The Plumed Horse Restaurant, Saratoga, California
Tasted Friday, May 30, 2008 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 813 views
I had been looking forward to the pairing of wines with fabulous dishes using fresh morels since Renee and J.R. mentioned it to me a couple months back. As planned, J.R. and Renee made their annual trek to Eastern Washington over Memorial Day Weekend, and collected about 4 & 1/2 pounds of grey morel mushrooms. They had arrange with Chef Peter Armellino at the Plumed Horse to prepare them, and his ideas of what he was going to do with each course dictated our wine flights, which included white Rhones, Chardonnay, red Burgundy, an intermezzo flight of Pichon Lalande, Syrah, and a couple of sweet wines with desert. The food was fabulous, and very creative and flavorful as usual from Chef Peter. Most of our wines also showed very well, especially our two Burgundies with Peter's take on Salad Lyonnaise, all of our Syrahs and our sweeties.
The passed appetizers included caviar and creme fraiche on tiny blinis and chicken salad served on endive.
This flight was served with a succulent, flavorful and amazingly balanced dish of Maine Diver Scallops with asparagus salad and morel mushroom ragout in a duck jus sauce. While this might seem an odd combination, the flavors not only jumped but somehow complimented each other. The dish went particularly well with the Meursault.
Our flight of Pinot, which included two excellent Burgundies and a Cali Pinot that I've been reading about on eBob, was served with Peter's interpretation of salad lyonnaise with morels. This meant sweetbread croutons, a slow-cooked (over three hours) egg yolk, morel beignets and mustard vinaigrette. Definitely another stunning dish. And the Burgundies, especially the Leroy "Beaux Monts," were also delicious. The Morlet Pinot was overripe and a little hot in this company.
I'm a huge fan of Kracher's sweet wines, and this was the best of SQN's sweet wines that I've had. I'm starting to think the Noble Man series is capable of long aging, and that they will get even better over time. Our light and smart dessert with this flight was warm beignets that we dipped in a truffled hot white chocolate sauce.
All in all, a very tasty and delightful evening with more creative, stellar cooking from Chef Peter Armellino, and admirable service from Josh and his crew. A big thank you to Renee and J.R. for collecting the precious gifts of nature that inspired this feast.
NV Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Champagne Blue Top Brut 92 Points
France, Champagne
light gold yellow color; nutty, almond, mineral nose; tangy, bright, tart peach palate with minerality; medium-plus finish
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