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Ran's 40th Birthday Extravaganza
Israel
Tasted October 22, 2009 by Rani with 900 views
Introduction
11 of us met at Ran's house for a feast in honor of his 40th birthday. As always, when a friend calls to help him drink excellent wine and enjoy fine cuisine, I happily rise to the challenge. A chef with 3 assistants was at hand to orchestrate a multi-course meal that was carefully prepared to match the wines.
Flight 1 - Ball of raw salmon stuffed with crab meat, pickled ginger, apple cubes, wasabi mayo, tobiko and cripy nori (1 note)
White - Sparkling
1990 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame
92 points
Oxidized nose, with brioche, yeast and mushrooms. Dark gold color. Lots of pronounced grapey Chardonay on the palate, with ample acidity and a fine mousse. A little further along than what I expected it to be (perhaps less than perfect storage for this bottle), but still very fine in the grander, heavier style of Champagnes.
Flight 2 - Amberjack ceviche with mango, avocado, cucumber, chilly, red pepper reduction and black olive oil (1 note)
White
2001 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Brand
93 points
Clearly still an infant. Nose was not showing much at first - flint, hint of petrol, fresh hay. Very nice acidity and fine tannins, with an oily texture that coats the tongue. Dry but slightly honeyed with a long finish. Should improve in 5+ years.
Flight 3 - Truffle risotto with sautéed shallots and porcini carpaccio (2 notes)
Red
1998 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Clos de la Roche
92 points
A slightly cloudy brick color. Black mushrooms, mud and burnt rubber aromas. Huge of explosion of fruit in the attack, red plums, sour cherries. Lingering acidity and a fine finish. Very food friendly.
Red
1996 Domaine René Engel Clos Vougeot
90 points
Barnyard and sous-bois on the nose, but on the palate limpid and not giving much away at first. It took quite a long time to open up, and even then failed to really excite me. Perhaps it suffered from following the much bigger 1998 Girardin Clos de la Roche.
Flight 4 - Seared drumfish with Jerusalem artichoke purée, mangold ravioli filled with root vegetables and cream of garlic, and crab foam (1 note)
White
1995 Olivier Leflaive Montrachet
92 points
Oodles of melted butter, with notes of tarte tatin, canned pineapple and masses of butterscotch. The very promising nose did not quite materialize on the palate, which although very fine and balanced, lacked the richness and power I was expecting. The initial impressions were much better than after the fish course had arrived, which due to some mix-up in the order of dishes did not arrive in time - by then the wine had warmed up too much and lost much of its freshness. Undoubtedly a good Montrachet (not exhibiting any signs of oxidation or flaws), but I've had better ones.
Flight 5 - Ox-tail ravioli with veal jus, carrot oil, truffle oil and julienne of beetroot (2 notes)
Red
1990 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera
93 points
Very ripe prunes and chewing tobacco on the nose. Immense dry tannins and acidity, which were a bit overwhelming at first but were soon followed by a sweet core of fruit compote. Persistent, silky finish. Very good, excellent accompaniment to ox-tail ravioli. Some around the table didn't like this as much, and preferred the Fantino-Conterno Sori Ginestra, but I had a clear preference for this.
Red
1990 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sorì Ginestra
90 points
A traditional style Barolo. Fully mature, perhaps a little too mature. Very smooth but I found it lacking in structure. Notes of orange peel, prunes and tar. Silky texture, a very pleasant drink but again, may have suffered from following a bigger, more tannic version of Barolo.
Flight 6 - Fillet of lamb with basil gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, leek chips and an isomalt-togarashi twill (1 note)
Red
1999 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde
95 points
Dayum! The trademark Rostaing nose of horse manure and sewage kicks you in the face right away. I was thinking how novices to wine would've sent this right back... but I love it. As usual, this stench diminishes with a bit of air to reveal dried herbs, with a leathery, plummy flavor that coats the tongue. Impeccably balanced - both big and elegant at the same time, powdery tannins the likes of which winemakers kill for. Superb.
Flight 7 - Onglet of beef with carrot purée with cumin, shimaji mushrooms, broccoli flowers and confit tomatoes stuffed with herb couscous (2 notes)
Red
1990 Château Haut-Brion
98 points
Dark and brooding, this fragrant beauty showed notes of barnyard, star-anise, saddle leather, figs and thyme. Hugely complex, with lots of cigar tobacco, ripe blackcurrant, plums and a velvety texture on the palate. A long, sweet finish leaves you wanting more. Flirting with perfection.
Red
1990 Château Lafite Rothschild
96 points
Dark and almost impregnable. Pencil lead and cedar galore, along with dried herbs - thyme, sage, hint of eucalyptus. A highly-structured wine with a great midpalate of stone fruit, raspberry and blackcurrant, which were increasingly revealed with air along with floral elements. A class act, with years still ahead of it.
Flight 8 (1 note)
Red
1986 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único
93 points
Spicy, leathery and velvety. Lots of dried figs, apricots and plum jam mix together on the palate along with meaty, savory flavors. Medium length. Excellent now, probably at peak.
Flight 9 - Rhubarb consommé with vanilla and lemongrass creme brulée (1 note)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1976 Weingut Alfred Bonnet Freidelscheimer Schlossgarten Riesling Beerenauslese Goldkapsel
93 points
Bright orange. Candied dried apricot nose. Fantastic acidity, very fresh, with medium sweetness which is less that what you'd expect from a BA. Still, a lovely wine that doesn't show its age.
Closing
To top it off, we had a fantastic dessert trio of chocolate...
A terrific evening with no disappointments (and no corked wines!) - I was predictably enamored with the 1990 Haut Brion and plesantly surprised by the Lafite, blown away by the Rostaing, thoroughly enjoyed the Unico and Clos de la Roche and happily drank all the other not-too-shabby wines... as an epilogue we sat in the back yard and smoked cigars (a Trinidad in my case) courtesy of Dr. Rosen.