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Archive for Wine – Page 24

Sage at Oliverio

Dec08

Restaurant: Oliverio [1, 2, 3]

Location: 9400 W Olympic Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 407-7791

Date: December 4, 2014

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome Food & Wine

_

Sage Society is a fabulous wine sales business operated by my friend Liz, who has one of the best palettes for food and wine of anyone I know. We also have very similar taste in both and she is a huge lover of Burgundy and interesting and geeky Italians. She periodically organizes dinners for her clients which always combine fabulous wines, great food, and an extremely high level of polish and integration. She really produces (in the film sense of the term) a menu and experience.

Tonight is the annual Sage Society Holiday Dinner.

The atmosphere at Oliverio is tres LA. They have sexy poolside dining, but this being a “wintery” December evening, we at inside.


These first two champagnes are great drinking reasonable ones Liz brought to get started “before” the serious drinking.


agavin: apparently this one has old Meursault in it, which lent it some added complexity.


Our hostess Liz on the left and master chef Mirko Paderno. Paderno is a born and bred Italian chef. Raised in Milan, his love of cooking was originally inspired by his parents and grandmother, who taught him how to prepare traditional dishes from both the Northern and Southern parts of Italy.

After graduating from the Cesare Ritz School in Merano, Chef Paderno worked at the Four Seasons Hotel in Milan under Chef Sergio Mei. Utilizing fresh ingredients and simple accents in his dishes, he developed a style that focused on the flavor of the food above all else.  In 1999, Chef Paderno took his osteria-style cuisine to Los Angeles, working at top Italian restaurants such as Primi, Dolce and All’Angelo. After opening the acclaimed Cecconi’s in West Hollywood in 2009, Paderno was appointed Executive Chef at Oliverio inside the Avalon Hotel and tasked with relaunching the concept and menu as an upscale, alfresco Italian restaurant.

In the fall of 2013, Chef Paderno was named Area Executive Chef for Viceroy Hotel Group, adding LIVELLO at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills to his kitchen roster. At both Oliverio and LIVELLO, he showcases what he calls “modern Italian food with regional touches” and fuses Italian flavors with local ingredients.

Liz brought this Oenothèque (renamed P2) which comes in a crazy elaborate display box.

1998 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon P2. AG 95. The 1998 Dom Pérignon P-2 (formerly Oenothèque) is quite reticent today. What else is new? These second -plenitude wines are often very tight when they are first released, which is very much the case here. Still, it is quite evident the 1998 is a bit more tender and pliant than the 1996. Today, the 1998 still hasn’t turned the corner, but it is quite pretty and expressive. This is a terrific offering.


Grilled Mediterranean seppia, roasted squash pate.


Butternut squash soup with cheese an sage.


Bread.


1983 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. JK 93. Nose was so honeyed and full of crème brulee that it gave a sinful impression. There was a touch of seltzer and minerals, but the 1983 was definitely living in plateau city. To me, this vintage signified crossing that bridge that Bernard alluded to earlier. Bernard was impressed with the freshness of the 1983. The palate had a woodsy edge but was still very smooth and caressing, with good seltzer vim to the finish. I concluded, .In a great spot right now.


Sunchokes soufflé, parmigiano sauce, fresh black truffle. A fabulous cheesy, truffle dish.


The next three courses involved an unusual blind “contest.” We each brought several wines designed to go with specific courses. They were served blind in flights and we attempted to choose not the best wine, but the best “pairing.”


The winner of the best pairing was to receive this awesome 1990 Tattinger Collection Champagne.

Flight 1


From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc. IWC 91-95. Honey, hay and herbs on the nose. Dense but bright, and quite spicy in the mouth. Not especially sweet, but chewy and vibrant, finishing with good grip. From Rocoules: Spice, apricot and orange zest on the nose. Silky and spicy, with lovely fat texture, but still with racy grip. This could make a complete Hermitage blanc on its own. Rocoules again: Complex aromas of lemon, spice and blond tobacco. Less sweet than the first Rocoules sample, but also tighter and more obviously structured. Finishes with considerable power. The Chaves had already moved these first components from barrel to tank in order to avoid fatiguing the wine. Rocoules from a barrel (14.8% alcohol): Extraordinarily spicy nose, with malic notes of apple and spearmint. Still showing traces of the fermentation. Lush and deep on the palate, with almost exotic ripeness and a flavor of honeysuckle. As fat as this is, it still has sound acidity and terrific verve, with enlivening notes of orange zest and spice. Very long and fresh on the aftertaste. The ultimate blend should make a terrific bottle.


1996 Domaine Touchais Coteaux du Layon Réserve de nos Vignobles. I middling sweet Chenin.


2002 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux. Burghound 92. Extremely subtle oak frames expressive and layered aromas of oyster shell, iodine and a lovely mineral component that leads to even more complex flavors that display superb intensity and stunning length. The finish is racy yet completely buffered by the copious sap. A knockout that has reached its peak though it should be capable of holding at this level for up to another decade.

agavin: best wine of the flight (although it still didn’t pair).


Spaghetti bottarga with clams and a TON of caviar. A very salty briny dish. Really quite lovely, but a difficult pairing. The caviar and clams were a last minute addition and we had tried to pair with just the bottarga. Really, the 1983 Dom worked best (not an official pairing) and even it fought with the brine.


This wine was a bonus “palette cleanser.”

2000 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont. A nearly dry Vouvray.


White truffle and porcini gnocchi.


1990 Georges Noellat Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. 93 points. Brick color, with a nose of game and leather. Decent fruit, with a tannic backbone still showing, similar to other ’90s. This is a very good wine, and will hold for a while.


2002 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Romanée St. Vivant. IWC 93. Dark red. Youthful raspberry and blackberry aromas accented by gingerbread, along with deeper mocha, smoked meat and candied rose accents. Lush, suave and deep, with a bright, zesty mineral quality adding impressive lift and precision to the deep, sweet red and dark berry flavors. Finishes with a liqueur-like raspberry quality and excellent depth and persistence. More alluring today than the 2001 and I suspect that this will drink well earlier, if for no other reason than for its sweetness and supple texture.

agavin: best wine of the flight, although slightly weak in the fruit department — nose was all RSV.


From my cellar: 1970 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Cerro Anon Gran Reserva. 92 points. Surprisingly young. Gorgeous and interesting nose with a slightly weak mid palette and a long pretty sour cherry finish. Most people thought it was some odd pinot noir and had no idea it was so old.


Liz through this beautiful white in because we all tried red pairings.

1990 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 93. This is one of those whites from the ’90 vintage that is trapped in a time capsule as it remains unusually youthful for a 20 year old wine even if no longer young as the nose displays the first hints of sous bois along with dried flower and citrus aromas. The delicious and highly mineral-infused middle weight flavors are racy, intense and beautifully delineated before culminating in a lingering and pure finish. This is in extraordinary condition if well-stored and should continue to drink well for years to come. In a word, impressive.

agavin: really nice Charlie, incredibly fresh, younger than some 2005s I’ve tasted!


Egg yolk ravioli, white truffle sauce, fresh white truffle. A magnificent dish with an intense yolky factor that emphasized the earthy quality of the truffles.

But it was also a difficult pairing. None of us (except maybe Liz) properly anticipated the yolk effect, and all the reds, good as they might have been with straight truffles, were just consumed by the yolk. Not unpleasantly mind you, but not exactly harmoniously either. The Corton was the best of the lot (pairing wise), but even it was fairly overwhelmed by the egg.


1994 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT. AG 95. The 1994 Masseto is another super-impressive wine in this tasting. The warmth of the year comes through in the super-ripe, dense fruit. There is plenty of underlying structure to ensure another decade of very fine drinking here. This is a stunning Masseto from a long forgotten year.


From my cellar: 1985 Joseph Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers. 88 points. This bottle had a serious barnyard funk on the nose (horse butt as we nicknamed it), but after about an hour it mostly faded. The palette and finish were quite nice though (if you ignored the nose). Quite a bit of fruit still going.


2002 Domaine Dujac Echezeaux. Burghound 90-93. Intense, extremely expressive spicy red fruit aromas lead to wonderfully sappy, mouth coatingly rich flavors blessed with outstanding density and unusually silky tannins plus a certain seductive quality to the subtly complex and persistent finish. This is more refined than it normally is at this early stage of its development and is extremely promising.

agavin: my favorite wine of the flight.


2002 Domaine du Château de Chorey (Germain) Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Tante Berthe. Burghound 93. This is a massive wine with an incredibly concentrated yet remarkably elegant nose of cassis and plum followed by powerful, robust and firmly structured flavors oozing with sap that completely buffers the big but very ripe tannins. Despite the size, this is astonishingly well balanced and the length just doesn’t quit; I could taste this wine hours later and if you can find any, don’t pass it up as Beaune 1ers of this caliber rarely come along and it will last at least 30 years, perhaps longer.

agavin: this wine caused much consternation blind as it was so purple and powerful that we wondered if it might be a New World Pinot Noir. It had a killer long finish.


Roasted quail, porcini mushroom, black garlic reduction. A gorgeous qual that required some bone chomping, which was totally worth it.

These were the most closely paired wines. The Massetto, although lovely, was a total pair fail, but all the Burgundies worked decently. Still, not of them worked so well that we were willing to declare them a “winning pairing.” So we didn’t actually award the Champagne.


Pumpkin ravioli with a cheese sauce.


1993 Camille Giroud Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge. Not something you see every day — but it was gorgeous. One of my favorite wines of the night.


Selection of Italian cheese: soft gorgonzola (cow), carboncino (3 milk), rocchetta (sheep).


Panna cotta with blueberries.


Overall, this was another knock out meal. The food was fantastic. Each dish was really fabulous and very generous with the truffles, caviar and the like. Mirko Paderno is a top top Italian chef, one of the best in town (and LA has very good Italian). The wines were also wonderful, some mixed, but the format was a lot of fun and resulted in an enormous amount of wine talk and debate — woe be those few who weren’t serious wine geeks.

Happy holidays from Sage Society!

LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Sauvages at Oliverio
  2. Amarone at Oliverio
  3. Burgundy at Providence
  4. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
  5. Factory Kitchen – Fabulous
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burgundy, Oliverio, Sage Society, Wine

Friday Night Feast 2014

Dec04

As part of the annual ThanksGavin celebration it’s traditional for us to do a home dinner on Friday night, historically cooked by my cousin Abbe. But this year she abdicated the job to her brother Matt and his wife Andrea.



NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. Bubbly to start. Zingy acids, excellent minerality, very small fizzy bubbles. Ultra refreshing.


More fancy olives.


The return of the artichokes.


Bread.


2007 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses. Burghound 90. As would reasonably be expected, there is just more here in every dimension with a more complex and more elegant nose that is layered and very fresh and this refinement continues onto the nicely concentrated middle weight flavors that display evident minerality on the sappy, intense and mouth coating finish that lingers and lingers. This is a terrific Savigny blanc and recommended.


My dad is in charge of cheeses, which means some stinkers.


And the “separated” non-stinky plate.


1995 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Sorì Paitin. IWC 91. Medium red, some amber at the rim. Plum, cherry and enticing smoky, toasty oak on the nose. Smoky, sweet and velvety, with insinuating flavor. Has firm backbone and finishes with some oak tannins but avoids dryness. Rather Pommard-like in its solidity.

agavin: this particular bottle had more funk on the nose than usual.


Homemade manicotti, stuffed with ricotta and smothered in mozzarella.


A version without the mozz for those who aren’t THAT into cheese. Not me.


1996 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley. IWC 94. Deep ruby color. Multidimensional aromas of violet, coffee, dried rose, clove, rare steak and seductive oak. Huge and tactile; really implodes in the mouth today. Extremely deep and lush, with the sheer sweetness to buffer its considerable acids and tannins. Oaky. Finishes extremely long, with very fine, tooth-coating tannins. With aeration, some of the baby fat melted away, and the wine’s powerful structure was manifest. Headspinning, old-style Burgundy, and very impressive. One to buy and cellar.


The main dish consisted of roasted pork sandwiches. Here they are coming out of the oven, notice the big hunks of bacon/pork fat added for flavor.


Matt sliced the meat.


And warmed it in its own jus.


Any pig haters had the option of turkey, a giant sliced breast borrowed from one of the previous night’s birds.


And provolone of two types, the regular and the aged sharp kind. Both from the Italian market.


Plus some very serious roasted peppers. These had a big hot long burn to them.


And sautéed broccoli rabe.


Fennel and celery salad.


Here is the plate with a bit of everything.


1994 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 92-95. Michel Delon, a great man, is the consummate proprietor, meticulously administering this vast estate spread out along the St.-Julien/Pauillac border, separated from Latour’s finest vineyard by a mere ten feet. The 1993-95 vintages from Delon are brilliant wines. Leoville-Las-Cases remains one of the irrefutable reference points for high class Bordeaux. One of the more massive Medocs of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored wine exhibits fabulous richness and volume in the mouth. Layers of pure black-cherry and cassis fruit are intermixed with stony, mineral-like scents, as well as high quality toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied, with a sweet, rich entry, this wine possesses plenty of tannin, yet fabulous extract and length. Leoville-Las-Cases is one of the half-dozen great wines of the Medoc in 1994. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2025. This lion never falls asleep on the job!


Matt also “whipped up” some homemade pumpkin pie from scratch. There was a bit of ginger in there.


The actual pie itself.


And the brownie’s return.



These chessboard fudge squares were made by my cousin-in-law (cousin’s wife) Itsuki.


Overall, another fabulous evening of great food and company. Bravo Matt and Andrea.

Related posts:

  1. Friday Night Lights
  2. Friday Night Feasting
  3. Friday Night Heights – Shabbat Dinner
  4. ThanksGavin 2014
  5. Elite Wine Night
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Family, holiday, ThanksGavin, Wine

ThanksGavin 2014

Dec02

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!


The table is set.


NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. Bubbly to start. Zingy acids, excellent minerality, very small fizzy bubbles. Ultra refreshing.


Crudites.


Some kind of dip of mysterious origins.


1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 90 points. This is medium gold. Nose is very ripe fruit and honey, but not boytritis. Sweet and satiny and weighty, acid is failing. Finishes with baked apples and pastry.


Artichokes.


Hummus. Achem, from a tub.


1988 Camille Giroud Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 90. This too is very fresh, in fact fresher than the Clos de Vougeot with a beguiling mix of spice and secondary aromas that lead to big, intense, firmly structured flavors that have plenty of sweet pinot sap to buffer the solid tannins. This is quite long, in fact the longest of these bottled wines and delivers unmistakable Vosne character. It remains a creature of its vintage and the finish is austere and masculine in style but there is plenty of volume and flavor authority. This will live for years.


Now we’re talking: cheese.


And good olives.


1998 Dominique Laurent Mazis-Chambertin. 93 points. Showed good complexity and depth, excellent balance, and a medium finish. Flavors of black raspberry, cherry, spices, dried leaves, and forest floor all emerged after a time. The acidity held everything together nicely. Good freshness of flavor both on the nose and palate. I think this is nearly at peak or plateauing nicely.


This year there were two turkeys, and because our chefs patched up the neck with skin grafts from different birds, they nicknamed them Frankenturkey!


Turkey. But they came out perfectly.


Gravy. Of course.


Stuffing. Nothing better than gravy soaked stuffing.


Cranberry. A choice of three variants on the cranberry theme. My favorite is the spicy chutney (lower left) which is smooth and slightly spicy.


1973 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Añares Crianza. 92 points. wonderful wine; surprised how much vitality it retained. Like fig juice.


Brussels sprouts.


With a delicious lemon sauce.


Roast beets with balsamic & maple syrup.


Squash with black mustard seeds.


Spinach salad with goat cheese.


2009 Nugnes Falerno del Massico Rosso. 92 points. Red edges, dark core — Nose captivating, mindblowing, fresh, flowery, almond, sweetness, dried fig, pickled fruit — Palate mild, fresh, watery, like marsala wine, plums for days, oriental herbs, some cherry, some sour cherry — Finishes on red fruit, tartness and spice aspects again. This is special, an oriental dream, changing by the minute, now some pepper and some cinnamon, appears to be expressive and young, a long life ahead. Fairly high acidity level. Happy I bought 12 bottles to drink over the next 10 years.


The 2014 official plate!


1975 Dow Porto Vintage. 86 points. The wine showed all the characteristics of a tawny. Not exactly overwhelming but very nice to drink. Alcohol was a bit too evident. It’s so nice to open old bottles of Port like this! Unless the wine is really spoiled, it’s always a pleasure to drink it.


Coffee cake.


“Bubbie Caplan’s” rice pudding. Really quite lovely. Eggy sweet custard.


My mom’s absolutely perfect pecan pie.


Grandmom’s brownies and blondies.


Apple crisp.


Dessert plate.

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

Our main chefs, my mom and her sister

Related posts:

  1. ThanksGavin 2011 – The Main Event
  2. ThanksGavin 2011 – The Third Wave
  3. ThanksGavin 2013
  4. ThanksGavin 2012
  5. ThanksGavin 2010 Reprise
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cooking, Gravy, Mashed potato, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, Wine

Is that a Pistola in your pocket?

Nov21

Restaurant: Pistola [1, 2]

Location: 8022 W 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 323.951.9800

Date: November 18, 2014

Cuisine: Italian Steakhouse

Rating: Tasty good

_

It’s time for Ron’s birthday, Hedonist style. Last year — and I can’t believe the year has passed so fast — we hit up BOA for awesome steaks and crab. This year we try out the brand new Pistola, an Italian Steakhouse concept by the team that brought us Gusto. It’s taken over the old AOC space but transformed it completely.


The birthday boy.


The menu. We actually had the chef bring up appetizers, pasta, and dessert, with everyone ordering their entrees.


2004 Le Brun-Servenay Champagne Brut Grand Cru Millésime.


Insalata Mista.


Pistola “Chopped”.

1999 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Echezeaux. 94 agavin. This Ech was drinking fabulously tonight. I’ve found a lot of 99s closed and waiting, but this more forward style was in perfect form.


Steak tartar. Good meat, but didn’t have enough bite for me. Needed more pepper?


2005 Domaine d’Ardhuy Clos Vougeot. Burghound 92-95. This too displays a touch of wood spice that highlights the backward and still very tight and inexpressive nose that reveals only traces of black fruit and an intense earthiness that continue onto the hugely powerful, intense and full-bodied flavors that are muscled, taut and almost tense on the enormously long finish. This is old school burgundy with the hallmark finishing austerity fashioned in a ‘take no prisoners’ style that will please purists and the patient. Don’t even think about opening this for at least a decade and it will require close to two to really be at its peak.

agavin: I’ve never heard of this producer, although CV has a lot of them. It was obviously a great wine, but despite the 9 years wasn’t even close to ready (although still enjoyable).


Meatballs. On a bed of ricotta. Awesome. These were similar to the similarly awesome ones at Gusto.


Philippe Pacalet Corton-Charlemagne (recent vintage). This was young, although it began to open as the evening progressed.


Fried Calamari.


1999 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. Burghound 90. Honeysuckle, peach and white flower aromas blend beautifully into fine, elegant, beautifully integrated flavors and a subtle mineral note that continues into the long finish. Surprisingly, this has better acidity than the Folatières and is clearly better balanced. Grand cru quality here in the same open, accessible style of the all of these 99s.

agavin: drinking great! No premox at all.


Oysters on the half shell.


2005 Soldera (Az. Agr. Case Basse) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. AG 93. A tense, brilliant wine, the 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva stands out for its gorgeous length and impeccable balance. Next to the surrounding vintages, the 2005 is a bit compact, but it nevertheless possesses terrific cut and precision, if not quite the pure seductive powers of the very best years.


Linguine con le Vongole. Pretty classic.


2001 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova. IWC 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: must be aged in French oak barrels because this is just massively oaky for a Brunello (which is usually aged in big Slovenian casks). Looked it up, apparently 600L casks, which is small for Brunello.


Squid Ink Agnolotti. Awesome stuff with a nice sweetness.


