Pre-Super Bowl Gentlemen's Dinner
New Jersey, USA
Tasted February 9, 2024 by oldwines with 79 views
Introduction
Shane and I wanted to do another epic wine dinner. Shane designed the menu around three wine themes.... 2014 Chablis, 1983 Bordeaux, and Old Barolo. All of the wines came from my cellar. We added some introductory wines shared by different fractions of the group, depending on arrival time and had to finish with a winter-oriented wine, I chose 1977 Taylor's Port. With only 8 seats around the table, this is a cherished event for all of us who can make it with a great group of friends.
Flight 1 - Prep and Arrival (3 notes)
Glenn arrived early with some oysters which we had with Muscadet. The first bottle I pulled, the Fromenteaux, was oxidized and had to be tossed. The second was fresh and went great with the oysters on the half-shell while we were finishing up the meal prep in the afternoon.
As everyone else arrived we had the Champagne, which was just delicious.
White
2015 La Tour Gallus Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Gorges
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
Light lemon yellow color. Slow to open up on the nose but after 20 minutes or so it gets floral with white flowers and chamomile together with dense stony minerals. The texture is thin, light bodied but full flavored. Wet stones dominate the attack but also with layers of lemon, tangerine and very saline finish that last 20-25 seconds. Lovely with raw oysters!
White - Sparkling
2008 Philipponnat Champagne Extra Brut Clos des Goisses
France, Champagne
Decanted for 30 minutes and kept at cellar temperature. This definitely made a difference. Gorgeous bottle of Champagne! Yeasty, bright with varied white and yellow fruit and citrus. Great mouthfeel and mousse. Long finish. Crisp and energetic. Better with the aeration. Love it!
Flight 2 - First Course - Hamachi Sashimi with Artichoke Risotto Cake (3 notes)
Truffle butter infused Hamachi Sashimi on crispy fried artichoke risotto cake, with fennel, lemon and artichoke cream, garnished with fennel fronds, micro arugula and truffled caviar.
This very unique dish was my favorite and I think the consensus favorite of the evening. All three wines went well, but the Fourchaume was just superb with it. The lesser oak treatment here and the purity of fruit just popped with the dish.
White
2014 Jean-Claude Bessin Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
In my cellar since release. Double decanted a hour before tasting and served at cellar temperature. This was really a wonderfully precise and terroir driven wine. Crisp with chalky minerals, lemon citrus and tart apples. Great purity and balance. No noticeable oak. Long finish. This was wonderful with the Hamachi course! In many ways this was a perfect example of what Chablis is all about with nothing added. This was pretty consistently one of the top wines of the night. For me in the second tier close to the top with the 2008 Clos des Goisses. Perhaps the best wine-food pairing of the evening among many stellar selections! If there is such a thing in Burgundy any more this is an excellent QPR.
White
2014 Marcel Servin Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
In my cellar since release. Double decanted a hour before tasting and served at cellar temperature. Wonderful wine but severely overshadowed by the Bessie Fourchaume of the same vintage. This bottle seemed oxidized on first opening but after an hour it seemed to be mitigated. Rich texture and somewhat unorthodox for Chablis. This seemed more like a Puligny-Montrachet with some mostly integrated oak and rich body. Somewhat creamy as well. Pear, citrus and hints of minerals dominate, but there is a somewhat complex element to this that is either a flaw or a feature…I’m not sure which.It would be quite hard to identify this as GC Chablis in a blind tasting
White
2014 Domaine Pinson Frères Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
In my cellar since release. Double decanted at 4:30 and served at cellar temperature with the first course around 6pm. This is a very stately and profound wine that showed nice acidity and minerals backbone with tart apple, creamy nectarine and lemon curd. This seemed to have had a distinct new wood undertone while being fleshy and deep with concentrated flavors. It unfortunately seemed to be missing the “next gear” it needed to really impress. If this was served by itself it would likely have impressed more but in comparison to the 2 other Chablis this didn’t really stand out, especially versus the Bessin Fourchaume which had such purity.
Flight 3 - Second Course - Duck Breast with Mushroom Roasted Turnip Purée (3 notes)
Pan-roasted duck breast purée of roasted mushrooms and turnip, accompanied with crispy barley, braised onion and cherry-fig gastrique.
All of the 1983 Bordeaux went great with this dish. I deliberately chose three different appellations, St. Estelle, Pauillac, and St. Emilion. The St. Emilion is of course much higher Merlot in the blend. All three were notably fresh and youthful and quite similar at first, with more nuances emerging with time in the glass. I "milked" all three for as long as possible. I thought the Pichon Lalande was the best of the flight.
Red
1983 Château Cos d'Estournel
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
In my cellar since release. Decanted around 3:30pm and served with the second course around 7pm. This was a little funky when decanted, very earthy but not “bretty” with the air this faded. It was also ever so lightly bricked. When served it had lost the funk and darkened to a rich lightly translucent garnet. Quite minerally and complex with notes of cassis, red berries, leather, mushrooms and hints of tobacco and the nose and palate. This kept getting better in the glass until finished. So youthful and delicious. Smooth as silk in the mouth. This was a rather miraculous bottle amount three marvelous and equally miraculous 1983 Bordeaux. Overall, all three wines were very similar and of great quality with nuances separating them. As they sat in the glass, the subtle nuances were visible but initially in the glass they were almost indistinguishable.
