a standard bottle the 1990 is approachable, but readers lucky enough to own large formats will want to find a way to wait a few more years.

From my cellar: 1990 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala. 94 points. Great typicity. Tar and pot purri, some dried roses but also a hint of rotten vegetable in a positive, interesting sense. Good sweetness in the middle and also solid acidity structure. Food wine with a lot of life ahead.

Veal agnolotti dal pin, brown butter, sage. One of those classic Italian pasta sauces with a rich veal feeling.

1997 Giovanni Corino Barolo Vigna Giachini. VM 92. Good full red. Fresh, spicy aromas of cherry, camphor, licorice and dried flowers. Fat, sweet and pliant; a step up in complexity and concentration from the Arborina. Finishes very long, with lush, fine tannins. A very successful, thoroughly ripe ’97 Barolo.

1997 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc. VM 92. The 1997 is a flashy, opulent Bric del Fiasc, with layers of super-ripe dark fruit, chocolate, tar and alcohol that burst onto the palate in a display of awesome concentration and length. It is a big, weighty Barolo that promises to drink well for at least another decade.

1999 Paolo Scavino Barolo Riserva Rocche dell’Annunziata. VM 96. In 1999 the Barolo Riserva Rocche dell’Annunziata is surprisingly virile and potent, with fabulous richness and enough pure intensity to continue to drink well for a number of years. The red-toned, floral flavors are remarkably fresh and vibrant. I find a little more finesse in the Carobric and Bric del Fiasc, but the Rocche dell’Annunziata is undoubtedly terrific. Some of the silkiness and pure sensuality typical of this La Morra site is missing, so readers should expect a powerhouse Barolo here.

Garganelli, pork sausage, fennel pollen, parmesan. Nice and al dente, with that rich sausage, the kind that they use on New York sausage pizza.

Making the risotto for the next course.

And some rack of lamb!

2000 Massolino Barolo Riserva dieci X anni Vigna Rionda. VM 95. The 2000 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda Dieci Anni represents the essence of refinement and elegance. Dried roses, tar, licorice, cherries and leather are some of the notes that spin out effortlessly from this sublime, pedigreed Barolo. Today the 2000 Dieci Anni is in an in between state where the earliest signs of tertiary aromatics suggest the wine might be close to being ready to drink, while the foreboding tannins tell another story entirely. This powerful, sensual Rionda needs at least another few years in bottle, but it is already shaping to be a beauty. This is one of the best Riondas Massolino has ever made. The Dieci Anni is a re-release of the 2000 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda from the estate’s library.

2000 Tenuta Pianpolvere Barolo Riserva Pianpolvere Soprano Bussia. VM 93. Pianpolvere Soprano’s 2000 Barolo Bussia Riserva is a terrific wine. It possesses gorgeous inner perfume to its ripe fruit, spices and sweet toasted oak. It is still primary and could use another few years to develop more nuance. While it doesn’t have the structure of the 1999, it is a beautiful, approachable Barolo to enjoy now and over the next decade or so.

2000 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Vigna Cappella di Santo Stefano. VM 90+. The estate’s 2000 Barolo Vigna Cappella di Santo Stefano displays a penetrating nose of spices, macerated cherries, and mint. The most complete of the three Barolos, it is at once brooding and closed, but at the same time intense, displaying generous amounts of sweet dark fruit with excellent persistence.

Roasted lamb rack, wild mushroom risotto, shaved truffles. Uh, this didn’t suck! Yummy mild risotto and perfectly cooked rare lamb — plus truffle.

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

2001 Massolino Barolo. VM 89+. The 2001 Barolo opens with aromas of roses, licorice and underbrush. Medium in body, it shows very pretty flavors of bright red cherry fruit and minerals with good persistence and a balsamic note on the finish. It is terrific normale that conveys the terroir of Serralunga.

Chef’s assorted cheeses. Always good with so much wine! Truffle cheese, and a few other medium hard ones.

mini chocolate bon bons. With a cherry center.

After all that Barolo, totally needed the expresso.

The whole gang (minus me taking the picture).

Overall another fabulous lunch. Drago really did a bang up job here. Not only was the food great, but they handled all the wine service in this crazy 2 table 23 person lunch. 4 flights, 3 glasses a flight, with two completely parallel sets of flights! That’s a lot to process.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

The “table 2” wines are below, as you can see they are just as good.

1989 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala. VM 95+. After tasting the 1989 Bussia earlier this year, I was curious to check in on the Cicala. The Cicala is Aldo Conterno’s most masculine Barolo, as the soils here are extremely poor, and thus yield wines of great structure. The wine is dark ruby in color, with no signs whatsoever of age. The wine is rich and decadent, with generous flavors of dark cherries, spices, tar, and plenty of tannins. The Cicala appears to still very young and in need of further cellaring.

1990 Gaja Barolo Sperss. VM 96. Gaja’s 1990 Barolo Sperss is a sweet, seamless beauty endowed with gorgeous fruit. The wine possesses superb inner perfume and purity even if it doesn’t quite reach the level of Gaja’s most successful wines in this vintage. Still, this is pure 1990 and pure Serralunga.

agavin: fabulous

1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba. VM 94+. Medium red. Musky, complex aromas of black raspberry, licorice and lead pencil. Large-scaled but penetrating; tangy raspberry flavors are given great precision by the wine firm spine of acidity. Almost painfully young today. Finishes with explosive, very persistent flavors and firm but thoroughly buffered tannins. A bit dominated by its powerful structure today, but this wine really blossomed with aeration.

1998 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba. VM 95+. Very good medium-deep red. Knockout Barolo nose in all its rustic splendor, showing everything from exotic fruits to smoke, game, tobacco, camphor and white truffle. Urgent, penetrating and supersweet, with nearly candied red fruit flavors saturating the palate. A youthfully aggressive wine that really needs a few years to calm down. Finishes with strong but fine tannins and great ripeness.

1997 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra. VM 93+. Full, saturated red-ruby. Sappy, high-pitched aromas of cherry, nuts and oak spices. Superconcentrated, spicy and sweet, but nearly as backward as a top ’96, with superb extract and powerful underlying structure. Finishes with substantial mouthdusting tannins and a late note of dark chocolate.

1997 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc. VM 92. The 1997 is a flashy, opulent Bric del Fiasc, with layers of super-ripe dark fruit, chocolate, tar and alcohol that burst onto the palate in a display of awesome concentration and length. It is a big, weighty Barolo that promises to drink well for at least another decade.

2000 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino. VM 98. I also very much like the 2000 in this flight. A model of total finesse and delicacy, the 2000 doesn’t have the volume or power of the 1997, but it is perhaps just a bit more finessed. Today, the 2000 is a bit shy. What might it blossom into in a few years’ time? I can’t wait to find out. From magnum, the 2000 Monfortino is pure seduction. Tasted from magnum.

2000 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala. VM 92. The 2000 Barolo Cicala opens with gorgeous notes of crushed berries. It is a relatively small-scaled, lithe Cicala that shows excellent freshness all the way through to the long finish. The wine gains freshness and focus in the glass, with suggestions of menthol and pine that add lift.

2000 Azelia Barolo Bricco Fiasco. VM 91. Full red. Nose dominated by flowers and brown spices. Rich, dense, fat and sweet, with a lovely pliant texture. Complicating note of tobacco. Finishes long and lush, with building, sweet tannins. Very true to the vintage.

2000 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste. VM 96. The 2000 Barolo Brunate/Le Coste, tasted from magnum, is one of the wines of the vintage. Still imposing and massively structured, it is also one of the most imposing 2000s. It possesses marvelous richness and depth, with just enough radiance to make it approachable today. Almost. Readers who can still find magnums of the 2000 should not hesitate. This is a magnificent wine.

agavin: the table #2 people thought this was the WOTD.

2001 Domenico Clerico Barolo Pajana. VM 90. The 2001 Barolo Pajana offers up freshly cut flowers, espresso, mint, leather, exotic spices and plums. The fruit still shows plenty of intensity and the tannins have softened, yet the Pajana remains a bit of a brute. There is enough fruit for the 2001 to drink well for another decade or so, but I don’t see this ever being a truly elegant Barolo.

2004 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sorì Ginestra. VM 96. Conterno-Fantino’s 2004 Barolo Sorì Ginestra captures the essence of this great vintage. Exotic orange peel, spices, cedar, dark plum and menthol meld together in a big, structured Barolo endowed with considerable depth, power and enough structure to drink well for another decade or perhaps more.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barolo, Celestino Drago, Drago Centro, Sauvages, Wine

Bestia – Bring out the Beast

Sep21

Restaurant: Bestia

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

Date: September 17, 2015

Cuisine: New Italian American

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

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

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

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

Open kitchen too.

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

The menu, with our marked up orders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grilled long beans. Came with the pork.

The wine lineup, all awesome.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By: agavin
Comments (8)

Posted in: Food

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

Drago Centro

Sep11

Restaurant: Drago Centro

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

Date: September 3, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great high end Italian

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

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

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

Our special menu.

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

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

Pizza Margarita. Gooey cheese!

Special Sicilian olive oil.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

agavin: unfortunately our bottle was a bit corked.

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

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

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

Pappardelle, roasted pheasant, morel mushrooms.

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

Roasted corn and ricotta agnolotti, parmesan, chile foam.

Truffle!

Prepping the next pasta.

And another.

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

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

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

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

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

Summer truffle fettuccini.

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

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

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

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

Branzino, potato gnocchi, zucchini.

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

Mascarpone cheesecake.

Chocolate brownie, black mission figs, hazelnuts.

Market mixed fresh berries.

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

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

The room and setting were amazing.

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

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

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

Great evening!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

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

Mei Long Village – Pig Stuffed Duck

Sep04

Restaurant: Mei Long Village

Location: 301 W Valley Blvd #112, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 284-4769

Date: August 30, 2015

Cuisine: Shanghai Chinese

Rating: Solid!

Mei Long Village has been around forever as far as Alhambra is concerned, maybe even 20 years!

They serve up traditional Shanghai style fare.