2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova. AG 95. The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is an explosive, heady wine endowed with considerable richness in its dark wild cherries, licorice, tobacco, herbs and cedar. This generous, exuberant Brunello shows awesome depth and richness in a style that captures the warmth of the southern reaches of Montalcino. The Tenuta Nuova dazzles with its stunning depth, textural polish and captivating, sensual personality. A round, inviting finish has the last say in this majestic Brunello. The 2006 is easily the best vintage I have tasted of the Tenuta Nuova. The harvest took place between September 29 and October 7. Maceration and fermentation lasted 25 days, after which the wine was racked into 600-liter barrels for 36 months.


Penne All’Amatriciana. Arguably the best Amatriciana I’ve had. Lots of great porky zing.


From my cellar: 1995 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Sorì Paitin. IWC 91. Medium red, some amber at the rim. Plum, cherry and enticing smoky, toasty oak on the nose. Smoky, sweet and velvety, with insinuating flavor. Has firm backbone and finishes with some oak tannins but avoids dryness. Rather Pommard-like in its solidity.


Veal Chop Alla Parmigiana. Wow, I’m not a big straight steak fan so this really saved the course for me.


2007 Elio Grasso Barolo Riserva Rüncot. AG 96. The flagship 2007 Barolo Riserva Runcot is remarkably fresh for the year. Sweet, perfumed and sensual, the 2007 wraps around the palate with stunning depth and sheer radiance. Layers of expressive red fruit, flowers, spices and mint all come to life as the wine opens up. The Runcot captures the best qualities of the year; deep fruit, expressive aromatics and wonderful nuance, all in a soft, supple wine that should enjoy a long drinking window. I can’t wait to see how the 2007 ages. Today it is seamless and utterly impeccable from the very first taste. This is without question one of the great 2007s. Grasso gave the 2007 40 days on the skins, followed by 45 months in 100% new French oak barrels, all of which the wine handles with grace to burn.

agavin: good wine, but WAY WAY too young for Barolo.


Dry-Aged Tomahawk. Paleo.


And from above so you get the full picture.


2008 Tenuta Guado al Tasso (Antinori) Bolgheri Superiore. AG 95. The 2008 Guado al Tasso is once again fabulous. In fact, it may be Tuscany’s most improved wine over the last few years. Firm, vibrant tannins support expressive layers of dark fruit, plums, cherries, sage, espresso and mocha. The wine shows fabulous detail and nuance in a translucent, totally seductive style, with tons of focus, drive and verve. It is a striking wine that will be a joy to follow over the coming years. Guado al Tasso is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.


Dry Aged Delmonico.

2007 Peter Michael Les Pavots. Parker 97. The 2007 Les Pavots, a Bordeaux varietal blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, is brilliant. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by gorgeously complex aromas of melted chocolate, espresso roast, blackberries, and cassis. Full-bodied with a superb texture, a subtle note of oak, and fabulous concentration, it is more reminiscent of a Right Bank Bordeaux than one expects with this much Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. A thirty-year wine, its impeccable balance and the sweetness of its tannins make it accessible already.


NY Strip.


2002 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard. Parker 96+. The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is a massive, youthful blockbuster with an opaque purple color as well as firm tannins (despite the general openness and ripeness of the 2002 Napa Cabernets). Almost overly rich, it has a long evolution ahead of it given its firm tannins and off-the-charts concentration and extract. One has to admire this cuvee for its extraordinary structure and multidimensional personality, but at present, even with airing, the primary aromas of new oak, loamy soil, graphite, incense and black fruits are all one can expect. In the mouth, the wine remains brutally tannic, but there is enough stuffing to easily balance out the wine’s structure. It is a young, possibly great wine for the ages, and I would not hesitate to put my money where my mouth is. This 2002 should be absolutely amazing in 25-30 years.


I dunno, I’m not good at spotting steak cuts.


2000 Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois. Parker 97. A wine that always does it for me, the 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de La Reine des Bois is open for business and has a sexy, voluptuous texture to go with classic Mordoree spice, licorice, graphite and black cherry and currant-styled fruit. Beautifully complex, full-bodied and with brilliant purity of fruit, drink it over the coming 3-5 years.

agavin: great Syrah.


Lamb chops.


Dover Sole Piccata.


Mediterranean Orata.


Caramelized Romanesco. With a bit of heat and a little vinegary tang, very nice.


Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.


Creamy Polenta. Mild.


Braised Tuscan Kale.


Crispy Tuscan Fries. Not sure what is Tuscan here.


Funghi Misti.


2001 Union des Coopérativs Vinicoles de Samos Samos Nectar. 93 points. Good stuff. Nectar is appropriate.


Traditional Italian Cookie Plate.


Tartufo.


Cannoli. My fave.


Green Apple Crostata.


Tortino (aka Chocolate cake).

Overall, Pistola was really solid. We all thought some of the apps and the pastas were a bit better than the meats and sides (although I enjoyed my chop), but it was a very tasty meal. They treated us like kings too. Room is very pretty but a little loud with a bar feel (some love that, some don’t). If I were them, my biggest suggestion foodwise would just be to add some more decadent sides like a “gorgonzola gnocchi” and the like. Not really Italian, but then again, I’ve never actually seen a steakhouse in Italy. Not that Italians, particularly Tuscans don’t love steak, but the steakhouse format is an American thing — which is fine.

Super fun evening though and a great way to celebrate Ron’s birthday. Great wines, company, food and fun.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: hedonists, Italian cuisine, Pistola, Steak, Wine

Oceans of Wine

Oct27

Restaurant: 41 Ocean Club

Location: 1541 Ocean Avenue. Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 566 – 3870

Date: October 22, 2014

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Blast of a night

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41 Ocean is a members only private club located in a historic 1920s building on Ocean Avenue. The Hedonists took it over in classic style and we were treated like Pharoes (to quote Yarom). After dinner, the gang enjoyed cognac or ports and cigars on their balcony overlooking the ocean. A truly epic night.


Our table is lovely.


Tonight’s special menu.


An amuse of tuna tartar.


Seasonal Butternut Squash Soup served with mini cheddar biscuit. Delicious. I do love a good butternut squash dish.


Heirloom Spinach and Endive Duck Confit Salad with warm cranberry vinaigrette. A standout salad.


A beet version.


Pan Roasted Seabass. Wild mushroom risotto, lobster truffle sauce. A darn good fish, cooked to flakey perfection.


Spinach vegetarian option.


Vanilla Bean Braised Short Rib. Root vegetables, cheddar mashed potatoes. Rich, but great.


Truffled French fries. Yum!


Heirloom tomato pasta. For the vegetarians.


41 Ocean Baby Butter Cake. House-made pumpkin gelato. A really nice some sweet cake. Perfect.


1990 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Vintage (in magnum). IWC 88. Bright, lightly leesy aromas of fresh apples, minerals and spices. Fresh, spicy and intensely flavored, but quite austere, almost metallic and not yet demonstrating much personality. But firm, bright and fresh, finishing with good grip. This wine came with an excellent reputation, but I preferred both Pol Roger Rose and Blanc de Chardonnay from this superb vintage.


2004 Lebrun Servenay Champagne Exhilarante Vieilles Vignes. JG 91.


2001 J.L. Chave Sélection Hermitage Blanche. Parker 92-94. I tasted component parts of the 2001 Hermitage blanc. Aromas of acacia flowers, honeysuckle, and citrus were followed by a medium to full-bodied white with loads of glycerin as well as heady fruit and alcohol. Elegant, medium to full-bodied, and crisper, it is more obviously backward than the 2000.


From my cellar: 2003 Jean Noel Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets. Burghound 91. As it almost always is, this is the class of these 1ers with a nose of pain grillé and spicy baked apples that precede fresh, detailed and mineral-infused flavors and a wonderfully intense and punchy finish that goes on and on. This is not quite as elegant as it usually is but it unusually refined for the vintage.


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


From my cellar: 1997 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. IWC 94. Healthy dark red. Superripe aromas of crystallized black raspberry, rose petal, violet, iron, baking spices and meat. Huge entry, then almost painfully intense, with superb extract and great thrust. Exhilarating hints of dark berries, mint, flowers and minerals give this wine great complexity and verve. Would come across as thick if it weren’t so sharply focused. The firm tannins are buried in fruit on the extremely long, tactile finish. Should enjoy a long and spectacular evolution in bottle.


1989 Pichon-Longueville Baron. Parker 94-96. Both the 1989 and 1990 vintages exhibit opaque, dense purple colors that suggest massive wines of considerable extraction and richness. The dense, full-bodied 1989 is brilliantly made with huge, smoky, chocolatey, cassis aromas intermingled with scents of toasty oak. Well-layered, with a sweet inner-core of fruit, this awesomely endowed, backward, tannic, prodigious 1989 needs another 5-6 years of cellaring; it should last for three decades or more. It is unquestionably a great Pichon-Longueville-Baron.


2000 Leoville-Poyferre. Parker 97. The plushest, most ostentatious and dramatic of all the Leovilles in 2000, this wine is already sumptuous, displaying some nuances in its huge nose of vanilla bean, black chocolate, jammy black cherries, cassis, and graphite in a flamboyant style. Opulent, savory, rich, and full-bodied, it is a head-turning, prodigious wine and a complete contrast to the extracted behemoth of Leoville Barton and the backward, classic Leoville Las Cases. The Poyferre’s low acidity, sweet tannin and an already gorgeous mouthfeel make it a wine to drink now as well as over the next 25 or more years.


2005 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 93-95. Medium to deep garnet colour. Aromas of dark cherries, raspberry compote, cardamom, black truffles and a touch of star anise. The palate is full bodied, richly fruited with medium to high acidity and a medium+ level of grainy, slightly chewy tannins. Concentrated with a good compliment of structure to hold it up. Long peppery finish.


The club owner, Jermey brought: 1999 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 96-100. The recently released 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin is closed and less expressive than the 2000, and perhaps more elegant and less weighty. Nevertheless, it is an enormously endowed effort revealing notes of licorice, blackberry and cherry fruit, melted asphalt, tapenade, truffles, and smoke. Chewy, with more minerality than most vintages of this wine possess, it requires a minimum of 6-8 years of cellaring. It should last 35-40 years.

agavin: tons of barny brett on the nose, but a gorgeous middle and finish.


2000 Domaine du Clos du Caillou Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 91. Slightly more open and supple (which is common when you compare the same wine from these two vintages), the 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape is another mature, balanced and classic Chateauneuf that’s drinking at point. Exhibiting plenty of pepper, Asian spice, herbes de Provence and sweet cherry and raspberry fruit, it too should be consumed over the coming couple of years.


1999 Domaine de la Mordorée Lirac Cuvée de la Reine des Bois. IWC 90-93. Bright deep ruby-violet. Perfumed, very fine aromas of blackberry, cassis, black raspberry, violet and bitter chocolate. Dense, pungent and sharply delineated; intense flavors of cassis, blackberry and bitter chocolate. Finishes with big, mouthcoating tannins and strong flavors of cocoa powder and licorice. The winemaking is impeccable.


1997 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Alle Mura. Parker 88. The deep ruby/purple-colored 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Alle Mura displays an international bouquet of red and black fruits, wood, licorice, and earth. There is excellent depth and ripeness, but this monolithic Brunello lacks heart and soul. The long finish reveals moderate tannin. Let’s see what develops.


2005 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard. Parker 98. There are 2,600 cases of the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard. As I indicated last year, this is a fabulous effort that manages to conceal its 100% new French oak aging. Its dense ruby/purple color is followed by beautiful aromas of blueberries, black currants, acacia flowers, licorice, and spice. The tannins are softer than I remember, but this is certainly one of the vintage’s most extraordinary wines. Full-bodied with a seamless integration of tannin, acidity, alcohol, and wood, it is exceptionally pure and full as well as impeccably balanced. The impression is one of elegance allied with substantial flavor authority. It can be drunk now or cellared for 25+ years.


2005 Maybach Materium. Parker 96. Named after the super-luxury car of the same name, the extraordinary 2005 Materium (614 cases) has more in common with a first-growth like Chateau Margaux than a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. It boasts a deep ruby/purple color along with a striking bouquet of blue and black fruits intermingled with acacia flowers, lead pencil shavings, and licorice, excellent fruit, medium to full body, substantial but sweet tannins, and compelling harmony among its acidity, alcohol, tannin, and extract. This sensational 2005 eclipses even the brilliant 2004. It should easily last 25 or more years.


1987 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District. 90 points. Tasted way younger than it was. But mature and delicious.


2004 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 98+. The Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select has been one of Napa’s true first-growths since the early 1990s. The 2004 exhibits a dense opaque purple color along with spectacular, almost surreal levels of fruit that are never heavy, overripe or flawed. Its beautiful notes of creme de cassis, licorice and subtle oak (this cuvee spends 32 months in 100% new French barrels), skyscraper-like texture and extraordinarily long finish are all superb. This is a great wine from a great family who has done everything necessary to produce a world-class wine that can compete with any wine made from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. You can’t say enough positives about the Shafers. Drink this 2004 Hillside Select over the next 20-25 years, although it could be even more stupendous in 40-50 years.


2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 98-99. Still a young wine at age 12, the 2001 Insignia exhibits a dense purple color along with a sweet bouquet of camphor, blackberries, cassis, incense and spring flowers. Full-bodied, rich and heady with sweet tannin, stunning concentration and a fabulous finish, this remarkable Insignia has 25 or more years of life ahead of it.



2004 Hundred Acre Vineyard Shiraz Ancient Way. 93 points. Huge Aussie syrah. Beautiful nose, with lovely secondary baking notes to match impressive fruit levels. Touch of VA in a good way. On the palate the grapes are overripe and extracted, but still a lot to like. Touch of funk. Acids are present but overwhelmed by fruit and alcohol (which is well integrated but present). Fruit is big but lush, not jammie like many big ausies.. Long smooth finish.



2005 Hundred Acre Vineyard Ark. Parker 98. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard (the debut vintage of this cuvee) reveals an inky/blue/purple color as well as a sumptuous nose of loamy soil, licorice, graphite, espresso, sweet blackberries, and forest floor. It is a gorgeously proportioned, full-bodied effort with plenty of minerality as well as definition. Already accessible, this big wine should evolve for two decades.


2002 Sean Thackrey Orion Syrah. Parker 96-100. A riveting example of Syrah is the 2002 Orion. It boasts a black/purple color with more mint and blackberry notes intermixed with exotic floral characteristics. With great intensity, full body, multiple dimensions, and superb purity as well as length, this blockbuster is incredibly well-balanced/harmonious. It should drink reasonably well young, yet keep for 12-15 years.



2003 Two Hands Shiraz Ares. Parker 98. One of the most expensive offerings in this portfolio is the 2003 Shiraz Ares, a 230-case cuvee that flirts with perfection. A selection of the best lots of Bella’s Garden, it is a kinky, but fabulous Shiraz fashioned from very old vines, and aged in 100% new French oak (which is barely noticeable given the wine’s concentration). An opaque purple color is accompanied by a flamboyant, riveting bouquet of roasted meats, blackberry liqueur, charcoal, and white flowers. Full-bodied and voluptuous with amazing purity, concentration, and texture, this sensational Australian red should drink well for 15-20 years.


2005 Colgin Cariad Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 100. Performing even better than when I originally tasted it (scored 96+ at that time), the 2005 is composed of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 9% Petit Verdot. The first vintage where Allison Tauziet had complete control after Mark Aubert left to pursue his own wine venture, the 2005 continues to grow in stature and complexity. It exhibits an opaque purple color, a youthful style (it tastes like a 2-3 year old wine) and abundant notes of black fruits, acacia flowers, espresso, white chocolate, crushed rock and licorice. Full-bodied and velvety textured with fabulous concentration, high but sweet tannin and a 60+ second finish, it needs 4-5 more years of cellaring and should age effortlessly over the following 25-30 years.



1964 Justino Henriques Madeira Malmsey.


2003 Guiraud. Parker 90. Tasted as part of a vertical held at the chateau. This is certainly one of the better wines from the Sauternes 2003 vintage: with fat mango and marmalade aromas on the nose that actually ebb, leaving room for attractive orange blossom scents. The palate is well-balanced with a smooth vanilla opening that demonstrates the precociousness of the vintage, while the exotic finish is nicely handled with hints of almond and peach lingering on the aftertaste. Fine.

Overall, an extremely fun night. Everything was great from service, to atmosphere, to food, to oh-so-much wine!

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 41 Ocean, Butternut squash, hedonists, Private Club, Santa Monica, Santa Monica California, Wine

Via Veneto

Oct08

Restaurant: Via Veneto

Location: 3009 Main St. Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 399-1843

Date: April 13, 2014

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Excellent contemporary Italian

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LA is overflowing with Italian restaurants, but there is tremendous range in quality (and price). From old fashioned “red sauce” places to modernist takes like Il Grano. Via Veneto is in that high middle ground were it serves Italian (not exactly Italian American) up with panache.


2011 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis. 89 points. White peach, white flowers and minerals. Fresh with a hint of effervescence. Straightforward but enjoyable.

They do get a strike for having not only a $30 corkage (which I can stomach) but a 1 bottle policy. This forced me to buy this decent bottle from the list — but I had to pay a $60 markup for it!


Bread and olives.

CAPRESE CON BUFALA LAZIALE. buffalo mozzarella from “Lazio”, heirloom tomatoes, basil, olive oil.


Caprese with Burrata. Because Burrata always makes everything better!

TARTARA DI MANZO AL COLTELLO. knife cut prime beef filet tartare prepared to order, Pantelleria caper, house special dressing.

MELANZANE ALLA PARMIGIANA. farmers market eggplant, parmigiana style. Not exactly a traditional shape, more like involtini.

INSALATINA DI ARAGOSTA E QUINOA CON MENTA E LIMONE. lobster and quinoa salad, min and citrus vinaigrette. They do love this cylindrical shape. This was a pleasant salad, but the quinoa dominated (i.e. it was hard to really taste the lobster).

RUCOLA SELVATICA, RADICCHIO TREVIGIANO E REGGIANO. wild arugula, treviso radicchio, parmigiano reggiano.


From my cellar: 1990 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala. 94 points. Such a beautiful intense nose of tar, rose petals, leather…wow. Medium structured with great balance. Long and delish.

RAVIOLI DI VITELLO AI PORCINI. home made veal ravioli, porcini mushroom tomato sauce.

FETTUCCINE AL SUGO DI COSTINE DI MAIALE DELLA MONNA. home made fettuccine with slowly braised baby back pork ribs ragout, tomato sauce. Basically a porky Bolognese.


Pumpkin Ravioli. In butter and sage. Apparently very good, but no amareto cookie inside (that’s traditional).

RISOTTO AL ROSMARINO CON SPEZZATINO DI CINGLIALE. rosemary risotto with braised wild boar. It’s hard to pass up cingliale (boar), and this is a good reason why!

AGNELLO IN CROSTA. pan roasted rack of Sonoma lamb in a crust of fine herbs. Nice!


Mediterranean sea bass, simply grilled.


Some sides: beats and broccolini.


More sides: spinach and roasted potatoes.


The dessert menu.


Chocolate tart.


Profiteroles, stuffed with pastry cream.


Panna cotta with nutella. The hazelnut aspect was subtle, but this was delicious.


Crema di amaretto. A layered thing with lady fingers, this had that delicious complex secondary vibe going that I love from good Italian desserts. That’s why I occasionally make my own uber Tiramisu.

Overall, Via Veneto has a great kitchen. As this category of high end Italian Italians in LA goes, this is a very good one. All the food is extremely tasty. Service was good. It’s dark (not a problem) and a little loud. My biggest ding goes for a strict corkage policy of $30 and one bottle. That’s pretty steep, they could do without the bottle limit for those of us who want to work to empty our cellars.

Oh, and if you’re curious how this compares to the “real thing” I have about 50 write ups from Northern and Central Italy here!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Italian cuisine, Italy, lamb, pasta, Risotto, Veneto, Venice, Wine

Steak in the Blind

Oct03

Restaurant: Taylor’s Steakhouse

Location: 3361 West 8th St., Los Angeles, CA 90005. (213) 382-8449

Date: October 1, 2014

Cuisine: Steakhouse

Rating: Old School

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About a month ago my Hedonist group started up a new concept, a sort of club within a club of high end blind tasting diners. The deal is everyone brings a bottle (and backups) blind. We eat drink and try to guess at what they are. The group is know as the “Dirty Dozen” (for being 12). Oh, and we have an official Dirty Dozen T-shirt which is required attire.


