French Bakery BYO GLOBAL Bordeaux Blend Dinner - "The JUDGEMENT of Bay Harbor Islands"
The French Bakery 1023 Kane Concourse in Bay Harbor Islands
Tasted March 25, 2009 - March 26, 2009 by markellen.foodies@gmail.com with 1,162 views
Introduction
The attendants: Nick Abuabara; Carlos Deupi; Charlie Frumkin; Craig von Teuber; Brett Shofner; Jason Gilbert; Jerry Mc Ginley; Lionel Gallula & guest Gail; Mark Friedman(Me); Roberta & David Ehrenreich
Maria Frumkin's menu
Antipasto with assorted pate’s – Family style
Moulard Duck salad, sundried cranberries and pears
Roasted prime-rib, wild Mushrooms and potatoes Anna
Three cheeses: Asiago, Parmigiano and Gouda
Apricot tart, cardamom, honey-lavender sauce
RATINGS:
95 or BETTER: EXTRAORDINARY, one of the best of its or any class.
90-95: EXCELLENT, one would personally buy at retail.
89 or less: NORMALE, one would not buy for oneself.
Flight 1 - FLIGHT 1 (3 notes)
An inauspicious start. I confused my Aussie, which I like and RP dislikes(HATES?), with the Pauillac because of the vegetal notes on the Lynch Bages, which I thought I had tasted upon double decanting in the am.The two wines could be deemed to be a tie. THe 31 year old Malleret was clearly past its prime.
Individual scores: David-89.Jerry-90.Charly-89.Brett-75.Me-88.Nick-75.Jason-86.Carlos-80.Jason-86.
Brett-balanced nose, past prime, dry.Me-slight brett.Jason correctly IDed as 95 Aussie- seems funky, tired.Carlos- very piink; dry; long finish, cranberry then caramel, not much fruit. Nick- very olive.
Individual.scores- David-93. Jerry-91. Charly-93. Brett-84.Me-90.Jason-87. Carlos-88.
Charly - Good structure; a bit closed; firm tannins; too acidic.Jerry- Vegetal. David - closed.
Inidividual scores Jason-88, Me-91, Carlos-90, Craig favorite, unrated, Charly-90, Jerry-89David-91.
Flight 2 - SOUTH AFRICA SURPRISES & SHINES!!! (3 notes)
This flight demonstrates how the Globe is emulating, and perhaps eclipsing Bordeaux. When one thinks of the variability and inconsistency of weather in Bordeaux, visa vis South africa, South America, Italy, Australia, and California, it is not surprising.
.Me(93) I had decanted the wine for an 1-1/2 hours in the am, when it didn't particularly standout. However it certainly did against its flight mates, and all of the evenings wines. Blind, I thought it to be an elegant 10+ year old claret with great legs. What, my mental image is of great Bordeaux. It outclassed its Bordeaux cousins, in typicity and quality A joint venture between Rust&Vrede and Ernie Els.2000 is the inaugural Vintage, when released, it was priced above its S African peers.Apparently justifiably so. Nick complained that current releases are too pricey at $90+. To me it is a bargain vis a vis the overhyped and Greatly overpriced Napa cults, and 1st & 2nd Growth Bordeaux, all of which are outrageously priced, and for the most part are no better, and perhaps lesser than this wine.
When we visited South Africa in 2002 we experienced excellent mature Claret styled wines,e.g. Meeerlust, Boehkenhatsloof, that were more Bordeaux than elsewhere on the Globe.
THIS WINE SHOULD CONTINUE TO IMPROVE and EVOLVE EFFORTLESSLY FOR MANY Years.
Flight 3 - 3 WAY TIE- MERCI CRAIG, GRAZIE GAIA(via JERRY)/and JERRY (3 notes)
This was truly a split close flight, 3 tasters ranked the Italian wines equally, Carlos, David and Jerry. Jason, Nick, Brett, and Craig had a clear preference for the Ducru. While Roberta and I liked the Magari best, and Charly and Lionel preferred the Sportoletti.
Flight 4 - VENI, VIDI, VICI - TUSCANY REIGNS! WOTN***** (3 notes)
I BELIEVE WE WERE ALL BLOWN AWAY, WHEN IT WAS REVEALED, THAT IT WAS THE TUSCAN TUA RITA THAT AWED US ALL!!!
Coming down to the last 6 wines we were all wowed by the Tua Rita Giusto di Notri, and many of us wrongly presumed it must be the Insignia. It and the Ernie Els were clearly the WOTN's, with perhaps the Tua Rita getting the edge.
Scored well. Had the misfortune of being in the Tua Rita flight.
Flight 5 - NICK's 03 GRAVES CRU BOURGEOIS TRUMPS ITS EXALTED COMPETITION! (3 notes)
This 03 Cru Bourgeois($18-30retail), from an extemely hot year, showed much better than the heralded and expensive 99 Pavie, and the 98 Phelps Insignia, from one of California's wettest and weakest vintages.
It must be noted that the group preponderantly preferred the Cru Bourgeois 2003 Graves.
As can be seen from the numeric ratings, and the knowlege of what the last flights wines were, the group presumed the better drinking 03 Gaubert to be the dissappointing 99 Pavie.
Flight 6 - THE LATE ARRIVAL - Drank, but missed the competition (1 note)
Flight 7 - MERCI/GRAZIE/THANK YOU LIONEL (1 note)
Flight 8 - PETRUS - Santo Domingo/LIONEL'S FINALE (0 notes)
One of the finest smokes, I've savored in recent memory. Beats HABANA, and ASHTON VSG!!!
Closing
.As Lionel noted good wine has gone Global, as is evident by the outstanding Bordeaux blends we enjoyed from South Africa-Ernie Els and Italy-Tua Rita Giusto di Notri, where as noted above the better climactic conditions have led to consistently better wines. I am 68, and started dinking wine(CdP) 50 years ago(the legal age in NY then was 18). After my schooling and marriage we lived in NYC and moved to Westport, CT in 1970. I fondly remember the days when I would go to my local Wine Merchant- i.e. The Bloomingdale's Wine Store(NW corner of 3rd Avenue & 60th St, or Westport Liquors(next to Silver's) and buy wines ranging from Petreus and Gallo Hearty Burgundy to 1961 HAUT BRION BLANC(one of the 5 or 10 best wines I have ever had). In those days shops that specialized in wine all featured the Bordeaux 1st & 2nd Growths, and the 28 Wineries then existing in Napa, i.e Wente, Louis Martini, BV, Inglenook, Beringer, etc.
How the Wine World has changed: Robert Finnegan miscalled the 82 Bordeaux, and was demolished by Robert Parker and the nascent Wine Advocate. Buying Bordeaux futures became wise and fashionable. The Wineries, and Varietals in California have increased manyfold, leading to the current state of affairs where it is possible to produce Great Wines on almost every Continent, and where Global Warming is changing the nature of things.
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Thursday, APRIL 23rd,7pm- French Bakery BYO BARBARESCO Dinner - reprise of Barbaresco dinners 2 years ago, which were oversubscribed requiring 2 dinners on successive evenings.