Restaurant: Tesse

Location: 8500 Sunset Blvd Ste B, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (310) 360-3866

Date: December 10, 2021

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Food was a miss, wine was great

Sauvage’s series of awesome 2021 lunches continues unabated into December in which case we brought oodles of Chateauneuf du Pape to enjoy.

This is the main dining room.

And the regular menu.

But being anything but regular, we Sauvages convinced them to open for lunch and setup at this giant table in a private room to the side.

Our special menu.

2006 Laurent-Perrier Champagne Millesime Rare.

From my cellar: 2007 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 96. Taittinger’s 2007 Comtes de Champagne will be nearly impossible to resist upon release. Soaring aromatics, mid-weight structure and soft contours give the 2007 its alluring personality. Lemon oil, white flowers, mint, chamomile and green pear add brightness and freshness throughout, with a persistent, clean finish that makes it impossible to resist a second taste. Today, the 2007 comes across as a slightly more open version of the 2004, with freshness that makes that wine so appealing, and a touch of textural richness that recalls the 2002. Although the 2007 does not have the explosive energy or verticality of the profound 2006, it will drink better earlier. The 2007 has been positively brilliant on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. (Drink between 2018-2047)

An amuse of yellowtail and some fruit.

Now begins the white CDP flight:
2016 E. Guigal Condrieu La Doriane. VM 95. Light bright yellow. Expansive aromas of ripe nectarine, pear liqueur, candied fig and pungent flowers, along with a smoky mineral nuance that builds in the background. Palate-staining, impressively concentrated citrus and pit fruit flavors show superb clarity and become more energetic with air, picking up a touch of lemon curd. The mineral and floral qualities come back emphatically on the extremely persistent, penetrating finish, which shows a suave blend of power and finesse. (Drink between 2020-2026)

2017 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc. VM 96. Translucent yellow. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe pear, yellow plum, orange zest, smoky minerals and jasmine, along with a deeper suggestion of honey. Honeysuckle, energetic, sharply delineated citrus, orchard fruit flavors stain the palate and become weightier with aeration. The mineral note expands as the wine opens up and drives an impressively long, chewy finish that features lingering floral, brioche and saffron notes. (Drink between 2027-2036)

2019 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes. 98 points. Wow…just wow! Light golden yellow in the glass. Scents of juicy fruit bubble gum, yellow apple, & tropical fruits. On the palate ripe tropical fruits, nutmeg, and clove…just a long, long finish. Wow…Extraordinary!!!

Scallop Carpaccio, ice plants, pine nut emulsion, black truffle. The scallops themselves were good but the pine nut emulsion was a really bizarre complement. It was somewhat tahini like, and good by itself, but I didn’t think the overall dish worked at all. It was drastically lacking in acidity as well.

1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 93. The 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape has a compelling bouquet of plump red fruit, oxtail, leather and morels, all well defined and full of chutzpah. The palate is smooth in texture and, at 29 years old, has certainly mellowed. There is a core of sweet fruit here, but it has softened with age and delivers a smorgasbord of second flavors: meat juices, clove and touches of fennel. It does not possess the audacity of the Hommage à Jacques Perrin, yet it has retained effortless charm. (Drink between 2019-2036)

2000 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. VM 93. Dark red-ruby. Distinct surmaturite on the nose: roasted red fruits, roasted herbs, chocolate, earth and minerals. Lush, sweet and layered, with classic superripe grenache flavors of chocolate and spice cake. Very smooth wine, finishing with toothcoating tannins and the quintessential warmth of a wine from the South. “In an outstanding vintage like 2000, I tried to preserve freshness of fruit and finesse, and thus did not try to do a big extraction,” noted Sabon.

2000 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul. VM 93. Good deep red. Superripe, smoky, roasted aromas of liqueur-like dark fruits, minerals and game; distinct surmaturite from the sandy soil near Chateau Rayas. Fat, sweet and lush; has the texture of liquid velvet. Wonderfully rich flavors of dark fruits and game. This captures the fat of this vintage in spades. Finishes with compelling aromatic quality and big, thoroughly ripe, spreading tannins. Has just enough acidity to maintain its balance. Very impressive.

2001 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve le Clos du Caillou. VM 96. Saturated, bright ruby-red. Knockout nose of black raspberry, meat, minerals, spices, chicory and espresso. Like liquid silk in the mouth; an incredibly concentrated, nearly confectionery wine, with compelling flavors of blackberry, violet and game. As creamy as a molten Valrhona chocolate cake. The oak component serves to frame and intensify the flavors, enabling this wonderfully thick wine to retain a sappy character. Finishes with intriguing garrigue notes and a repeating espresso element.

Ravioli. Butternut squash, hazelnuts, shaved parmesan, bordelaise jus. The ravioli and sauce were good, but the butternut squash just made the dish too heavy.

2001 Xavier Vignon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Ange. 92 points. Medium ruby fading to pale ruby off center and a bit orange around the rim. On the nose, after 15 minutes dark cherries / kirsch lept out of the glass, however this openness was short lived and in another 30 min (and through day 2) the nose was a lot more subdued (which may have been this shutting down) however some cherry, spice, pepper, licorice persisted when we went looking for it. On the palate some cherry (not a lot of fruit), acid, something a little funky but pleasant (I thought mushrooms my wife said earth), some tannin, finish wasn’t all that long.

2003 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. VM 95. Saturated dark red. Explosively aromatic, highly complex nose offers kirsch, raspberry liqueur, blueberry, tarragon, baking spices, smoked meat, espresso and hot asphalt. Lush and hefty but suave, with rich flavors of sweet dark berries, framboise, candied chocolate and licorice that build and deepen with aeration. A brisk mineral note keeps the fruit in check and adds focus and lift to the knockout, silky finish.