Tonight is actually the second “meeting”, but I couldn’t make the first. Both time’s it’s been at Taylor’s Steakhouse, oddly located in Korea Town. Except when Taylor’s was founded in 1955, there was no K-Town!


Everything about this place is like a time warp.


Look at the interior. Notice the red leather booths. The fancy glass. The woodwork.


The leather padded bar.


From my cellar: 2007 Lur-Saluces “Y”. Parker 94. The 2007 Ygrec has a light, fragrant nose with apple-blossom, pink grapefruit, citrus lemon and just a touch of cold granite. Good definition. The palate is bright and lively, a lot of energy packed into this Ygrec, with citrus lemon, green apple, a touch of lemongrass, very harmonious and smooth towards the finish that display superb persistency, a hint of fiery lemongrass lingering in the mouth.

agavin: for those that don’t know, this is the secret dry wine of Chateau d’Yquem, world’s most renowned maker of sweet wine.


Our table and old school thrones are located in the private room.

A note about the wines before jumping in. We organized them randomly into four flights of three, all served blind. We discussed each flight and opened them at the end of the flight before moving onto the next. This worked pretty well. It eliminated the free-for-all madness and shortened the time between tasting and finding out, so you could connect the taste with the information. This is important, because it’s hard at the end of the evening to remember back to the first wines. I had labeled the bottles with people’s names so we could tell them apart. Next time, we should use numbers or letters to eliminate the “Andy likes French” type biases. But some label is needed. We also might try out having one person (maybe even a “guest”) look at the wines and organize them into coherent flights.


From my cellar: 1986 Gruaud Larose. Parker 96-97. the dense, garnet/purple-colored 1986 Gruaud-Larose is evolving at a glacier pace. The wine still has mammoth structure, tremendous reserves of fruit and concentration, and a finish that lasts close to a minute. The wine is massive, very impressively constituted, with still some mouth-searing tannin to shed. Decanting of one to two hours in advance seems to soften it a bit, but this is a wine that seems to be almost immortal in terms of its longevity. It is a great Medoc classic, and certainly one of the most magnificent Gruaud-Larose ever made.


Avi brought: 2002 D R Stephens Cabernet Sauvignon Moose Valley Vineyard. Parker 90. A sleeper of the vintage, this 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Moose Valley Vineyard appears to have reached full maturity. It offers an attractive, jammy nose of red and black currants, damp earth, roasted espresso, cedar and spice box. Medium to full-bodied, lush and seductive with low acidity, ripe tannin and a fleshy, round, opulent mouthfeel, it will offer plenty of pleasure for 6-7 more years.


Kirk brought: 1999 Miani Friuli Merlot. AG 97. The 1999 Merlot marries power to elegance in a style that foreshadows the wines of recent years. This is simply an awesome bottle of wine, that’s all there is to it. Everything is right there in the glass; inner perfume, ripeness and complexity all come together in a profound Merlot of the highest level. This three-dimensional Merlot should continue to drink beautifully for at least another decade, perhaps longer. The 1999 is the first wine that shows a more enlightened approach to vinification, and it is marvelous juice.

agavin: really a pretty profound “new Italian.”


Chilled Jumbo Prawns. Pretty typical. The shrimp were okay. They tasted a little frozen and the cocktail sauce was weak.


The Molly dinner salad. Wedge of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, blue cheese. I was pleasantly surprised by this salad. It was DROWNING in blue cheese dressing, which actually, I like. It would have been even better with bacon though.


Casear salad. House-made caesar dressing. I didn’t try it, but visually it looks like a decent caesar.

Onion rings. Classic, and fabulous.


House-made potato chips. Nice and crunchy, although maybe could have used more salt.


Stewart brought: 1982 Château Smith Haut Lafitte. Classic bordeaux nose with tons of earth in the beginning. After some decanting as the earth notes die down nice soft dark fruits emerge and provide balance. Medium body with firm acidity and mellowed tannins. Definitely has more years left. Deep purple with only light bricking. Overall very nice and enjoyable.


Yarom brought: 1984 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard. Parker 92. With coaxing, a surprisingly tight bouquet offers up damp, woodsy aromas intermixed with scents of mint and ripe cassis. Full-bodied, firm, and admirably concentrated, with a wonderful layered palate, this impressively-endowed wine requires another 4-5 years of cellaring. The wine may be going through a closed stage of development as this bottle was less impressive than past tastings.


Arnie brought: 2002 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 91-94. It is obvious Paul Hobbs prefers the influence of Taransaud cooperage on his Bordeaux varietals because they tend to give the wines a chocolatey character, and that is seen in the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa (3,120 cases), a Cabernet Sauvignon with terrific concentration, remarkable opulence, and layers of cassis- and licorice-infused tobacco leaf notes that just cascade over the palate with an unctuous texture. The wealth of fruit and concentration hides some relatively serious tannin in this large-scaled wine.


Culotte. The most tender cut of top sirloin. Only two per steer. Pretty darn good straight up steak. Thick and tender like a filet. One huge block of meat too, with no gristle. The baked potato was very good too. I mean, it’s still a classic baked potato, but it was a good one.


Prime rib with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. I heard it was great.


With baked potato.


Bone in something and spinach.


Spencer steak. Black and blue. A well-marbled cut, marinated and seasoned. With mashed potatoes and peppercorn sauce. Black and blue means raw in the center and burn on the outside.


Bone in rib-eye. That green sprig, that’s Taylor’s for salad.


John brought: 1998 La Mission Haut Brion. Parker 98. A candidate for the wine of the vintage from this somewhat forgotten year, consumers should be seeking out wines from the Right Bank and Graves as 1998 was a great vintage in those appellations. La Mission’s 1998 exhibits a healthy, opaque blue/purple color with no lightening at the edge. Thirty minutes of aeration brings forth a sensational bouquet of chocolate, cedar, truffles, graphite, blackberries, cassis and incense. La Mission’s so-called scorched earth/charcoal/hot rocks characteristic has not yet appeared. Full-bodied with superb purity, a multilayered texture, sweet tannin, good acidity and a fabulously long finish, this great, young La Mission-Haut-Brion’s finest days are yet to come.


Trish brought: 2004 Angelo Gaja Sperss. Parker 96. Gaja’s 2004 Langhe Sperss is an infant. Still incredibly primary, it exudes the essence of Serralunga black fruits, smoke and tar. The new oak is still very evident here and the wine seems to be at an awkward phase of its development. Still, it offers stunning concentration as well as length, with soft, caressing tannins that frame the fruit all the way to the long finish. This wine is in need of serious bottle age and may very well merit a higher score once it emerges from its temporary period of dormancy.


Larry brought: 1983 La Mission Haut Brion. Parker 90. This was the first vintage made under the administration of Jean Delmas. The most notable and dramatic change made at La Mission-Haut-Brion since 1983 became a more refined, polished, sophisticated style without the pure mass of older vintages, but also without the excesses of tannin and volatile acidity that sometimes plagued ancient vintages. The 1983, a very good vintage in the southern Medoc and Graves, is a relatively lightweight La Mission (particularly compared to the 1982) that is fully mature. Complex notes of smoked herbs, cigar tobacco, black currants, sweet cherries, damp earth and spice box jump from the glass of this dark garnet-colored wine. Medium-bodied with silky tannins, well-integrated, low acidity and abundant perfume, this fully mature 1983 should be consumed over the next decade.

agavin: this was voted wine of night (although close with the CNDP below)


The sides are equally old school. Fresh grilled Texas sweet onions.


Mushroom bordelaise. It was okay. Nothing like Cut’s amazing version though.


Sauteed fresh mushrooms.


Robin brought: 2003 La Mondotte. Parker 96. A killer wine (I’m so sorry I didn’t buy any), the 2003 La Mondotte is clearly one of the superstars of the vintage. An intriguing perfume of licorice, Asian soy, black currant jam, ripe cherries and subtle toast emerges from this extravagantly rich, voluptuously textured, opulent, full-bodied St.-Emilion. Just coming in to full maturity, it is pure, rich and full. Drink it over the next decade or more.


Dave brought: 2007 Robert Foley Vineyards Claret. Parker 98. The extraordinary 2007 Claret, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine, displays inky notes of lead pencil shavings, pen ink, creme de cassis, blackberry, incense, and licorice. The wine is super-pure and super-rich, an extraordinarily full-bodied powerhouse of a Cabernet Sauvignon that should evolve for 15 or more years. Its sweetness of tannin and headiness already make it accessible.


Adam brought: 1998 Les Cailloux (Lucien et Andre Brunel) Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire. Parker 97-100. The 1998 Cuvee Centenaire is an awesome Chateauneuf du Pape. Made from extremely old vines, this is the essence of both Chateauneuf du Pape and the Grenache grape. The wine boasts a deep ruby/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of melted, jammy black cherry, raspberry, and currant fruit mixed with pepper and spice box. In the mouth, it is rich, full-bodied, and unctuously-textured, with extraordinary purity, and laser-like definition for a wine of such massive concentration and depth. The finish lasts for nearly a minute. This spectacular, youthful, amazingly accessible offering is a tour de force in winemaking, and a tribute to just how great Chateauneuf du Pape can be.

agavin: a really great wine, and more or less tied in my mind for WOTN.


Red velvet cake. Cream cheese icing.


Key lime pie. Actually a fabulous piece of key lime pie. As Yarom put it, “a 10!”


Chocolate cake.


Creme brule. Very nice custard.


Cheesecake. Also very straight up and very good.

Overall, this was an incredibly fun night with some really good wines. Our room and the blind format worked out great.

As to Taylor’s and the food? I was pleasantly surprised, although not blown away. The atmosphere is fun in a retro way. The service is friendly but nothing on par with a more modern higher end steakhouse. The food is really old school. The salads were pretty good and the steaks themselves actually quite fabulous. But I’m not a huge steak fan and the extras just aren’t nearly as yummy as at a place like Mastros or even Boa or STK. Because for me, it’s not all about the meat (in fact, at a place like Mastros I drown the meat Oscar style in creamed seafood), I’m not as jazzed. The desserts were first rate though. But I like those new-style over-the-top sides like “king crab truffle gnocchi”, “Gorgonzola mac & cheese” and “lobster mashers.”

Oh, but it is about 50-60% of the price. Our per person tab, including tax and tip, was $85! Mastros could be twice that.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

The back of our required club T-shirt

 

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: blind tasting, Caesar salad, Dirty Dozen, hedonists, Koreatown, Los Angeles, Steak, steakhouse, Strip steak, Wine

Cantonese Pig Out!

Oct01

Restaurant: Capital Seafood

Location: 755 W Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 282-3318

Date: September 28, 2014

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Great Banquet

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The Cantonese banquet is a long standing tradition, and many of the big San Gabriel Valley Cantonese places do both a dimsum brunch and ornate banquet services.


Capital Seafood is no exception, hailing from the glory days of cheesy 80sMonterey Park build outs. Look at the faux Louis XVI decor!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mitl4ZBjFvI]

Tonight our little private banquet was located just adjacent to a huge wedding in the main room. Play the above video for a sample of the 100 decibel festivities.


Our “room” was actually just a corner of the big space that had been screened off… literally with Chinese folding screens.


From my cellar: 2009 Domaine Bruno Clair Bourgogne Rosé Marsannay. 89 points. The 2009 Marsannay Rose is a serious wine. It shows plenty of intensity and generosity, I only wish the aromatics were a little more focused.


Boiled peanuts.


Candied Walnuts.


From my cellar: 1996 Maison Roche de Bellene Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes. 92 points.


Suckling pig. Special ordered, with pickled cucumber and jellyfish. The pork was some of the best roast pork I’ve had. It was incredibly succulent with crispy skin.


The right hand sauce is a slightly sweet sauce, similar to that used with Peking duck.


2007 Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes. Burghound 92. Very mild reduction combines with notes of lemon, straw and orange peel that introduce intense, delicious and well-delineated middle weight flavors where the citrus influence really comes up on the very dry and energetic finish. I quite like this but it is more suited to those who enjoy nervous whites with ample acid support.


Shrimp and tofu. The little white puffs are fried soft tofu. The shrimp are whole giant prawns fried with salt and peppery. They were quite delicious, cooked to a tender level where the shells caramelized and were soft and edible.


1999 Prager Chardonnay Smaragd. 88 points. Botrytized chardonnay from the Wachau. Weird. I love Bodenstein’s wines, but this is strange.


Fried giant clam. Two parks of the geoduck giant clam: body and neck. Basically fried clam strips Chinese style, but plenty tasty.


2005 Moraga Vineyards. 93 points. Sensational sauvignon blanc in the stye of a great Smith – Haut Lafite.


We saw them serving this crazy dish at the wedding and just had to try it.


Lobster salad! (with dry ice)


The fresh lobster meat is mixed with melon, mayo, and flying fish eggs. The overall concoction was pleasant enough but oddly sweet, and the cloying sauce hid the delicate meat.


XO sauce. This fermented, slightly spicy, sauce is rather famous — and expensive.


2003 Emrich-Schönleber Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Spätlese. IWC 90. Aromas and flavors of blueberry, blackberry and honey combine here with woodsmoke, black tea, nut oil and subtly stony nuances. The wine is rich and full, with its slight sense of heat enhancing the effect of distilled fruit concentration and smoky pungency. The finishing effect is long and noticeably sweet.


Fried bullfrog. Chunks of bullfrog are deep fried with garlic. Super tasty, although there were a lot of bones to pick out.


2012 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Clone 777. 93 points. Clean and sparse. Sharp but not bitter. Nice oak finish.


Steamed egg. I thought this was tofu, but it’s apparently just egg.


The custard-light-fluffy thing was really quite awesome, with a nice richness and a bit of umami from the soy.


2005 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard. IWC 91. Light red. Spicy strawberry and blood orange aromas are further enlivened by white pepper and a light kiss of fresh rose. Then broader and deeper in the mouth, offering ripe cherry and raspberry preserve flavors, with the orange quality repeating. Nicely balances richness and energy and finishes with impressive clarity and grip. This has serious presence and concentration, but leans more to elegance than to sheer power. Greg Brewer, who believes that “the human aspect is the most important and influential part of the concept of terroir,” told me that the goal of Brewer-Clifton is to “minimize that aspect by staying as neutral as possible: same corks, same yeasts, same wood and so on. By keeping execution homogeneous we emphasize individuality, especially vineyard character.”


Braised duck. The meat was good, but the heavy brown gravy didn’t taste very Chinese and wasn’t my thing.


2004 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Prestige. IWC 93. Deep ruby. Lush raspberry and cherry preserves on the nose, with hints of candied plum, espresso, flowers and dark chocolate. An impressively rich Chateauneuf, with powerful dark fruit flavors perked up by refreshing mineral lift on the back and nicely supported by supple tannins. Rich and chewy on the finish, with lingering notes of smoke, meat and cherry liqueur. Serious stuff, and in need of cellaring.


Caramelized fish. This fried Chilean Sea Bass with mushrooms, ginger, and garlic was pretty amazing. There was a ton of flavor.


2001 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire. IWC 96. Dark red. Incredible nose melds plum, spicecake, woodsmoke, mocha, earth, minerals and dried herbs; this covers all the major Chateauneuf du Pape food groups. Like liquid silk in the mouth, but with powerful underlying spine. A saline, superconcentrated wine that coats every millimeter of the palate with explosively rich, insinuating flavor yet does not come across as extreme or over the top. In fact, this is almost understated today, with a wonderfully long, elegant finish. A wine to chew on as much as to drink.


French style beef. A sort of peppered filet mignon. Very yummy and went well with the heavier red wines.


1999 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée. Parker 95. 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.


Scallop and egg fried rice.


2003 Cayuse Syrah en Cerise. Parker 90. The dark fruit-scented 2003 Syrah En Cerise Vineyard is medium-bodied, displays outstanding depth of fruit, and possesses appealing mouthfeel. Spicy blackberries make up its expressive, pure, deep, and long flavor profile. It should be enjoyed over the next 4-5 years.


Salty fish fried rice. A little different. Salty, but good.


Pea tendrils. In case your “system” is feeling clogged.


2007 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese. IWC 92. Pale golden yellow. Ripe peach, guava and chamomile on the nose, complicated by a hint of brown spice botrytis. Luscious citrus fruits with cool minerality refresh the palate. In spite of the wine’s weight, a spicy elegance dominates the finish.


Mango pudding and coconut jelly. The mango pudding was insanely good. It had a light jiggly quality and a flavorful intensity. The mellow sweetness of the other jelly was also very pleasant.

Overall, Capital did a great job and this was one of those fun and interesting banquet meals filled with different flavors. Not every dish was perfect (duck, I’m looking at you), but it was still a great meal and the pig was outstanding.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, hedonists, Monterey Park, Monterey Park California, san Gabriel valley, Tony Lau, Wine

In the Magic Garden

Sep29

Hedonists know how to do house parties right.


Tonight’s affair is creol food at Lana’s house, which has been host to a number of events in the past. She has a magical garden full on Beverly Hills style that makes for a peerless setting. The chef was Guy DuPlantier III of Crazy Creole Catering.


And, the human pigs are supervised by the Cinghiale.

NOTE: I’m just going to break the wines down into white (with appetizers), red (with mains) and dessert. The format was free-for-all.

1999 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Cuvée Palmes d’Or. IWC 90. Vivid gold. Peach, orange zest and gingerbread on the pungent, smoky nose and in the mouth. Lush and expansive, offering very good depth and power and picking up exotic toffeed apple and marzipan nuances with aeration. Closes sappy and long, with resonating spice and orange notes and a touch of candied fig.


NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Blanc de Blancs.


From my cellar: 1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 90 points. Nicely aged white Burgundy with notes of butterscotch and citrus. It started promisingly but faltered pretty quickly in the mouth, dissolving into a dry, pithy finish.


2006 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons. Burghound 91. The nose reflects only modest aromatic development on the notably ripe, spicy and intensely floral nose that introduces strikingly intense and sappy flavors that are supple and textured yet the finish tightens up very quickly and possess a lovely sense of underlying tension on the palate staining finish. This is impressively long and possesses good if not truly class Chablis character. To my taste this is nearing the front edge of its peak drinkability though it will be capable of holding here for years to come.


1997 Domaine de la Fontainerie Vouvray Sec. 92 points. Dark golden yellow. Honey, apricot and cognac on the nose. Distinct acidity and a well defined wine. Dried stonefruits on the aftertaste.



2007 Sine Qua Non Body & Soul. IWC 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.


Shrimp cocktail. With a bit of spicy aioli.


Baby back rib. Totally awesome. This was about as tender and flavorful as ribs get — which is pretty darn tender and flavorful.


Catfish Po’ boy. Not bad, but a little dry.


1997 Fernand Lécheneaut et Fils (Philippe et Vincent) Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles. 89 points. Drinking nicely but mature.


From my cellar: 1998 Dominique Laurent Bonnes Mares. IWC 93-96. Full red-ruby. Ineffable nose features briary black cherry, iodine, licorice, caramel and smoke. A wine of incredible sweetness and thrust; profoundly deep, sharply delineated and finishing with superb grip. The aftertaste mounts and lingers for nearly a minute. I’m sure there’s great underlying tannic structure, but I was too entranced by this wine’s fruit to notice.


2000 Marcassin Chardonnay Three Sisters Vineyard. IWC 94. Reticent but complex nose combines smoke, apricot and menthol. Sappy and rather powerful in the mouth without coming across as phenolic. Strong flavor of baking spices. Rather dominated today by its structure, but this also possesses lovely sweetness of fruit. A less exotic style of chardonnay than the Upper Barn.


2002 The 50 by 50.


Casa Vinicola Botter Gran Passione Rosso Veneto IGT.


2008 Tenuta Guado al Tasso (Antinori) Bolgheri Superiore. AG 95. The 2008 Guado al Tasso is once again fabulous. In fact, it may be Tuscany’s most improved wine over the last few years. Firm, vibrant tannins support expressive layers of dark fruit, plums, cherries, sage, espresso and mocha. The wine shows fabulous detail and nuance in a translucent, totally seductive style, with tons of focus, drive and verve. It is a striking wine that will be a joy to follow over the coming years. Guado al Tasso is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.


