La La's with Leve at Providence
Los Angeles, CA
Tasted Saturday, February 17, 2007 by Eric with 839 views
Introduction
My favorite meal of the year in 2006 was a Bordeaux dinner we had with Jeff Leve, Brad England and Craig and Wendy Collins at Providence. So it was great excitement that we returned to the scene of the crime one year later to instead drink a glorious series of single vineyard 'La La' Côte-Rôtie. This year's attendees included Jeff, myself, Brad England, Steve Mathessen and Patrick Stella.
The food at Providence is simply world class, some of the most creative and impeccably prepared dishes I have ever seen, anywhere, at any restaurant. Seafood tends to dominate the menu, and in general the food didn't have a lot to do with the wine. That said, the flavors were generally clean and not wine unfriendly. The glassed-in chef's table is a ton of fun, and chef Michael Cimarusti even joined us at the end of the evening for a glass of wine. Do yourself a favor. Next time you are in LA, make a trip to this mecca of food and put yourself in the chef's hands.
Flight 1 (2 Notes)
We chose to serve all of the wines single blind just to keep us on our toes. We started off with a thud as both Jeff and I were certain we could tell which wine was the Chapoutier. Bzzt, wrongo-dongo!
Kumamoto oysters on gelée of sea water
Big eye tuna shiso leaf, american osetra caviar, white soy gelée
Abalone cucumber, red radish, yuzu lime espuma
Flight 2 (3 Notes)
Next up was our first flight of reds, a vertical of La Mouline. It's amazing to me that these wines see 42 months of oak, because when mature there is simply not a trace.
Foie gras parfait, foie gras and cherry powder, apple and pepperberry espuma (OMFG!)
Uni sabayon truffle, vermouth, Santa barbara sea urchin (OMFG!)
Maine lobster yellow beets, American caviar, tarragon
Flight 3 (3 Notes)
Next we moved to a horizontal of all three 1988's. These are enormous wines, far more deep, black and concentrated than the other vintages on display.
Hand harvested diver scallops big island hearth of palm purée, crispy bacon, star anise syrup
John dory coco nibs, flowering broccoli purée
Foie gras sushi
Flight 4 (3 Notes)
Next we moved to another horizontal, this time with the 1991's. By the point I was reaching saturation, so my notes had dwindled to almost nothing.
Kobe beef sush (OMFG, about the tastiest thing I have had I my life!)i
Roasted big eye tuna peperade and chorizo
ENCORE: Kobe beef sushi
Veal sweetbread Romanesco purée, applewood smoked bacon, anchovy vinaigrette
Flight 5 (3 Notes)
At this point you could have stuck a fork in me, as I was done. But I bravely forged onward to one last flight of 1999's, this time featuring Ogier, Rostaing and Guigal. The difference in styles was refreshing, but boy oh boy were these painfully young after so much mature La La.
Air chilled muscovy duck Tahitian squash purée, winter fruits, black truffle
Veal loin truffled bone marrow crouton roasted root vegetable
Prime sirloin of beef parsnip purée, petit pois, black truffle
Flight 6 - Dessert
White chocolate and blood orange lollipop
Chocolate cremeaux lemon curd, marshmallow, graham cracker
Petit fours
Closing
Woof, one memorable night down and two more to go!
1991 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Tasted single-blind I would have sworn this was a Chapoutier. Deep gold color. Nutty with some marzipan notes on the nose, this was spicy on the palate, very flamboyant and very oily. It perhaps fell off a little on the finish, but this was a remarkable wine.
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1994 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Almost completely closed. Very mute at first, this opened up a little to reveal White Burgundy minerals, wet stone and then some hints of kerosene.
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