Manlin comes to town for dinner at Lampreia

After threatening to come to Seattle on a couple of prior occasions, at last Scott Manlin was able to make it to town for a quick trip. After picking him up at the airport, we immediately headed to Salumi for a nice lunch. Scott insisted that we have some wine, so I popped a 1999 La Spinetta Pin which was much more round and ready than I recall from prior tastings. After a long and leisurely lunch we headed to Pike Place Market for a little shopping before finally heading home to catch up on email and rest up before dinner at Lampreia.

I have long considered Lampreia to offer the best and most unique food in Seattle, although I was worried to bring Scott there and see his reaction. Nonetheless, I knew it would be a great night, as we were packing some terrific wines. :)

Sarah Kirschbaum who was in town on business was also able to join Scott and my wife Suzi, and so we settled in for 9 enjoyable courses with the following wines.

We started with this delightful white off the list.

• 2001 Marcel Deiss Engelgarten

  France, Alsace

  Order off the wine list. Served a little warm at first. With some chilling this was an enthralling wine. Petrol moving to honey and pineapple. Ripe and slightly off-dry, there is clearly a hint of Muscat in here. I do love the Deiss field blends. Quirky, powerful, and very versatile.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Our first red flight was Burgundy.

• 1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

  Wow, this was a weird, weird brew. Lots of raisin on the nose. Reductive. Strange. The palate was actually a step-up from the nose with amazing heft and intensity, sort of a Pinot for new world Cabernet drinkers. However, even for this Cabernet lover, this was not an appealing wine. When the evening was done there was still more than half a bottle left.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine Jacques Prieur Musigny

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

  Oh wow, what a gorgeous nose, like a big bowl of cherries. The palate was fresh and crunchy, very silky, very young. This was a baby killing, but with a course of Copper River salmon that was wrapped in cedar sheets and gently cooked, this was the perfect accompaniment. With time some more of that Musigny smokiness and earthiness started to creep on. This is a wine I would love to try in another 10 years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

From here the evening shifted into high gear, as we enjoyed 5 simply unreal Northern Rhône wines. First we started with a pair of Chave.

• 1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This was truly awesome from the get-go with a big nose screaming of pepper, blood and meat. Mmm, the palate is spicy and intense with gorgeous focus. I need to track down more 1989 Chave.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This was a disappointing bottle perhaps with a hint of oxidation. The palate was crazily ripe and round, very plummy, clearly a product of the vintage. However, this lacked the sheer excitement and intensity of other bottles of the 1990 Chave I have tasted. This was still outstanding but a disappoinment in the context of what we were tasting.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Next we had a killer pair of La Turque.

• 1989 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  This was a bit stalky and green at first, but after 3 hours this started to sing and may well have been the Northern Rhône of the night. Always nervy and a little edgy, the acidity and focus here were just unreal, and of course they were accompanied by the nearly caricatured example of Côte-Rôtie that La Turque presents. Exotic, ripe, powerful, smoky. La Turque truly is a thrill ride.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1990 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Wow, this was the nose of the night. From the moment we popped the bottle this was screaming of blood, smoked meat, flowers, and tar. It is really rather hard to desribe how soaring and expressive the nose was. The palate was warm, round , enveloping. At first I loved it, but as the 1989 beside it opened up and gained focus, only then did the 1990 seem a little limp and unfocused by comparison. Still, a truly amazing and nearly perfect wine.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Finally, at home after the meal, we broke into one more La La as a nightcap.

• 1989 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  This was perhaps a waste as a nightcap, but it was still worth the effort. Very, very tight on the nose. The palate though was giving almost immediately, more silky and plush than either the 1989 or 1990 La Turque. La Mouline is just such a sexy wine, but I think it needs 20 years to really strut. This was just too young.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

All in all, a lovely way to welcome Scott to town an kick off the weekend. Albeit for Scott this was likely just a light snack.