2000 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Conteisa. AG 95. The 2000 Conteisa is one of the most positive surprises in this tasting. The wine is positively explosive, with marvelous balance and richness in its generous, radiant fruit. The 2000 is a terrific Conteisa.


1990 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn. AG 97. The 1990 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn opens with a wonderfully expressive, floral bouquet that leads to a finely-knot core of ripe red fruits, sweet tobacco and spices. Here the warmth and generosity of the vintage offer superb balance and fleshiness to the wine’s sculpted, well-articulated aromas and flavors. The wine’s overall sense of harmony is spectacular.

agavin: Most of us (including me) thought this was the wine of the night.


1988 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. 91 points. This shows wonderful development in contrast to the younger Amarone. Full of funghi with leafy, compsty nuances that build on the agelica root spiciness. Hints of cigarette tobacco and powdered sugar add depth. This is still big and rich in the mouth with excellent balance, full of red fruits and a hint of apply sweetness across the midpalate and leading to a clean, long finish.


1970 Faustino Rioja I Gran Reserva. 91 points. Brick colored. Barnyard, but delicious.


2006 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto. Parker 99. I can still remember nearly falling out of my chair the first time I tasted the 2006 Masseto (100% Merlot) from barrel. The wine is now in bottle, and it is every bit as monumental as I had hoped. The wine possesses staggering richness in a style that perfectly captures the essence of this great Tuscan vintage. Black cherries, flowers, licorice and sweet toasted oak are just some of the nuances that emerge from the 2006 Masseto. A wine of breathtaking depth, it also reveals superb clarity, freshness and vibrancy in a sumptuous, beautifully-balanced style. Simply put, the 2006 Masseto is a masterpiece from Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia. According to Agronomist/General Manager Leonardo Raspini the dryness of the vintage slowed down the maturation of the sugars, leaving the wine with an unusually high level of acidity, and therefore freshness, considering its overall ripeness.


2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Parker 100. The finest wine ever made by proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, the 2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to a glorious nose of acacia flowers, licorice, charcoal, blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings and incense. This massive, extraordinarily rich, unctuously textured wine may be the most concentrated effort produced to date, although the 2000, 2005 and 2010 are nearly as prodigious. A gorgeous expression of Pessac-Leognan with sweet tannin, emerging charm and delicacy, and considerable power, depth, richness and authority, it should age effortlessly for 30-40+ years. Bravo!


2003 Gruaud Larose. Parker 88. The 2003 Gruaud Larose’s dark plum/garnet color is followed by sweet aromas of damp earth, forest floor, herbs, espresso roast, cassis, licorice, and plums. Medium-bodied as well as surprisingly up-front and precocious, it possesses sweet tannin, very nice concentration, and loads of earthy/herbal characteristics intermixed with black fruits, and an attractive, but supple, evolved finish. Drink it over the next 12-15 years. It does not rank alongside the top St.-Juliens.


1997 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 87. Readers looking for soft, immediately appealing Cabernet Sauvignons with some of the Montelena personality should check out the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Calistoga Cuvee. Dark ruby/purple-colored, with sweet tannin, and black currant/cassis fruit, this lush, expansive, tasty, elegant Cabernet Sauvignon should drink well for another decade. This wine has an uncanny aging potential, and is powerful, but its lack of barrel and malolactic fermentation gives it a refreshing, zesty, Chablis-like personality.


2011 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 85. The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits a lighter ruby color as well as more diluted aromatics, and a pleasant, short, round mouthfeel that tails off. There is no herbaceous or vegetal character, but the wine reveals the vintage’s lack of intensity. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.


2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary. 91 points. Dark berry nose, rich, deep, cherry/fruit bomb, satin, easy to drink. 14.6% alc. Nice effort.



2005 K Vintners Charles Smith The Skull Syrah. Parker 98. The 2005 Syrah The Skull comes from a different section of the Royal Slope. If it is possible, the wine is a bit more structured and powerful. It needs 8-10 years of cellaring and will be at its best from 2017 to 2035.


2003 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard. Parker 96. Absolutely superb, this 2003 is drinking beautifully. This blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot from the famous hillside Eisele Vineyard in northeast Napa Valley tips the scales at 14.5% natural alcohol. Gorgeously fresh black currant and black raspberry notes intermixed with spring flowers and forest floor jump from the glass from one of the most aromatically complex wines of the vintage. Medium to full-bodied with sweet fruit, velvety, melted, integrated tannin, a round, generous mouthfeel and no evidence of oak, this is a classy, elegant as well as substantial beauty that continues to age well. It may even be superior to Araujo’s 2002, which, on paper, is a better vintage. The seductive, alluring 2003 should remain at this level for another 5-8 years, but there is no reason to defer your gratification. Bravo!




Fortunate Son Cabernet Sauvignon. All those pictures I still can’t find a vintage. So I won’t look it up — but people really enjoyed it.


2009 Colgin IX Syrah Estate. Parker 95. I could have sworn the 2009 IX Estate Syrah had some Viognier in it, but all of these wines are 100% Syrah. Flowery, peppery, blackberry and bacon aromas reminiscent of a Cote Rotie jump from the glass. However, once in the mouth, the masculinity, power, awesome richness and incredible texture come forward. This killer Syrah should drink well for 20 or more years.



1998 Kongsgaard Syrah Hudson Vineyard. Parker 92. There are about 200 cases of the opaque black/purple-colored 1998 Syrah Hudson Vineyard. As John Kongsgaard said, it was made from “stupidly low yields.” The wine is tight in the mouth, but reveals tremendous stuffing along with scents of blackberries, licorice, earth, truffles, pepper, and graphite. Massively tannic, but sweet and rich, this wine should enjoy two decades of life. However, one word of caution — either decant it for 60 or so minutes prior to drinking, or wait 2-3 years.


2009 Turley Wine Cellars Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard. Parker 94-96. It was difficult to chose a favorite although the 2009 Petite Syrah Rattlesnake Ridge, Hayne Vineyard and Library Vineyard are the three greatest in terms of concentration, depth and potential complexity. As I have said so many times, Petite Sirah is by far the most underrated varietal in California, so it is reassuring to see how many producers continue to make remarkable wines with around 13-14% alcohol as well as 20-40+ years of aging potential.


Chicken salad. Tasted like it looks.


Beans and sausage. Tasty, but dangerous.


White rice. Necessary for the the beans and other dishes.


Crawfish etouffee. This was okay (and I normally love this dish) but there really wasn’t much crawfish in here, about 98% sauce, and the sauce itself was buttery without also having that brandy-type flavor. This roux was probably a lighter version and could have used more intensity.


Green beans. Not bad.


Mac & Cheese. Cheesy, probably cheddar, and good.


Jambalaya. Creol paella, but good as well.


2005 Rieussec. Parker 96. Nice, sweet.


From my cellar: 1994 Dow Vintage Port. Parker 97. Deep garnet colour. The nose is just beginning to evolve into musky, dried plum and raisin aromas with whiffs of tree bark, nutmeg, cumin and cloves. The palate is seriously big and voluptuous with medium to high acidity and a medium to firm level of fine tannins. Very long finish.


Pecan pie. Runny, but very tasty.


Bread pudding. With a nice cinnamon note.

Our hostess on the right

The garden of foodie dreams

El Capitan

 

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Aioli, Cajun, Creole, garden, Garlic, hedonists, Lana's House, New Orleans, shrimp, Wine

Pate de Bourgogne

Sep24

The best Hedonist dinners are the ones like this. The crew: small. The theme: world class Burgundy. The food: superb. The setting: magicial.


The setting was a lovely Hancock Park home and garden.


This particular dinner was hosted by Hedonist, and restauranteur Adam Fleischman. Adam needs no introduction and as the mastermind behind Umami Burger, Smoke Oil Salt, 800 degrees, and a ton of other concepts he is a man with endless energy, ideas, and a talent for doing it right.


Our table.


And my artsy “magazine style” shot.


The menu. The food tonight comes from Gorge Restaurant and Charcuterie (all produced by Adam). Chefs and co-owners Elia Aboumrad and Uyen Nguyen were both at the house whipping up just an amazing sequence of dishes that paired superlatively with the wines.


Everything had that understated contemporary country elegance.


2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. IWC 95. Bright gold. Pungent aromas of candied orange, buttered toast, pear skin and vanilla, with a smoky nuance that gains power in the glass. Stains the palate with intense pear liqueur, citrus pith and brioche flavors, picking up notes of licorice and candied ginger with air. A bright mineral note adds lift and energy to the finish, which clings with superb tenacity and lingering smokiness. This complex, concentrated Champagne is showing very well right now but has the legs to age for years to come.


2004 Coche-Dury Meursault. Burghound 91. Soft mineral reduction does not materially detract from the green fruit, citrus, stone and slightly smoky nose that introduces detailed, pure and attractively intense middle weight flavors that possess excellent vibrancy on the taut, linear and refined finish. This isn’t quite as complex or concentrated as the ’02 version (see herein) but the sheer persistence is most impressive. And in the same fashion as the 2002, this has reached an inflection point of maturity where it could be enjoyed now or held for a few more years depending on how one prefers aged white burgs. For my taste, I would hold this for another 2 to 4 years but many people will find the current state of maturity to be perfect now.

agavin: I just have to mention again that Coche makes THE BEST village white Burgs. Period. It takes a producer at the level of Leflaive or PYCM to even make a grand cru as good as this village. It is a village, and so doesn’t have the depth or power of a great grand cru but it does just soar.


Smoked oyster Mousse. Beef jus en gelee, Crisp baguette. Like creamy smooth pure oyster concentrate. Fabulous paring with the caviar on top and with the champagne.


1985 Stony Hill Chardonnay. 89 Jeff Leve. With the color of an aged Sauternes, the oily textured, concentrated wine is low in acidity, with honeysuckly, caramel, citrus peel and butterscotch. When first poured, the wine seemed oxidized, but it improved in the glass after 10-20 minutes. This was quite a wine considering it was a 30 year old California Chardonnay.

agavin: I stole this review from my friend Jeff Leve (on a different night) — but it was dead on accurate with our bottle too.


1999 Domaine Leroy Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 94. This wine possesses a genuinely staggering nose of superb complexity with all of the green apple and minerality that one associates with classic Corton-Charlemagne. The chiseled, precise, intense medium full flavors are rich, sappy and brilliantly delineated with superb depth and breadth on the explosive backend. A very serious wine that has so much mid-palate sap that it can actually be approached now with pleasure yet it will age for at least a decade, perhaps more. In a word, brilliant. Consistent notes.

agavin: Well, Leroy is one of those few producer’s who can make a wine to outshine a Coche village (the 99 Coche CC would be a fair pairing). This Leroy just had all that Grand Cru depth and complexity with a tremendous minerality (petrol). A real fresh bandaid quality.


Trout. Mi-cuit en roulade, fried shallot rangs, confit lemon zest & tomatoes, tuna just. This dish had a bright bright acidity to it that was really fabulous. The fish itself melted in the mouth like great sushi.


2002 Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Montrachet. Burghound 94. This is an exceptionally impressive effort by any standard with a pure, ripe and highly complex nose of fennel, white flower, citrus and orchard fruit aromas trimmed in a discreet touch of oak spice that can also be found on the rich, powerful, concentrated and equally pure big-bodied flavors that possess admirably vibrancy and outstanding length. Not surprisingly for a young Montrachet, this is still on its way up and it will be another 3 to 5 years before this peaks and it should be capable of holding at that level for up to another decade. A beautiful wine.

agavin: When we first tried this wine I tasted something unusual in the palette. Not a flaw, but one of those unusual complexities you get in great Burgundy that is unexpected. Perhaps it was what AM above describes as fennel, as I initially thought of it as slightly medicinal. This isn’t criticism but a note on the complexity possible in wines of this caliber.


Rabbit Rillette. 24hr confit, house pickled romaneco cauliflower. Sort of like a very french sandwich. The whole pickle and pate thing. Even the cauliflower tasted exactly like cornichon (i.e. vinegar). The mousse/pate itself was mild and a bit gamey, letting it work with and not overpower the Montrachet.


From my cellar: 2005 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet. Burghound 96. In contrast to the expressive noses of the 3 prior grands crus, this is positively discreet and almost reticent by comparison and only vigorous swirling would coax the broad-scaled nose to reveal itself, offering up notes of anise, peach, pear, citrus, orange blossom and honey that also merges seamlessly into textured, sweet, powerful and robust full-bodied flavors that possess a seductive mouth feel yet excellent precision and cut as well. This is a big wine and not overly refined but the sheer depth of material is almost hard to believe and as such, this will eventually transform into something very, very special. Patience required however.

agavin: As I have a whole bunch of these, and this is the first I opened, I’m pleased. It was a monster. On first taste powerful intense acid. Then we left it open for an hour or two and it hit the glass like a beast. The nose was all Montrachet with that coiled massive power that you only get from the world’s greatest Chardonnay vineyard. Wow. wow. My favorite in a line up of really stellar whites.


Wild pheasant terrine. Black truffles, organic arugula salad, mustard. I would have thought this was a country French pork pate, although perhaps a hair lighter. Either way just fabulous.


1949 A. de Luze & Fils Graves Royal. Old old sweet Bordeaux. There wasn’t so much sweet left, but for the age it was holding up darn well.


Foie Gras torchon. Fig confit, fines herbes salad, Grapefruit marmalade. Wow! Basically straight foie with fig. The salad had a nice astringency that countered the heft of the foie. Wow again. Just stupendous.


1999 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 96. In contrast to the general style of the vintage, this is still aromatically austere though with coaxing, reveals wonderfully complex aromas of a simply incredible array of black fruits, earth, spice, crushed herbs and notes of chocolate with flavors that are huge but fine, powerful but subtle and rich yet detailed with a stupendously long finish that offers intense minerality. This is genuinely stunning juice and not to be missed if you have the chance. Tasted multiple times with consistent notes.

agavin: Our bottle was surprisingly open and ready. There was an odd brett thing going on, and the balance wasn’t perfect, but this was an extremely hedonistic and enjoyable glass.


From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 96. One of the finest wines of the vintage, this is simply a spectacular effort that has captured every bit of the potential it originally displayed in cask. Restrained and backward nose of a fantastically complex mix of blackberries, spice, cedar, soy, anise and dried herbs followed by full-bodied, multi-layered flavors of amazing length. Opulent and lavish yet all remains exquisitely balanced and this is astonishingly precise. A real stunner of a wine that is as classy and graceful as they come. As good and classy as the ’02 if not quite as structured.

agavin: The 2001 drank much younger than the 1999. Lots of acid and cherry tones. It just got better and better as the night went on. It needs a few more years but there was that kind of singing balance that bodes extremely well.


Duck Sausage. Housemade choucroute, orange cream sauce. I love sausage, and although I’m not usuually the biggest krout fan this dish was just flat out great too.


1991 Domaine Leroy Richebourg. Burghound 93. Madame Bize made superb ’91s virtually across her entire range and this wine is no exception with its deep, rich, complex nose and flavors that display remarkable depth, including earth and tobacco notes. The finish is subtly complex and still quite structured but the tannins are ripe and buffered by plenty of extract. In sum, this is dense and intense and should continue to improve for years to come. Consistent notes.

agavin: This was all Richebourg. It just reeked of the specific place and time.


1995 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg. Burghound 93. This too is reserved and restrained with an almost completely closed nose that reveals only glimpses of fresh black fruit even after extended aeration. The flavors however are rich and offer excellent detail and are underpinned by dense yet ripe tannins and good extract. I very much like the style of this though it is clearly for the patient and I suspect this will always have a rather strict personality. This has put on a bit of weight and a bit of richness since the big Richebourg tasting in ’01 and appears to be better balanced than the prior bottle but otherwise, it is quite similar.

agavin: A brooding powerhouse!


Tournedos Rossini. Potato puree. GORGE garlic glaze. Foie Gras. This was just the best beef dish ever. Haha, maybe, but it was just stupendously good (and rich). Pure tender beef, truffle, foie, and yummy potatoes and reduction. The sweetness of the glaze helped counter all that fat. It might be overkill, but it totally worked.


2007 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 94. An ultra elegant, pure and quite delicately fruited and spiced nose that is extremely fresh, floral and expansive that is more layered still as it introduces seductively textured, detailed and gorgeously delineated middle weight flavors that possess laser-like focus if less density than is usually seen with this wine. Indeed, this is rather like a ballerina with limited power and weight but the watch word here is purity, purity and purity. I quite like this but it will strike some as unduly light though I believe the underlying material is present such that it will add weight in bottle as it ages.

agavin: The oak was very present when we first poured it (as you’d expect for a way too young grand cru). But even from the get-go it just screamed RSV. As the evening wore on it opened and opened and opened. This will be a stellar (it was stellar) wine.


1990 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. Burghound 94. This remains quite darkly colored with obviously ripe, borderline aromas that are clearly Vosne in origin with loads of spice and secondary nuances to the black fruit and earth aromas that are followed by sexy, sappy and intense middle weight flavors that culminate in a mineral-infused, sweet and energetic finish that delivers outstanding length. This is sufficiently ripe that it is perhaps not a beacon of terroir but it remains unmistakably Vosne in basic character. This is really quite impressive and to my taste, it has arrived at its peak though one that should hold for a number of years to come. Tasted multiple times with mostly consistent results.

agavin: The Beaux Monts was probably my favorite red of the night, and it was the only premier cru. It even tasted like it. As it really came off as full on Beaux Monts. But wow, what a terrior play. Just all VR spice and depth. Fabulous.


1834 Barbeito Madeira Malvazia Reserva Velha. 96 points. A wine made before the civil war! Strong cinnamon with brown notes. Beautiful with a lingering finish that goes on and on. Quite a lot of acidity for a 160 year old wine.

agavin: delicious!


Strawberry Rhubarb St Honore. Vanilla bean cream puffs, crisp puff pastry, vanilla chantilly. This was very French — and delicious. Light, sweet (perhaps more sweet than it would have been in France) and with that perfect pastry texture.


Chocolate Macaron.

Overall, this was just one of the best dinners we’ve ever done. And those of you who follow know that is a HIGH bar. Every element was in balance: setting, weather, people, food, wine. That is what wine (and hedonism) is all about. You can take the above (magnificent) wines and put them in a more clinical setting and they’d come off well — but when you pair it all up properly it rounds out the flaws and emphasizes the best qualities.

Bravo! (And thanks Adam for setting it all up)

more crazy Hedonist dinners here!


The after diner antics begin. You had to be there!

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Adam Fleischman, Allen Meadows, Burgundy, Champagne, Corton-Charlemagne, Cru (wine), Hancock Park, hedonists, Montrachet, Wine

Elite Wine Night

Sep15

Restaurant: Elite Restaurant [1, 2]

Location: 700 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 282-9998

Date: September 11, 2014

Cuisine: Cantonese Banquet

Rating: Elite!

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Elite is well known as one of great LA’s top dimsum places, but I’d never been for dinner. Tonight I gathered with a group of Burgundy loving friends for some awesome Cantonese grub.


We had the private room, complete with authentic Chinese decorative screen.


For whatever reason, tonight’s wine lineup is a crazy blitz of great champagne (+ a bunch of Burgs and Rhones). But because it’s so chaotic in format, and didn’t really match the food, I’m going to detail all the wine together after the food.


Peanuts on the table start off many a real Chinese meal.


Suckling pig. We preordered this little fellow. He’s kinda sad, but he sure tasted great. Really just a fabulous bit of pork and cracklings.


XO sauce. For that savory fermented seafood zing.


Fish maw soup. This is the same mild and fluffy textured soup I had the other week at Newport Seafood.


Roast squab. Succulent little birds, heads and all.


Lettuce chicken. Chicken with water chestnuts in lettuce cups.


Straight off the PF Changs menu, but delicious.


Flounder. Some special “meaty” flounder in mild sauce with vegetables. Very succulent actually.


Garlic fish bits. The fins and tails and the like off the flounder fried with garlic. Boney, but surprisingly delicious.


Lobster! Some awesome tender lobster in garlic sauce.


Sea cucumber. Not my favorite protein, but tasty enough.


Greens. A typical Chinese green vegetable. More or less a colon sweeper.


