half bottles, grazing, pecking, rooting

No specific occasion, no particular cause for celebration; just time for a nice, long evening out with my wife. On a very cold evening, the entrance to Blue Hill is especially inviting, with warm lights beckoning from the windows.

We opted for the 'Grazing, Pecking, Rooting' menu, which consisted of numerous small bites of many different things. While they offer wine pairings, I like to spend more time with individual wines, and they had a reasonable selection of half bottles, so I chose three, and let the sommelier coordinate with the chef.

The meal itself was ridiculous, in the best possible ways; quantity, quality, variety, execution, presentation. I could go on. After the first amuse, we were escorted to a table in the kitchen, adjacent to the amuse station, which gave us a broad vantage point over the workings of the kitchen, as well as the opportunity to watch our amuses being assembled piece by intricate piece. We spent the first 30-40 minutes there, and worked our way through 7-8 different bites. I remember the 'beet sushi' as being particularly creative and flavorful.

The rest of the meal was spent back in the main dining room, where I think must have been at least eight more courses. I remember three standouts:
* the 'farm tacos', a spread of various vegetable purees, bay scallops, and thin strips of cured beef, to be assembled in paper-thin slices of kohlrabi and sprinkled with spicy watermelon salsa. This sounds like an impossible mixture of ingredients, but the components came together perfectly;
* 'venison and carrots', thin slices of venison tenderloin with braised carrots lying in splashes of savory sauce and carrot vinaigrette. Nothing more on the plate, and nothing more was needed, so savory, juicy, tender, with sweet carrots.
* 'long island duck', slices of perfectly cooked duck breast, with accompaniments I don't remember, only because this preparation of duck was quite possibly the best I've ever enjoyed, both in terms of quality of the product, and execution by the kitchen. Perfectly seasoned, seared, and roasted, with a crispy skin swaddling a uniform layer of fat (oh, that fat), itself layered on uniformly pink, juice-laden meat. A new personal watermark. So, so satisfying.

• 2004 Domaine & Selection Montrachet 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Pure, clear gold in the glass, strong aromatics of peach immediately present. On the palate, a silky, smooth texture, but almost none of the fruit implied by the nose; instead, deep minerality, notes of petrol, and a bit of funk. We didn't have oysters with the meal, but this would have been an excellent match for briny seafood.

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• 2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

  Deep saturated red in the glass, with a slight purple tint at the rim. Aromatics of crushed cherries, nutmeg, and a hint of cinnamon, leaning to an austere profile on the palate initially, but slowly opening and evolving as the night went on. A nice smooth texture on the palate, and a very nice match for the duck dish in particular.

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• 1986 Château Léoville Las Cases 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Dark reddish-black in the glass. A surprisingly pronounced blast of fresh cut grass and herbs on the nose, but on the palate, the fruit and raw materials are all there. Hints of currants, cedar, caramel, coffee, and smoke flit in and out of the picture as we drank this. The word 'beguiling' comes to mind.
  
  Out of a 375, I wasn't expecting a 27-year old wine to show like a 2-year old wine, but that's essentially where this was. I think this will eventually deliver a profound drinking experience, but I can't begin to guess how far in the future that might be.

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I wouldn't have guessed that the 'fresh-from-the-farm' conceit would have played so well in the colder months, but the kitchen made creative use of pickled vegetables to keep each course distinct and interesting. The wines were special, but in all honesty, this was a night where the food took center stage.