Food and Wine with Craig and Nita -- Wow

Craig's wife Nita volunteer to cook for the group so Craig invited five of us over to his house for a night of excellent food and some pretty good wines. Nita's cooking was already legendary, but she took it to another level last night. Every course was absolutely superb. Craig lost control of the wine agenda and we ended up with a gallery tour of wine regions as opposed to any sort of theme. Given the diversity of the food that was served, this turned out perfectly.

The champagne was served with a selection of cheeses and crackers followed by Nita's spectacular walleye sliders. A good pairing and all three champagnes showed pretty well.

• NV H. Billiot Fils Champagne Grand Cru Brut Réserve 91 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Pale yellow color with nice bubbles. Rich nose featuring butter and honey coupled with good fruit and a hint of hay/straw. On the palate this delivered concentrated fruit but had a bright, zingy personality due to refreshing acidity that builds through the bracing finish. More lasar-like in its flavor intensity than expansive, but very pleasant. Probably the simplest of the three champagnes but my favorite.

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• NV Bruno Michel Champagne Carte Blanche 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  This is much less expressive on the nose than the other champagnes delivering just some subdued fruit and mineral aromas. On the palate this comes across as much more structured and compact but with great flavor. Less overt acidity than the Billiot but with good fruit concentration. Excellent stuff that in my opinion just needs a few more years in the cellar to open up a little.

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• NV Champagne Fleury Champagne Fleur de l'Europe Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  The nose is beautiful with fresh fruit (Chris said red apple and white cherry) and a streak of minerality. On the palate this is much more expansive showing mainly sweet fresh fruit and mineral in a perfectly balanced frame. If anything I felt this dropped a bit at mid-palate and finished with a drying sensation (tannin?). I felt this really showed a Krug-like personality with a note of oxidation/mineral offset by ripe, concentrated fruit. Others liked this much more than me.

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Only one white wine tonight which is surprising given the venue. This was served with a molasses-almond shrimp on spicy cabbage salad. The depth of flavor on the food was really impressive, and this was another good pairing as the weight of the wine and the dish were about equal and the sweetness of the wine played off the spiciness of the food nicely.

Next up food-wise was a chilled white gazpacho dish that was out of this world good. This was served as we finished the white wine, but seconds on the soup were served with the next flight of wine. We kept eating this dish until it was completely gone.

• 2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Deep, bright yellow in color. The nose gives an exotic blend of lemon, mineral, wax, honey, apricot and floral notes. More brooding than light and airy, but excellent. In the mouth this borders on full-bodied with obvious residual sugar, but with great acidity keeping the taste fresh and lively on the palate. Flavors expand and coat the palate nicely, and the finish is long and satisfying. A fun wine to taste, and paired very well with Nita's shrimp dish.

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Craig couldn't wait and poured the mystery wine as we finished the gazpacho (not a great pairing). Nita delivered braised chicken thighs with swiss chard as we moved on to the Rousseau. Another great pairing.

• 1999 Hanzell Pinot Noir 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Served blind. Popped and poured. The color is a very pale red. The nose delivers brooding aromas of dark fruit, smoke, spice and mineral that to me screamed Burgundy. In the mouth this is more puzzling. There is plenty of ripe fruit and yet it feels somehow lean. The taste is good but not great. Probably showing just a touch too much acidity. Finishes very tannic but with nice length on the finish. I ended up reaching with a guess of '04 Burgundy. The nose really appealed to me and I'm pretty sure I scored this higher than others at the tasting.

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• 1999 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

  Soaring nose featuring a complex and stunning melange of black fruit, earth, cinnamon/spice, mushrooms and more. In the mouth this is surprisingly sweet with black and red fruit mixed with earth and carmel. Delicious. This shows excellent balance and great length on the satisfying finish. I kept thinking of Dujac Clos de la Roche -- based on the aromas and flavors more than the texture -- as I drank this. Showing pretty well now, but should be an absolute stunner in say 10 more years.

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This flight was served as we finished the chicken. There was a lot of debate on the Cos, but I think pretty much everyone agreed in the end that it was corked. It was hard to discern based on the nose alone, but the taste was metallic and thin with a very short finish which is at odds with previous experiences with this wine.

• 1982 Château Cos d'Estournel Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Corked. There was some debate, but my first instinct was that it was corked, and as I kept revisiting it over the next hour or so it remained clear to me that this was corked.

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• 1997 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Seductive nose featuring black fruit, tar, tea, cinnamon and lilac. Elegant and expressive, bordering on dainty. On the palate this comes across somewhat seductive due to its perfect balance and soft, fruit forward personality. Tastes mainly of red fruit and minerality. Tannins appear by mid-palate and dominate the drying but pleasant finish. I think this is drinking about at peak right now based on this bottle despite the obvious tannin that still needs to integrate.

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Served with short-ribs provencale with creme fraiche mashed potatoes -- an inspired pairing with the two CdPs. I was getting a little full at this point, but the food was so good I went ahead and finished it all. The La Chapelle was popped and poured to compensate for the Cos. This is a great bottle of wine for the money.

• 1999 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  The nose is constantly changing. At its best it delivers an ethereal blend of black fruit, mushroom, garrigue/herbs and minerality. At its worst, iron and minerality dwarf all other aromas. In the mouth this is mid-weight but surprisingly light on its feet and elegant. In fact, a defining attribute of this wine is its amazing elegance. Flavors of red fruit dominate the taste. Tannins are very drying. Seemed to come on strong after being in the decanter for 3-4 hours. I had a real love-it, hate-it relationship with this wine, as each taste delivered a changed experience from the previous one.

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• 1999 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Dark red with a deep blackish hue. The nose is big and expressive giving dark roasted fruit, mushroom, mineral, saddle leather, pepper, and coffee/expresso. On the palate this has a great weight and admirable fruit concentration, with the fruit tending towards a roasted fruit profile. Still pretty tannic, but seems more refined than the last bottle I had. Great long finish. Faded a bit over time as it sat in the glass. Excellent stuff.

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• 1980 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Another interesting bottle of this. The color is a very pale red. The nose gives an exuberant blend of dark fruit, raw meat, black olives, dried herbs, smoke and what Steve called creme de coffee. However, as this sat in the glass the nose collapsed in on itself and resolved into a one-dimensional espresso aroma. Still enjoyable, but not nearly as complex as when first opened. In the mouth this is medium-bodied with layers of complexity nice balance, and great length. Tannins are fully resolved and this wine is not going to get any better than it is right now. Drink up.

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After a considerable period of time (during which we finished all of the opened wines) Brad Bollinger popped this wine to pair with Nita's excellent mixed berry crostada. Both the dessert and the wine were excellent and a perfect finish to a very satisfying meal.

• 1996 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac Cuvée Madame 95 Points

  France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac

  Wow, was this impressive stuff. Like a great bottle of d'Yquem. The nose gives thick and brooding aromas of fresh orchard fruits. In the mouth this is heavy, but has excellent acidity to offset the sweetness and deliver just an amazing mouthful of flavor that builds to a long, satisfying finish. I really can't believe how good this stuff is. Wow.

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Thanks to Craig and Nita for hosting this great event. We brainstormed up some great ideas for future tastings and I'll be looking forward to getting together again in the near future.