Steffen P's Birthday Dinner - Old World Gems

34th Street Bistro, Austin, Texas
Tasted Saturday, November 18, 2006 by Winetex with 1,268 views

Introduction

A group of 11 came together to celebrate one of our favorite local wino's birthday. 34th Street Bistro was the chosen venue mainly due to the killer food that matches so well with the chosen BYOB wines. The company, wines and food were superb.

Flight 1 - Crispy Oyster Appetizers (3 Notes)

A stunning combo of a fried oyster on a potato chip with spicy aioli. It sounds weird but is fabulous especially champagne.

Flight 2 - Variety of Pizzas (3 Notes)

Mushroom, venison and sausage pizzas with lots of truffle oil were on with the Piemonte wines.

  • 1989 Gaja Barbaresco 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    Dark slightly cloudy ruby color; This wine is a good example of aged Nebbiolo (and clearly some Barbera thrown in there). Complex but lacking a bit on the nose. I wish I had more of these.

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  • 1993 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano di Nieve 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    Clear garnet color with a bit of browning; This wine had a shy nose to start but really opened up in the glass. It seemed lighter bodied than some Giacosas I've had of similar age. It picked up some lovely floral aromas and flavors and didn't last long before it was consumed.

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  • 1999 Paolo Scavino Barolo Cannubi 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Well-done, very primary Barolo. This has potential for improvement.

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Flight 3 - Pork tenderloin with pork belly cracklings (3 Notes)

For the Rhone wines.

  • 1990 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Flawed

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    This bottle was off. If it wasn't off it was poor wine which is probably not the case. It had strange charred bark tastes.

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  • 1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Medium garnet in color; Checking in on a previously untasted lot of this wine found it to be rich and lovely with complex spicy aromas and flavors. It is probably still improving and I won't open any others for years.

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  • 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    This wine was just phenomenal. I've had this several times in the past and there has been wild bottle variation. This bottle was superb - all of the kirsch, smoke, horsey anyone could want with a silky texture. WOW! and WOTN.

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Flight 4 - Lamb chop (3 Notes)

With Bordeaux and other.

  • 1994 Château Pontet-Canet 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This was somewhat funky with drying tannins. Lots of smoke and oak.

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  • 2000 Château Monbousquet

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    No score as this wine was just not in a good place. It smelled and tasted of beef blood with no integration. Hopefully this just needs time to come together.

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  • 2001 Argiolas Turriga Isola dei Nuraghi IGT 91 Points

    Italy, Sardinia, Isola dei Nuraghi IGT

    Interesting flavors of red fruit and spices but needed integration. It was balanced and probably needs more time to come together.

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Flight 5 - Dessert and Cheese Courses (3 Notes)

A variety of desserts and cheeses with the sweet wines.

Closing

A fun evening. Unfortunately my notes are from memory so take them for what they are worth. Happy Birthday Steffan!

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