"Very Special" Dinner at Picholine OL
Picholine Wine Room, NYC
Tasted Wednesday, January 24, 2007 by trankin with 966 views
Introduction
The always lovely and knowledge-hungry KC put together a wonderful off-line last night at Picholine. As she said, "My idea is to bring a small group of 8 together for a very special night of wine and conversation."
Well - a very special night it was indeed.
In attendence were Kim, Gary & Cindy, Richard, Nano, Mark, Ramu, and myself.
The wines were selected based on Kim's instructions, and Picholine paired a menu to the wines.
Flight 1 - Champagne and Hors d'oeuvres (1 Note)
What better way to start the evening than with a nice bottle of Dom Perignon, from the fine 1985 vintage. This was served with a plate of hors d'oeuvres - a mushroom panacotta with a parmigiana tuile, a brandade, and a beet gazpacho. An interesting selection to pair with the wine.
Flight 2 - Lobster and White Wine (2 Notes)
These two whites were both elegant and enjoyable, and made for a wonderful pairing, and a contrasting pairing, with the dish - Warm Maine Lobster with caramelized endive, kumquat, and vanilla brown butter. The lobster worked beautifully with the Latour, and the whole dish paired beautifully with both wines.
Flight 3 - DRC & Pasta (1 Note)
Well - this was my first DRC, and something I was greatly looking forward to. The complexity of the wine was just wonderful, but to me it was like it had all these wonderful aromas and flavors, but they were all knotted up together. I had great difficulty pulling them apart, which I hope is something that will be resolved with a few more years in the bottle. The finish was a touch short, but overall I thought it was excellent.
Served with a Stracciata with sweet Maine shrimp, escargots and hazelnuts. A nice dish, but only a decent pairing.
Flight 4 - The 89 Beau (1 Note)
This was the single wine I was most looking forward to trying tonight - and on a night like this, that's saying a LOT! Unfortunately, this bottle did not live up to the reputation that I've read so much about. Probably heat damaged somewhere along the way.
Served with a Wild Mushroom and Duck Risotto with butternout squash and black truffle butter. Decent dish but not one of my favorites.
Flight 5 - Red Legs! (1 Note)
There was much trepidation and joking about this next dish - but what a wonderful dish it was. Definitely my DOTN!
Scottish Red-Legged Partridge with porcinis, Tokyo turnips, and foir gras sabayon. YUMMMMmmmm!!!!
And that's not even counting the wine, which quickly became my WOTN up to that point. Beautiful, elegant, and drinking perfectly! And a wondrous match for the red legs!
Flight 6 - Lambing out (1 Note)
Well, most of us enjoyed the wonderful Millbrook Venison with parsnip "pain perdu" and huckleberry just. A couple folks chickened (lambed?) out and had lamb prepared the same way. The venison anyway was perfectly cooked and was the most tender cut of venison I've ever had.
But my, oh, my the Palmer was just a wonderful wonderful wine. Drinking perfectly, and lovely throughout. I'm almost surprised anyone had another vote for WOTN this was so wonderful. But I GUESS there were a few other worthy wines! ;)
Flight 7 - Cheese Please (1 Note)
Mark brought the mystery wine to go with the cheese course. We were all in the ballpark, but most of us were pretty much stuck in the bleachers on guessing this wine.
The cheeses were: Le Moulis, a sheep's milk cheese from the Pyrenees; Amondeiro, a sheep's milk cheese from Portugal, and Vacherin Fribourgeois, a cow's milk cheese from western Switzerland.
Flight 8 - And a Great Finish! (1 Note)
Chocolate Souffle with fennel ice cream and candied pine nuts.
The wine that needs no introduction. Clearly a wondrous wine. Just needs about a millenium.
Closing
Well - what can I say but THANKS to all the attendees for sharing a wonderful evening, bringing gorgeous wines and great conversation. What a fantastic evening! Certainly one I won't forget soon.
WOTN votes - 3pts for a first place vote, 2pts for 2nd, 1pt or 3rd:
WOTN - 83 Palmer with 18 points
#2 - Gerin La Landonne 97 with 15 points
#3 - d'Yquem 01 with 6 points
#4 - DRC with 4 points
#5 - Dom with 3 points
First time my 3 votes for WOTN matched the table's vote.
Thanks Kim for organizing and everyone or making it such a wonderful night!!!
1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 94 Points
France, Champagne
A beautiful, elegant, and lively champagne. Pleasant pear on the nose, with a touch of brioche. On the palate, there's a notable citrus note - ultimately key lime is what I came to as the best descriptor - fairly sharp note with a bit of an acidic component. Lovely champagne. Very dry, a touch of toastiness. Solidly in the prime of its drinking window.
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