Pre-Parker warmup dinner at Citronelle...
Georgetown, USA
Tasted August 11, 2005 by Eric with 2,443 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.
Red
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!
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!!!
White
2003 Blanc de Valandraud No. 1
France, Bordeaux
Wow, I tend to find Bordeaux Blanc a bit oaky, but this showed a lovely nose of slate and charcoal with no perceptible oak. The palate was rich and ripe upon first approach, a product of the vintage. This was surprisingly rich in the mouth, a stunning match with the cuttlefish 'pasta'. This wine definitely shows a lovely interplay of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, ripe on entry and then cleansingly acidic. Fantastic match!
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.
Red
1989 Château Clinet
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
This was very tight with cranberry and soy on the nose. The palate is tight, tight, tight with a nice undercurrent of mineral. However, this is just so tight and closed with such impressive tannin. Blind I successfully guessed that this just HAD to be a 1989, as nothing else is that tight!
Red
1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse)
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Wine of the night! The moment I smelled this I was shocked at how expressive it was. OMFG!!!! Iron, flowers, and amazing notes of Bordeaux simply burst from the glass. Then some horse kicks in on a nose that is so expressive and almost indescribably complex. Holy Toledo! The concentration in the mouth is just off the charts! The wine utterly floored me, about as perfect as a wine can be! Thank you Jeff Leve!!!
Red
1990 Château Troplong Mondot
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
This is just a freak of a wine with peat, chocolate and VA on the nose. I successfully guessed this single blind, as nothing else is this extracted and intense. Despite the rich fruit, there is a stunning tannic backbone to this wine, a unique freak, very enjoyable and exotic!
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!!!
Red
1982 Château La Conseillante
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Served a bit warm. Hints of soy and tar on the nose. At first I was sure this was a Medoc due to a surprisingly black and brooding profile, but clearly I was wrong!!! Impressively young wine.
Red
1982 Château L'Evangile
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
The nose here is singing with horse and mineral. Wow, this unreal, the clear wine of the flight! The palate shows mineral and blood with bittersweet fruit and unreal poise!
Red
1982 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
This is very intense with graphite, mineral and black fruit. As I sat with the glass some stunning notes of lead pencil emerged, wow!! This is amazingly tannic and seem so be 15 years from peak. Fascinating!
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.
Red
1989 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
This was clearly the 1989 with a dusky, reticent nose of plums and iron. The structure and depth here are enough to bring you to tears they are so impressive!
Red
1990 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Ripe, roasted and unreal, this was the wine of the flight and easily distinguishable from its brethren. This was an easy single blind pick.
Red
1990 Château Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Ripe, rich and loaded with leather and funk. Amazingly this was probably the least favorite of the flight which verges on insult given how lovely it was !
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!!!
Red
2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Scott made an unreal gesture and purchased this wine for the table. Talk about stepping up! Served with a cheese course and a bonus pair of Epoisses Berthaut, this wine was tight and mineral laden yet gorgeous. This is probably 15 years from peak, yet the wine is already stunning. Thanks Scott!!!
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!
White - Sweet/Dessert
1990 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Served from 750ml. I guessed that this was 1980's Sauternes. Close! There are just not many wines ever created that are this rich and lovely. Thanks Jeff for leading us to salvation!
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.
Red
2001 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Upon visiting this a second time it was far more giving with amazing notes of white pepper and impressive structure. This is a very elegant CNdP.
Red
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
We revisited this after dinner. Wow, I can't believe how much this opened in a few hours. This is simply unreal and deep, a testament to the vintage. Lovely as it is, the 2001 seems like a lightweight by comparison to this beast!
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!!!
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