The mini-mall frontage on Valley Blvd is pretty typical. Across the street from Shanghai #1 and Beijing Restaurant and in the same mall as Tasty Dining.

2001 Château Lynch-Bages Blanc de Lynch-Bages. 88 points. A touch of oxidation but drinking ok. Light golden yellow with tastes of quince and wet stones.

Smoked cold fish. Nice flavor, with that slightly slimy texture and little bones.

From my cellar: 2004 Morey-Blanc Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères. Burghound 89-92. This is a good deal riper with exotic aromas of mango, melon and dried apricots that lead to textured, dense and mouth coating full-bodied flavors that are beautifully complex and despite the weight, the marked acidity keeps everything focused and well-balanced. An impressive showing for a wine that I often find to be a bit top-heavy.

Jellyfish head. The marinated bits of the “head” (the round part) of the jellyfish.

2007 Pierre Morey Meursault Les Terres Blanches. Burghound 87-89. A very Meursault nose of hazelnut, soft white flower and yellow fruit aromas leads to pretty and elegant medium-bodied flavors that are round yet detailed with a discreet mineral undercurrent, all wrapped in a tension-filled and persistent finish. Lovely and very much fashioned in Morey’s understated style.

Marinated cucumbers. Nice and crunchy.

2012 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett. VM 87. Nectarine, pine nuts and lemon oil on the nose. Delicate tropical fruit flavors are brightened by a salty twang. Refreshing acidity gives a feminine character to the finish. Nicely balanced.

Hot sweet shrimp. Really nice eat the shell shrimp.

Pork leg. Special order 2 day steamed prep. Yeah, it’s pretty frightening to look at.

And perhaps even scarier once it got cut up. There is a whole trotter there too. I went just for the straight pink meat, avoiding the jiggling skin and cartilage. The meat was pretty awesome though.

From my cellar: 1998 Domaine des Chezeaux Griotte-Chambertin Ponsot. 92 points. Med dark red. Delicate creamy red cherry, a little spice. Light body, light concentration, cherry and old wood. Tannin and acid indicate youthfulness.

Stuffed duck. Another special order. We had this all sewn up.

Inside is a mixture of grains, chestnuts, etc. The sauce was amazing and it was all a bit sweet.

2000 August Kesseler Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese. White peach and lemon aromas with hints of mint and lily flower lead to a quite delicate, refined peach, citrus and slate character on the palate. This is airy and generous in the manner of the few best 2000s, suffused with fine slate character. Says Kesseler: “Everything that came after this?and there were vintage 2000 rieslings of Auslese and Beerenauslese character?was heavy and inferior to this in comparison.” Those higher must weight wines were not retained for separate bottlings. 2 stars.

Pan fried Shanghai dumplings. The classic pan fried soup dumplings. Yummy, although there is a good bit of dough.

XLB. The steamed variant are amazing and a lot lighter.
2005 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Vineyard. VM 96. Mark and Theresa Aubert’s 2005 Chardonnay Lauren, tasted from magnum, is every bit as special as I remembered it. Time has softened the textures and added gorgeous nuance, yet the 2005 remains fresh, perfumed and extraordinarily beautiful. Hints of orange peel, mint and sweet spices lift from the glass, but it is the wine’s balance that proves to be utterly captivating. Quite simply, this is one of the very finest California Chardonnays I have ever tasted. In magnum, the 2005 will drink well for at least another five years, while in standard bottle, the Lauren is naturally a touch more forward, although it should keep for another few years, perhaps longer. My own preference is to drink wines while the fruit retains at least some elements of freshness.

agavin: not bad for a new world, it did have acid, but way way too hot (alcoholic).

Shanghai rice cakes. A great rendition of the classic rice cakes in soy sauce. Nice chewy texture.

2009 Aubert Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. VM 91. Dried mushroom, earth and tart cherry nose. Palate somewhat thin and acidic, dry finish. Has not really developed since last tasting.

Crystal shrimp. Light but tasty.

2008 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard. VM 92. Bright red. High-pitched aromas of raspberry, strawberry liqueur, dried flowers and Asian spices. Silky, bright and precise, but with good depth and power to its red berry and cherry flavors. Really expand with air, finishing with sweet tannins, tangy minerality and impressive length. If your impression of the K-B wines ossified around the 2004 vintage, you should check this one out.

Fried fish. Fried.

2000 Château Gazin Pomerol. GV 92. COLOR-dark; NOSE-gorgeous cranberry; chocolate; mature; a V8 juice component; PALATE-a really nice, dry and austere background; great little finish; really singing; heavy fruit coming through; really well made; big upfront fruit; really elegant tannins; I love the gravel minerality of this red fruit; a chalkiness; there’s a clear beef jerky component on the back-end; very meat; almost like an Italian meal with a tomato sauce component on this Merlot; very bright on the back-end; good long finish; this has plenty of age to it; the tannins scream baby to me; I really like it; very well made and brings a lot of character to the table; very smooth; the fruit is very bitter — more of a Sweet Tart play; I think it’s fantastic; RP-90; GV-92+.

Spareribs. Pretty much the origin dish for Panda Express red sauce fried pork, but much better. Tender and delicious and the sauce wasn’t so heavy and cloying as at some places.

1998 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard. VM 90+. Full ruby. Highly aromatic, pure, Cornas-like aromas of cherry skin, pepper, iron and minerals. Quite tightly wound and penetrating, with slightly green-edged flavors of red fruits, black olive and pepper. Not especially fleshy or sweet but offers impressive precision and intensity of flavor, and the structure to reward some bottle aging.

Eggplant. Awesome and garlicky. Not spicy really like it might be at a Szechuan place.

Shrimp fried rice.

Shanghai noodles. Classic soy sauce noodles.

2000 J.L. Chave Sélection St. Joseph Offerus. 87 points. Deep red. Dull nose some black fruits and pepper. Acidic and disjointed in mouth some earthy notes. Short clipped finish.

Tomato and winter melon soup. Mostly tasted like tomato. Mild, but not my thing at all.

1994 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain Vendange Tardive. 95 points. Beautiful wine. Nose was filled with honey, orange marmalade, flowers, and orchard fruit. Palate had notes of apricot puree and marmalade, botrytis notes, and the typical Alsatian bitter at the end; in this case it added to the wine instead of taking away. This was a deep wine with a moderately thick texture. Sweet, but the acid kept it from being a dessert wine. From comments, went well with seafood appetizer and bread pudding dessert. Long finish that coated the mouth. Haunting, it just got better as the evening went on. Wonderful.

We drove a mile west to Solju dessert for some awesome snow. Above is my mango with passionfruit sauce and blackberries.

And this crazy green tea with taro, mochi, and watermelon poppers!

Overall, Mei Long Village was some yummy fare and a total deal at $27 a head (all in, including tax and tip). An “old school” SGV place with really solid food.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, duck, dumplings, hedonists, pork, san Gabriel valley, Wine, XLB

Sauvage by Moonlight

Aug19

Restaurant: Lunasia [1, 2, 3]

Location: 500 West Main Street Suite A, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 308-3222

Date: August 14, 2015

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Fine Cantonese

About once a year the Sauvages lunch group heads down to some wine friendly SGV Chinese restaurant for some fun filled Cantonese.

Flight 0: Les Amuses

2013 Château Miraval Côtes de Provence Rosé. VM 90. Pale orange. Fresh tangerine, strawberry and white flowers on the fragrant, mineral-accented nose. Silky and precise, offering tangy red fruit flavors that are lifted and sharpened by a white pepper nuance. Finishes clean, nervy and long, with excellent clarity and lingering minerality. This suave wine has the power to work with rich foods and the energy to give pleasure by itself.

agavin: a decent provencal rose. The big claim to fame is the Brad Pitt / Angelina Jolie connection.

Typical sauce: mustard, chili, and XO (fermented shellfish with a bit of chili).

Flight 1: Radical Riesling

2011 Domaine Ostertag Riesling Muenchberg. VM 92. Pale straw. Sweet chamomile, anise and licorice notes complicate very ripe pear jelly and Golden Delicious apple on the nose and palate. Dense and suave in the mouth, with smooth flavors of ripe citrus, chamomile and minerals carrying through on the very long finish. Like many of Ostertag’s wines, this one comes across as unctuous yet very fresh, thanks to firm acidity and chewy buffering extract. Ostertag owns two parcels in this grand cru, mostly in the central part of the cru, which is exposed full south. The average age of the vines is almost 50 years, and you can tell from the wine’s rich texture and depth of flavor that this is a true vieilles vignes bottling.

From my cellar: 2011 Prager Riesling Smaragd Klaus. VM 91. Rich aromas of vineyard peach, passion fruit and acacia honey. Tautly strung on the palate, with juicy apricot fruit wound around a vibrant backbone. The wine’s discreet residual sugar is disguised by abundant minerals and a lemony nuance. With a long finish featuring yellow plum and wet rocks, this riesling shows good balance in spite of its 14% alcohol.

2002 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Kabinett. 89 points. Deep Golden Yellow, Crisp and fruity
Very tasty.

Jumbo shrimp har gow. As good a version as I’ve had.

Jumbo pork siu mai. Perhaps more succulent and tender than many.

Spring roll. Perfectly fine. I forgot to photo one at the beginning and had to make due with this unappetizing “after the fact” image.

Flight 2: Alsace Alpha

2012 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg. VM 92. Luminous straw-green. Delicate aromas of nectarine, lemon verbena and jasmine are complicated by racy minerality. Deep, dense, clean flavors of white stone fruits and aromatic herbs are penetrating and very long, with the finish showing an obvious saline edge. Made from vines grown on the higher slopes of the Schlossberg hill, this wine is always characterized by ripe, floral acidity and rarely expresses fusel aromas, especially when young.

2005 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvée Ste. Catherine. VM 91+. Pale green. Complex aromas of citrus skin, ripe peach and spices, with a tangy whiff of botrytis. Spicy, dense and rich but quite backward and wound-up. This, too, is classically dry in style, with nearly exotic mace and nutmeg notes perking up the palate. Finishes very dry and very long, with flavors of pineapple and dusty stone. Penetrating and rather austere-in need of aging. This is mostly from the bottom of the Schlossberg, but 20% of the wine comes from outside the grand cru border.

