Wine dinner at L'Incontro, Astoria
Tasted October 19, 2011 - October 21, 2011 by davergny with 664 views
Introduction
A group of about 30 people got together at L'Incontro Italian Restaurant in Astoria, Queens on Wednesday night. L'Incontro is considered by many to be one of the top Italian restaurants in NYC, so if you haven't checked it out yet, you should try to get there sometime. It is BYOB wine friendly and they have private rooms for large groups. The food tonight was amazing! We ate grilled octopus, a very tasty mushroom risotto, rabbit with shells and red sauce, wild boar sausage, short ribs with creamy polenta, and fish (I'm probably forgetting one or two dishes). Most of the wines were from magnum or there were two bottles of the same wine. They were poured one after the other so there were no flight groupings.
We started with a Long Chardonnay and a very tasty Riesling, which I did not get the name of. I couldn't pay much attention to the opening whites as I was meeting & greeting people and getting my wine contribution open and decanted.
Flight 1 (3 notes)
Red
1982 Bodegas Beronia Rioja Gran Reserva
Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
From magnum. Light but nice aromatics of spicy cherries and walnuts. Light body, elegant wine, but some nice cherry flavors and spice on the palate. Enjoyable. B
Flight 2 (2 notes)
Red
2000 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
From Magnum. Fantastic showing this night. Soaring aromatics, a perfume of red fruits, flowers & sous bois. Sweet grenache fruit on the palate, amazing length, herbs and spice, velvet texture, all nicely integrated. Lots going on. Didn't get any horsey notes from this bottle. A wine with definite character. Solid A. Some people thought this needed more time and would still improve. I guess that's possible.
Red
2007 Pic & Chapoutier Hermitage
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Brought by two reps from Chapoutier attending the Wine Experience. This wine seemed very young and tight. Earthy and some oak showing on the nose. Some primary fruit on the palate, more oak, silky texture. One dimensional at the moment, but I think it has potential. N/R
Flight 3 (4 notes)
Red
1987 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection
USA, California, Napa Valley
Nice mature Cab. Sweet fruit on the nose with some anise, and earthiness. Also some good dry fruit on the palate, earthy and sage notes. Some bitterness on the finish. Drinking nicely but on the downslope and starting to fall apart I think. B
Red
1999 Viader
USA, California, Napa Valley
From magnum. Everyone seemed to love this. I thought it was a gorgeous wine. Lots of complexity, rich but balanced and long. Lots of dark berries, cardamon and cinnamon notes. Really expressive. A-
Red
2001 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
From magnum. Dark fruit, menthol and oaky on the nose. Same on the palate. Big & tannic. This has not come together yet and needs some serious time, at least in magnum format. Good potential though. B-(+)
Flight 4 (4 notes)
Red
2003 Robert Foley Claret
USA, California, Napa Valley
Rich, with dark berry fruit, chocolate & herbs. Very tannic, hint of vanilla. Maybe needs more time. Most people liked this. B(+)
Red
2005 David Arthur Cabernet Sauvignon Elevation 1147
USA, California, Napa Valley
From magnum. This was my favorite cabernet wine of the night. Earthy, fruity nose with some herbs. Really well balanced, sweet black raspberry fruit, herbs , and graphite. Almost Bordeaux-like. Silky smooth, long and deep, very fine tannins. Surprised at how well this was drinking. Fantastic! A
Closing
We also had a dessert wine (or2?) which I didn't notate. I drank enough already! Great night with great wines!
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