| | 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.
 Champagne with passed appetizers The passed appetizers included caviar and creme fraiche on tiny blinis and chicken salad served on endive. White Rhones The flight that TCA and oxidation did a number on, but Chapoutier Chante-Alouette still emerged as an elegant young beauty. Served with a delicious course of oxtail consomme that included foie gras stuffed morels, finely chopped snail, spring onion and a green garlic flan.
 - 2004 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Light yellow color; nice creamy, mineral, European butter nose; tasty, creamy, elegant, almond, citrus, grapefruit and spice palate with good acidity and minerals; medium-plus finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.)
- 2001 E. Guigal Ermitage Blanc Ex-Voto - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Light brownish gold color; oxidized, sherry and hazelnut nose; oxidized palate of sherry and consomme; short medium finish (83 pts.)
Chardonnay 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.
 - 2002 Château de Puligny-Montrachet Chassagne-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
Light yellow color; lovely, lifted, lemon, lime and cream nose; tasty, tart citrus, lime and minerals, but a little angular and awkward at this stage on the mid-palate; medium-plus finish 91+ pts. (91 pts.)
- 2004 Arnaud Ente Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Light yellow color; fresh, precise lemon and cream nose; youthful, with a deep palate of citrus, tart lemon, with breadth, a slightly oily texture and good acidity; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)
- 2005 Walter Hansel Winery Chardonnay The North Slope Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Bright, light, golden color; lemon pie and vanilla nose; concentrated sweet lemon with creamy texture, a bit tight yet; medium-plus finish 91+ pts. (91 pts.)
Pinot 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.
 - 1998 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Light-medium strawberry red color; beautiful tart strawberry, anise and minerals nose; great, tart strawberry with depth, minerality and rosehips; long finish (94 pts.)
- 1996 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Cherry red color with clear meniscus; sexy, ripe cherry and black cherry nose; solid, tart cherry, red fruit and minerals palate; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)
- 2006 Morlet Family Vineyards Pinot Noir Coteaux Nobles - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Cherry red color with clear meniscus; big cherrry and sour cream nose; black cherry, berry and cream palate reminiscent of Kosta-Browne, a little hot; medium-plus hot finish 88+ (88 pts.)
Pichon Lalande vertical We then had a wine intermezzo, a generous mature vertical of Pichon Lalande from J.R. and Renee. The '85 was the best of the flight for me, but the '86 was also impressive, especially since this vintage has taken so long to come around.
 - 1986 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Cherry red color with pale meniscus; big tobacco and tart red fruit nose; tobacco, tight, tart currant, leather and mineral palate; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)
- 1985 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Cherry brick red with pale meniscus; reticent beef jus, crimini mushroom nose; tasty tart beef jus, with a touch of black fruit, minerals, good acidity; medium-plus finish (94 pts.)
- 1983 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
dark red violet color with pale meniscus; light beef jus with green notes on nose; tart lamb jus, bone marrow, tart currant; medium finish (89 pts.)
- 1981 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Dark brick red color with pale meniscus; beef jus, mushroom and green bean nose; mature tart beef jus and tobacco palate with iron and high acidity; medium-plus finish (91 pts.)
Syrah This was a very satisfying flight for me, with the La Chapelle and SQN For the Love of It showing particularly well. Our course for this flight was a prime onglet of beef on a bed of morel risotto and ramp greens.
 - 2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Dark cherry red color; menthol, green bean nose; concentrated tart black fruit, green notes, pepper; long finish (94 pts.)
- 1988 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Medium red violet color with pale meniscus; beef jus and prime rib nose; tasty, concentrated but elegant beef jus and liquid pepper palate; long finish 95+ pts. (95 pts.)
- 2005 Pax Syrah Obsidian Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
Purplish dark red violet color; espresso, dark cherry and green pepper nose; tasty and concentrated palate of tar, black fruit, fig, pepper; medium-plus finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.)
- 2002 Sine Qua Non Syrah Just For the Love of It - USA, California, Central Coast
Dark red violet color; black fruit, dried pepper and white pepper nose; rich, concentrated black fruit with pepper; medium-plus finish 96+ pts. (96 pts.)
Sweet wines in honor of Alois Kracher 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.
 - 2002 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Dark amber color; rich, creamy, coconut and peach nose; rich, lovely and surprisingly delicate peach nectar, apricot and pineapple palate; long finish (97 pts.)
- 1998 Alois Kracher Traminer TBA #8 Nouvelle Vague - Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee
Dark amber color; honey, botrytis and brown sugar nose; palate reminiscent of Long Island ice tea, with tangy apricot, tart carmelized brown sugar, and maple, with good acidity; long finish (94 pts.)
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. |