2004 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. VM 93. Ruby-red. Spicy red fruits on the nose, complicated by tapenade, lavender and espresso. Very fresh and sweet, with energetic red and dark fruit flavors, suggestions of garrigue and supple tannins. Finishes deep and sappy, with a lingering cherry pit note clinging tenaciously.

2005 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 94. Ruby-red. Blackberry and cassis on the nose, with a complex set of earth, herb and floral qualities adding complexity. Deep and sweet, with bitter cherry and candied licorice flavors and youthfully firm tannins but no hardness. Turns more lively on the finish, picking up a spicy red berry character and leaving a long, pungent herbal trail behind. This needs time. “It’s the opposite of a bimbo wine,” Perrin offered.

Quail “Valle D’auge”. Arkansas apple beignet, calvados, stuffing. Again the main element (here the quail) was good, but the overall dish was a bit heavy with cloying sweet “Thanksgiving dessert” notes.

2003 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. RJ 92. Lovely ripe cherry and framboise nose; tasty, tight but yummy kirsch and plum palate with mineral notes; elegant medium finish

2003 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo. VM 95-97. Deep, dark red. Multidimensional bouquet of kirsch, cassis, red plum, pipe tobacco, grilled meat, licorice pastille and roasted coffee; this has nearly all of the Chateauneuf food groups. Utterly mouthfilling in its richness, with tremendous concentration of red and dark berries, garrigue, bittersweet chocolate and aged beef. Finishes with a velvety lushness, round tannins and palate-staining persistence. A simply remarkable wine: it finished at 16.2% but the alcohol only shows in the wine’s unctuous, almost oily palate feel.

2004 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin. VM 96-98. Saturated ruby. Remarkably deep nose combines cherry, raspberry, licorice, smoked meat and mineral notes, all lifted by an intense floral quality. A stunning example of freshness and precision married to power, with deep cassis, bitter cherry and candied licorice flavors enlivened by zesty minerality and framed by firm but harmonious tannins. “This is not about extraction,” notes Perrin. The endless finish echoes the mineral and floral tones, showing a persistent lavender note. This was not yet bottled when I tasted it.

2003 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin. JG 92+. Given the mantra at the domaine that the Hommage à Jacques Perrin is only made in the finest vintages, I hardly expected to encounter a 2003 version, but the wine is really not bad at all and is now into its apogee. This is surprisingly low in octane for the vintage, coming in at the same 13.5 percent as the 2001 and 2004 iterations. The bouquet is really quite fine, wafting from the glass in a classy blend of dark berries, new leather, tree bark, woodsmoke, espresso and a lovely base of dark soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and wide open on the attack, with a good core, impressive soil signature and just a bit of backend tannin perking up the long and complex finish. A very pleasant surprise! (Drink between 2016-2025)

2004 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin. VM 96-98. Saturated ruby. Remarkably deep nose combines cherry, raspberry, licorice, smoked meat and mineral notes, all lifted by an intense floral quality. A stunning example of freshness and precision married to power, with deep cassis, bitter cherry and candied licorice flavors enlivened by zesty minerality and framed by firm but harmonious tannins. “This is not about extraction,” notes Perrin. The endless finish echoes the mineral and floral tones, showing a persistent lavender note. This was not yet bottled when I tasted it.

From my cellar: 2005 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve. VM 92. Bright red. Fresh raspberry and wild strawberry scents, with suave floral and baking spice qualities adding seductive complexity. Medium-bodied red fruit flavors boast superb balance and sweetness, picking up silky tannins on the long, sappy finish. There’s really lovely perfume, finesse and clarity here, reminding me of a high-end Chambolle or Volnay.

Venison Two Ways. The filet poached in red wine, the legs in stew, pear poached, “Grand Veneur” sauce. Also pretty heavy and sweet. Why we have stone fruit AGAIN with meat is highly questionable.

From my cellar: 1989 Château Suduiraut. VM 90. The 1989 Suduiraut has always shown better than the 1990. The bouquet is quite vivacious with quince and frangipane, hints of pear and crème brûlée, certainly responding to aeration. The palate has similar weight and texture to the 1990 although, there is slightly more tension here with orange rind and marmalade imparting Barsac-like notes towards the finish. It lacks the sophistication of 21st century vintages but there is joie-de-vivre here. 89gm/L residual sugar. Tasted at a private dinner in Switzerland. (Drink between 2019-2029)

Sticky Toffee Pudding. Medjool dates, toffee sauce, vanilla ice cream. This massive brick was like a giant log of Sticky Toffee! It was the best course actually because here the sweetness was expected — but even for a dessert this was on the maximum sweet size and speaking of size, it literally was the size of a construction brick.

Passion for Pistachio Gelato — Sicilian Pistacchio di Bronte DOP custard gelato base with just a touch of Grand Mariner, ribboned with bits of Valrhona Dark Chocolate Passionfruit Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pistacchio #bronte #Sicily #Valrhona #Chocolate #Passionfruit #GrandMariner #Ganache

Peach Rose Sorbetto — A blend of White and Blood Peaches from Avignon with a bit of Persian Rosewater! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — I’ve tried variants of this flavor several times and am at 1/8 the rosewater I started with, still titrating down! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #BloodPeach #rose #rosewater #peach

My notes.

Fun afternoon, and the service was great here at Tesse, but the food was a touch heavy, disjointed, and nearly every dish was cloying and sweet. There was plenty of food, but the rich and sweet without much acidity vibe was fatiguing.

Wines were fantastic. Chateauneuf du Pape is a great wine and a bit under-appreciated.

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