In the back, Turnip roll. A light flakey pastry stuffed with turnip and onion. Quiet nice actually, if a little heavy.

Front and center, BBQ pork. My favorite type, sweet and flavorful.

To the right, BBQ roast duck. Great except for all the bones (which are usual).

Duck sauce. Good on the pork too if you like to double down on your sweet.

Flight 3: Hot in the South

2004 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree. Parker 99. A wine that tastes akin to liquid rocks as well as white currants and quince is the light golden 2004 Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree. This is a fabulous wine, with blockbuster intensity and richness. This is the kind of wine that may last 50-100 years, but of course most readers will opt for earlier consumption.

agavin: Parker loves these, and I own a whole bunch, but I’m not really feeling the love. They are so high alcohol.

2007 Guigal Condrieu la Doriane. Parker 95. This full-bodied white was aged in one-third new oak and two-thirds tank. One hundred percent of the 2007 Condrieu La Doriane is vinified in new oak, and put through malolactic. It is then aged for 11 months prior to bottling. Absolutely exquisite, with the oak pushed to the background, this wine’s fruit character is dominated by apricots, peaches, honeysuckle, and marmalade. The beautiful floral and honeyed fruit aromatics are followed by a sumptuous, full-bodied white that is never heavy (because of good acidity) or flabby. Consume it over the next 2-3 years.

2012 Andre Perret Condrieu. Parker 92. Moving to his Condrieus, the 2012 Condrieu (aged in equal parts barrel and tank) offers up classic lychee nut, flowers and tangerine aromas and flavors, medium-bodied richness, and brilliant purity of fruit. Possessing a perfect mix of freshness and richness, with vibrant acidity and loads of fruit, it should drink nicely for 4-5 years.

Shrimp lettuce cup. The plum sauce unfortunately came AFTER I had finished the roll. Nice crunch to it though.

Stir-fried lobster w/ black pepper sauce. A nice lobster.

Flight 4: Rhone Rampage

1999 Chapoutier Chateauneuf du Pape la Bernardine. Parker 89-91. The 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape La Bernardine offers a sweet perfume of jammy black cherries, cassis, licorice, and minerals, moderate tannin, medium to full body, and excellent ripeness as well as flesh. It will age well for 10-12 years.

2000 Domaine de la Grange des Peres VDP de l’Herault. Parker 94. Profound aromas of peppered blackberries, and garrigue emanate from the glass of the 2000 Vin de Pays de l’Herault (red). This juicy, fresh, concentrated wine is a powerfully elegant beauty. Dark cherries, black raspberries, flowers, and assorted red fruits are found in its seamless personality as well as in its luxurious finish. Anticipated maturity: now-2014.

2004 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rouge Cuvee Cabassaou. Parker 91. The nose stubbornly refuses to charm: surly, introspective with faint scents of forest floor, damp moss, leather and blackberry. The palate is full-bodied, very backward, dense and at the moment just lacking some cohesion. But I am sure this will meld together with ageing but it just lacks a little persistency on the finish. Drinking 2015-2022.

Stir fried frog. With whole garlic, mushrooms, and sweet Chinese sausage. Tasted great, although the look of the frog legs in this sauce wasn’t the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen.

Flight 5: Power of the Priorat

2004 Clos Mogador. Parker 96+. Clos Mogador is produced by the esteemed Rene Barbier who has hit homeruns in both 2003 and 2004. The 2004 Clos Mogador has a more saturated purple color than the 2003 as well as a more expressive perfume of mocha, coffee, and flowers (violets) in addition to toasty oak, earth, and blue and black fruits. More extracted and backward than the 2003, it demands a decade of cellaring and should drink well for an additional 20 years. The 2004 is a tour de force.

2001 Costers del Siurana Clos de l’Obac. Parker 91. This unfiltered blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, and Carignan, aged for 14 months in new French oak, and bottled unfiltered, boasts a deep purple color along with a pure bouquet of raspberries, blueberries, wet stones, and toasty, subtle vanillin. Medium-bodied with outstanding concentration, impressive elegance, and a nice texture, this tight but promising 2001 should hit its prime in 2-4 years, and last for 12-15.

2003 Alvaro Palacios L’Ermita. Parker 94-97. I tasted a ready-to-be-bottled tank sample of the 2003 L’Ermita. Typically there are 400-500 cases of this blockbuster, but because of the vintage’s tiny crop as well as a severe triage, only 240 cases were produced. This superb effort displays a black/blue/purple color along with a huge nose of creme de cassis, flowers, crushed rocks, and a hint of smoke. The wine is full-bodied and opulent, with tremendous structure, great definition and purity, and a huge, but elegant, persistent finish. It will benefit from another 1-2 years of bottle age, and last for 15 plus.

agavin: someone brought out the big guns!

On the left, fried frog. Really great crispy garlic fry. Few bones. One of the best frog preps I’ve had.

On the right “french beef.” Sweet and beefy. Good with the wine.

Asparagus. Sort of the prep for Szechuan string beans, but with asparagus.

Flight D: Sweet Finish

2003 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese. VM 93. Birch beer and pungent brown spices in the nose. Enormously rich, with a hint of caramelization, yet only subtly sweet in overall impression. Peach jam with candied lemon zest, herbal essences, and brothy meat and mineral depths. Firmer in feel than this year’s Brucke Auslese #19, and apt to unfold over a long period.

My cup of tea! Actually it’s the Donnhoff.

Macao Egg Custard. This version was a little eggy, but good.

Sesame mochi ball with bean paste. Nice texture and a really good bean paste. Too bad I don’t digest beans like I used to.

A mango soup, very refreshing.

First off, I have to say this may be my first (regular) Chinese meal that was individually plated. Impressive.

Second, we had a LOT of great straight up Cantonese here and some fun wines with a lot of variety. I thought the dry rieslings paired best, but some of the reds were fabulous wines. Oh, how I love the SGV.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here,

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cantonese, Chinese cuisine, Lunasia, Sauvages, Wine

Napoli in LA – Michael’s

Aug17

Restaurant: Michael’s on Naples [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: August 13, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: A top LA Italian

A couple years ago, we organized our first Hedonist outing to Michael’s on Naples, rated on the Zagat list as #2 best restaurant in all Los Angeles. I co-organized this one with our fearless leader Yarom, myself, coordinating and designing the menu as well as ordering the wines. So many things sounded good that I came up with a 14 course extravaganza. The resulting Hedonistic Italian blowout ended up (with some alternates) as a total feast of great wine and food.

Michael’s is located on Naples Island, a bridge-connected island in Longbeach that looks so much like Florida they use it to film much of Dexter‘s Miami.

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

First a note on the wine service. I had them put out 1 flute, 2 white glasses and 4 red glasses (2 and 2 of Burgundy and Bordeaux style). Then because of the number of red wines we had and the light, often white oriented first half of the menu, I progressed the white and red wine simultaneously — at least for the first half of the meal — so that people would have both colors in the glass. I tried to progress in varietal bunches, usually in flights of about 2 wines.

From my cellar: 2013 Zardetto Prosecco Zeta. Pairs great with food. A very simple wine, but its simple fruit allows it to go with anything.

Our special menu tonight, designed by me in conjunction with the chef and catering manager.

The pescatarian version for a couple of the ladies, including my lovely wife.

From my cellar: 2013 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse. 89 points. Clean and clear, touch of pale green color, with tight aromas of underripe stone fruit. Palate opens nicely, showing white peach, some Bosc pear, along with characteristic background of almond and herb. Bracing acidity, clean moderate fruit intensity, and a nice medium finish make this example a delightful version of an underappreciated noble grape. Very food-friendly.

2013 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis. 90 points. Very pale lemon colored with a nose of citrus and perfume. This wine tastes of lemon zest, other citrus, and almonds. It is light to medium bodied with crisp acidity and a shortish finish. Good food white wine.

agavin: more “oaked” than the Sparse, but quiet delicious.

From my cellar: 2010 Quarticello Rivellino Emilia IGT. 90 points. Terrific Lambrusco, with plenty of earth, cut and cherry fruits. Completely different that what many know as Lambrusco. Not sweet or generic by any means. Superb on a hot spring day. This wine is begging for Prosciutto (which is why I put it with the pizza).

agavin: There was a barnyard vibe to the wine, and it was super “different” for being a deep purple, yet frizante and dry. I liked it, but unusual. Those who prefer their wines clean and over extracted weren’t into it.

Ricotta stuffed squash blossoms with honey basil pesto. They sweetness of the honey really took this to the next level.

Speck, buffalo mozzarella pizza. basil pesto and sweet peppers. This had just the combo of salty, cheesy, and other savory elements (the best) that I really like on my own pizzas.

Italian sausage pizza. roasted peppers, basil pesto and mozzarella. Another fabulous meaty blend.

Forest mushroom pizza. basil pesto and Taleggio cheese. Great for a veggie pizza.

Confit baby artichokes. basil pesto and goat cheese. My least favorite, mostly because of the texture of the artichokes, but still good.

Bread.

From my cellar: 2007 Venica & Venica Malvasia Collio. 92 points. Great malvasia. Interesting as well as refreshing. A medium-full bodied white. Apricot, green apple and honey on the nose. Fresh tastes of apples, apricots comingle with a vibrant acidity. Would buy again.

2001 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova. VM 96. Medium-deep bright ruby. Beautiful, profound nose of sweet ripe cherry, pipe tobacco, almond and raspberry jam. Ripe, suave and juicy, with sweet flavors similar to the aromas, this is an absolutely seamless wine with lively harmonious acidity on a suave, never-ending finish. Though extremely concentrated, this is a uniquely refined Brunello with wonderfully suave smooth, classy tannins.

agavin: by itself a great brunello, but paled compared to the “piano”.

Fighi e Prosciutto D’Anatra. Housemade Liberty farm duck prosciutto with Mission fig and goat cheese mousse. A great summery dish. Figs, cheese, and prosciutto have been a favorite since antiquity!

The same thing without the ham.

