Burgundy and Barolo at Heidi's

Siggy and Craig assembled a small group including Dave McMahon, Jimmy Sioris, Leo Sioris and me. The theme was Burgs and Barolo and almost everyone played by the rules. After ordering the Shefzilla surprise we decide to go with the tasting menu, meaning ten courses of what proved to be positively brilliant food. The only issue we encountered is that the first six courses and the last two courses were better suited to white wines (which we had four of) than red wines (which we had seven of). We tried to keep the pairing rational for awhile but eventually thirst overcame reason.

The Shefzilla surprise was an excellent ravioli with a creamy corn filling. The first course of the tasting menu was world-class with small cubes of potatoes, creme fraiche, wasabi and caviar (excellent stuff from paddlefish in North Dakota of all places) all served in a small glass jar. The combination of flavors and textures was truly spectacular. Next was a scallop custard that was also great, but paled compared to the first course. This was followed by a really nice foie course (two ways) with cherries. The caviar course was the highlight so far, but every course was great. The '00 Girardin was probably the best pairing wine for almost every course.

• 2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Pale yellow color. Mildly expressive nose giving mostly citrus with some smoke/ash. Mid-weight and lush on the palate delivering thick citrus fruit balanced nicely by a rush of acidity that builds from mid-palate to the finish. Excellent, but probably a slight disappointment given the producer.

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• 2008 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Pale yellow. Lovely nose with notes of mineral and smoke complimenting the fresh fruit. On the palate this is excellent. Barely mid-weight and with a bracing/steely personality. Flavors veer (surprisingly, to me anyway) towards grapefruit. Excellent long finish. Struck me as more Chablis-like than the Dauvissat and I liked it.

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• 2000 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Popped and poured and while impressive immediately this got better and better. Deep golden color -- in fact most of us assumed it was premixed but fortunately it wasn't. Fuller-bodied than the previous two wines and packed with flavor. And yet, not as heavy as it looks with beautiful texture and just enough acidity to keep this lively in the mouth. Long, satisfying finish.

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Craig (playing the part of Brad E) grew impatient with the lack of wine and pushed us on to some red Burgs. The next course was a spicy crab and lobster soup (at least for those of us who waited for the broth service) followed by Papperdelle with lobster, cream and black truffle that rivaled the caviar for best course of the night. None of the pairing worked particularly well, but you could do worse than black truffle and Burgundy.

• 2010 Marcel Lapierre Morgon 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Strawberry red color. Primary nose offering fresh black cherry with a touch of smoke. Barely mid-weight on the palate giving flavors of black cherry fruit. Slightly tart but otherwise well-balanced. Fairly tannic on the finish. Probably needs a year or two in the cellar.

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• 2001 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Youthful ruby red color. Beautiful nose of dark fruit and spice but seems reserved/closed down. Barely mid-weight on the palate and compact but with nice red fruit. Pretty well balanced but slightly on the tart side. Extremely tannic and drying on the finish. In summary this seems like an extremely high quality wine that is in an awkward stage; my advice would be to hold off drinking these for a few more years if possible.

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• 2005 Nicolas Rossignol Volnay 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay

  Bright ruby red color. Ripe red cherry on the nose but with some pronounced band-aid/rubber that eventually dissipated for the most part. Much better on the palate with fresh red cherry and earth. Acidity builds towards the finish to nicely balance the big fruit. Sweet tannin on the finish. Drinking surprisingly well for on '05.

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What better to pair with 50+ year old Barolo than Kung Pao Pheasant (served out of a chinese take-out to-go box nonetheless -- and with chopsticks). Actually it worked. As did the next course -- Wagyu beef.

• 1958 Giacomo Conterno Barolo

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Double decanted about four hours before serving. The cork came out largely intact, immediately producing shocking aromas of VA/nail polish. There was close to an inch of sludge on the bottom of the bottle. Once the wine was safely back in the rinsed bottle I corked it and sucked the air out to minimize oxygen exposure. When poured at the restaurant it had a shocking light orange color, more reminiscent of rose than Barolo. The nose still showed some prominent VA/nail polish but also developed some beautiful aromas of grand mariner and brown sugar. This was much better on the palate. Obviously lacking some of the stuffing that had precipitated out, but what was left had a special smooth and silky texture. Great old-wine flavors of orange rind and tar. Long, enjoyable finish. While not in the same league as the otherworldly '58 Monfortino this proved to be most enjoyable and memorable.

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• 2001 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Dark red color. The nose started with fresh black fruit and rose petal, but then gave way to some off aromas that everyone described differently ( I though the wine smelled fishy -- most off-putting!). In the mouth this was all muscle (especially compared to the '58). Youthful and extremely tannic, but excellent on the finish. Not rated. Hopefully the fishiness is just a stage because otherwise this will never be enjoyable.

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• 2000 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barolo Vürsù Vigneto Campè 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  I didn't take many notes on this one. Beautiful nose with ripe fruit and a pretty herbal note. No notes on the palate but I recall it being solid with a compact but nice flavor expression. Seemed very young and closed down and in need of additional time in the cellar. I would welcome the opportunity to taste this again in say 5 years or so.

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• 1998 Fontanafredda Barolo Vigna La Rosa 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  The nose shows prominent red fruit with some oak. On the palate this showed as perfectly balanced and plush. A bit on the simple side, but in a good place right now with not much tannin present on the finish.

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Dessert was table made ice cream -- creme anglais and strawberries stirred with a big dose of liquid nitrogen and some nuts on top. We finished with a spectacular cheese course. The cheese proved to be an excellent pairing for the cheese course and proved to be a delightful way to finish the dinner.

• 2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  It took extreme measures to extricate the cork from the bottle, but it was worth the wait. Bright gold/yellow color. Stunning nose giving a big whallop of petrol along with the fresh citrus fruit. Equally awesome on the palate with tons of sweet fruit well balanced by awesome acidity. Great length on the finish. A worthy finish to a really fun night of wine.

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What can I say, another great night at Heidi's in Minneapolis. Excellent food, a great night of conversation and some beautiful wines. I can't wait to set up a repeat visit.