French Bakery 2nd Chateauneuf de Papes BYO Dinner

The French Bakery, 1023 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor Islands, FL
Tasted Wednesday, January 28, 2009 by markellen.foodies@gmail.com with 1,150 views

Introduction

Attendees: Deirdre Conley(Boisset); Richard Groves(Boisset; John Hussey: Roberta & David Ehrenreich; Jerry McGinley; Bob Muraro; Charlie Frumkin(The French Bakery); Ellen & Mark Friedman(us).

Maria Frumkin's Menu:
-Antipasto Lyonnais and Squash soup with pistachios
-Sweetbreads and lentil salad, truffle vinaigrette
-Roast Leg of Lamb with rosemary and thyme, ratatouille
-Three Cheeses and textures
-Chocolate flourless truffle torte, sabayon ice cream

The dinner, as always was exceptional, but the Squash Soup and the Sweetbreads with Lentils were extraordinary! BRAVO MARIA!!!

Scoring: 89 or less: one would not buy at retail for oneself. 90-94: Excellent, One Would Buy at Retail. 95+ Extraordinary, One of the Best Wines of its Type one has experienced.

Flight 1 - Precis - Cdp BLANC (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - 2 HEAVYWEIGHTS (2 Notes)

  • 1994 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points

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

    David's wine. 2 of 9 1sts,(Jerry & Roberta), ave 90.2. Jerry-93 very refined terroir, balanced aged fruit.David-90 smooth, silky, less guts(vs Pegau), but good.Mark(me)-89(e.g. I wouldn't buy it) balanced, not memorable. Richard-90 slightly corked, nice balance.Deirdre-92 clean balanced.Ellen-89 a little acidic.Charlie-91 minerality, calls for food, and spicy.

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  • 1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 92 Points

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

    Mark's wine(Me). Received 7 of 9 1sts, average 91.8. David E - 92 High"ROH"(Bronx Science- e.g. alcohol), great finish; Richard G-94 luscious, some brett(Later commented WOTN); Deidre-95 luscious, ripe; Charlie-93 ripe,delicious, long fine tannins; Ellen-92 ELEGANT;Mark(me)-92 fine,meaty, classic CdP; Jerry-92 spice&pepper nose, black cherry cola, slight medicinal finish.
    Bob said it showed better than his did at Pacific Time last Friday. I had decanted given it about 2+ hours of air in the am. Surpisingly, when it was first poured the initial funk was back. Also, I think it didn't show as well Friday, because it was poured against the 03, a decidely richer wine. In the morning it seemed to me to reflect forest floor pine needles, beef, and garrique.

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Flight 3 - VIEUX TELEGRAPHE "La Crau" (3 Notes)

In this flight Deirdre and I observed that they were tight, and we used the Vinturi Aerator on them which enabled them to strut their stuff.

  • 1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 91 Points

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

    Mark's wine(Me). 3 of 10 1sts, ave 90.7. Decanted for 1 hr in am. Jerry-94. Richard-94 nice perfume classic. David-91 hard to differentiate(all the same wine, different vintages)John-90 like it. Charlie-91 game, leather, brett. Deirdre and I realized this flight was tight, and so we used the Vinturi Aerator on them, and they all changed for the better.

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  • 2003 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 91 Points

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

    Jerry's wine. 5 of 10 1sts, ave 91.2. David-93 all similar need aging. Mark(me)-93(w Aerator)beautiful minerality. Ellen-90 aerated. Bob M-92 good bouquet, beginning. Richard-91 nice balance. Charlie-90 fragrant , mint(?), assertive tannins.

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  • 1994 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 91 Points

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

    David's wine. 2 of 10 1sts, ave 90.8. Charlie-92(It IS DIFFICULT TO DECIPHER HIS JOTTINGS!) (gibberish), then ripe plum, bacon. John-92 My favorite..Richard-93 stylish, lush. Mark(me-89 failed to improve w aerator.

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Flight 4 - Mixed trio of 8-10 Year Olds (3 Notes)

La Nerthe surprisingly steals the show???

  • 2000 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

    Charlie's wine. 4 of 9 1sts, ave 92.9(skewed by Deirdre's 97!) Deirdre-97 YUM!Ellen-93 (an extraordinary score from the hyper-taster) delicious, seems atypical.Charlie-92 sweet, plush, sweet tannins, awesome.Richard-91 balanced , nice, earthy.John-90 great fruit. Bob-95 excellent, balanced, best of flight.

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  • 1998 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape 91 Points

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

    Bob's wine. 2 split firsts of 9, ave 91.0. Richadr-90 balanced ripe. Mark(me)-93 great body palate.John-91 fantastic.Charlie-90 beautiful balance, great minerality.

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  • 2001 Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

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

    Jerry's wine. 4 of 9 1sts, ave 92.0 Richard-93 classic flavors.Mark(me)-94 GREAT!John-92 dry.Charlie-92 fruit, delicious cherry tobacco, fine grain tannins.

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Flight 5 - Louis Bernard vs La Bernardine (3 Notes)

Flight 6 - SINE QUA NON (1 Note)

  • 1990 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale 95 Points

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

    Mark's wine me. I was given this as a gift 6+ years ago by Joe Herman, a customer. It had been transported in a moving van from New Jersey to Florida, so he was unsure of its condition. Accordingly, I have waited to experience this unique wine on an occasion where if it was sound, it would be appreciated. THIS WAS THE NIGHT.
    I opened it in the morning, and the cork was in good condition, as was the fill. On opening it seemed ethereal and somewhat lighter than I had anticipated, expecting more of an amarone ripasso styled wine. On opening it had fragrant luscious black raspberry notes, and a truly silky mouthfeel. I had failed to instruct Marco to leave it corked, so I presume it stood uncorked and open for 2+ hours throughout dinner. The result was a less complex, but still excellent Amarone styled CdP, which Jerry really enjoyed. I wish I could have recaptured the initial essence, which was exquisite.

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Closing

The top wines of the evening by general consensus were the 98 Pegau Reserve, the 2000 La Nerthe, and the 90 Henri Bonneaux Speciale. With only 10 participants the dinner seemed more manageable, as there were fewer distracting competing conversations.

The NEXT DINNER is Tuesday, February 24th,RED BURGUNDY, as Deirdre and Richard's superiors from Boisset will join us and contribute to the bounty.

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