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

agavin: Another great Italian white.

2006 E. Fuligni (Cottimelli) Brunello di Montalcino. VM 96. Bright dark red. Captivating nose shows a medicinal quality to the notes of sandalwood, minerals, graphite and orange peel. At once silky and explosive in the mouth, providing oustanding density without heaviness and saturating the entire mouth with sweet flavor. A wine of incredible aromatic thrust. The floral lift on the extremely long finish gives the wine an almost Lafite-like clarity.

Fegato D’Oca. Hudson Valley foie gras terrine, stone fruit jam and mustard greens. I love foie terrine and this was no exception. It paired nicely with the sweet jam. It was perhaps a touch warm, and so not firm enough, but still tasted great.

Frutta di Stagione. Stone fruit and watercress salad with candied pecans and robiola cheese.

From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières. Burghound 91. Stunningly pure fruit laced with citrus and lime notes framed by a deft trace of pain grillé with understated flavors of remarkable precision just oozing a wet stones character. The bright acidity beautifully frames an impressively long finish and this presents itself as a classic Folatières. This is really very fine and classy. I like the style of this immensely.

agavin: Drinking perfectly. Shows how hardass the Burghound reviews are that this is a 91, really drinking like a 96.

1995 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano. VM 94. The 1995 is a fresh, vibrant Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano that is just entering its prime drinking window. Expressive, open aromas meld seamlessly into a palate loaded with ripe, perfumed fruit. This full-bodied, delineated wine offers notable inner sweetness and a long, resonating finish. Abbruzzese calls 1995 a “sister vintage” to 1993, but comments that he was better prepared to capture the best qualities of the vintage.

agavin: about as good as Brunello gets!

From my cellar: 1999 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco. VM 95. The wine was absolutely majestic.

agavin: starting to brick, and full of sediment (unfiltered), but lovely and pruney.

Polipo con Patate. Grilled octopus with fingerling potatoes, caperberries, micro celery. A ver mild and fresh summer dish.

Caponata di Melanzane. Grilled crostini with eggplant stew.

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

agavin: I’ve had better bottles of this wine, but it was still quiet nice.

From my cellar: 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Gallina di Neive. VM 94. The 1990 Barbareso Gallina is simply awesome. The wine boasts a seamless core of rich red fruits in a soft, generous style. This opulent Barbaresco possesses impeccable balance and tons of class. Floral notes intermingled with bright red fruits provide lift on the finish, adding lovely balance to the dense fruit. This is the most approachable of Giacosa’s 1990s but has plenty of stuffing to last another twenty years. The 1978 is still going strong.

agavin: a little funky and petro-like for a few minutes. Got better, but still not as good as it should be.

Agnolotti di Mais. Stuffed pasta with corn, ricotta and braised greens. Everyone LOVED this pasta course. The corn was fresh and bright and provided a nice complement to the al dente pasta. It was voted a Hedonist “10”!

1998 Gaja Barbaresco. VM 91. Good deep medium red. Deeply pitched aromas of plum, mocha, licorice and dried flowers. Dense and chewy with extract; compelling, sweet flavors of currant and licorice. Tannins are sweeter than those of the ’99 Barbaresco. Finishes with a suggestion of nutty oak.

From my cellar: 1997 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia. VM 96. Giacomo Conterno’s 1997 Barolo Cascina Francia was also fabulous. The 1997 vintage seems to have yielded great wines in some of Piedmont’s poorer soils, as this heroic Barolo amply demonstrated. The 1997 was pure Serralunga Barolo, which is to say roses, tar and licorice galore on a frame of substantial depth and pure breed.

2004 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Romirasco. VM 93. Imposing and dark on the palate, the 2004 Barolo Romirasco possesses massive fruit, beguiling aromatics and considerable depth. Today, the 2004 is a bit in an awkward stage, where tertiary aromatics have not yet developed although much of the wine’s youthful exuberance has begun to fade. As such, the 2004 is best cellared for at least another few years. Although some time has passed, I did expect the 2004 Romirasco to be a touch fresher than this.

Casarecce con Agnello. Homemade pasta with Marin County lamb ragu`and burrata. Another good pasta, although if the corn ravioli was a 10, this was more a 9.

Casarecce con Funghi. Homemade pasta with forest mushroom, brown butter and sage.

1986 Latour Pauillac. Parker 90. Tasted from my cellar, the 1986 has consistently been outstanding, falling short of being sublime. The spicy, peppery bouquet reveals aromas of dried herbs and red currant fruit. Medium-bodied, austere, but youthful, vigorous, and concentrated, this wine still requires 4-5 years of cellaring. It is surpassed in this vintage (which favored the northern Medoc and Cabernet Sauvignon) by its rivals, Lafite-Rothschild and Mouton-Rothschild.

agavin 98. This bottle was drinking PERFECTLY. Really nice.

1997 Angelo Gaja Darmagi Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 90-94. There are 1,000 cases of the exceptional, black/purple-colored 1997 Darmagi Cabernet Sauvignon (3-4% Cabernet Franc was added to the blend). With abundant quantities of smoky, concentrated fruit as well as tannin, the vintage’s low acid, thick, glycerin-imbued character, and a layered, full-bodied finish, it should develop nicely for two decades.

agavin 94: I’ve never had this Gaja cab. I liked it a lot though.

Petto d’Anatra. Seared Liberty Farm duck breast with farrotto, Farm Lot 59 rainbow chard, and bing cherry reduction. A great duck dish. Very smokey and lean.

Branzino alla Griglia. Grilled Mediterranean sea bass with confit artichokes, potatoes and Taggiasche olives.

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

agavin 92: Nice and extracted.

2010 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. VM 96. I am struck by how light on its feet the 2010 Redigaffi is for such a big wine. Dark red cherries, tobacco, licorice, smoke and anise all flesh out as this layered wine opens up in the glass. Over time, the wine’s intense salinity emerges, adding energy, drive and polish. Hints of dark cherry, plum and smoke reappear on the vibrant finish. Readers will find much to admire in the superb 2010. To be sure, the 2010 is less outwardly opulent than is often the case with Redigaffi, but there is no denying the wine’s absolute beauty.

agavin: Our bottle was open for 4-6 hours in the decanter, but was still a fruit bomb monster.

2008 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia Sassicaia. VM 96. The 2008 Sassicaia is a rich, deep wine imbued with notable class in its black cherries, plums, grilled herbs, minerals and smoke. The 2008 is a decidedly buttoned-up, firm Sassicaia that is currently holding back much of its potential, unlike the 2006 and 2007, both of which were far more obvious wines. Readers who can afford to wait will be treated to a sublime wine once this settles down in bottle. Muscular, firm tannins frame the exquisite finish in this dark, implosive Sassicaia. The 2008 Sassicaia is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. The wine spent 24 months in French oak barrels.

agavin 96: I forgot how much I love Sassicaia, even when it’s young.

Porchetta. Roasted Devil’s Gulch pork loin and belly with eggplant caponata and roasted potatoes. This was super tasty, although a little on the rare side for my pork taste.

Ippoglosso in Padella. Pan seared Alaskan halibut with fava, fregola and tomato jam.

The chaos in full swing.

From my cellar: 2008 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito. agavin 97. Pure red raison juice. I love this stuff. All biodynamic. All late harvest ripasso style. An ultra rare dessert wine.

From my cellar: 1997 Fattoria Di Pancole Vin Santo di San Gimignano. This is that kind of Tuscan “dry” vin santo, making it more like a dry sherry. I tend to like the sweeter types.

Torta Di Mandorle. Almond cake with rosemary simple syrup and vanilla whipped cream. I adored this dessert. Between the almond flavor and the icing. I just love that.

Cannoli Con Impastata Alla Frutta. Crispy cannoli shells filled with Ricotta impastata cream, candied orange peels and Valrhona chocolate. I always love a good cannoli. I couldn’t taste the orange peel, which disappointed me, but otherwise they were great.

Ciambelle Dolci. Italian doughnuts served with orange glaze. Love these. Just love ’em.

Panna Cotta con Frutti di Bosco. Panna cotta with seasonal mixed berries.

Overall another fantastic dinner. Different and more varied in wine type than our usual Hedonist fare. I’ll break down the discussion into different components.

Food: The chef and catering manager did a great job working with me to generate not one but two fabulous menus. These were extensive, varied, and highly seasonal. Compare to our last visit here (in December). This was a similar sized, but much lighter more summery menu. Execution was excellent with some dishes being stellar: duck, corn ravioli, squash blossoms, and the rest being just “very good.” A few people didn’t love the octopus but I thought it quiet light and lovely. Course size was small, but given the number of plates really about right for anyone but the most gluttonous of us (which includes me).

Wine: We had a really nice array of wines. The giacosa barbaresco was a little off and the a few people with “unsubtle pallets” thought the Lambrusco and the Sagrantino a little “weird,” but there was consensus that all the whites were fabulous along with the del piano and all the Bordeaux varietals.

Service: The staff did a fabulous job handling a party of this size, starting with a perfect table and a layout of 7 stems per person. Courses arrived with excellent pacing and got down fairly swiftly considering the 15 person count and the difficulty in accessing the back of the room. Not like they do in the Republique private room where it all comes down within 2 seconds of each other, but still great. Attitude and attentiveness was first rate. Silverware was being constantly fixed and reset.

Wine Service: The Somm and lead waiter did a great job. They opened most of the bottles and got a lot of stuff decanted. They even labeled the decanters to avoid confusion. We had a nice separate wine table (badly needed). I had an unusual and taxing wine order with simultaneous progression of white and reds. They were able to understand my cryptic shout outs about what was in what glass with no slip ups. Where wine service fell down slightly (from a very high ideal) was in speed and availability of “pouring.” Now, I’m not really dinging them because there are like 3 restaurants in Southern California that could do better and all of them would charge A LOT just for the wine service. These would handle it by having at least one dedicated wine guy who all the time who didn’t help with food service. Because our Somm and main waiter were also delivering food, busing, and resetting silverware — not even mentioning their duties elsewhere in the restaurant — they didn’t have enough time to be constantly pouring. But a meal like this, with over 25 wines needs constant pouring. It was 3 hours long which means a wine is heading around roughly every 7 minutes and a glass poured every 30 seconds — for the entire dinner! In practice it’s more concentrated than that. Basically this would require someone full time, and someone skilled at pouring bottles 15 ways too. I have a lot of practice pouring (and a Sommelier Cert) so I helped them out by pouring about 40-50% of the flights. I’m fast too and I brought one of my dripless spouts to speed things up. Too bad I didn’t have a couple. Plus it helped that I had the “wine vision” in my head. It would be nice if I hadn’t had to do this, but unrealistic without a 100% dedicated person. So net net I was very pleased.

