26 Wines at Plumed Horse inc'g mature Barolo and '85 Grand Cru Burgs
The Plumed Horse Restaurant, Saratoga, California
Tasted Saturday, January 19, 2008 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 878 views
Introduction
David Niederauer put together this extravaganza at the newly reopened Plumed Horse, and Mark Sutherland organized our wines and flights. David ended up providing nearly half of our wines, sneaking them into mystery flights and “intermezzos,” including a triple-blind mystery flight with his own black tasting glasses. As usual when David is involved, there was an excess of great food and amazing wines (26 bottles or so amongst 11 people). The standouts for me, without question, were the fabulous trio of mature Barolos that were wisely positioned at the beginning of the evening, and then a gorgeous quartet of 1985 Grand Cru Burgs. Of the various New World blind entries, I was impressed with the 2005 Jonata Winery Pinot Noir “La Poesia de Jonata” Santa Rita Hills, which was new to me. Foodwise, Chef Peter Armellino’s signature dish—the Black Pepper & Parmesan Cheese Soufflé with Uni & Dungeness Crab Fondue—was my favorite, and I also loved the Prime New York Strip and Oxtail Ragu.
The new version of the Plumed Horse, which has been a Silicon Valley fine dining destination since 1952, includes a very impressive wine cellar and wine list. We didn’t take advantage of the wine list on this outing, but I look forward to making another visit soon to try out the list. The private room was roomy and ideal for an occasion like this. All in all, another fabulous wine and food event with my Silicon Valley wine buddies, and kudos and thanks to David for his generosity and to Mark for his organizational talents.
David and Mark:
Flight 1 - 1st Flight, w/hors d’oeurves (2 Notes)
Flight 2 - 2nd Flight, w/Risotto FDN (3 Notes)
Flight 4 - 4th Flight, w/Black Pepper & Parmesan Cheese Soufflé, Uni & Dungeness Crab Fondue (4 Notes)
A Quartet of White Wines (Double Blind), eventually revealed as ‘99s:
Flight 5 - 5th Flight – Intermezzo - a Mystery Trio of Wines (Triple Blind, in black glasses) (2 Notes)
Flight 6 - 6th flight, w/Alaskan Sablefish wrapped in Speck Ham, Port Wine Jus & Black Truffle Beans (4 Notes)
A Flight of Mature Burgundy (Double Blind), ultimately revealed as '85 Grand Crus:
Flight 7 - Intermezzo (1 Note)
Flight 8 - 7th Flight, w/Prime New York Strip and Oxtail Ragu (4 Notes)
“Where In the World” Quartet of Pinot Noir (Double Blind)
Closing
Edward, Jill, General Mgr Joshua, David and Mark: 
Renee and J.R.:
2002 Jacques Picard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Premier Cru 93 Points
France, Champagne
Medium dark yellow color; yeasty lemon cream nose; delicious, rich, creamy lemon and kumquat palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish
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1990 René Collard Champagne Brut Cuvée Réservée 92 Points
France, Champagne
Golden honey color; honeyed, creamy nose; rich, tasty, honeyed, with a tough of caramel and good acidity; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.
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