Noodles. I LOVE these noodles. I’ve had them before at several Cantonese places and they are always great. This particular version was just awesome. The mild savory sauce soaks into the crispy noodles. Yum!


Shrimp fried rice. Classic goodness.


Fried tofu. A kind of soft fermented tofu, deep friend. Tasty and hot (temperature).


Steamed pork. Yeah, it looks like barf, but it was delicious. More or less, this was pork meat minced up with ginger steamed. Seriously it was great.


Coconut and coffee gel. Really great actually. Mild coco/coffee flavor. Delicious.


Goji berry gel. These were actually spicy! I like the jello-like texture, so I enjoyed it. The spice was a bit of a surprise.

Overall, while Cantonese isn’t my favorite Chinese sub-cuisine, this was a fabulous and tasty meal.


This isn’t wine (it’s a beer), fresh brewed just the day or so before. It tasted like grapefruit peels.


1988 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. Galloni 94. An unexpected treat, the 1988 Dom Pérignon is a fabulous surprise. Here the flavors are bright, focused and tense, with attractive floral and citrus notes that cut through the richness of the chilled lobster appetizer.

agavin: our bottle was a little oxidized.


1995 Guy Larmandier Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru Cramant. IWC 92. Pale color. Precise, vibrant aromas of lime, lemon, tangerine and stone. Creamy and rich yet light and lively, thanks to its steely mineral spine. Very firm and concentrated. Lovely purity of flavor and finesse. Finishes graceful and very long, with spice and mineral traces and some youthful austerity. Impeccable blanc de blancs.


1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Oenothèque. IWC 96. Yellow-gold. Explosive aromas of ripe pear, honey, gingerbread and iodine, with intense smokiness and notes of chalky minerals and magnolia. Sappy, palate-staining orchard and pit fruit flavors are braced by exotic spice and mineral qualities, picking up notes of buttery brioche and toasted grain with air. Strikingly dense but energetic too, finishing with superb thrust and mineral-driven persistence. This ridiculously complex Champagne is only beginning to enter its window of maturity.


1997 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. IWC 90. Light gold, with a hint of copper. Expansive and powerful on the nose, displaying scents of honey, light toffee, fresh fig and baked apples. Dense and thick, with serious heft; emphatically not an aperitif style of Champagne. The flavors of ripe apple and pear, singed butter and baking spices are concentrated and deep. Boasts a velvety, weighty texture that carries through the finish.


1997 Salon Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs. Burgound 95. An elegant and very fresh but distinctly yeasty nose of stupendous breadth leads to incredibly intense, pure, detailed and vibrant flavors that possess superb depth and simply knockout length. This is a powerful Salon and even though it doesn’t have the solid acid spine of the very best vintages, this compensates by its approachability and terrific mouth feel. This could be drunk now or aged, depending on one’s preference. If you can find it, I would lay in a case and drink it selectively over the next 20 years.


2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. IWC 95. Bright gold. Pungent aromas of candied orange, buttered toast, pear skin and vanilla, with a smoky nuance that gains power in the glass. Stains the palate with intense pear liqueur, citrus pith and brioche flavors, picking up notes of licorice and candied ginger with air. A bright mineral note adds lift and energy to the finish, which clings with superb tenacity and lingering smokiness. This complex, concentrated Champagne is showing very well right now but has the legs to age for years to come.


2002 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. IWC 95. Light, bright gold. A heady, intensely perfumed bouquet evokes lemon curd, pear skin, iodine, honeysuckle and toasty lees, with notes of ginger and honey emerging with air. Strikes an impressive balance of power and restraint, opening slowly to offer vibrant citrus and orchard fruit flavors, along with intense floral and spice nuances. Clings with superb tenacity on the gently smoky finish, which features zesty orange pith and mineral qualities. By the way, the 2004 Comtes de Champagne Rose has become even more intense over the last 12 months, gaining in both mineral and floral intensity. I know the old saw about aging rose Champagne but this is a wine that is built for the long haul.


From my cellar: 2004 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 95. Perhaps the most backward and reserved wine to this point as the nose reveals only hints of white flower and green fruit aromas that are framed in a subtle touch of pain grillé but the flavors explode on the palate as there is a chewy texture to them yet there is ample minerality present, particularly for Bâtard. This too is blessed with abundant dry extract and a finish that won’t quit but for all of the size and weight, this is impeccably balanced. This has that “wow” factor and in terms of style, it’s almost like a muscular Chevalier.


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


2010 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 95. This is not quite as refined as the Bienvenues but it’s more complex still with an unusually expressive nose at this early stage of notably ripe white peach, pear, yellow peach and apricot fruit scents that combine with very pretty floral nuances. The rich, powerful and muscular full-bodied flavors ooze with dry extract that imparts an opulent mouth feel to the attractively precise and borderline painfully intense finish. This is exceptionally backwards and just like the nose, the palate impression is not as fine but this is both bigger and longer. Impressive.


2007 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Brézé. JG 94+. The 2007 Brézé Blanc bottling from Clos Rougeard is a terrific wine in the making. This is a one hundred percent chenin blanc cuvée that is aged in a judicious bit of new wood and shows every sign (if premature oxidation does not rear its ugly head with this wine) of aging for several decades with great style and class. The deep, pure and complex nose jumps from the glass in a blaze of apple, orange zest, bee pollen, complex, chalky soil tones, dried flowers and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very tight out of the blocks, with a rock solid core of fruit, bright acids, excellent focus and balance and a very long, tight and racy finish. This will be a long distance runner, but it deserves at least four or five years in the cellar to uncoil. A beautiful wine.

agavin: The Chinese food was really throwing my palette with regard to the whites. This dry Chenin is one of those wines that pairs with unusual stuff — I just couldn’t tell what last night.


From my cellar: 1996 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares. IWC 93+. Good fresh dark red. Flamboyant nose combines blueberry, blackberry, licorice and Cuban tobacco; distinctly blacker aromas than the ’97. Great sweetness and penetration on the palate; flavors are given thrust and grip by a strong spine of acids and tannins. Quintessential grand cru intensity without excess weight. Extremely long, noble finish. Fascinating Bonnes-Mares, and likely to be very long-lived.


1996 Georges Lignier et Fils Clos de la Roche. agavin 92. A bit of funk, but quite enjoyable. This particularly bottle didn’t feel like it would be improving.


2009 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. Burghound 93. A ripe yet still cool and elegant nose of classic Vosne-style spice notes adds breadth to the black fruit and stone aromas. The naturally sweet and succulent flavors brim with a fine minerality and plenty of mouth coating dry extract that conclude with a dusty, firm and impressively persistent finish. This is terrific and should age effortlessly.

agavin: a perfect example of why I think of this group affectionately as the “babykillers”


1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Parker 97. The 1989 is inkier/purple in color than the 1990, with an extraordinarily sweet, rich personality offering up notes of smoke, melted licorice, black cherries, Asian spices, and cassis. Full-bodied and concentrated, it is one of the most powerful as well as highly extracted Beaucastels I have ever tasted. It requires another 3-4 years to reach its plateau of maturity, where it should remain for at least two decades. (Many purchasers have reported bottle leakage (due to a cork problem) with this vintage. I purchased two cases of this wine, but none of my bottles reveal any sign of leakage.

agavin: by this age there is considerable bottle variation and ours was in the middle of the pack. Not bad, but not fabulous either. A tad sour, although certainly enjoyable.


1998 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale. IWC 89. Medium red-ruby. Sweet aromas of crystallized red berries and minerals. Strong fruits and spices in the mouth: raspberry, cassis, blueberry. Really expands on the palate; lush impression suggests a high pH. But youthfully firm and quite solid thanks to its solid spine of tannins. Finishing note of licorice. In contrast to the ’99, no new barrels were used for this ’98. This will require a few years of bottle aging.


2004 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard. IWC 95. Dark purple. Ripe, potent cassis and blueberry scents, with a striking floral quality. Lush and creamy, showing impressively pure dark fruit flavors, juicy acidity and fine-grained, silky tannins. Finishes sweet, supple and with superb length, the sweet berry notes clear and persistent. No sulfur was used for this cuvee.


2005 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon CCS. Parker 95. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS, which is clone 4 from block C1, displays a bit more depth and tannic structure. Its inky/ruby/purple color is accompanied by sensational aromas of creme de cassis, scorched earth, acacia flowers, licorice, cedar, and grilled meats. Pure, full-bodied, and powerful, it should hit its prime in 4-5 years, and last for 25.



We had no idea what vintage this BV was. Probably 80s.


2007 Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Gewürztraminer Spätlese. Parker 90. Litchi, pear, muskmelon, and lily perfume mark the nose of Rebholz’s 2007 Gewurztraminer Spatlese, which then comes to the palate with corresponding and predictable opulence and inner-mouth perfume. Creamy in texture; delicate at 9.5% alcohol – especially for this grape variety – and managing to balance out its residual sugar, if barely, this finishes with honey and brown spices adding to the wine’s succulently ripe pear and melon. I imagine it might stay fresh for a decade or more, but I have no experience with its track record.

This amount of wine needed: foot massage!

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Babykillers, Burgundy, Chinese cuisine, Elite Restaurant, Monterey Park California, suckling pig, Wine, XO sauce

Shunji Sushi – Nonstop Nigiri

Sep08

Restaurant: Shunji [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 12244 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. (310) 826-4737

Date: September 4, 2014

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

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Somehow, straight nigiri sushi is mostly a lunch thing for me. And oh do I love it, perhaps no other savory food offers such a consistent yummy bite factor.


Shunji, which took over for the “Mr. Cecil’s BBQ” in this oddball looking building on Pico has developed quite a reputation. Chef Shunji Nakao was an opening chef at Matsuhisa in the day, then opened Asanebo, then The Hump (one of my old favorites). It has quickly risen to the top of the LA Japanese scene.

At night, Shunji offers an amazing and advanced mix of traditional and modern raw and cooked dishes, but at lunch it’s straight sushi.

It might be noon, but great food enjoys some great wine.

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


Tai (red snapper) with salt.


Seabream. Note that like most recent great LA sushi places, Shunji sauces all the fish.


Shima-aji.


This chef cut for me many many times at Takao.


Here is Shunji himself.


Magaro (Big eye tuna).


Japanese Baracuda. Not my absolute favorite.


Belt fish.


Sea Trout. Sadly, I  missed a couple before this. It’s hard at sushi places to remember to snap every fish.


Chu-toro (medium tuna belly).


O-toro (fatty tuna belly). This is actually super uber o-toro and was some of the best I’ve ever had.


Ikura (salmon roe). Nice and sweet.


Uni (sea urchin). Left is from Japan and right from Santa Barbara. The local one is sweeter and less briny.


Ama-ebi (sweet shrimp). It was alive about 15 seconds before we ate it. The head was still wiggling on the counter in front of the chef.


The heads come back as miso soup.


And fried.


Geoduck clam.


Himejako (giant clam).


Unagi (freshwater eel).


Hotategai (scallop from Japan).


Crab hand roll. This was good, but I probably prefer the kind that the Nozawa disciples make (like at Sasabune and the like).


Albacore hand roll. Nice.


Mixed berry sorbert. Lots of flavor.


Grapefruit sorbet. Intense bitter grapefruit flavor. Very refreshing.


Chocolate mousse. Very dark and strong.


Traditional tea.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, joining the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. I really have to come back here at night and get a big mega omakase to sample his more “modern” fare. Not that I mind the nigiri, because as I said at the beginning, it really is a classic for a reason.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: fish, Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Nigiri, Shunji, Shunji Nakao, Sushi, Wine

Totally Totoraku

Sep05

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

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

Date: September 2, 2014

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

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About twice a year my Hedonist group makes a regular pilgrimage to Totoraku, LA’s “secret beef” restaurant.  Toto (as its affectionately known) serves a refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

This time, we’re back to a 30 person mega dinner, quite the madness. It was so crazy that I’m going to list all the wine at the end because there was no progression, just a free-for-all.

The outside is basically a shell. The “Teriyaki House” has nothing to do with the food within, and the phone number is incorrect. The place is like a beef speakeasy!


The appetizer plate.


A very soft gelatinous thing that probably had some crab in it, certainly veggies.


Abalone with root vegetable.


Shrimp with endive and caviar.


Uni risotto balls.


Okra with squid and caviar.


Tomato and burrata.


Snapper rolled around vegetables.


Purple taro balls.


Salmon wrapped in daikon, stuffed with avocado and other vegetables.


Ham with fresh fig! (delicious)


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

Two kinds of beef sashimi, eaten nearly raw. On the left beef tataki (rib eye) and on the right (in the cup) beef throat sashimi. Also on the plate is a bit of Korean style hot sauce (the red stuff), some intensely strong garlic (yum) and micro julienned ginger.

The throat was very chewy, more about texture. The rib eye soft and more flavorful. All went well with the garlic and ginger — I particularly liked the garlic.

A raw beef dish. Marinated raw beef is seen here with ginger, raw egg, cucumber, daikon, pine nuts, and something orange. Apparently, this is a Korean dish called Yukhoe. Actually, I’ve had it at Korean places, but in any case it’s delicious.


The elements are mixed together and then eaten. It’s hard to describe why it’s so good, but it is, with a very complex flavor and texture interplay.


The tabletop grill we cook the rest of the dishes on.


Beef tongue with salt. After cooking, you dip it in lemon juice.


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


Filet on the grill.


Momotaro tomatoes with a vinaigrette. These are supposedly incredibly good tomatoes, as a hater, I didn’t try them. I think Oyama-san gets them from some special place in Orange Country.


The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon. They are served with this spicy sweet miso dip. The vegetables do help to move along the fat and protein heavy meat.


Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.


The outside rib eye on the grill.


Inside rib eye.


The inside rib eye on the grill. Probably my favorite cut.


This was a special pork that Kaz made up for us. Most people get the exact same repertoire of dishes and we are lucky to get at least one special every time.

The pork cooking up. This was a wonderful bit of meat, a bit like Jose Andres’ Iberica pork loin.

You have to special order the lamb, which like all of Kaz’s meats, is pretty wonderful.


One hell of a chop.


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


And it on the grill.


Skirt steak.


The final grill of the night.


Toto serves homemade ice creams and sorbets as dessert.


So chaotic was this giant night that they brought out all five flavors on each  plate and just placed them about the tables. I like the ice creams better than the sorbets here. The white chocolate was fantastic. Still, it’s all great.

Just a small portion of the crazy.

I’m detailing all the wine below. I missed photoing a whole bunch of bottles (even a Margaux!) and other than starting with the single white and ending with the dessert wine, there was no real order. Just grab as you like. We had so many extra bottles and so many magnums that almost nothing ran out quickly, so there was no probably getting a good taste. Just a problem finding a spare glass to hold it!


2004 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 93. A pure, elegant and transparent nose trimmed in noticeable but not intrusive wood leads to big, rich and powerful medium weight plus flavors blessed with ample dry extract and that coats the palate on the impressively long, complex and mouth coating finish. This is still relatively primary and thus despite the premature oxidation risk, I would be inclined to leave it in the cellar for another 2 to 4 years though I stress that it would not be complete infanticide to open this now. I note the premature oxidation risk because another bottle that I opened did in fact have a hint of butterscotch on the nose and while not enough to spoil the experience, it was certainly less interesting than it would otherwise be.


2013 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Cuvée Tardive. 93 points. A beautiful, well-balanced Gamay, with dark but not heavy fruit, smooth and delicious.


1994 Gaja Barbaresco. 92 points. brillant red color , red fruits and spices , after half hour also come the coffee and chocolate . On the palate is round with smooth but still perceptible tannins , it seem younger , great and vibrant acidity.


1986 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto. Parker 97. The revelation of the night, Giacosa’s 1986 Falletto Riserva is also one of my all-time favorites from this producer.  It is a stunning Barolo, displaying a classic, deep nose of roses, tar, and smoke followed by massive amounts of dark, sweet fruit wrapped around a tight core of iron-like minerality, with tremendous structure, length, and freshness on the finish.  This superb, multi-dimensional Barolo appears to still be a few years away from its peak, and should offer profound drinking until at least age 30 and probably beyond.  An awesome effort.

agavin: fine fine wine — and still profoundly young.


1997 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia. Parker 95. The 1997 Ornellaia (magnum) is a big, fat wine endowed with tons of fruit. Mocha, coffee beans and ripe, dark fruit emerge from the glass on a rich, opulent frame. The structural elements are easy to overlook, as the tannins are so juicy and ripe, and the fruit is incredibly intense. Simply put, everything is in the right place. Not surprisingly, 1997 is the year Ornellaia introduced their second wine, Le Serre Nuove, and the extra selection that was carried out to produce this wine has paid off big time. The 1997 is also the first Ornellaia in which Merlot is a full 30% of the blend, while Cabernet Sauvignon is 65% and Cabernet Franc is 5%. It is also the first year in which the percentage of new oak is 50%. In many ways, the 1997 is a wine that signals a move towards the more extroverted style that is common here these days. The 1997 Ornellaia, like many wines from Tuscany that year, is marked by a unique growing season that saw an April frost lower yields dramatically, followed by a hot, dry summer which concentrated the remaining fruit to a levels not seen previously. It remains a magnificent example of this Tuscan classic. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2017.


2006 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto. Parker 99. I can still remember nearly falling out of my chair the first time I tasted the 2006 Masseto (100% Merlot) from barrel. The wine is now in bottle, and it is every bit as monumental as I had hoped. The wine possesses staggering richness in a style that perfectly captures the essence of this great Tuscan vintage. Black cherries, flowers, licorice and sweet toasted oak are just some of the nuances that emerge from the 2006 Masseto. A wine of breathtaking depth, it also reveals superb clarity, freshness and vibrancy in a sumptuous, beautifully-balanced style. Simply put, the 2006 Masseto is a masterpiece from Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia. According to Agronomist/General Manager Leonardo Raspini the dryness of the vintage slowed down the maturation of the sugars, leaving the wine with an unusually high level of acidity, and therefore freshness, considering its overall ripeness. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2031.


1970 Montrose. Parker 87-92. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, this was considered a brilliant vintage at the time, but looking back, most 1970s are slightly austere with aggressive tannins and, possibly unfairly, have never really reached the potential that was predicted for them. Harvest began on September 23 and continued through October11, under extremely fair and hot weather. The alcohol degree was high for the era – between 12.5% and 13.5%. In the tasting, the 1970 showed abundant cedar wood, very masculine, muscular character, with new saddle leather, tobacco leaf, truffle and slightly austere tannins. It is medium-bodied, shows plenty of amber at the edge and seems close to full maturity even though the tannins are never going to fully resolve themselves – a sign of the older style Bordeaux vintages. Drink over the next 10-15 years.


1978 Domaine de Chevalier. Parker 92. Along with the glorious 1970, this is my favorite vintage of Domaine de Chevalier during this decade. The 1978 has consistently been a textbook Graves with a tobacco-tinged, smoky, sweet, cedary, berry, and black currant-scented nose. It is still lusciously fruity, round, and generous. This medium-bodied, exceptionally stylish, elegant wine exhibits the exquisite levels of finesse Domaine de Chevalier can achieve without sacrificing flavor and concentration. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005.


1989 Montrose. Parker 98+. This was not in the tasting at the chateau, but I opened two bottles on my return home, because this is another near-perfect wine from Montrose. It is an unusual two-grade blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. The wine emerged from another very hot, sunny, dry growing season, with early, generous flowering. Harvest in Montrose took place between September 11 and 28. The wine has never had any issues with brett, making it a somewhat safer selection than the more irregular 1990. Like a tortoise, the 1989 has finally begun to rival and possibly eclipse its long-time younger sibling, the 1990. The wine is absolutely spectacular and in auction sells for a much lower premium than the 1990. That should change. This is a magnificent Montrose, showing notes of loamy soil undertones, intermixed with forest floor, blueberry and blackberry liqueur and spring flowers. It has a full-bodied, intense, concentrated mouthfeel that is every bit as majestic as the 1990, but possibly slightly fresher and more delineated. This great wine should drink well for another 40-50 years.