Value: Tremendous. At $120 per person + tax/tip this was just fabulous value, particularly given the level of service and the lack of corkage. Bravo!

A bunch of the Hedonists also stayed and smoked cigars outside. The staff were very cool about setting this up. We, however, fled home to get to bed :-).
For more LA dining reviews click here,

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

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barolo, Dessert, hedonists, italian, Michael's on Naples, pasta, super tuscan, 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.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: bufalo, Domaine Leflaive, Elk, emu, game meat, hedonists, kangaroo, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

Eating Positano – Next2

Aug09

Restaurant: Next2

Location: Viale Pasitea, 242, Positano SA, Italy. +39 089 812 3516

Date: June 25 & 28, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Excellent updated style

My wine and food buddy Walker recommended we try Next2 while we were in Positano, and as it happened it was just a couple hundred feet from our villa — plus 115 stairs. Next2 as it turned out was not only our favorite Positano restaurant (of the 7 we tried), but a bit more updated and modern in terms of menu and presentation than most.

The menu.

2013 Pietracupa Greco di Tufo. 89 points. Oh so dry!

An amuse of caprese.

And one of bruschetta.

Bread. I like the crispy flat things.

Tre assaggi della tradizione. A selection of three traditional starters: a small pizza, stuffed zucchini flowers, and eggplant parmigiana. It all tasted as good as it looks.

Crocchette di verdure e provola, insalata all’aceto balsamico. Vegetable and smoked provola cheese croquette, mixed salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Insalata caprino fresco, mandorle tostate e miele. Mixed greens with fresh goat cheese, toasted almonds and honey.

Carpaccio di pescato, finocchi, arance e sale al sedano. Catch of the day carpaccio (in this case amberjack), fennel and orange salad, celery salt.

2014 Cantina del Taburno Falanghina Sannio Falanghina del Sannio.

Penne pomodoro!

Penne with butternut squash and seasonal truffle.

Tagliolini, aglio, olio, rosmarino, pomodoro candito e scarola. Taliolini with garlic, olive oil, and rosemary served with roasted tomato and bitter green.

Gnocchi di patate, zucca, salsiccia e tartufo di stagione. Potato gnocchi, butternut squash, pork sausage and seasonal truffle.

Polpette al sugo, polenta e provolone del Monaco. Traditional meatballs cooked in tomato sauce served with polenta and Provolone del Monaco. Pretty old fashioned dish in some ways, even Italian American (which is basically modified Southern Italian cooking). But this version was really good. Maybe not quite as good as the ones at Gusto, but very good.

The dessert menu.

Chocolate gelato.

Chocolate torte with almonds and vanilla ice cream.

Cannolo nocciolato ripieno di mousse al mascarpone, sorbetto al caffe e baileys. Hazelnut cannoli filled with mascarpone cheese, coffee sorbet and baileys sauce. Yum!

Semifreddo of almond and hazelnut with caramel sauce.

Overall, Next2 offers up a really delicious take on modern Amalfi fare. It’s spiritually faithful, but turns up the style and presentation by a couple of notches. Not to the formal level of the Michelin places, but enough to feel fresher than the completely straight up trattorias.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating-italy, Italian Cusine, Next2, Positano, Wine

Eating Positano – Mediterraneo

Aug08

Restaurant: Mediterraneo

Location: Viale Pasitea, 236, 84017 Positano SA, Italy. +39 089 811651

Date: June 25, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Solid neighborhood Italian

Night two in Positano and yet another… you guessed it… Italian.

The manager of our rental property recommended this one.

Which also abuts the road, although doesn’t actually straddle it this time.

The view.

The menu is big again, and includes a handle pasta key.

2014 Cantina del Taburno Falanghina Sannio Falanghina del Sannio. Another pretty tart local white, this time from the Falanghina grape.

Ricotta stuffed squash blossoms.

Caprese of local cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella.

Mixed appetizer plate with various cured and fried seafood. Octopus, cured anchovies, fish carpaccio, fried shrimp.

My son’s pomodoro.

Gluten free pasta with eggplant and tomato sauce.

The better homemade pasta with eggplant and tomato sauce.

Risotto del Mediterraneo. Mixed seafoods.

Gelato with chocolate sauce.

Hazelnut semifreddo.

The food at Mediterraneo was good, although not superlative. Still, they made up for it with a certain lively atmosphere and extremely friendly staff. There was live music, and they passed out tambourines, and just generally kept the party going.

For more LA Japanese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating-italy, pasta, Positano, Wine

Katana – Stripping it all Down

Aug07

Restaurant: Katana

Location: 8439 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (323) 650-8585

Date: July 30, 2015

Cuisine: Japanese American Sushi / Robata

Rating: Best I’ve had here

I’ve long had mixed feelings about both Katana and IDG (Innovative Dining Group). They bug me a bit for being style over substance, and there is absolutely nothing innovative about them in the food department. But that being said they often run a fairly tight ship. BOA is a pretty solid modern steakhouse.

Back to Katana, which lurks right over the heart of the Sunset Strip. The crowd is different than it was when I was last here in 98 or 99 — then it was super hip and trendy. Now it’s still very busy, but feels more like a strong concierge referral business.

The patio gets hopping later.

Inside is the sushi / robata bar. Katana is a “Japanese” restaurant like I’ve never seen in Japan and it fuses a couple different culinary traditions. The sushi side inherits from Nobu / Matsuhisa (more Nobu) and then there is robata thrown in too boot. Oh, plus a ton of those creepy American mega rolls (like Spider Roll) that I don’t like: too much sauce and fry.

Tonight, however, we were there with a super regular who is friendly with the chef and so he made a lot of off menu stuff — and no silly rolls.

Our first wave of sashimi-like apps. This general category of heavily produced sashami is non-traditional, and deemphasizes the fish, but it is really tasty.

2006 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage Brut Rosé. VM 91+. Dried rose petals, anise, sweet red cherries and mint waft from the glass in the 2006 Brut Rosé Grand Vintage. The 2006 is a big, large-scaled Rosé built on depth and structure. The flavors show early signs of development, but the 2006 should continue to drink well for many years based on its stuffing. Today the Rosé is a bit tight. I won’t be surprised to see it improve over the next few years. In 2006, the Grand Vintage Rosé is 47% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Meunier, with a high percentage of still Pinot Noir (23%) that gives the wine much of its pure vinosity. Dosage is 5 grams per liter.

agavin: these two roses were a gift from a Moet rep and were much appreciated.

Albacore or similar tuna with ponzu, parmesan, avocado, and arugula. An odd blend of Italian salad and sashimi, this did taste great.

NV Ruinart Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Light orange. Red berries, potpourri, toasty lees and orange peel on the highly fragrant nose. Lively and precise, with very good focus to its wild red berry and floral pastille flavors. The orange note comes back strong on the long, penetrating finish, which features a sweet raspberry quality.

Lobster, reduction, yuzu sauce, truffles. Again pretty over the top, but yummy.

2002 Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean. 90 points.

Salmon, truffle, and tomato in a ponzu. Drawing these together are the vinegary sauces. These were “invented” (more adapted from Purvuian sauces) by Nobu Matsuhisa to make sashimi “easier” on the western palette.

2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. Burghound 92. Ripe and extremely opulent intense citrus fruit and white flowers coupled with medium weight flavors dripping with minerality and enough fat to buffer the bracing acidity. There is a subtle underlying complexity and this is remarkably intense, assertive and precise yet there is excellent power and depth as well.

Scallop with yuzu and dressing. Delicious. Hard to go too wrong with scallop and vinegar.

2004 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. Burghound 93. Noticeable reduction and very subtle wood influence highlights the strikingly elegant and airy white flower, grapefruit and anise-infused nose that precedes the intense, powerful and superbly well-detailed medium full flavors that explode like a bomb on the mouth coating finish. There is a bit more wood on the finish but there is so much material here that it will almost certainly absorb it over time. This is a steamroller of a wine yet one that maintains perfect balance and grace though I would strongly suggest decanting it for 20 minutes first because of the reduction.

agavin: a little bit of that 04 green on the finish.

Tai snapper with baby peach and flowers and dressing. This one was most novel, featuring the baby peach. It was really quiet lovely.

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 and I wouldn’t hesitate to open one anytime as there is no further upside to be had. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.

Yellowtail with garlic and something else. Very tasty too, if rich.

2001 Domaine Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers Vieille Vigne. Burghound 88-91. A major step up as this retains the elegance and precision of the Chambolle villages and adds more depth, weight and complexity plus more length. This is first rate and offers excellent potential for 5 to 8 years of improvement.

Now we segue drastically heavier in an out of order filet mignon with mashed potatoes, foie gras, and truffles. Not that it wasn’t very tasty, but it was hefty!

From my cellar: 1970 Gros Frère et Sœur Vosne-Romanée. 93 points. Very much alive and drinking quite beautifully. A veritable chameleon in the glass, the aromas kept changing every time I brought the glass to my nose. First sour cherries, then papaya, then raspberries, then red clay, then lemon rind, then caramel — it was intoxicating. The palate, on the other hand, was a bit simple and one-dimensional, but I thought the nose more than made up for it. A lovely wine!

Beef rolled around foie. I guess it can get even heavier. Tasty too, but super rich.