Red
1983 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
In my cellar since release. Decanted around 3:30pm and served with the second course around 7pm. Shockingly youthful from the start of decanting. The bouquet was immediately evident, earthy yet powerfully fruity and complex, this got better and better. It was hard to pace myself and not drink this down quickly, so tasty! Still bright and relatively energetic, marvelously silky mouthfeel…this is why these “old-school” Bordeaux are so great when aged well. It still had great predominantly red fruit but amplified with cassis and graphite, not to mention cedar, sweet pipe tobacco and earthy mushroom/forest floor. Very long, luxurious finish. This was the best wine of the flight alongside 1983 Cos d’Estournel and 1983 Canon pretty unanimously with the order of the other two varied by individual. Overall, all three wines were very similar and of great quality with nuances separating them. As they sat in the glass, the subtle nuances were visible but initially in the glass they were almost indistinguishable.
Red
1983 Château Canon
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
In my cellar since release. Decanted around 3:30pm and served with the second course around 7pm in a flight of 3-1983 Bordeaux. Pretty clean on the nose though a little restrained at first. Lightly chocolatey dark red and black fruit, soft but layered and balanced with decent remaining mineral, acid structure. Also earthy, more on the finish. Nice purity with good balance but also not flamboyant or especially thrilling, though excellent overall. Plenty of life left, quite youthful. If not tasted next to ‘83 Cos and Lalande this would probably have seemed more remarkable. A few of the attendees liked this a touch more than I ranking it 2nd, rather than my 3rd of the flight. Overall, all three wines were very similar and of great quality with nuances separating them. As they sat in the glass, the subtle nuances were visible but initially in the glass they were almost indistinguishable.
Flight 4 - Third Course - Grilled Berkshire Pork Cheek with Truffle Mashed Cauliflower. (3 notes)
The Pork cheeks were sous vide for 4+ hours, then grilled over high heat, sliced thin, and served over truffle and garlic-infused mashed cauliflower. It was garnished with "confit" onion, pork rind dusted potato chips, balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, roasted red and golden beet purée and pickled radish.
This very complex dish was a beautiful complement to the Baroli. As anticipated the 1967 Guiseppe Mascarello was the star of the flight.
Red
1964 Damilano Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Acquired in 2020 from Zachy’s during the pandemic shutdown, represented as from an Italian collector source. After an experience a few years ago with a 1967 Damilano Barolo that needed nearly 24 hours to blossom and blossom it did, in preparation for our event Friday evening, I decanted this around 8pm on Thursday. After we took a small taste we decided that the wine was clearly not as acidic as the 1967 and quickly put the wine back in the cleaned bottle ( there was an huge amount of chunky sediment) and recorked it. I have my fingers crossed that it will be good at the event. It was a shockingly bright garnet red with just a hint of bricking. The nose was quite effusive with mushroom, truffle, licorice and still vibrant red cherry fruit. Palate reflected the nose overall with a long finish. Will update after the event.
As served this was terrific! Still bright and classic. Lots of layers and still modestly fruity if just a touch "pruney". My number 2 of the flight tasted next to 1967 Giuseppe Mascarello and 1971 G. Borgogno Riserva. Remarkably youthful and vibrant even after the early opening. Glenn thought this was perhaps heat affected at some point in its life and I can see that as a possibility.
Red
1967 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Acquired a few years ago from Tribeca Wine Merchants in NYC, imported from an Italian source. Decanted at 4pm and tasted with our 3rd course in a flight with 1964 Damilano and 1971 Borgogno Baroli at about 8-8:30pm. This wine was gorgeous from the initial pop of the cork and only got better with aeration. The last drops in my glass were the best ones. So fragrant, “light on its feet” but dense with flavor. Uniquely Old Barolo. Dark red and black fruit hints lurked underneath earthy and spice notes, some hints of balsamic, roasting mushrooms. Light in color and texture but dense in flavor. Loved it and it was perfect with the Berkshire Pork Cheek dish. Unanimous #1 Wine of the Flight and for the majority Wine of the Night as it was for me.
Red
1971 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Acquired a few years ago from Zachy's sourced from a collector in Italy. Decanted at 4pm and tasted at 8pm with the 3rd course alongside 1964 Damilano and 1967 Guiseppe Mascarello. This looked appropriately aged, quite light and translucent with significant sediment. There was something that I found unusual about this, while not unattractive this had some distinct VA such that it actually tasted slightly sweet, almost with a layer of vanilla. It didn’t quite seem as typical or what I expected as the other 2 50+ year-old wines. It seemed raisiny, possibly heat-damaged or "stewed" by some in the group. It had lots of secondary and tertiary notes and was not at all unpleasant, but the comparison was striking for me. I think most people had this as 3rd best of the flight, with one or two people thinking it closer to 2nd. I have one more bottle to try in the relatively near future…
Flight 5 - Dessert - Chocolate Croissant and Raisin Bread Pudding (1 note)
Lusciously rich and lightly sweet bread pudding made with chocolate "croissants" and dried cranberries, served with a cherry sauce and hazelnut whipped cream.
This was just an utterly delicious end to the evening that was perfect with the 1977 Taylor's.
Red - Fortified
1977 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Decanted at 2pm and served with dessert around 9pm. This was a medium weight port that was still packed with flavor. It had a very forward and welcoming balance to it, not too strong, not too fruity. Rather silky. Full of chocolate-covered cherry flavor and sweet spices. Not the best Port I’ve had but just extremely easy to drink and a great complement to the Chocolate Bread Pudding. Very yummy!
Closing
Thanks to everyone who helped out, especially with the clean-up at the end of an epic evening! The food and wines were superb! I think the consensus was that the best pairing was the Hamachi and the Bessin Fourchaume with the Duck and "83 Pichon Lalande coming in second. The WOTN was not unanimous but I think the '67 G. Mascarello Barolo edged out the Fourchume for most people. For me there were a few wines in the top-tier this evening and a couple just a step behind. The '67 Mascarello, '83 Pichon Lalande and '77 Taylor's were just a slight bit better than the '08 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses and '14 Bessin Fourchaume. But these are slight nuances in my preference.
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