Miami Dinner with Jburman and MWN

MiamiWineNovice, his date, my girlfriend and I got together for dinner with JBurman and his wife since they were in town for the South Beach Food and Wine Festival. Went to Le Provencal on Miracle. Amazing French cuisine that included a seared foie gras in a blueberry reduction, excellent escargot, wild boar in a pinot noir reduction, an incredible duck confit, and the most amazing souflee i've ever had.

• 2002 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Rosé Vintage 89 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nice nose, sharp, with some very sweet notes but sharp notes. It was a bit less "bubbly" than i expected, and I thought the mouth was a bit muted. on the finish it was very dry and tart.

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• 2006 TOR Syrah ROCK Judge Family Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley

  What a big wine. Huge wine. The nose screamed of cracked white pepper, bay leaf, fig, and blackberry. On the nose there was a lot more dark fruit and plenty of spice notes. The finish went on for a while. This is a really big wine, not over the top, extremely elegant, but if it had to be described in one word it would be "big".

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• 1959 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Tons of funk and barnyard upon opening. After about 10 minutes that blew off and there were very dominant notes of tobacco leaf and damp earth. You could also pick up some truffle and dark fruit. After another 10 minutes or so the wine was really singing. Beautiful nose, gorgeous color, not showing a lot of bricking especially for its age. The tannin were perfectly integrated, and the wine perfectly coated the mouth without being too harsh or noticeable. Medium-bodied, gorgeous wine. Really amazing. In a total of about 45 minutes though the wine was completely gone. Practically non-existent finish, light-bodied, and a muted nose. In the middle 15 minutes this was a 95+ point wine, but because of how quickly it died we decided on a 94.

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• 1983 Château Mouton Rothschild Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bad bottle. Pretty label, ugly wine.

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• 1989 Château Cos d'Estournel 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  This was Jack's "back up wine".... what a guy. The nose was very clearly earthy, mushrooms and truffle with some menthol notes. Still plenty of tannin, mouth coating medium to full bodied wine. Very sexy elegant finish. We asked to have it decanted after our first glass which made a world of difference. Still 5+ years left at this level with no problem. And a well-stored bottle should go a ways as the tannins wre very much alive and there was enough going on with the nose and palate to last many more years.

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• 2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling Late Harvest Ethos

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Dominant characteristic on the nose was honeysuckle, followed by stone fruit, apricots, and pear. Beautiful bouquet without being too flowery. Huge sticky and syrupy coating on the palate. Great dessert wine, went perfectly well with creme brulee's and souffle's.

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Jack overdelivered as usual. A 1959 Ducru, an '83 Mouton, and as a "back up" wine for the bad Mouton, an '89 Cos d'Estournel. We had a great time. As always a blast with this group. Good wine, truly excellent food, and a damn good time. The Tor Rock Syrah that MWN brought was amazing. These people make such amazing wines. I was the low-baller of the night with the 2002 VC Rose. Gotta step it up next time...

Can't wait until we crack open the 3L Moet in April.