Charity Auction Dinner
The Farm
Tasted Sunday, March 3, 2013 by gbm with 623 views
Introduction
We "won" this dinner at the annual charity auction. Well known local chef comes to your house with a wine importer friend and cooks dinner for you and up to eight guests. The Chef was fantastic. We hung out in the kitchen for passed appetizers and conversation while he prepared some of the meal and then sat down to a three course dinner which was fantastic.
Flight 1 - Canapes (2 Notes)
Lobster Salad served in an Endive Leaf
House Cured Duck Bacon on Watermelon Radish Slices
Foie Gras with Pickled Pears on Toast
Kabocha Squash Soup with Cardamom, Apples and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Citrus Cured Arctic Char with Fruit on Bruschetta
The champagne was fantastic, but gone before the food was served. The riesling was nice, but too sweet. It did pair well with the soup (of all things) as the apples in the soup brought out similar notes in the wine. General consensus was that the champagne wins this round even though two bottles of riesling went down in 15 minutes. I guess the riesling was very drinkable. Even the non-champagne folks (like me) were surprised by how muted the effervescence becomes over time.
Side note - duck bacon? A-MAZ-ING! So good I could have eaten the entire breast of it by myself. Foie gras with pickled pears was another hit and also paired nicely with the riesling.
Flight 2 - Appetizer (1 Note)
Grilled Atlantic Sturgeon with Marinated Beets, Endives and Fresh Grated Horseradish
The Volnay was a nice wine, but had no business being paired with this meaty, oily fish. The dish was fantastic - every plate was cleared - but the wine did nothing for it.
Flight 3 - Entrees (3 Notes)
The chef was kind enough to prepare two choices - Braised Colorado Lamb Shoulder and Pan-Seared Florida Grouper. Both were served over Roasted Cippolini Onions with Baby Carrots and Toasted Barley. Both were excellent and again, every plate was emptied. On to the wines:
The Croix du Beaucaillou was first. Dark and inky and everything you would expect from a young Bordeaux. The Andrew Will was next and completely overshadowed it. The color was the same, if slightly less dense-looking, but the nose was so expressive and the palate was so much smoother, there really was no contest. When you take pricing into account, I don't see why there is still any of this stuff left on the market.
The Grand Mayne was a nice way to close the course. It was smoother and more refined than the Beaucaillou and less exciting than the Andrew Will. Very enjoyable, older Bordeaux - also as expected.
This round went to the Andrew Will. The Grand Mayne was probably second as the Croix du Beaucaillou was just so dense.
Flight 4 - Dessert (2 Notes)
Butterscotch Pot de Creme
Thyme Shortbread Cookies
Very rich and sweet. An unsweetened, but slightly salty creme fraiche cut some of the sweetness of the butterscotch. I loved it, but I love dessert. Others found it too rich or too sweet. The salt in the creme fraiche was fantastic.
As for the wines, the Sauternes was really nothing special. I feel that way about most Sauternes and have yet to taste one of which I need to have more. The port, on the other hand, was fantastic! All of the nuttiness and fruits you would expect in a nice 20 year tawny, but very little of the alcohol. It was smooth and drinkable and probably wine of the night for me.
Closing
All in all, it was a great night. All agreed we should do it again.
As for the wines, I would have more champagne next time and dump the Sauternes. WOTN is a toss up between the Port and the Henriot, but I had very little of the Henriot so I have a hard time giving it the victory. The Andrew Will was outstanding, and I will drink more of it and seek it out in the stores, but it was very dense and needs a strong pairing. Given a glass of it beside the port and champagne, it would clearly be the third wine.
1995 Henriot Champagne Cuvée des Enchanteleurs Brut 95 Points
France, Champagne
I finally get it! I am not a big champagne fan, but vintage champagne - wow! This was fantastic. Beautiful golden color in the glass. Almost no visible bubbles. The nose was brioche, vanilla, and yeast, but the yeast was moderate - not overpowering. Faint soft bubbles on the palate. Smooth and sharp. All around terrific. I could have had the whole bottle by myself. (5+14+18+8)
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2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Light yellow or straw colored. Nose of fruits and minimal petrol. Sweeter and less acidic than I was hoping for, but the fruits were very nice. Apple in the kabocha squash soup really brought out the apple flavors in the wine.
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