1998 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays. Burghound 91. This has always had a wonderful nose and it has now reached the front edge of full maturity that complements well a flavor profile is a classy middleweight fighter’s grace and athleticism rather than a heavyweight’s power. The once relatively firm tannins have largely, if not completely, resolved to create a velvety and mouth coating texture that further delivers excellent length. There is a hint of acidity poking through on the finish but overall, this is indisputably an unqualified success for the vintage. Tasted multiple times with consistent notes.

Chicken liver skewers. Good for those with iron deficiency.

Sushi. Tuna, Yellowtail, red snapper, and salmon. These are the usual suspects of the nigiri world. They were nice pieces, but on the “been there done that” side.

Uni, battleship style. I never complain about good uni.

Toro. O-toro from the look of it. This wasn’t like Yamakase toro or anything, but I certainly wasn’t going to send it back.

Chicken cartilage skewers. Good flavor. Terrible cartilage texture.

Lamb chops. Oddball at a Japanese restaurant, but very nice.

Lobster tempura in ponzu sauce. Total guilty pleasure. This sauce was more like a sweet and spicy eggroll sauce. The lobster was so fried you would have never known there was anything in there. Despite that, it was amazing in a totally decadent fried way.

Snapper, and truffle, wrapped around foie gras with shiso. Such an odd combo, but delicious (if, like much of the meal, was very rich).

Turley Zinfandel. Don’t know which one. Well, it was a zin.

A dessert plate with flourless chocolate tart, a kind of cheesecake, and (way too little) ice cream.

2009 Heinrich Mayr (Nusserhof) Lagrein Alto Adige – Südtirol Riserva. VM 94. The 2009 Lagrein Riserva wraps around the palate with layers of super-expressive, radiant fruit. Sweet red berries, tobacco, crushed flowers, mint and anise are some of the many notes that are woven together in the glass. Extended time in barrel has added considerable textural richness. The 2009 needs quite a bit of time to open up, but it is fabulous. The silky tannins and overall depth of the fruit cover some of the wilder notes typical of Lagrein, but there is plenty of varietal expression. This is another striking, reference-point wine from Heinrich Mayr.

agavin: never heard of this — at all — but it was a great food wine.

A coffee chocolate mousse. My favorite.

Overall, a really fun evening. Service was fabulous and I enjoyed the food. It is, as mentioned above, an odd hybrid of different Japanese types and other more American influences. It emphasizes super rich ingredients and sauces in a way that really isn’t fundamentally Japanese. All the while failing to strike out on it’s own with any kind of real vision. This comes off more like an amped up “crowd pleaser” style, thus striking an odd note with my purist side. Still, it is a crowd pleaser — and plenty tasty.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Katana, Robatayaki, Sushi, Wine

Valley Heat

Aug03

Every summer the Hedonists do a food/wine BBQ at Holly’s house in Tarzana. This year the food is Jamaican.

It was a (very) warm July evening at this lovely part of the velley.

Getting the food going.

Holly’s 11 year-old grandson DJed!

Our chef, Shaun Marsh.

The wine situation (below) was very freeform, so I’ll just post the whites with the appetizers and the reds with the mains.
From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. Burghound 92. Ripe and extremely opulent intense citrus fruit and white flowers coupled with medium weight flavors dripping with minerality and enough fat to buffer the bracing acidity. There is a subtle underlying complexity and this is remarkably intense, assertive and precise yet there is excellent power and depth as well.

agavin: drinking great

2009 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard. VM 95. The 2009 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is beautifully precise and articulate. This is all nuance and detail. Here the aromas and flavors are all beautifully sculpted from start to finish. The wine blossoms beautifully with time in the glass, showing quite a bit of power, all while maintaining significant freshness.

agavin: way too flabby for me (no acid).

2007 Dönnhoff Riesling. 88 points. A little flat, but fine.

2005 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spätlese. VM 92. Pale golden yellow.Fruit-driven aromas of apricot and quince, lifted by a floral element. The complex tropical fruit flavors are accentuated by a hint of licorice and a shot of slate. The fine balance of sweetness and acidity leavens the impression of richness. Offers excellent length and potential.

Various cheeses.

Humus.

Chips.

More chips.

Garlic stuffed olives.

Bacon and fruit papusas. A delicious sweet/salty combo. Really fabulous.

Festival. A sweet fried cornbread, not far off from a hush puppy. Apparently cornbread balls were a staple of Southeastern and Caribbean natives even before 1492.

More of the fruit bacon mix.

2006 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 98. The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape is one of the two or three candidates for the wine of the vintage. An extraordinarily great wine, the 2006 is far superior to the 2005, which was amazing, and while made in a different style, is as great as the 2003, and such legends as 1990 and 1978. Fashioned from a minuscule 21 hectoliters per hectare, and tipping the scales at 15.2% natural alcohol, the 2006 boasts a dense ruby/purple color to the rim, in addition to an extraordinary bouquet of melted licorice, spring flowers, raspberries, black currants, spice box, and earth. In the mouth, it is utterly profound – full-bodied and multidimensional with astonishing purity, length, equilibrium, and intensity. This is a superb vintage for the Avrils, and Vincent deserves huge accolades for producing a wine of such incredible intensity and complexity. Think of Clos des Papes as a Chateauneuf du Pape with the complexity of a top-notch grand cru Burgundy from the Cote de Nuits.

1999 Chapoutier Cote Rotie la Mordoree. Parker 95-98. Chapoutier’s La Mordoree cuvee is produced from 75-80-year old Syrah vines planted in both the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune, aged in 100% new oak casks, and bottled with neither fining nor filtration. The 1999 Cote Rotie La Mordoree is the finest he has produced since the 1991 (two bottles drunk over the last six months confirm this fabulous wine’s potential as it is just now beginning to emerge from a cloak of tannin). The 1999 has closed down since its pre-bottling tasting. The color is an inky purple, and the wine is dense and powerful, with notes of smoky blackberries, creosote, and espresso. Concentrated flavors reveal high levels of tannin (surprising in view of last year’s report), and a rich, long, 45-second finish. This impressive 1999 will take longer to reach its plateau of drinkability than I thought last year.

Domaine Raymond Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee la Parte des Anges. Parker 93. A unique blend of 70% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache and 10% Syrah, Usseglio’s Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvee la Part des Anges is gorgeous, with lots of sweet oak in its crème de cassis, licorice, new leather and graphite aromas and flavors. Nicely concentrated, with full-bodied richness and beautiful purity, it’s certainly not a classic expression of the appellation, but it’s superb nonetheless.

From my cellar: 1998 Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois. Parker 97-99. This wine went through a long closed period. It was sensational to drink a year or two after bottling, then the wood tannins in the wine’s structure took over. It remained in that state until about two years ago, when it began to slightly open up, and now it seems to be coming into full form. It still has a good 10 years of upside, and potentially 20 more years of drinkability. Still dense ruby/purple, with notes of blueberry liqueur intermixed with graphite, smoke, crushed rock, and white flowers, the wine is full-bodied, beautifully pure, and all evidence of any barrique aging has been completely assimilated into the wine’s fruit and character. This is a beauty that is just now living up to its full potential. Bravo!

1999 Penfolds Grange. Parker 94-96. Only the third Grange to be produced from 100% Shiraz, the 1999 Grange is superb. It boasts an inky purple color as well as unformed but gorgeously sweet notes of blackberries intermixed with smoke, licorice, and roasted meats. A wine of great intensity, sweet tannin, voluptuous texture, and a spectacularly long finish, it will be at its finest between 2007-2025.

2011 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard. VM 93. Schrader’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is pure silk on the palate. The aromas, flavors and textures are incredibly refined and lifted. A soft, seamless wine that stands out for its gorgeous balance, the 2011 is showing beautifully today. Freshly cut flowers, mint and red berries all flow through to the impeccably refined finish. It is fascinating to taste the RBS next to Las Piedras. Both wines are Clone 337 Cabernet Sauvignon, but here we are in To Kalon, where the flavors seem to have a little more defintion.

agavin: so young it tasted like there was a vanilla bean drowned in super extracted grape juice 🙂

2011 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 96. More serious, and one of the wines of the vintage, the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) has uncommon concentration and depth in the vintage, as well as a broad, structured profile that will allow it to age gracefully. Loaded with sweet creme de cassis, exotic spice, licorice and graphite, it’s a full-bodied, elegant and classically styled effort that has nothing out of place, fine, building tannin and a rock star finish. It will be approachable at an earlier stage than most vintages, yet still have two decades of longevity.

2002 Colgin IX Syrah Estate. Parker 94-96. There are 175 cases of the 2002 IX Syrah Estate. One hundred percent destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged in Burgundy barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, this Cote Rotie-like Syrah smells like it contains some Viognier, although it does not. Exotic floral characteristics intermixed with notions of tapenade, blackberries, coffee, and chocolate jump from the glass of this full-bodied yet supple-textured, voluptuously-styled red. Already irresistible, this fabulous Syrah can be enjoyed over the next 7-10 years.

1974 Beaulieu Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour. Parker 88. This has consistently been one of the most irregular 1974 Cabernet Sauvignons. I have had it close to two dozen times, with some excellent bottles, a few outstanding, and others hollow, over-ripe, and dull. This bottle was excellent. A supple, expansively flavored wine, it exhibits a dark ruby/garnet color with considerable rust at the edge, and a big, cedary, jammy, black-cherry, herb, and toasty-scented nose. With superb richness and sweet, roasted, nearly over-ripe fruit, this medium-bodied, lusty, fully mature wine is delicious. Owners are well-advised to drink it up.

1981 Durney Cabernet Sauvignon Durney Vineyards. 88 points.

2007 Hundred Acre Vineyard Ark. Parker 100! A perfect wine, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard (1,300 – 1,400 cases) from Howell Mountain is one of the great efforts from this high elevation terroir. It offers notes of burning embers, black raspberries, blueberries and flowers, a full-bodied opulence, wonderful intensity, but the wine is not weighty or overripe. Fleshy and voluptuous with terrific floral notes, it should drink well for 15-20 years.

agavin: monster!

Stewed chicken feet. Ewww.

Curried goat with potatoes. A nice stew.

Jerk pork. This was BBQ pork with a bit of heat to it, rather delicious and tender.