1990 Vieux Chateau Certan. Parker 94. This was a very strong vintage for Vieux Chateau Certan. The 1990 reveals a deep garnet color to the rim along with a sweet bouquet of charcoal, licorice, roasted herbs, forest floor, and a meaty, truffle-like scent. A fleshy, full-bodied wine with exceptionally low acidity, plenty of melted tannin, and a long, layered finish, this beauty is close to full maturity, but it is in no danger of falling apart. It should keep for another 15+ years.


From my cellar: 2000 La Mondotte (magnum). Parker 98+. In two tastings this garagiste wine performed as if it were one of the wines of the vintage. Proprietor Stefan von Neipperg continues to lavish abundant attention on La Mondotte (as he does with all his estates), and the 2000 (80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) boasts an inky/blue/purple color in addition to gorgeous aromas of graphite, caramel, toast, blackberries, and creme de cassis. A floral component also emerges as the wine sits in the glass. Extremely dense, full-bodied, and built for another twenty years of cellaring, I thought it would be close to full maturity, but it appears to need another 4-5 years of bottle age. It should age effortlessly for 2-3 decades.


2005 L’Evangile. Parker 95. L’Evangile’s sublime 2005, a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, is the first wine made in their brand new cuverie. Sadly, there are fewer than 3,500 cases of this deep purple-colored offering. A gorgeous nose of meat juices, black raspberries, chocolate, espresso, and notions of truffle oil as well as smoke is followed by a full-bodied Pomerol displaying sweet tannin, a flawless texture, and stunning complexity. While surprisingly showy and forward for a l’Evangile, it will undoubtedly shut down over the next year or so. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.


1998 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 92-96. The 1998 is unquestionably one of the great modern day Beaucastels, but because of its high Grenache content, it is different from some of the other classics.


2006 Domaine de Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes. Parker 95. One of the vintage’s blockbusters is the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, with even higher alcohol (16.2%) than the 2007. It offers lovely notes of black fruits, truffle oil, roasted meats, beef blood, black raspberries, abundant kirsch, and a hint of roasted Provencal herbs. On a much faster evolutionary track than the 2007, it is a layered, multi-dimensional effort displaying a finish that lasts nearly 60 seconds. Some unresolved tannins in the finish suggest this wine should be cellared for 2-3 years, and consumed over the following two decades.


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


1989 Chapoutier Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac. Parker 94. A classic for the vintage, the tight, muscular, tannic, saturated ruby/purple-colored 1989 requires another 3-5 years of cellaring. The bouquet offers up scents of Provencal herbs, pepper, garrigue, licorice, and gobs of kirsch liqueur. Full-bodied and powerful as well as extremely tannic, it will be drinkable between 2008-2020+.


Velvet glove. Bogus new world label with no vintage on the front.


2010 Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown. 94 points. Yarom is obsessed with this wine.


2011 Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown. So young I couldn’t find a review.


1999 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 97. The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is one of the finest wines of the vintage. The 14.9% alcohol is barely noticeable given the amazing concentration and intensity. A saturated opaque purple color is followed by scents of vanilla, blackberry liqueur, crushed minerals, and a hint of white flowers. There is stunning intensity, tremendous purity, full body, and a remarkable, seamless finish (amazing given the elevated, austere tannin). Give the 1999 another 2-3 years of cellaring, and enjoy it over the following two decades or longer. A brilliant effort!


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


2001 Opus One Proprietary Red Wine. IWC 93. Full medium ruby. Wild, flamboyantly expressive aromas of black raspberry, crystallized blackberry, smoke, leather, licorice, bitter chocolate and cedar, lifted by violet and spices. Smooth, mouthfilling and decidedly dry, with a lightly dusty character to its flavors of dark fruits, minerals and game. The broad, very long finish features building tannins. Quite different in style from the higher-pitched 2008, which was tighter and more floral at the same stage of its evolution.


2010 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 98+. Rich, backwards, structured and massively concentrated, the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon comes mostly from the Champoux Vineyard (also from Galitzine, Klipsun, Palengat and Tapteil) and is comprised of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot that spent 22 months in all new French oak. Offering up plenty of creme de cassis, coffee bean, toasted spice, pencil shavings and violet-like qualities on the nose, it has palate staining levels of extract and tannin that come through on the mid-palate and finish. Gorgeously full-bodied, layered and textured, with perfect balance, this awesome Cabernet needs to be forgotten for 5-6 years and will have two to three decades of longevity.


2010 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard. Parker 97. The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan (only 25% of the normal production or 250 cases were made) offers a remarkable suppleness and velvety character to the tannins. Despite being 100% Cabernet Sauvignon you would almost swear this was a Merlot-based wine from one of the finest vineyards in Pomerol given its lusciousness and appeal. This spectacular 2010 possesses abundant creamy creme de cassis notes intermixed with notions of mulberries and spicy oak and a broad, expansive, savory appeal with decent acidity as well as ripe tannin. As in nearly every vintage, this 2010 can be drunk early yet has the uncanny intensity and overall harmony to age effortlessly. We still don’t know how long this wine will last since the first vintage was only in 2000, which was not one of Napa’s greatest years. The 2010 should hold up for at least 20-30 years.


1988 Château Suduiraut. IWC 88. Highly complex nose combines a stony, minerally pungency with notes of pineapple, orange peel, pine and petrol. Supple and fairly viscous, but with some slightly edgy acidity and a note of green herbs. The wine sugar is currently fighting its acids, creating a somewhat disjointed impression. Just a hint of alcoholic harshness on the finish.

Die hard hedonists with chef Kaz

And this place IS all about the beef, which is arguably some of the best I’ve ever had. Certainly the best yakiniku/Korean BBQ I’ve ever had. There is a perfect tenderness to every cut that’s fairly transcendant. I’m not even that much of a steak fan — but I’d take this stuff any time over even a spectacular cut from Mastros or Cut. The food here does not vary much from visit to visit. There is no menu. The quality however is utterly consistant. So while it isn’t an everyday sort of dining experience, perhaps once every 6-9 months, I love to return for my fix.

This evening was great fun, if seriously chaotic. We had almost all of the restaurant and there was so much wine almost nothing ran out — but there were also too many to even try in any reasonable fashion. But, hey, we are hedonists!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, beef, hedonists, Japanese cuisine, Totoraku, Wine, Yakiniku

Newport goes Westside

Aug31

Restaurant: New Port Seafood

Location: 50 N la Cienaga Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA

Date: August 28, 2014

Cuisine: Cantonese / Southeast Asian

Rating: almost the SGV in Beverly Hills

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My Hedonist group has been out several times to the classic New Port Seafood in the SGV. Always a trek, but worth it. Well this hugely popular east side place has just opened a branch in Beverly Hills (actually, it’s on Restaurant Row in what I think of as West Hollywood).


It will be interesting to see how they do here in the land of overpriced theme restaurants. The menu has been trimmed down from the usual gigantic SGV scale.


The decor is certainly amped up from the SGV. Tonight, they aren’t really open yet but they agreed to let us in for a soft opening of sorts. We were the only real customers, with our giant party of 25! Plus all our wines.

I should note that with this giant (25 person?) group there is a really wide range of wine. I didn’t drink 2/3 of them and I’m not necessarily going to dig up reviews on all that stuff.

2004 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. IWC 94. Vivid yellow. High-pitched, mineral-accented aromas of pear, Meyer lemon, quince and jasmine, with smoke and toasted grain qualities adding bass notes. Spicy, penetrating and pure, boasting impressive vivacity to its fresh orchard and citrus fruit flavors. Gains weight and breadth with air while maintaining vivacity, picking up a gingery nuance that carries through a long, smoky finish. I’d bet on this taut, youthful Champagne rewarding many more years of patience.


The hardcore crew was in the lovely private room (which is actually open to the main dining room). My narrow 50mm lens couldn’t quite get it into frame.


From my cellar: 1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 91 points. Nicely aged white Burgundy with notes of butterscotch and citrus. It started promisingly but faltered pretty quickly in the mouth, dissolving into a dry, pithy finish.


2002 Remoissenet Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Diamond Jubilee. 89 points. A bit premoxed. Drinking ok now, but already too advanced.


Tofu and pig ear with five spices. A traditional Chinese thing. I wonder how the Beverly Hills crowd does with pig ear?


2012 Grgich Hills Fumé Blanc Dry Sauvignon Blanc.


2013 Kim Crawford Pinot Noir Marlborough.


2011 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. IWC 90. the 40th chardonnay vintage at this historic Calistoga winery): Bright, pale lemon-yellow. Crisp aromas of apple, citrus peel and white peppery, along with a light metallic quality. The palate offers bracing lemon zest and grapefruit pith flavors and strong acidity yet comes across as silky and tactile at the same time. Cool and spicy, but with a surprisingly glyceral quality for the year. The youthfully edgy finish suggests that this wine will need serious patience.


Chicken satay. The owners are actually Cambodian and there is a lot of Southeast Asian influence on the menu.


2010 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Narvaux. Burghound 90-92. A well-layered and distinctly cool nose of citrus rind, acacia blossom and spiced pear aromas gives way to intensely mineral-inflected, rich and vibrant medium-bodied flavors that culminate in an impressively long, complex and bone dry finish. This is a classic Narvaux of refinement and a taut muscularity.


2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Narvaux. Lower acidity than the 2010. Still good though.


Fish bladder soup. I don’t know what they really call it, but the spongy texture thing in here (besides the egg whites) is the part of the fish that keeps it floating (so my Chinese friend told me).


This is one of those pleasant mild Chinese soups. A little vinegar (no, that isn’t blood) spices it up.


1995 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rotenberg Vendange Tardive. 94 points. Sweet, syrupy, thick sticky wine, tasting of apricots and honey. Very good. One of my favorite wines with the food.


1999 Weingut Robert Weil Riesling Kabinett. 91 points. Very nice. Possibly a little more sweet than expected for a kabinett.


Shrimp satay. Quite tasty.


From my cellar: 1989 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. 91 points. Youthful appearance with an initial nose of sweet red fruits. Balanced and smooth on the palate. The remaing fruit is fresh and elegant, but a little thin on the finish. Nice, mature VR not over the hill.


2005 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 86-89. A moderately toasty dark berry fruit nose reveals hints of Gevrey earth and leads to rich, full and attractively sweet flavors that deliver good punch if not much complexity on the tangy and dusty finish. This was clearly at an awkward stage in its evolution so my rating may be conservative.


Newport special lobster. This is the signature dish and we had about 8-10 of these (not kidding). A huge lobster with a really tasty black pepper and green onion sauce.


1996 Château Smith Haut Lafitte. IWC 89. Medium red. Warm aromas of redcurrant, hot gravel and tobacco. Supple and graceful in the mouth; not especially sweet but boasts rather penetrating flavor and firm framing acidity. Not quite as suave as this estate ’95; finishes with slightly tough tannins.


2004 Shafer Relentless. Parker 91. Celebrating 30 years of consistent quality and both critical and commercial success, this family run winery remains one of the most admirable operations in California. The Shafers have had tremendous success with their Relentless, which was first released in 1999. A blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Petite Sirah that spends 32 months in 100% new French oak, it is a remarkably consistent offering that rarely displays much oak. The Syrah is from Napa’s cool-climate Oak Knoll sector. One of the world’s most prodigious Cabernet Sauvignons is Shafer’s 2,000-case cuvee called Hillside Select. Always 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 100% new French oak for a whopping 32 months, it boasts a gorgeous track record dating back to the early nineties, and just about every recent vintage has flirted with perfection.


1996 Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon Grace Family Vineyard. IWC 87-89. Good deep red-ruby. Pretty aromas of black raspberry, flowers and spices. Juicy and a bit tight in the mouth, with pungent cedary oak and lively acids. Finishes with very good length and a note of coffee. This should put on more weight during its last months in barrel.


French style beef. Really this is a Vietnamese dish. Succulent filet in a black pepper sauce. Quite excellent.


2007 Newton The Puzzle. IWC 90+. Good bright ruby. Aromas of plum, dried cherry, leather, dark chocolate, coffee and mocha. Sweet and broad, showing a strong oakiness to the flavors of cassis, leather, licorice, espresso and German chocolate cake. Offers a fine-grained texture but slightly edgy acidity and strong dusty, building tannins will require several years to harmonize. Today the $25 Claret is a lot more fun to drink. (A second sample of equal quality showed stronger oak spices but a somewhat mellower finish.)


2006 Hundred Acre Vineyard Shiraz Ancient Way. 95 points. Great bottle of wine! go balance. had everything you can expect from a great australien shiraz!

agavin: I never know which vineyard these are with their new world “stylish” labels that are missing crucial information. I forgot to photo the back. They need some French wine law to require they actually stick the vineyard on the front.


Fried rice. Never a bad thing.

2000 Brothers in Arms Shiraz. 91 points.


2009 Bibi Graetz di Testamatta Toscana IGT. Young Sangiovese.


Manilla clams. With a kind of flavorful garlic sauce.


2009 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Chorey-Côte-de-Beaune.


Fried squid. Crispy, but a hair plain.


1999 Chapoutier Cote Rotie la Mordoree. Parker 95. 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. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2023.


Walnut shrimp. The typical mayo sweet shrimp. I’ve had better, I’ve had worse of this dish.


1999 Torbreck The Factor. Parker 93. Deep garnet in color, the 1999 The Factor shows an earthy, meaty and gamey nose that is a little musky. Full-bodied and rich, it has medium levels of velvety tannins that hold up the concentrated and long, spicy finish. It is mature now and ready to drink.


Sweet and sour fish. It was nice and crispy, but the sauce was too sweet and mild.


2009 Margerum Syrah Black Oak Vineyard. 92 points.


Mustard greens and preserved meat. I think some kind of pork sausage which was great.


1970 Château Filhot Comtesse Durieu de Lacarelle. agavin 86 points. This was pleasant, but far over the hill. Sherry like notes.


Mango sticky rice. Thai, but still good.


This was the “kid’s table” where the dozen or so people who bring the “lesser wines” (or are very late) are banished too. We had about 15 at the other table.

Overall, New Port Seafood did a great job, particularly considering they weren’t even open yet. Several of the dishes were pretty much exactly the same as the original branch (lobster, beef, maybe the walnut shrimp). A few others felt a hair more mild and Westernized. I haven’t studied the menu to see how the prices compare. Our total tonight was reasonable and we pigged out. Seriously pigged out. They don’t yet have the giant crab, but promise they will. Still, it’s a LOT closer. I hope they do great!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Yarom w/ the owner, Wendy Lam

Yarom with the manager

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese, Chinese cuisine, hedonists, Lobster, New Port Seafood, Wine

Eastern Promises – Pope’s Tavern

Aug27

Restaurant: Pope’s Tavern at the Oxford Inn

Location: 504 S. Morris St, Oxford, Maryland 21654. 410-226-5220

Date: May 25, 2014

Cuisine: American

Rating: Solid modern Bistro

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Oxford only has 4-5 restaurants (we ate at 3 of them in our short visit) and Pope’s Tavern is almost certainly the best.


It’s located inside the historic Oxford Inn (nearly every building in Oxford is historic).


With cool tin ceilings.



The menu.


A fried rice ball with chipotle sauce.


1997 Remoissenet Père et Fils Romanée St. Vivant. 87 points. While this was a properly mature wine with characteristic RSV terrior, our bottle was mildly corked. Not the undrinkable level of cork, but enough to be annoying.


Lobster bisque. Rich and as it should be.


House salad. Baby greens, champagne mustard vinaigrette, parmesan crisp.


Beet Carpaccio. Greens, blood orange, cider vinaigrette.


Cheese pizza.


Special artichoke ravioli.


Special crab cake on succotash. A pretty awesome crab cake.

Pope’s Tavern has a nice kitchen. It’s not the lightest fare, but it is darn tasty.

For more Washington dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Blue Crab, Crabcake, Oxford Maryland, Pope's Tavern, Wine

Big and Bold on the Beach

Aug22

I was lucky enough to be invited again to a absolutely fabulous wine dinner hosted by Eric Cotsen at his lovely Malibu pad. A number of us Hedonists attended. Eric has these diners regularly and they feature an awesome setting, great company, wonderful food, and amazing wines provided by both him and the guests. All the wines are served blind (more or less).


You can see the ocean is right there! Like under the house.


Eric has these crazy high tech nitrogen dispensers that preserve (and aerate) the wines. He even has sets of glasses with etched number and letter combos so you can pair to the wines. Tonight there were two white wines in here as the set of 6 reds he opened had bottles too big to fit. The whites turned out to be Corton Charlemagne’s, but I forgot to get photos.


From my cellar: 2004 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 95. Perhaps the most backward and reserved wine to this point as the nose reveals only hints of white flower and green fruit aromas that are framed in a subtle touch of pain grillé but the flavors explode on the palate as there is a chewy texture to them yet there is ample minerality present, particularly for Bâtard. This too is blessed with abundant dry extract and a finish that won’t quit but for all of the size and weight, this is impeccably balanced. This has that “wow” factor and in terms of style, it’s almost like a muscular Chevalier.

agavin: drinking really nicely, with a ton of acid (which I love).

Eric hires various private chefs for his dinner series. We start with some appetizers, including this cheese plate.

A kind of tomato soup, but perhaps more akin to a salsa.


Blue cheese, mushroom, balsamic pizza. This is similar in style to some of the pizzas I make myself, and quite delicious.


A more vegetable pizza. Good, but not as much my thing as the blue cheese one.


A tuna tomato olive pizza. Good too, and as we shall see constructed from extra ingredients from dinner.


Fish cake sliders.

The wine (below) is all served up front blind in numbered socks. I’m a bit ambivalent on this format. On the plus side, there are tremendous wines, and the blind format equalizes them all. Negatively, there are just so many (20+) and unless one took out a notepad and recorded notes and even which numbers one tried (there are repeats too like black 1 and blue 1) it’s hard to even remember if you tried a wine and half impossible to remember what it tasted like by the time they are revealed an hour or so later.


1998 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 94. The 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is a candidate for wine of the vintage. It continues to gain weight, and is better each time I retaste it. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by gorgeous aromas of graphite, vanilla, black currant liqueur, and minerals. This rich, full-bodied Cabernet offers sweet tannin, a layered texture, and a finish that lasts for 45-50 seconds. It is a splendid accomplishment in a difficult vintage. Anticipated maturity: now-2017.


2000 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 93. The 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select was performing even better this year than it was last year. While not as weighty and ageworthy as some of the more hallowed vintages, it is a seriously endowed wine. Deep ruby/purple to the rim, with a gorgeous nose of creme de cassis, licorice, graphite, spice, and cedar, it is more forward than most vintages, but full-bodied, concentrated, and beautifully seductive. Drink it over the next 15 or so years.


2001 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 100. I should not be surprised that the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select merited a perfect rating since I rated it 99 eight years ago. I also gave the 2002 Hillside Select a perfect rating. Kudos to Doug and John Shafer for creating two perfect wines in back to back vintages. The 2001 is a big wine (14.9% natural alcohol), but the alcohol is buried beneath an avalanche of creme de cassis, wood smoke, toast, licorice and spring flower characteristics. Super full-bodied with fabulous fruit purity, a broad, expansive mouthfeel, lots of glycerin and a huge upside, this 2001 is still an infant at age ten, but it is approachable as well as compelling to smell and taste. It has at least another three decades of aging potential ahead of it and is one of the great young, legendary classics from Napa Valley. It was a privilege to taste. There are approximately 2,000 cases of this cuvee which comes from Shafer’s hillside vineyards in the Stags Leap area and is aged 32 months in 100% new French oak.


2004 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 98+. The Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select has been one of Napa’s true first-growths since the early 1990s. The 2004 exhibits a dense opaque purple color along with spectacular, almost surreal levels of fruit that are never heavy, overripe or flawed. Its beautiful notes of creme de cassis, licorice and subtle oak (this cuvee spends 32 months in 100% new French barrels), skyscraper-like texture and extraordinarily long finish are all superb. This is a great wine from a great family who has done everything necessary to produce a world-class wine that can compete with any wine made from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. You can’t say enough positives about the Shafers. Drink this 2004 Hillside Select over the next 20-25 years, although it could be even more stupendous in 40-50 years.


2006 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 96. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, which was just released, is a stunningly rich effort displaying notes of licorice, cassis, camphor and subtle toast along with a full-bodied, powerful texture and richness. Very pure with surprisingly sweet tannins for a 2006, it’s long finish lasts over 40 seconds. It should drink well for 25+ years.


