| | An excess of riches. An evening where the whites outnumbered the reds. And where many whites were more open for current pleasure. My notes start to sound repetitive with words including balance and harmony. The food pairings were thoughtful and delicious, and highlighted every wine. Guests provided the wines from their cellars. Fortunately out of roughly 26 bottles opened, none were flawed save for one of the Weinbachs, that was certainly serviceable, but was notably different from the first bottle opened. Dungeness crab chaud/froid, sea urchin, soy pickely cherries, toasted hemp hearts
Mushroom farinette
Smoked beef carpacio
Smoked salmon and caviar on toast points
Summer fruit and triple cream basket - 1995 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
Light golden color. Slightly oxidative notes on the nose. Baked apples and nuts in the mouth. The acidity seems a bit high and slightly out of balance. A nice way to start.
Warm and cold oysters with fennel & white pepper curry cream and cucumber mignonette - 2008 Didier Dagueneau Sancerre Le Mont Damné - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
So sweet on the nose I initially mistook it for riesling and thought the wines may have been served out of order. With air it became a bit more typical on the nose with floral overtones and almost lime/lemon curd notes with the acidity that was initially muted on the nose giving it lift. The acidity in the mouth is prominent from the get go, and works well with the warm and cold oysters. This wine seemed to fade after 2 hours in the glass.
Mackerel escabeche & prosciutto de Parma, shaved sweet onion, blistered cherry tomato, carrot coulis, fingerling chips - 1998 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune - France, Alsace
From the Steve Verlin collection. Dark color. Oxidative nose with glycerine, petrol and honey coming through on the nose. More petrol in the mouth, with bright acidity. A beautiful foil to the mackerel.
Breton Lobster, potato gnocchi, haricot vert, sweet corn kernels, and corn pudding - 2004 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Jeroboam. My oh my. Upon opening this big bottle had a huge stoney nose, with tons of sulfur. The wine was poured in the cellar in to glasses around an hour before being served. It was still a bit tight in the glass, but giving soaring notes of honeysuckle and beautiful minerality. It really fills all corners of the mouth, and just lingers and lingers on the finish. Truly great chardonnay. It never really tired in the glass.
Hen and chicken of the woods mushrooms and butternut squash with root vegetable and uni vinaigrette - 2003 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant
As expected, not the crowd favorite. Bottles were decanted 7-8 hours prior to service, at which time a distinct apple juice note was present. A very dark golden color. At the table, it had prominent oxidative notes, and bright acidity. With the food it really became more complex win the mouth. A somewhat polarizing wine, but one of the better pairings of the night, when every dish was masterfully paired.
“Brandade” of Atlantic cod cheeks and cauliflower, dried duck hearts, baby artichoke and apricot tartare, brown butter vadouvan biscuit - 2010 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Coteau de Vernon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
A fantastic white wine. Mixed floral, heather, stone fruits on the nose. Balanced acidity coming through. Great depth to the nose. In the mouth, nothing is lost. Equally balanced, and perhaps the first of several great wines where the nose and the palate are in synchronous harmony. There is weight without being remotely heavy. Supreme balance.
Seared foie & foie terrine, creamed couscous de maiz, tomato jam, candied pistachio, salted cashew, brioche Indiana rabbit saddle and boudin blanc, grilled salsify, turnips, burgundy truffle, rabbit liver jus - 1980 Maison Leroy Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
This wine initially presented with marked acid on the nose, with the fruit lurking underneath. Dark color, and cloudy without throwing much sediment. With 20-30 minutes in the glass darker Gevrey fruit began to emerge on the nose and palate. It’s possible there was a bit of bottle variation, or perhaps I didn’t give it enough time to open up.
- 1978 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
A last minute decision to open and pour this wine following the Leroy. Significant bricking, the most mature color of the night (appropriately). The nose is that of an aged burgundy, with sweet darker fruit coming through. Immediately opens in the glass straight from the bottle. In the mouth it is a big wine with the Pommard rusticity being tamed by the harmony of the vintage.
Light cured duck breast, warm salad of shredded confit, chanterelles, and crisp wild rice, celeriac puree, cherry & herbs de Provence demiglace - 1990 Château Lafite Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Really tight when opened. 10+ hours later, including 6+ in the glass, offering up beautiful cassis, hints of coffee, earth. Still a baby, but textbook Pauillac.
- 1990 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Pronounced leather, tar/rubber (not in a bad way) and slight gamey notes on the nose. It took aggressive swirling and for the fruit to make its presence known. A big and complete wine. Still needs time.
Red wine braised Wagyu short ribs with smokey white beans, carrots and kale, braising essence, and a touch of radish - 1990 Pétrus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Distinctly different nose, but not one that I would have guessed 95+ percent merlot. A little tight at first, but fills the mouth with a luxurious mouthfeel. Dark cherry/cassis/blueberry fruit. It is an opulent wine, and will last longer than anyone reading this note.
lamb glazed potato & olives with lamb loin & tongue - 1990 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Beautiful purity of dark fruit. Meat, leather and tar, yet not remotely that of the Haut Brion. Black fruit and black pepper. Lingers in the mouth. Another complete and beautiful wine.
"Cheese" (A single macaron with triple cream cheese and fig jam) Apricot Napoleon with apricot vanilla jam, creme mousseline, and candied apricots - 1983 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Like a harvest moon—amber-orange color. Sweet apricot and honeyed notes. Not as sweet as I expected in the mouth. Heavier than the SGN, but with a beautiful lift in the mouth and a satisfying, lingering finish. A beautiful Yquem.
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