Stewed beans with beef and pig tail. Sounds gross, but it was very tasty. The long pale things were heavy but delicious dumplings.

Pigs feet. Not my favorite meat.

Jerk chicken. Moist and fabulous.

Tripe and beans.

Dirty rice.

Regular rice.

“Salad.” Apparently this is standard Jamaican salad, carrot and cabbage with a slightly sweet vinegar dressing.

Fried plantains.

Breadfruit. I see why it gets its name. Breadfruit is very dry and starchy, with a pleasant extremely mild flavor.

Scotch bonnet cinnamon mole sauce. An awesome sauce with a fabulous flavor and some real heat.

My plate.

2006 Trentadue Winery Viognier White Port. 92 points. Honeyed wine marked by citrus and marmalade notes with spice on the finish. The high acidity was mouth-watering in a very good way and prevented this wine from being too sweet. Very delicious.

Coconut crunch.

Coconut cakes. These were super sweet and amazing.

Coconut nut pies.

Rum raison yam pudding.

Overall, this was a super fun evening with great eats and great wine — just what the Hedonists are all about.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: hedonists, Holly BBQ, Jamaican, Jerk Chicken, Wine

Eating Senigallia – Madonnina del Pescatore

Aug01

Restaurant: Madonnina del Pescatore

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

Date: June 21, 2015

Cuisine: Italian (2 Michelin stars)

Rating: Awesome high end

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

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

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

The sea is visible beyond.

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

An amuse of parmesan semi-freddo ice cream sandwich!

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

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

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

Bread.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A version with no shellfish.

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

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

A granite of grappa with a final chocolate.

Alex had his own tasting of Penne Pomodoro.

Parmasean.

And vanilla gelato over chocolate cookie.

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

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

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

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

Eating Senigallia – Uliassi

Jul28

Restaurant: Uliassi

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

Date: June 19, 2015

Cuisine: Italian (2 star Michelin)

Rating: Awesome and inventive

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

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

We began with a bit of bubbly.

Bread sticks. The darker one was anchovy flavored!

Rice puffed nori. Delicious crispy seafood puffs.

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

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

A shot of Kir Royal.

Tempura vegetables. Super light and delicious fry.

Artisan bread.

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

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

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

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

Salad of cheese and almonds.

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

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

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

Seasonal vegetables and pesto.

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

Cappelletti butter and sage. A simple but lovely pasta.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alex’s special 4 course tasting:

Rigatoni pomodoro.

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

Artisan parmesan.

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

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

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

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

Eating Assisi – Buca di S. Francesco

Jul26

Restaurant: Buca di S. Francesco

Location: Via Eugenio Brizi, 1, Assisi PG, Italy. +39 075 812204

Date: June 17, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fun meal, good food

Night three in Assisi and we search out a third place.

We actually found this one just walking on the way to the square.

The menu looked pretty good.

It had both a large outside patio.

And a vaulted interior.

All those plates are from sister restaurants in some kind of hand painted “signature dish” club.

1970 Fattoria dei Barbi (Colombini) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. 92 points. These grapes of this beautifull wine were on the vines when I was born! Amazing that this wine is still so full of character. This bottle has once and for all confirmed for me that Brunello di Montalcino can be a real classic. It tasted much like an older Burgundy but was full of character and depth.

The waiter decanted it of course.

The usual insalte mista.

Salmone affumicato. Smoked salmon.

Penne pomodoro (of course).

Spaghetti with mushrooms.

Tagliatelle alla norcina. The sausage and cream sauce!

Tortellini with cheese and cream sauce.

Piccione all’assisana. Pigeon with liver again, this was fine, and the bird very rich and meaty, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the awesome version we had in Orvieto.

Onions with balsamic. Delicious sweet onions.

Torta con pere e ciocolato. Tort with pear and chocolate!

Tortino di ciocolato. Like a chocolate cupcape.

Torta di ricotta alle nocciole. Ricotta tort.

Semifreddo al Bacio. A semifreddo with bacio (chocolate and hazelnut flavor). Given that Perugina (the chocolate company that makes Bacci) is just 40 minutes from Assisi, it seemed apropos.

Biscotti. Some strange cornflake covered cookies!

Overall, this was a fun meal even if only because the setting was great and the service and waiter were absolutely delightful. The food was good too, not mind blowing or anything, but that kind of solid that you find in kitchens all over Italy.

They had cool ancient caves carved in the limestone below too

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Assisi, Brunello, Buca di S. Francesco, eating-italy, Italian cuisine, pigeon, Wine

Dirty Dozen – Locanda Veneta

Jul24

Restaurant: Locanda Veneta

Location: 8638 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048. (310) 274-1893

Date: July 22, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: great night w/ retro 90s Italian

After a few months respite the Dirty Dozen ride again, our club of blind tasters club within a club. The numbers have swelled a bit, tonight being the Dirty Sixteen, and the theme “good white wine.”

The location is Los Angeles classic, Locanda Veneta, a Beverly Hills Italian with several decades of history. Above, Chef Andre in the kitchen.

So big is our number that we split into two tables, which was a bit of a shame given the format.

Most of the dinner is blind but we had a few open bottles to begin with:

1999 Pommery Champagne Cuvée Louise Brut. 90 points. Light yellow in color, fine mousse, quite forward with ripe citrus fruit, toast and nut. Quite full and lush palate, yet pretty nice acidity lift in the back. Long finish with minerals, at a great time to drink now.

1983 McWilliam’s Mount Pleasant Wines Elizabeth. A very aged Australian Semillon.

Bread with a Spinach pesto.

The wines at Dirty Dozen dinners are all served fully blind. No one has much idea what’s in there except for their own wine. Winner of the WOTN gets dinner free. They were served in 4 flights (roughly of 4 wines). Since no single person knew what wines there were, flight contents were fairly random. Tonight people put them roughly on the course they thought they should be on, but this didn’t seem to make much difference.

2003 Marcassin Chardonnay Zio Tony Ranch. VM 94. Pale yellow-green color. Explosive nose of flowers, caramel and marzipan, plus an exotic honeycomb character. Wonderfully sweet, round and forward, with compelling flavors of honey, spice, hay and nuts. Very long and sweet on the aftertaste.

agavin: knew it was Cal Chard, so flabby (no acid).

2004 Camille Giroud Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 92. A maturing nose features very mild reduction combined with ripe and ever so slightly exotic fruit trimmed in a discreet touch of wood before dissolving seamlessly into rich, delicious, round and relatively forward medium weight plus flavors brimming with lovely minerality and excellent length. While not quite at its prime, it’s not far away and another year or two should see this fine offering at its best.

agavin: ours had a touch of cork on the nose, fruit a little thin.

2001 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc. VM 90+. Bright silvery color. Semillon-dominated aromas of dried apricot, wet stone and earth. Fatter and richer than the 2002, but less tightly wound and gripping today. But this has lovely underlying sweetness and really spreads out and lingers on the finish.

agavin: older, acidic, with no fruit. Somehow voted #3 WOTN. Our table disliked it, the other table enjoyed it.

Insalata di Carciofi. Finely Chopped Baby Purple Artichoke with Chopped, Arugula and Mixed Baby Green in a House Vinaigrette, topped with Shaved “Reggiano” Parmesan. Tasty, but a little acidic for the wine.

Bocconcini Prosciutto. Baby Size Fresh Mozzarella tossed with Fresh Cherry Heirloom Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and our Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Modena and Thin Slice of Parma Prosciutto.

1996 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree. Parker 99. It is no secret that I adore Chapoutier’s luxury cuvee of white Hermitage called Cuvee L’Oree. Made from 90-year old vines and microscopic yields of 10-12 hectoliters per hectare, this wine flirts with perfection. It is a compelling white Hermitage. Made from 100% Marsanne, it is as rich and multidimensional as the fullest, most massive Montrachet money can buy. It is unctuously textured, yet extraordinarily and beautifully balanced. I suspect it will drink well early in life, and then shut down for a few years. It should last for 4-5 decades. The 1996 possesses some of the most amazing glycerin levels I have ever seen in a dry white wine. In short, this wine must be tasted to be believed.

agavin: I think this wine was drinking exactly as it is supposed to, but the older Hermitage Blanc style is so heavy and oxidized that people don’t love it. Not bad though, and a nice pairing with the prawn.

1989 Louis Latour Montrachet. Burghound 88. A big, rich and intense smoky nose leads to complex if not particularly elegant flavors that have become somewhat heavy and frankly fat, without the requisite acid backbone to delineate the flavors. In short, there is good power and better than average density plus a lovely textured quality to the finish but ultimately, this does not deliver what it should. Drink up, not because it is declining but rather because the balance is slipping.

agavin: Brown and oxidized, nutty

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

agavin: very nice young White Burg. Voted #2 WOTN by the group.

2004 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 91. This is surprisingly elegant and expressive for young Bâtard with a highly complex nose featuring apple compote, fennel, apricot and brown sugar hints that continue onto the powerful, textured and mouth coating flavors, all wrapped in a punchy if less refined finish. This is a fine effort with much to like but one that is ultimately less complete than the Bienvenues.

agavin: Nice, and generally pretty good.

Scampi alla Grigliata. Whole Large Prawns grilled with Fresh Spices served on a bed of sautéed Swiss Chard and Maître’D Butter. Savory, but perhaps a tiny bit over cooked.

2007 Sine Qua Non Body & Soul. VM 94. Vivid gold color. More energetic than the previous wine, with zesty aromas of Meyer lemon, pear skin and grapefruit pith complemented by deeper notes of peach pit and yellow rose. Juicy and finely etched, with the palate displaying sweet orchard and pit fruit flavors and a strong note of grapefruit pith. Strikingly pure, lively and incisive on the finish, which clings with excellent juicy persistence.

agavin: no acid at all, but it grew on me after a while. Tasted a bit like a Gewurtz. Nice balance.

1997 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. Burghound 91. This is a beautiful wine with an elegant, even airy white fruit nose that introduces exceptionally rich, full and punchy flavors that possess excellent delineation for the vintage and plenty of the hallmark minerality plus fine length. I would be drinking this wine now as even well stored examples are showing mature aromas. However, note that I have encountered some bottle variation as two recent examples, both from the same source, were oxidized to the point of being undrinkable.

agavin: our bottle was brown and oxidized.

