Cà Angeli Restaurant, Tokyo
Tasted Monday, March 20, 2006 by jrufusj with 772 views
Seven of us gathered to taste through a range of mid-90's and older white burgs. The venue was a good Italian restaurant with a menu put together for the event. Restaurant and host each did a job both generous and inspired. When it was time to turn to reds, a trip to the very fairly priced Italian list was a pleasure.
With two courses:
- a carpaccio of shrimp with garlic chips and bottarga and
- a fried zucchini blossom and a battered fried tomato.
With another two courses:
- a seafood pasta (of which I forget the details except that it was delicious and matched very well)
- a risotto of spelt with quail.
With a great dish of deeply flavored abalone and accompaniments.
With a meltingly tender cut of beef garnished (and absolutely perfumed) with truffle.
With a good dessert that needed to be eaten in a separate room from these enchanting pools of flavor.
I don't like picking wines of the night, but the Leflaive stood out clearly among the whites (although I'm also completely enamored of the '96 Coche Puligny and the '88 BdM in its own lean way). The Ceretto was a pleasure as it assists in my continuing effort to triangulate in on what I don't like in modernista Barolo wines and what doesn't bother me so much. Any opportunity to taste Dal Forno requires no additional comment beyond "thank you". And the wines of Paolo Bea are one of the world's great values in pure pleasure. Someday I'll get to taste a mature one.
As with every other event I do with this crew, the greatest aspects are the people and the simple desire of the organizer to deliver pleasure to friends. And the wines and food are damn good as well. Hearty thanks are due.
1997 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Straw heading into pale gold, clean and clear. Initially very open nose of sweet toast, deep apple, emerging chalky mineral. In time, a bit of honey and lanolin. Rich sweet flavor with fruit in similar vein to nose, but lacking the detail and refinement of the ’96. With more time, additional notes of cinnamon and limoncello on the medium finish. Much more evolved than the ’96 but showing hints in the end that it still has a bit in reserve. Not finely chiseled enough to do Coche or Puligny complete justice but still a strong effort for a vintage about which I am not too wild.
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1996 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Slightly lighter than the ’97 and much more closed initially. Less effusive oak, nuts, hint of citrus and herb. There’s a bit of grainy wood, but overall very stony and delineated. Driven more by mineral and detail than by its (ripe white) fruit. Subtle finish seems short then opens back up into sweet citrus, gentle oak, and slightly earthy mineral. The glass has a lingering smell of classic Coche oak and bit-o-honey long after the wine is gone. An impressive juxtaposition of refined detail and indulgent richness. A real winner that still needs lots of time to come out from under its bushel.
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