Older Californians Surt & Turf Dinner

Hans kindly organised an 'All American' dinner for 4 of us at the steak house in the American Club. As well as Hans' always exquisite cigars as bookends (and the Insignia 1999), the dinner included 2 specially pre-arranged dinner items.

Smoked on the balcony of the restaurant...it was exquisite. A recent release and such a long time since I have smoked a Sancho Panza other than decades-old vintages.

• 2018 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Private Reserve 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  From the list at the American Club in Central. Meyer lemon colour. Nice lemon and melon nose. Palate is deep, rich, quite alcoholic. Meyer lemon. Nice. Drank on a very steamy terrace with a pre-dinner cigar but it held up well. Could have performed better over dinner inside? Lots to like and I see that it is great QPR at its retail price.

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Surprisingly, this is not on the regular menu so Hans asked the chef to prepare it especially for us. It was stunningly good.....simple, unfussy and took you back to 'old school' Manhattan steak houses. The 2 Beringers we drank side by side paired perfectly with it or vice versa.

• 1987 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Drank alongside the 1996.....great pairing. Very fresh looking deep semi opaque ruby jewel. Nose is mint and cedar. Palate is very fresh and lifted with good acidity. Complex blend of cigar box, cedar, lots of blackberry fruit with nice blackberry pips tannin. Resonant and quietly reverberant on a mounting finish. Lovely. Still so fresh and years ahead of it. So moreish. Loved it and was a clear notch above the 1996. 93+

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• 1996 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  More purple tinged than the ‘87 we drank alongside it. Semi transparent lightening at the edges.Nose is lovely warm and welcoming new oak, cassis, belly-filling red and black currant fruit. Mocha. Still has a bit of alcohol not yet integrated but paired well with the spice and pepper of the steak tartare. Hedonistic but definitely a change in winemaking style compared to the less extracted 1987. A super wine but not in the same class of the ‘87. Stayed somewhat monotone with extended time in the glass. 91+

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Surprisingly, the Club ordinarily only has frozen Alaskan crab legs on the menu but Hans persuaded the Chef to arrange a whole live crab to be flown in "same day' for our dinner.

The only thing the chef couldn't guarantee was the actual size of the crab as he was dependent on what had landed c18 hours earlier in Alaska. As it happens, it was a 'biggie', which was a lot of crab for 3 of us because we had forgotten that Jeremy is allergic.

The risotto was fantastic but the legs......wow, I truly think the best crab I have ever eaten.

It caused a bit of theatre when the live crab was brought out on a silver platter to show us on the balcony....and again, when Chef and what seemed the entire kitchen staff came out to out table as we were finishing it to share the experience.

Thanks, Hans! Thanks, Chef!

Oh, the wines? We always knew we were treading dangerous ground with 3 pretty old US Chardonnays, so no disappointment that 2 wre dead on arrival. Thanks, Daniel!

• 1995 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Sbragia Limited Release Flawed

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Oxidised....sadly because I had really enjoyed this with Daniel over a seafood long lunch back in December 2015.

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• 1997 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard Flawed

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Completely oxidised, which added to our collective experience that Kistler Chardonnays tend to crash after c15 years - unlike quite a few California Chardonnays (Montelena, Pahlmeyer, Ridge etc.).

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• 1997 Talbott Chardonnay Diamond T Estate 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Carmel Valley

  Honey gold colour. Slightly cheesy nose…Comte?… but not unpleasant. Parmesan. Some lemon in the background. Sweaty. Palate is deep rich fresh and with lots of matured Meyer lemon towards the candied end of the spectrum. Big oak but very well integrated. Slight alcoholic burn on the finish. Hearty and heady on the finale. A big wine but not heavy on its feet. Is well past prime drinking but at least it wasn't oxidised and was the sole non-casualty of 3 old US Chardonnays Daniel brought to drink with the fresh-flown Alaskan Crab. I think the sublime crab legs and risotto helped bring something extra out of the experience.

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This was an insanely gorgeous piece of meat and it went brilliantly to the well-contrasted great wines we drank in tandem.

The 4 cheeses were the only non-American part of the meal...ha ha.

• 2001 Ridge Monte Bello 96 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Decanted for an hour then rebottled for 7 hours before serving with a Tomahawk steak. It needed every hour of the double-decant. Totally opaque red-purple Nose is OMFG…. powerful but so perfumed and elegant. Candied and beautifully multi dimensional spice. Palate is stunningly gorgeous. Silence creating. One of those wines where its quality transcends the need or ability to write many words. 96.....which is a very high score on my personal scale.

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• 1999 Joseph Phelps Insignia 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Drank alongside a Ridge Monte Bello 2001 over a sublime and huge dry-aged Tomahawk steak. Opaque black depth lightening to red-purple. Nose is sweaty, lots of concentration of black and red small berries fruit. Lovely wasps of sun-warmed cedar roofs. Hints of bitumen. Palate is beautifully rich open and belly-filling fruit and oak driven. Integrated but still a work in progress. The tannin is a bit too strong at the moment. Revisit in 5-10 years. 92 for now but could improve. I love Insignia, particularly once it passes the 20-25 year mark. Thanks, Hans! 92+ for now.

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A great chance to finish off half-drank glasses and reflect on them.

Thanks so much for pulling off something really memorable Hans. And to everyone else for contibuting such super wines. What a great night!