1999 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree. Parker 99. The awesome 1999 Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree flirts with perfection. It is full-bodied, with an incredible bouquet of liquid minerals, licorice, honeysuckle, citrus, and a hint of tropical fruits. One-hundred percent new oak aging has been completely absorbed by the wine’s fruit and glycerin. This is a winemaking tour de force, made from exceedingly low yields of 12-15 hectoliters per hectare (less than one ton of fruit per acre). However, readers should understand that these are often unusual wines to drink because they tend to show exceptionally well for 4-5 years after bottling, then close up until about age 12. They can last for 4-5 decades. Anticipated maturity: now-2006; 2012-2050. Along with Gerard and Jean-Louis Chave, Chapoutier is producing the finest expressions of white Hermitage. His single vineyard cuvees are to die for if you like these eccentric, idiosyncratic, mammoth dry whites.

agavin: no acid, heavy. Again not that popular despite its technical quality.

LEC brought: 2006 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 95. Here the incredibly fresh and vibrant yet discreet nose reveals aromas of green apple, pear and wet stone, all of which introduces tautly muscled, broad-shouldered yet tangy full-bodied, notably ripe and sophisticated flavors of striking depth and length plus absolutely impeccable balance. What is perhaps most impressive though is that such a big wine retains such solid precision that continues on to a palate staining, wonderfully intense and bone dry finish. In short, this is a seriously impressive, indeed brilliant Corton-Charlemagne that should age for years.

agavin: Voted #1 WOTN as it was drinking nice and fresh. LEC was therefore winner of the coveted title and able to lean back and enjoy a free meal, all being quite fair as he treated most of us to dinner a week ago.

Risotto al Tartufo Nero. “Carnaroli” Rice simmered with a Shaved Fresh Summer Black Truffles. Lovely.

Cappellacci di Funghi al Tartufo. Large Fresh Made Ravioli filled with Baby Portobello, Porcini, Wild Mushrooms sautéed in a Light Butter and Summer Black Truffle Sauce.

2001 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc. VM 90+. Bright silvery color. Semillon-dominated aromas of dried apricot, wet stone and earth. Fatter and richer than the 2002, but less tightly wound and gripping today. But this has lovely underlying sweetness and really spreads out and lingers on the finish.

agavin: older, acidic, with no fruit. Again. This is one of the problems with no supervision of what people are bringing: repeats. What are the odds?

2008 Sine Qua Non Kolibri. VM 93. Deep yellow-gold. Ripe pit and exotic fruits on the nose, with complicating notes of honey, sweet butter and green almond. Becomes more floral with air, picking up suggestions of jasmine and chamomile. Lush but focused, with a spine of acidity adding structure and carrying through a very long, sappy and gently sweet finish. Krankl said that he’d serve this with a rich shellfish dish.

agavin: drinking pretty nice. Weird and rich, with a LOT of stone fruits, but very interesting and nice.

From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Jacques Prieur Montrachet. VM 93+. Bright but reticent aromas of iodine, clove and nutty oak. Fat, round and silky, with superb weight and volume. By far the richest and longest of this set of wines, with the most volume. Very suave and mouthfilling, but with plenty of underlying backbone and power. Very tightly wound but also very long on the aftertaste.

agavin: Sigh. This bottle was corked. Otherwise, under the nasty cork there was a nice Monty lurking, but it was ruined by the cardboard. I hate when this happens. I should just resort to bringing some young Boillot Batard to blind white dinners, I have plenty of them and they are always reliable. haha.

2004 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc. Parker 95. The 2004 Hermitage blanc, which hit 15% natural alcohol, is another superb effort, continuing a succession of totally profound white Hermitages from 2003, 2004, and 2005. As many readers know, this small family producer has been making wine in Hermitage since 1481! The 2004 (about 1000 cases) reveals a light gold color, terrific finesse and elegance in spite of its enormous power, unctuosity, and richness. Of course, it is not as honeyed as the otherworldly 2003 (which hit 16% natural alcohol) but it is an amazingly full-bodied, powerful wine with pervasive honeysuckle, peach liqueur, and nectarine notes intermixed with licorice, quince, and acacia flowers. This is gorgeous wine which should evolve for 20-25 years.

agavin: old and honeyed. Kinda icky, tasted like $6 Ethiopian honey wine.

Medaglioni di Vitella. Grilled Boneless Veal Loin served with Tortino Saffron Risotto, sautéed Spinach and a Blueberry Porto Sauce.

Braciola di Maiale con Granchio. “Berkshire” Premier Bone-In Pork Chop stuffed with Imported Fontina Cheese, Crab Meat and Sautéed Spinach served with a Porcini Mushrooms Grappa Sauce. This was an odd dish. The meat was tasty, but the sauce was pretty old school, not bad, but not a great white pairing (the sauce) and totally oddball with the cheesy crab stuffing.

The polenta was dry and crumbly, more like a carrot cake with no sugar.

1959 Moulin Touchais Anjou Blanc. 93 points. Light straw color with open nose of straw and honey. Perfect acidity and balance. Not a heavyweight but still bright. Delicious and could probably keep another 50 years.

agavin: not sweet at all, but very nice acidity.

TORTA DI CIOCCOLATO. Chocolate Flourless Cake served with Raspberry Sauce.

TORTA DI MELE. Sliced Apple baked in a light puff pastry served with caramel sauce.

PANNA COTTA. Italian Vanilla Custard served on a Strawberry Coulis.

TORTA DI PERA. Sliced pear baked in a light puff pastry served with caramel sauce.

Our Somm, Massimo, did a great job considering the complexity of the task and the lack of info and preparatory time he had.

Overall this was a fun evening. I’ll bring apart commentary into different areas.

Service: The restaurant did a great job managing a group of our size. They were on top of things for the most part and extremely nice and accommodating. Whoever helped pick the menu for white wines did a good job pairing out all those red tomato sauce dishes.

Food: The food was good. Some dishes were excellent like the prosciutto salad, pastas, and desserts. Some were just nice. It all feels a little 90s Italian-American (which it is), but isn’t fully contemporary or fully Italian. But it’s good. Plating is very 90s.

Wine: Mixed bag. Everyone stepped up and brought the right kind of bottles for the most part, but we had a lot that just didn’t drink well. Some of this was because of the mix of Chardonnay and Rhone varietals — they just don’t mix well in the same flights. Some was shitty luck with the White Burgs. 4 out of 7 were flawed, 3 badly so. Only the 89 Monty was old enough to make that likely, although Jadot 97s have a lot of premox. Still we were unlucky to have cork on 2 bottles that shouldn’t have. The “expensive” part of the picking precludes a lot of nice fresh white wine types that might actually have impressed.

Format: While this and the last Dirty Dozen dinner were better than the earliest ones in terms of format, we still have some issues. Tonight we had 15 drinkers, which is the max possible and perhaps 2-3 more than would be best. It forced us into 2 tables which is far from ideal. If we were going to have 15-16 we need to find and prearrange a place with a huge square table that can seat 4 to a side. On a similar note we need to choose somewhere that can handle providing 8 or so glasses per person — or at least 4. If 3-4 of us hadn’t brought our own stems we wouldn’t even have had enough for everyone to have one flight in the glass! We need to go over that with them in advance. Food handling/format was fine this time around with 4 + dessert distinct courses. That worked well. But most importantly we need to designate a “wine czar” to collect what people are brining in advance, ensure no duplicates and that they are on theme, and then organize them into flights properly. It’s impossible to do unless you know wine and can see all the bottles. No casual restaurant wine guy will have the time to do that, particularly when they are already wrapped (mostly). This is really important because you need to get the varietals lined up in flights. The Rhone grapes fought against the Chards. If they had been against their own kind (Cali Chard can mix with Burg) they all would have tasted better. We also need a little more bandwidth for labeling the bottles properly and stripping the capsules. Maybe the wine czar could bring preprinted number labels. A “somm” who is also handling the rest of the restaurant will rarely have time to do that kind of stuff.

Anyway though, a very fun evening.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chef Andre, Dirty Dozen, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Wine

Eating Assisi – Locanda del Podesta

Jul20

Restaurant: Locanda del Podesta

Location: Via S. Giacomo, 6, 06081 Assisi PG, Italy. +39 075 802455

Date: June 15, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: More hearty Umbrian goodness

After finishing with Lazio with continue inland into Umbra, Italy’s rural Etruscan heart.

Our first dinner in the hillside pilgrimage city of Assisi. We had to walk UP quiet some way to get to this restaurant. Work off 10% of the cream.

Like most of Assisi the buildings are all old medieval stone structures, heavily restored and in great shape. Apparently JC watches over modern Italian dining. The city is older than him though, as it has a Roman forum under the main square — and they weren’t the first either. There was a town here when the Etruscans took over before that.

2012 Goretti Grechetto Colli Perugini. Some local Grechetto.

Antipasto of meats. It seemed appropriate to sample the local pigs.

Raddicio, pecorino, and walnut salad.

Cacio pasta. Simple pasta for the kid.

Cacio e pepe. The peppered version.

2008 Scacciadiavoli Sagrantino di Montefalco. AG 91. Smoke, tar, licorice and a host of dark aromas and flavors develop as the 2008 Montefalco Sagrantino opens up over time. This remains an essentially fruit-driven style of Sagrantino, but at the same time the wine’s balance and sense of harmony are both impeccable. The 2008 Sagrantino is another harmonious, beautifully balanced wine from Scacciadiavoli.

Penne Norcina. An Umbrian speciality. Pasta with pork sausage in a light cream sauce with truffles! Yum yum. Really great stuff.

Chicken breast with rosemary.

Lamb chops. My dad loves lamb chops.

Scrambled egg and truffle. This is some serious Italian comfort food!

Insalate Mixte.

Fava beans with truffle. The fagioli felt left out when the eggs got truffled, so they had to join the party.

Overall, nothing fancy, but a very nice meal showcasing the Umbrian love of truffles.