Mature Burgs and Mexican Food, a successful experiment

So we had this 1875 Angelica to open (and wanted to get it open soon, because there were signs of a little leakage during shipping), and Mark had recently dined at Reposado Restaurant--a large, attractively designed, upscale Mexican restaurant in Palo Alto--where he chatted with one of the managers, Saeed Amini, who proposed that we do a no-corkage Burgundy dinner there, with some selected Burg-friendly dishes. (Saeed was formerly with Evvia, Kokkari and Pampas, but is a big Burgundy fan. His license plate is “RN 74.”) Unfortunately, he wasn't on hand at Reposado when we were able to convene a quorum there, but we managed to do pretty well finding wine friendly items on the menu. And the wait staff was charming, and very enthusiastic about wine.

Mischa did a good job of summarizing our experience with the food, in a subsequent email to some of our friends who couldn't attend, so I'll quote from his summary: "The food was quite good, well above my expectations, and paired surprisingly well with the wines. A few dishes had elements that were spicier than is ideal with older burgs but it was stuff 'on the side,' sauces used to decorate the plate, etc. so it didn't end up being a problem. They did offer to do custom menus for us in the future which would completely take care of this. The prawns/scallops dish worked well with the whites. They had other appetizers that also would have worked including a lobster dish. The hanger steak was very good and nicely seasoned as was the lamb shank. Other than the sides that came with those, they both could have been from any good restaurant -- i.e., there was nothing about the seasoning on the meat itself that was 'Mexican.' Same with the pork chop which was probably the best dish of all. The hanger was slightly overcooked and the pork chop slightly undercooked but not to a degree that was problematic."

As far as our wines, the '88 Grivault Meursault Perrieres was singing, showing hardly any age for a 22-year-old White Burg. We were blessed with good showings by the reds, especially the '85 Lignier Clos des Ormes. George offered a duo of wines for a blind flight, and Mischa (fast becoming one of our sharpest Burgundy experts) managed to guess the vintage on both, and that they were the same vineyard from the same producer. The '82 Rion V-R Les Chaumes was particularly surprising, as I've had very few '82 Burgs, and wouldn't have expected this bottle to still be very drinkable, let alone delicious, based on '82's middling reputation. After this bottle, though, I'd like to try some more '82s.

All in all, this was a good place for a mid-week wine gathering, and the food played a solid supporting role.

• 1988 Albert Grivault Meursault 1er Cru Perrières 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Medium gold color; nice lemon, mineral, lime, floral, lime blossom nose; youthful, tart lemon, mineral palate with creamy texture and good acidity; medium-plus finish

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• 1983 Domaine Philippe Naddef Mazis-Chambertin 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Dark garnet red color; tart red fruit, cranberry nose with a touch of green herb (mint?); tight, focused, tart red fruit, tart cherry, mineral cranberry palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (still not at peak, and should go 10-15 years)

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• 1985 Georges Lignier et Fils Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos des Ormes 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru

  Bricking medium red color with clear meniscus; mature, truffle, earthy nose; tasty, mature, bacon fat, tart red fruit, mineral, iodine palate; medium-plus finish (lovely for drinking now, and should go 5+ more years)

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• 1988 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir Matteson Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Cloudy, bricking garnet color; green notes, eucalyptus nose; solid, tart raspberry, red fruit, padron chilli, green notes palate with a suggestion of pepper; medium finish

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• 1982 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Very light bricked red color with clear meniscus; mature, earthy, red fruit, cinnamon, tart strawberry nose; tasty, delicate, mature, tart red fruit, tobacco, tea, cranberry, mineral palate with medium acidity; medium finish 93+ pts.

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• 1983 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Very bricked medium red color with clear meniscus; mature, mushroom, tart raspberry nose; mature, tart mushroom, raspberry palate, a little oxidized and edgy, but with firm tannins remaining; medium finish

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We finished with this fabulous 135-year-old piece of California viticultural history, which is covered as its own tasting event.