2007 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 98+. The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select has the potential to be a perfect wine in 5 to 6 years. Although it has shut down since I tasted it last year, it is unquestionably Shafer’s finest Hillside Select since the 2001 and 2002. It needs 2-3 years of bottle age and should keep for 35+ years. This selection is made from the Eisele clone of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in a choice 50-acre parcel. It takes concentration, graciousness and complexity to its highest level in Napa Valley. An inky/blue/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of blueberries, blackberries, charcoal and subtle toast. The wine possesses fabulous concentration, a seamless/flawless personality, a textbook integration of alcohol, wood, tannin and acidity, an almost endless finish and a voluptuous texture. Exhibiting more tannin and structure than it did last year, this is a colossal wine that will still be going strong in 2050.


1983 La Mission Haut Brion. Parker 90. This was the first vintage made under the administration of Jean Delmas. The most notable and dramatic change made at La Mission-Haut-Brion since 1983 became a more refined, polished, sophisticated style without the pure mass of older vintages, but also without the excesses of tannin and volatile acidity that sometimes plagued ancient vintages. The 1983, a very good vintage in the southern Medoc and Graves, is a relatively lightweight La Mission (particularly compared to the 1982) that is fully mature. Complex notes of smoked herbs, cigar tobacco, black currants, sweet cherries, damp earth and spice box jump from the glass of this dark garnet-colored wine. Medium-bodied with silky tannins, well-integrated, low acidity and abundant perfume, this fully mature 1983 should be consumed over the next decade.


1989 Latour. Parker 89. An evolved dark ruby color reveals amber at the edge. The nose offers aromas of caramel, coffee, ripe black cherry and currant fruit, cedar, and spice box. Although medium-bodied, with low acidity, the wine lacks richness in the mid-palate, and is surprisingly abrupt in the finish. It is a very fine, delicious Latour, but it is hard to believe it will attain the weight and flavor dimensions its producers suggest. Anticipated maturity: now-2020.

agavin: this was a contentious wine. I liked it, so did many others. Some hated it.


1995 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 96. What sumptuous pleasures await those who purchase either the 1996 or 1995 Pichon-Lalande. It is hard to choose a favorite, although the 1995 is a smoother, more immediately sexy and accessible wine. It is an exquisite example of Pichon-Lalande with the Merlot component giving the wine a coffee/chocolatey/cherry component to go along with the Cabernet Sauvignon’s and Cabernet Franc’s complex blackberry/cassis fruit. The wine possesses an opaque black/ruby/purple color, and sexy, flamboyant aromatics of pain grille, black fruits, and cedar. Exquisite on the palate, this full-bodied, layered, multidimensional wine should prove to be one of the vintage’s most extraordinary success stories. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2020.

agavin: Blind, I instantly knew this was a Paulliac. It couldn’t have been anything else.


1981 Ridge Cabernet York Creek. Another contentious old wine. I thought it tasted like… well… mature cab.


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


2007 William Cole Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvée Claire. 94 points. Remarkably soft for it’s age, as if it already had 15 years of bottle age. Drank like a silky, mature Margaux from a ripe vintage, but with Napa’s fruit forward stamp. An excellent food wine. I only wish it had a longer finish.


2003 Hartwell Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Misté Hill. 92 points. Very nice deep purple/red, hardly showing any signs of age yet. Big nose with lots of cabernet fruit coming through. In the mouth this one is very, very dry. The tannins are nicely integrated, though I’m sure my wife would consider them somewhat overpowering at this point. Lots of herbal stuff going on here, and I’m thinking a lot of anise and eucalyptus dominating with the black fruits coming through the back. This wine is really very nicely rounded, but it needs a fatty food to cut through those tannins.


2008 Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur de Vallee. Parker 98. The inky/purple-tinged 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur de Vallee is a 250-case blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Cabernet Franc. It offers up complex notes of unsmoked high class cigar tobacco, creme de cassis, subtle barbecue smoke, licorice and pen ink. Full-bodied with outstanding texture, purity and length, this awesome Cabernet Sauvignon can be enjoyed over the next 25-30 years.


1994 Penfolds Grange. Parker 91. This is the first vintage where Grange went to a bottle with laser-etched identification numbers to preclude the possibility of fraudulent bottles. The wine, a blend of 89% Shiraz and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, shows some toasty oak mixed with notes of root vegetables, damp earth, blackberry liqueur, prune, and licorice. The wine is dense, full-bodied, not terribly complex in the mouth, but layered and rich. I would not be surprised to see the rating on this wine improve as this youthful Grange continues to evolve. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020.


2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Parker 98-99. Remarkably, the 2001 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon may be even better. Staggeringly pure notes of creme de cassis, violets, licorice and graphite soar from the glass of this inky/purple-colored wine. Composed of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot, and tasting like it is 2-3 years old, it is a stunningly pure, rich, full-bodied, prodigious example of high elevation mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that will not reach full maturity for another 5-7 years, and should age beautifully for another two decades or more. It is a magical wine to smell, taste and contemplate.


1980 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. 93 points. amber brown in color. chemical on the nose.


2007 Domaine de Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes. Parker 98. The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is still an infant in terms of development. Composed of 98% Grenache from 100- to 110-year-old vines, and made from incredibly tiny yields, it boasts a dense ruby/purple color followed by a sweet kiss of kirsch liqueur, incense, camphor, truffles, and lavender. The wine hits the palate with sensational richness, a full-bodied, multilayered texture, awesome purity, and remarkable freshness as well as vibrancy. The tannins are velvety, the acids provide uplift and delineation to the wine’s enormous richness and depth, and the finish lasts nearly a minute. This 2007 is still very young and unevolved, so 2-4 years of cellaring is recommended. It should age for 25 or more years.

agavin: very young and very pure. I wouldn’t have guessed it was a CNDP, it tasted more like a 09 Bordeaux. The balance was perfect though.


From my cellar: 1998 Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins. Parker 98-100. The glorious 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins has finally finished its alcoholic fermentation, tipping the scales at a whopping 16%, much like the surreal 1990 Reserve des Celestins. The deep ruby/purple-colored 1998 exhibits a glorious nose of brandy-macerated black cherries, aged beef, smoke, licorice, pepper, lavender, and sweet figs. Enormous in the mouth, yet remarkably light on its feet, its unctuous texture oozes fruit, glycerin, and extract. There is not a hard edge in this silky-textured, voluminous, majestic Chateauneuf du Pape, the likes of which seem to be incapable of being duplicated anywhere else in this appellation, or the world. This is a singular wine of great intensity and power with multiple dimensions. Liquid Viagra meets Rabelais! Anticipated maturity: 2008-2035.

agavin: I opened this hours before and it was still a brooding monster at the start of the dinner, but lots and lots of enormous fruit. Really lovely with a lot of complexity, but then again, I buy what I like.


2001 Tua Rita Redigaffi Vino da Tavola. Parker 96. The 2001 Redigaffi, an exceptionally deep ruby with an exotic nose of chocolate covered cherries and plum jam along with additional notes of coconut and roasted coffee, has the tell-tale super richness and density of perfectly ripe Merlot, lush, enveloping, plush, and concentrated. Drink: 2005-2020.

agavin: monster Italian merlot


We ate outside around this giant table. It’s surprisingly warm with that fire in the middle.


A slightly bitter salad much to my taste, with, unusually, cilantro.


Broccoli rabe, which I also like a lot.


These sweet potatoes (or butternut squash?) were great, with cinnamon and a good kick.


Seared tuna with tomatoes (like the pizza above).


Sliced steak. Simple, but a nice cut and went very well with the heavy reds.


2005 Rieussec. Parker 96. A bit sweet with very little acidity. Pleasant enough.


1988 De Suduiraut. Parker 88. The 1988 reveals a textbook, light gold color with a slight greenish hue. Although it does not display the weight of the 1990 or 1989, it has better acidity, high alcohol, and considerable sweetness. It is somewhat disjointed, needing time to knit together. It is impressive if its components are evaluated separately, but it is less noteworthy when reviewed from an overall perspective. There is bitterness as well as fiery alcohol in the finish.
The wine does not offer much delineation, so cellaring should prove beneficial as it does have admirable levels of extract. Suduiraut can make powerful, rich wines that are often rustic and excessively alcoholic and hot when young. I am told they become more civilized with age, and certainly older, classic Suduiraut vintages have proven that to be true. I feel this estate’s propensity to produce a luxury cuvee (Cuvee Madame) in vintages such as 1989 tends to have a negative impact on the regular cuvee.

agavin: parker didn’t love it, but there was a ton of 1988’s typical acid, which I very much enjoyed.


Berries and clotted cream. Yum!


Our host. He’s such the wine stud that he did not one but two giant food/wine events in the day, having flown up to Napa and back for a huge 100 point wine lunch!


Jesus, savior of Labradors. Notice the blanket, clearly this is a regular spot.

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: cotsen, Eric Cotsen, hedonists, Malibu, Malibu California, Wine

Chili Crab Craze – Starry Kitchen

Aug04

Restaurant: Starry Kitchen

Location: 943 N Broadway, Los Angeles, Ca, 90012. 213-814-1123

Date: July 31, 2014

Cuisine: Singaporean

Rating: Great fun

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Tonight the Hedonists take over Starry Kitchen, a strange sort of vaguely Singaporean / Pan Asian pop up that has gained notoriety in recent years. This was one of these zoo style events with 25 people, a giant table, and around 30+ wines! I don’t think I even photographed them all as it was too chaotic. I have tried to organize them into coherent flights below, but it was anything but at the actual event. Just a free for all. However, there was so much wine that it wasn’t a problem getting any particular bottle. Most took a while to run out. Plus this sort of cuisine goes best (really only) with whites, particularly slightly sweet ones (like Riesling). But this never stops the fans of giant reds — they drink them regardless. Cava. 2002 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé. Burghound 91. A relatively high-toned nose of green apple, baker’s yeast, floral and citrus peel hints precedes the distinctly effervescent, even slightly foamy flavors that possess good depth on the bone dry finish. This is clearly still on its way up as the focused finish is still compact and while this is certainly refreshing and there is enough depth present to make for an interesting drink, it will be better in due course. In sum, there is good development potential and will especially please those who prefer very dry vintage Champagne. 1998 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé. IWC 91. Light gold color. Intensely smoky on the nose, with rich nutty and floral aromas of molasses cookie and gingerbread along with a wild fresh herb quality and a whiff of blood orange. The spicy character repeats on the palate, which shows ripe citrus, mineral and apple flavors. Finishes complex and long, with excellent concentration and impressive focus. Tofu balls with puffed rice and sriracha aioli. Interesting outer crunch with inner softness. I’ve no idea what the green is about. 2011 Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc. 93 points web. 1998 E. Guigal Condrieu La Doriane. IWC 92. Spicy aromas of peach syrup, citrus skin and menthol. Rich, sweet and lush, with superb depth of flavor and extract. Seems both livelier and more structured than the normale, not to mention longer on the back end. Lots of gras here. agavin: grapefruit peel! 2006 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese. 96 points. Peach and pineapple with grapefruit and slate. Plenty of ripeness as opposite to outright sweetness on the palate and it retains a feeling of being light on its feet. There is also a sweet and sour element going on which I liked. At a stage in between youth and having development but still enjoyable now. 2003 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese. 92 points. There was definitely spritz present, and lots of it. The nose was not giving much. My husband smelled petroleum right away. I thought the nose was strange, but agreed with him that it was petroleum. Then, very slight aromas of honey, peaches, baked dough, and floral came through underneath. On the palate, the wine was rather sweet with taste of honey & fruits. Rather one dimensional, lacks in complexity. Medium finish. This wine is made to pair with food IMHO. I find it more pleasurable to drink this wine with food than without because of the sweetness, and it especially pairs great with spicy dishes. 2002 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese. IWC 90. Smoke and brown spice notes on the nose, mingled with strawberry jam. Delicate and airy in the mouth, yet superbly rich in spice and inner-mouth florality. Salty, spicy and not particularly sweet in its long, wafting finish. 1996 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain. 91 points. Golden color. Exotic fruit aromas. Velvety texture. Fullbodied and big. Some residual sugar. A lovely, balanced and well drinking wine. Shrimp and pork chili oil wonton. Shredded potatoes. Spicy, and clearly a variant of the schezuan “numb taste wonton.” Not nearly as hot though. 2010 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. Burghound 93. A wonderfully elegant and highly expressive nose consists of white flower, oyster shell and iodine aromas that are very much in keeping with the powerful yet refined broad-scaled flavors that possess both excellent volume and concentration, all wrapped in an explosive and gorgeously long finish. The combination of punch and civility is most beguiling. 2002 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. Burghound 93. It’s interesting but this is much more feminine and rounder in style than the Le Charlemagne with its distinctly masculine character. This is not as powerful but it’s more elegant with precise, delineated and pure flavors that also enjoy ample amounts of dry extract and awe-inspiring length. agavin: A little premoxed, but drinking nicely. 2012 Gilbert Picq Chablis 1er Cru Vosgros. Burghound 90-92. A beautifully well-layered nose features notes of mineral reduction, green fruit and ocean breeze nuances. There is impressive scale to the concentrated and powerful medium weight flavors that are both intense saline and mineral-inflected on the mouth coating and lingering finish. As is usually the case this is less refined than the Vaucoupin but there’s better underlying material. agavin: drinking really flat right now 2009 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon. Burghound 91. This is notably riper than the Blagny and the nose plays right on the edge of a certain exoticism as the mostly yellow orchard fruit aromas hint at the presence of mango and papaya. The very rich, round and mouth coating flavors exude plenty of dry extract that buffers the moderately firm acid spine on the lightly mineral-driven and persistent finish. Overall this is really quite pretty and about the only nit is the presence of the barest hint of finishing bitterness that my score assumes will dissipate with a few years of bottle age. agavin: drinking great. Some reduction (which I like). Chinese mustard greens with pancetta. As good as greens get — because bacon makes everything better. 2000 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire. Parker 96. The heady 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire is more evolved than either the 2001 or 1998. Extremely full-bodied, with low acidity, and a knock-out bouquet of blackberry and cherry jam intermixed with licorice, pepper, and dried Provencal herbs, this sexy, voluptuous, enormously concentrated 2000 possesses a huge, silky, seamless finish. Drink this irresistible effort now and over the next 12-15 years. 2008 François Villard St. Joseph Reflet. 90 points. Fantastic nose. Big pepper with lots of violets and herbs. Lovely balanced even palate. Perfect finishing tannin. Lengthy. Just a terrific wine all around. Pork belly fried rice. Really, how could you go wrong with this? From my cellar: 1993 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Echezeaux. Burghound 91. Black spicy fruit trimmed by a deft touch of oak leads to substantially scaled, rich, intense flavors of impressive depth and the elegant breed of a fine Echézeaux is obvious, especially on the exceptionally long finish. I very much like this as it’s both beautifully balanced and offers solid concentration and cellar potential. agavin: tasted much better than the nose. Maybe a tiny bit of brett, but drinking well. 2002 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. 89 points. Drinking decently. Muted cherry and strawberry, slight bricking. 2011 La Bastide Blanche Bandol. 85 points. Dark red color. Tobacco, dirt, black cherry, meat on nose. On palate, full body but nice acidity provides balance. Cherry, sour cherry, garrigue on palate. Medium+ finish. Malaysian chicken curry. A very nice medium hot curry. Chicken fell right off the bone. And it went great on top of the fried rice. 2007 Domaine Grand Veneur Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes. Parker 98+. The newest special cuvee (introduced in 2006) is the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (50% Grenache, 40% Mourvedre, and 10% Syrah). Made from 50- to 100+-year-old vines and aged 18 months in small oak barrels, it is potentially one of the longest lived wines of the vintage. This exquisite, dense purple-colored effort reveals intense but restrained notes of cassis, kirsch, lavender, licorice, and graphite. A wine of great intensity as well as remarkable finesse and elegance, is a full-bodied Chateauneuf that will require plenty of patience. Give it 3-4 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 25-30. 2009 Bibi Graetz Testamatta. Parker 90. The 2009 Testamatta possesses remarkable depth and power along with tons of textural elegance. There is plenty of Sangiovese character in the dusty red cherries, flowers, licorice and tobacco. The wine’s color and forward bouquet suggest it is on a relatively fast path of evolution. Saffron fish wraps. In there is a interesting mixture of pickles, saffron coated fish, onions, and white rice noodles. Here is the wrap stuff. And the final product. 2010 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Vino da Tavola. Parker 97+. Now to a superstar of Italian enology: The 2010 Flaccianello della Pieve will take your breath away. This is a seriously beautiful Sangiovese-based wine with the kind of intensity and aromatic purity you only experience every 1,000 wines or so. There’s a lot to say here. First, the wine’s beautiful appearance shows dark garnet colors with highlights of ruby and purple gemstone. The bouquet delivers a steady and seductive evolution with dark cherry, chocolate, spice, tobacco and sweet almond all seamlessly balanced one against the other. Its texture and inner fabric is rich, velvety and firm. There’s a brilliant spot of acidity that hits you at the back of the mouth and helps the wine from feeling too heavy or dense. In fact, outstanding elegance is what ultimately sets it apart. The temptation to drink it now is huge, but those still young tannins definitely need a few more years to unwind. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035. Rice, egg, ground hamburger. Mixed up, it actually has a burger like vibe because of the meat and the pickles. But very tasty. 2006 Gemstone Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 93. The superb 2006 Gemstone Proprietary Red  (an 890-case blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot) is from the cooler Oakville / Yountville sector of Napa. It exhibits a dense ruby/purple color as well as a beautiful bouquet of subtle new oak interwoven with black currants, smoke, licorice, and a hint of spring flowers. The wine is full-bodied, with excellent density, admirable balance, and fine purity, a hallmark of this estate. It should drink nicely for two decades. Pork belly clay pot. 2002 Pax Syrah Lauterbach Hill. IWC 92. Saturated ruby. Cooler, high-pitched aromas of black raspberry, blackberry, cassis and mint. Juicy and lively; less lush than the Vine Hill bottling as the wine is more dominated by its firm tannic spine (this was vinified with a high percentage of whole clusters.) Densely packed but tightly wound, with lively notes of licorice and minerals. Whereas most of the Pax 2002s offer considerable immediate appeal, this wine really needs two or three years of cellaring. Garlic noodles. And we really do mean GARLIC. There could not have been more garlic flavor. 2008 Cayuse Grenache God Only Knows Armada Vineyard. Parker 94. Baron’s 2008 Grenache Armada Vineyard God Only Knows displays delectable scents and luscious palate presence of lightly-cooked strawberry and plum laced with nut oils and shadowed by plum and herb distillates. Seamlessly polished, almost velvety and glycerol-rich as well as sweetly ripe, this, nonetheless, projects a torrent of primary fruit juiciness along with levity and energy. Saliva-inducing salinity along with piquant fruit pit, and iodine accents add riveting counterpoint to a finish of prodigious length that manages to simultaneously sooth and stimulate. I would expect this to reward attention for at least another decade. 1993 Opus One Proprietary Red Wine. parker 93. Deep garnet-brick colour. Fragrant aromas of dried cranberries, prunes, cinnamon and cumin giving way to subtler earthy notes of leather and tar. A lot of discernable fruit remains on the palate framed by crisp acidity and a medium level of grainy tannins. Very long, layered finish. Drink now to 2018. Tasted April 2009. And the main event: Chili crab. The crab is drowned in the chili sauce, which has much of the meat. Those balls are fried bread puffs. They each weigh about 1/3 of a pound (not kidding). Heavy stuff but perfect for dipping. I haven’t had Chili Crab too many times, but this was very close to what I had in Singapore. The crab itself was much smaller here (there we had these huge Sri Lankan crabs). Also amazing on the fried rice (not the most attractive, but tastes great). 2009 Rieussec. Parker 97. The team at Chateau Rieussec have conjured a stellar wine in 2009. There is a little reduction at first that fortunately blows away, revealing thickly layered scents of honey, Danish pastry and quince that appear to gain vigor with every passing sip. The palate is stunning: very viscous in the mouth with tangy grapefruit, honey and white peach. It is still primal, but the acidity is perfectly judged and there is a life-affirming sense of precision and tension towards the finish. Exceptional. Drink now-2045. Churros. A bit oily, and again, mysteriously green. Another awesome evening. Good food, if a little eclectic, and a zoo of enjoyable (if not entirely food friendly) wines. But just great company and hence a whole lot of fun.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Picking at the crab

Rarrrr!

