Pre-Parker warmup dinner at Citronelle...
Georgetown, USA
Tasted Thursday, August 11, 2005 by Eric with 2,441 views
Introduction
A group of fanatics purchased a case of older Beaucastel from Robert Parker, and then we convinced him to meet with us to share them over a meal. Tonight we had a little warmup dinner at Citronelle in DC, roasting our way through a warm evening at the Chef's Table. The sordid lineup included myself (Eric LeVine), Scott Manlin, Jeff Leve, Mat Garretson, and Craig and Wendy Collins.
For some reason, the 2nd wine was the wine of the flight in all three of our red flights. Call it dumb luck, but the middle glass was singing all night long!!!!
Flight 1 (2 Notes)
Before dinner we started out with a little tasting of the 2001 and 2003 Clos des Papes. People were very impressed with the 2003 out of the gate, and the intensity and extract was shockingly deeper than the 2001.
Flight 2 (1 Note)
Then we sat down to dinner with a fantastic amuse bouche of mushroom cigars, virtual eggs and an eggshell-housed salad of haricot verte, shallots and Wasabi tobiko. Wow, what a shockingly nice amuse to get us going!
Flight 3 (1 Note)
The first course was a pasta made from thinly sliced cuttlefish in a sauce reminiscent of a Carbonara. The texture and flavor here were simply fantastic, and the match with the Valandraud Blanc was off the charts, well done!!!
Flight 4 (3 Notes)
Now we settled into our first flight of reds with a delicious course of halibut tournedo with duck foie gras and green peppercorn sauce.
Flight 5 (3 Notes)
Our second flight of reds was accompanied by a course of slowly cooked Muscovy duck breast with an Asian Citrus Sauce. This was cooked for more than 5 hours at a (barely) safe temperature of 142 degrees, and he tenderness on the rare duck was out of this world, wowza!!!!! At his point, I started worshiping the chef!!!
Flight 6 (3 Notes)
Our last flight of reds was our most consistent and pleasing, and it was served with a knockout course of Cote de Boeuf in a Syrah sauce with some darned tasty potatoes. I tend to like my prime rib on the the rare to Bleu side, and they simply nailed this one, probably the best piece of beef I have tasted in the last 5-10 years if not ever!!!! At this point we also knew the three remaining wines, and it was trivial to name them all blind.
Flight 7 (1 Note)
Scott Manlin had a surprise in store for us, and as the crazy cheese course landed so did this unreal wine. Thank you Scott for stepping far above and beyond the call of duty!!!
Flight 8 (1 Note)
Not to be outdone, Jeff Leve lead the rest of us to return the favor to Scott with stunningly rich wine to accompany dessert, wow!
Flight 9 (2 Notes)
After dinner we were somehow still thirsty, so together with the sommelier we shut down the restaurant and revisited the Clos des Papes. The 2003 simply exploded (in a good way) with 5 hours of air, and the 2001 just couldn't compare.
Closing
Wow, what a night and a great warmup! Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to withstand the main event, about 30 varied bottles of Chateau Beaucastel at lunch with Robert Parker at Mark's Duck House!!!
2001 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Tight with nice notes of white pepper and garrigue. A very elegant wine. Seems a bit shut down.
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2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
OMFG, this wine just does not quit. I need to stop with this already (my third bottle in a week, hoohah!!!). Raspberry jam and some heat moving to white pepper, deeply tannic, wow, what structure! The extraction, intensity and depth relative to the 2001 are just dramatically deeper. Wow!
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