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Champagne, Chili Crab, crab, hedonists, Los Angeles, Riesling, Spätlese, Starry Kitchen, Wine

Saddle Peak Again?!?

Jul30

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

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

Date: July 23, 2014

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

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


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


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


Which on a lovely summer night is pretty incredible.


Our table out on the patio.



The current menu.


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


Salt and butter.


Yummy Pretzel bread.


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


Corn and tarragon soup.


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


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


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


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


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

agavin: to our taste, getting a little funky.


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


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


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


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


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


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


Cesar salad with garlic croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano.


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


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


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


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


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


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


Special albacore with soy sauce.


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


Special pork belly with watermelon. Very sweet and delicious.


English pea toast with burrata and candied citrus.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


Wild Game Trio.


New Zealand elk tenderloin.


A more short-rib like game meat.


Some kind of tenderloin.


Sweet potato fries.



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


Caramelized Pink Lady apple beignets with caramel.


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


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


Banana huckleberry croissant bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream.


Chocolate raspberry fun.


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


Our server tonight — we sure kept him busy.

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

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

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

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Calabasas California, Food, hedonists, Malibu Creek, Saddle Peak Lodge, Wine

Lucky Ducky

Jun19

Restaurant: Beijing Duck House

Location: 6420 Rosemead Blvd. San Gabriel, CA 91775. (626) 286-5508

Date: June 14, 2014

Cuisine: Beijing Chinese

Rating: Tasty stuff

_

This is my third time this week out to the SGV for scrumptious Chinese. My mother apparently ate a lot of Chinese when she was pregnant with me (true) and I’ve loved it ever since I was a kid.


Tonight’s entry is Beijing Duck House which is funny enough, a Beijing style restaurant specializing in… you guessed it… Peking Duck!


The room is typical enough.


2002 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé. IWC 92. Pale yellow-gold. Fresh citrus and orchard fruit aromas are complicated by notes of gingerbread, white flowers and sweet butter. Toasty lees and mineral qualities gain power with air, adding depth to the wine’s gently sweet pear, honey and tangerine flavors. At once rich and lively, finishing with excellent clarity and alluring mineral and floral character. This Champagne, which I’ve tasted from three different disgorgements now, is proving that it’s built for the long haul.


Marinated cucumbers, mushrooms, and boiled peanuts. This dish had an almost Vietnamese flavor too it with the slightly sweet sauce and the strong cilantro notes. Yummy.


Beef tendon. A cold dish, the tendon was chewy and the meat parts some kind of cured beef. The beef was delicious and there was a good bit of heat to the dish, plus the cilantro.


1999 Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots. Burghound 88. Less expressive and open than the ’99 Les St. Georges without the forbidding firmness of the Petits Monts. This still has plenty of the pinot baby fat and the substantial tannins are completely wrapped though there is sufficient structure to permit this to improve for a decade. Pure, long and pretty.

agavin: needs a little more time to open.


The duck comes up early. Our professional carver gets to work.


Beijing Duck. The meat itself served with the pancakes in the background.


And the condiments: spring onion, cucumber, jicama/radish, and the plum sauce.


All elements are combined into the pancake. Delicious and greasy as always!


2009 Maison Roche de Bellene Savigny-lès-Beaune Vieilles Vignes. BH 86-89. Here the nose is bursting with Savigny-style earth on the ripe and pretty red pinot fruit nose that introduces nicely rich, round and fleshy middle weight flavors that are also admirably delicious and while there is a touch of rusticity to the supporting tannins, the overall impression is a straightforward wine that should drink well relatively early.

agavin: surprisingly drinkable for being so young.


Duck second way. Bits of duck meat and vegetables in lettuce wrap.


Add a little plum sauce and one is good to go. PF Changs eat your heart out.


2005 Longoria Pinot Noir Fe Ciega Vineyard. Burghound 92. A really lovely nose of beautifully complex and deeply pitched red berry fruit complements the rich and ripe medium full flavors that display a fine sense of restraint and underlying reserve as well as a gamy hint, all wrapped in a moderately structured finish and fine balance. This will clearly be capable of mid-term aging and as I say, this is indeed ripe but it’s the restraint and focus that really sets it apart from the typical pinot. Recommended.


Duck Soup. This is the third way. Boney bits of duck (with meat) are cooked up in a duck version of chicken soup.


It looks normal enough in the bowl. And it basically tastes like slightly rich chicken soup.


A neighboring table featured all sorts of unusual goodies so I took a few shots.


Like duck feet and wings!


1999 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee. Parker 92. A powerful, concentrated 1999 Chateauneuf du Papes was produced at Chateau Pegau. The dense ruby/purple-colored 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee boasts a powerful bouquet of pepper, garrigue, black fruits, and earth. Full-bodied and expansive, with sweet tannin giving it a more open-knit, accessible style than most young vintages of Pegau, this is a wine to drink while waiting for the 1998 and 1995 to become fully mature. Like all of this estate’s red wines, it was bottled with neither fining nor filtration.

agavin: This had a barnyard  quality. It went well with the lamb below, but got to me after a bit.


Cumin lamb. Skewers of tasty lamb loaded with cumin.


2004 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Riesling Clos Hauserer. Parker 87. The many insufficiently attentive wine aficionados who can be heard lamenting a supposed absence chez Zind-Humbrecht of dry wine should have their mouths rinsed out repeatedly with the 2004 Riesling Clos Hauserer! (And, by the say, it is the Humbrechts, not I, who have re-introduced the Umlaut.) Mint, boxwood and lime zest on the nose suggest a Sauvignon. Firm acidity, peach pit bitterness, adamantly chalky minerality, and almost explosive acidity in the mouth make for a brash and relatively spare impression, despite palpable thickness of extract and sense of amplitude. Humbrecht imagines that if he planted Riesling in the Goldert, this is the sort of wine it would become. These grapes were very ripe – “turning blue- in fact, he says – but the deeper the roots go into the mother chalk (and these vines now average thirty years of age) the longer, he claims, the wine requires to unclench, even in a less acid-retentive vintage than this. Plan not to even revisit this wine for two or three years.

agavin: disappointingly austere


Dumplings. Standard Beijing dumplings with vinegar. Shanghai XLB are better, but these are certainly tasty too.


1994 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg Vendange Tardive. RJ Wine 95. I love extremely young ZH wines for their youthful vigor. As they age, some gets a bit to heavy and cloying showing a hint of alcohol. Also the beauty of a great desert wine is the airy/cotton candy like palate. This was an exceptional showing. Nicely focused nose displaying yellow peach, dry mango, apricot and sweeten ice tea. Lovely airy palate. The wine remains quite fresh and precise despite the dense fruit a la D’Yquem. Lovely showing.
I highly recommend.

agavin: awesome!


Corn. The sauce here had some added sugar and I found it too sweet. Otherwise, it was basically succotash.


BBQ Pork. Can anyone say bacon? I picked off most of the fat/skin later but the meat was sweet and super tasty.


2007 Nikolaihof Riesling Reserve Steiner Hund. RJ Wine 93. So serene, delicate and understated; this is a wine that really needs time and air to show its best. It’s utterly compelling though with an amazing purity to the fresh fruit flavours, greener herbal and leafy accents and a base of pure stone beneath the fruit.


Sweet and sour fried fish. Super awesome version of this typical dish.


1994 Grgich Hills Zinfandel Sonoma County. 92 points. Dark fruit, prunes. Very lively.


Spicy eggplant. In a delicious garlic sauce.


1995 L’Ecole No. 41 Merlot Seven Hills Vineyard. 91 points. Immediately greeted by the rich unbelievably ripe cassis perfume which sets you up for a fruit bomb, but instead the wine was very poised and restrained on the palate. Tannins are fully integrated at this stage which rewards with a velvet mouthfeel. High quality fruit here which showcases the brilliance of Seven Hills. These should be drank now. For me I’m beginning to understand L’Ecole now because they are shy, backwards and sometimes austere in youth as they reward so much with age.


Pig’s feet. Not my favorite.


Mixed fried rice. Simple and delicious.


Cabbage and glass noodles. This Chinese hot coleslaw is rather delicious.


Frog hot pot. Probably close to the Wuman dry hot pot, this had a bit of heat. It was fine, but not the best dish of the night.

Overall, another highly enjoyable Chinese meal. The duck was on par with Tasty Duck and the other dishes were arguably better. I like the Beijing style and some of these dishes were fabulous. Perhaps Beijing Restaurant is a little better within this style, but then again, there is the duck!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beijing, Beijing Duck House, duck, hedonists, Peking Duck, poultry, Soups and Stews, Wine

Melisse Madness

Jun17

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

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

Date: June 12, 2014

Cuisine: California French

Rating: Awesome in all ways

_

It’s always a challenge to come up with a new spot for my birthday dinner. I tried a couple new places and after struggling with annoying policies and restrictions came back to proven slam dunk Melisse. They have the private room. They have the food. They can handle all the wines effortlessly.

I brought a lot of good stuff and so did my friends.


Liz set the tone with this mag of 1995 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Brut. IWC 93. Medium straw, with a powerful mousse. Dense and earthy on the nose, with strong toasty and buttery tones layered on ripe apple and pear fruit. This is both very ’95 in a positive sense and very Pol Roger. Fat and round in the mouth, with extravagant flavors of buttered toast, ripe orange and poached pear, complemented by subtle notes of cinnamon and mace. A lush, velvety Champagne that completely fills the mouth with flavor and creamy texture. This would go wonderfully with absolutely anything-or on its own.


Oh, and then this 1988 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Brut. IWC 94. Classic, subtly complex Champagne aromas of toast, toffee, citrus peel, and yeasty fresh apple. Rich, full and ripe, with great depth of flavor and truly insinuating intensity. Complex notes of butterscotch and toasted nuts. Ripe, harmonious acids give this remarkably smooth wine excellent backbone for further aging. Extremely long. I rated this wine 93(+?) a year ago, and it has certainly delivered on its early promise. A pinnacle of the ’88 vintage.


Tomato two ways. Usually the initial amuse at Melisse is grapes, but this time, it’s tomatoes, both goat cheese and pistachio crusted and sphereized.


The white Burgundy flight!


1979 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Chassagne-Montrachet. 85 points. The wine has seen better days, and had strong notes of sherry. But it wasn’t totally without virtue. As it sat in the glass for an hour or two it rounded out a bit.


1989 Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet. 93 points. Soft and with classic Montrachet terrior this was a really delicious example of fully mature great white burg.


From my cellar: 1993 Maison Roche de Bellene Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières Collection Bellenum. 90 points. Other than the 79 this was the least complex of our whites, but it was still very MP and quite delicious.


Naked Cowboy Oyster. Apricot Lane Avocado, lemon cucumber, meyer lemon granite. A truly delicious and bright flavored oyster prep. The granite in particular was lovely, standing in for a squirt of lemon.


And a version with no oyster.

Have a few white burgs!


Egg Caviar. Soft Poached Egg, Lemon creme fraiche, american Osetra. Delicious as always. As Larry commented, “I could have eaten 3-4.”


The amazing Melisse bread, including bacon bread!


And really really rich butter.


Wild Japanese Snapper. Wild radish pods, cilantro and apple milk. Soft and bright flavored again.


Sweet Pea Veloute. Whipped Black Truffle. This is the inside of the soup.


And with the soup itself.


From my cellar: 1998 Jacques Prieur Montrachet. Burghound 92. Quite closed and borderline austere on the nose with reticent aromas of fresh cut citrus followed by powerful, almost painfully intense flavors. This is completely unevolved and quite angular just now though it stops short of actually being hard. However, there is terrific sève and such solid underlying material that this should mature into a marvelous Montrachet but it will require a few years before the steel backbone softens.

agavin: 96 points. Outstanding, and oh so Monty.


From my cellar: 2000 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet. IWC 92. Complex, subtly perfumed aromas of apple, pear, minerals and nutmeg. Dry, steely and penetrating, with brisk acidity giving the wine an almost painful firmness today. Extremely closed, even dry-edged, but very long on the back end.

agavin: 93-94 really grew and grew in the glass with serious grand cru complexity.


2001 Coche-Dury Meursault. Burghound 90. Relatively deep golden. A pretty and fully mature nose of really lovely complexity, especially for a villages level wine, dissolves into intense, round and utterly delicious medium-bodied flavors that offer exceptionally good Meursault character and an abundance of minerality on the long finish. This still vibrant effort continues to pack plenty of flavor authority and one that has arrived at its peak of maturity. I would suggest drinking this up over the next 5 to 7 years or so as there is no additional upside development potential. In sum, this is a simply terrific wine for its level. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

agavin: 96 points. Meadows never gives these village Coche’s their due. Pretty much the whole table found this to be the best white Burg of the night. A lot of reduction and a long finish really sold it.


Forbidden Fruit. Apricot and Date. This is not the fatty liver of a water fowl. Definitely not.


Wagyu Beef Tartare. Black Olives, capers, cornichon and smoked tomato. Here one smeared some meat on a crisp, and then added some of the aioli-like orange stuff. Delicious!


We began to run low on white so Liz opened this! 2011 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. Burghound 93. This is also highly perfumed with a pronounced floral component dominating the other aromas that are composed of citrus, seaweed, iodine and mineral reduction while leaving no doubt that this could be nothing other than Chablis. There is excellent size, weight and muscle to the overtly powerful and well-concentrated flavors that exude a fine minerality on the extract rich finish. This explosive effort is almost aggressively saline and should improve for up to a decade in bottle.


Santa Barbara Spot Prawn. Fava beans, morel mushrooms, young garlic.


And with a bit of “jus.” Delicious!


The red Burgundy line up.


From my cellar: 1969 Maison Roche de Bellene Volnay 1er Cru Santenots Collection Bellenum. 86 points. Interesting but the fruit was pretty faded and it had this vegetal menthol red pepper taste that wasn’t very pleasant. Bummer. The 66 I had of same was awesome.

From my cellar: 1983 Domaine Clair-Daü Bonnes Mares. John Kapon 94. The 1983 Clair Dau Bonnes Mares was excellent, and another solid 1983, which I have been enjoying here and there over the past couple years. Black licorice dominated initially, opening up into nutty, Burgundian fruit. The flavors were also licorice, and the wine was fleshy and tasty with a nice finish, in a good spot and a good showing for this oft forgotten vintage in Burgundy.

agavin: This was my third bottle of this wine, and while it was still good, it didn’t have nearly as much fruit as the others.


Lobster Bolognese. Perfect, just so small!


t

From my cellar: 1985 Joseph Drouhin Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 91.  Pale ruby but not yet bricking. A lovely and expressive mix of now mostly secondary aromas yet with traces of primary and still fresh fruit, spice and subtle earth aromas that are very Vosne in basic character. The sweet, rich and still quite precise middle weight flavors offer a mouth coating and culminate in a still somewhat firm finish that suggests ample minerality just below the surface. This is an impeccably balanced and understated wine that is classic Drouhin and classic ’85 that is drinking perfectly now and should continue to do so for another decade, perhaps a bit longer.

agavin: 90 points. This wine had a touch of funk or unbalance to it, but was still very vosne and quite enjoyable.


From my cellar: 1990 Georges Lignier et Fils Clos de la Roche. Burghound 88. A pretty cherry-fruit infused nose that is still relatively fresh leads to rich and vibrant medium full flavors that are bit edge and tannic on the now slightly astringent finish. While the mildly rustic tannins are not resolved, I would be drinking this anyway as it risks drying out with extended bottle age. No other recent notes.

agavin: 93 points. Lots of fruit, fully mature, delicious.


Oregon Porcini. Asparagus, young garlic and parsley


And with a bit of green foam.


Sockeye salmon. with mushrooms and beure blanc.


Stonington Maine Halibut. Courgettes and Lemon basil.


1994 Domaine Jean Gros Richebourg. 92 points. Nice.


1996 Bouchard Père et Fils La Romanée. Burghound 93. Medium ruby color. Fresh and still entirely primary, elegantly perfumed violet and black fruit aromas introduce round, sweet, brilliantly delineated middle weight flavors of considerable breed and class deliver a racy, long and stunningly pure finish. The basic character here is interesting as the strikingly seductive nose is wonderfully expressive yet the flavors, and especially the finish, are somewhat somber and reserved though notably less so than they used to be when I last tasted this four years ago. While with 60 minutes or so of aeration this can be enjoyed now, it’s clear that several more years of cellar time is in order first. Tasted thrice with consistent notes.

agavin: 94 points. Deeper colored than the other red burgs and really fab.


Aged liberty duck. The meat had that gamey aged quality and was delicious.


With the serious meats, a few “beefier” reds.


1990 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 96-97. Medium garnet-brick colour. Earthy, Provence herb seasoned aromas of warm cassis and stewed plum with nuances of smoked duck, cracked black pepper and dark soy. The palate leads with structure – medium to high, finely grained tannins and medium to high acid. Plenty of complex fruit to flesh out the mid-palate with a long, layered finish.


1982 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 100! Still stubbornly backward, yet beginning to budge from its pre-adolescent stage, this dense, murky ruby/purple-colored wine offers up notes of graphite, sweet caramel, black cherry jam, cassis, and minerals. The nose takes some coaxing, and the decanting of 2-4 hours prior to service is highly recommended. For such a low acid wine, it is huge, well-delineated, extremely concentrated, and surprisingly fresh. Perhaps because I lean more toward the hedonistic view of wine than the late Michel Delon, I have always preferred this to the 1986, but the truth is that any lover of classic Medoc should have both vintages in their cellar. This wine has monstrous levels of glycerin, extract, and density, but still seems very youthful, and tastes more like a 7 to 8-year-old Bordeaux than one that is past its twentieth birthday. A monumental effort.


1982 Penfolds Grange. Parker 97. The 1982 is another superb example of that. One of the jammiest, most precocious Granges when it was released, it has never gone through a closed stage and continues to drink beautifully. A full-bodied, opulent Grange, it reveals an inky/purple color to the rim as well as a beautiful nose of crushed blueberries, blackberries, smoke, toast, roasted herbs, and road tar. This dense, plush, expansive, seamless, seductive 1982 has not changed much since I had it nearly a decade ago.

agavin: awesome!


Prime beef rib eye cap. Young leeks and Chanterelle mushrooms.


With the jus.


Egg, grains, and beans.


Ron felt we needed some more white Burg, so he pulled out this 2000 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. Burghound 90. Interesting notes of fennel, green Chablis fruit and straw introduce medium weight, slightly austere, understated, precise flavors that deliver plenty of complexity and length but lack the same density as the 2001 Montée. To be sure, this is an excellent wine and Raveneau may have been a bit too modest in his comments about the vintage as this is really lovely if not genuinely incredible.


Tartiflette. Reblochon, smoked bacon, and potato. A delicious bacon version of potatoes Lyonnaise. Sort of.


And Stewart really wanted to open his Champagne! 1985 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. JK 96. A quick glass of 1985 Krug got me ready for the trip back home. Full of vitamins, spice and intense game, this fresh and perfect bottle of 1985 was great with a spicy and long finish, still young!


Strawberry. Balsamic, Sheep’s yogurt, graham cracker, and black pepper. Sharp and delicious!


Ron brought this crazy 115 year old port that came in a cool box.


Here’s the bottle.


And the port. Check out the viscosity. Like motor oil! But delicious.


Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate. Soufflé, mouse, and tarte.


A different chocolate dessert.


White Nectarine. Boysenberry, ginger, and vanilla. Like a miniature fruit ala mode.


Petite Fours. Gels, peaches, chocolates.


Cookies, macarons, cannelles.


Most (but not all) of the wines!

All in all, a rather amazing birthday. An embarrassment of great wines, company, and food!

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

For another Melisse meal, click here.

Or for other Foodie Club meals, click here.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bouchard Père et Fils, Champagne, Chassagne-Montrachet, Foodie Club, Maison Joseph Drouhin, Melisse, Montrachet, Pol Roger, Wine, Winston Churchill
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