Thanks to the Bresslers we had a simply fine dinner at Roux during Napastravaganza 2003. The menu was superb and the wines brought in by the attendees. The chef/owner of Roux is Vincent Mattress.

Attendees included the Davidns, the Brent Nulls, the Wineismylifes, the Winetexes and the Bresslers. A WOW night all the way around.

Aperitif wine - De Venoge Brut Champagne des Princes 1990

We started out with a trio of amuse bouche including
Tuna Tartare
Cucumber filled with kalamata aoli
Halibut with crab, corn in a cream sauce

Wine – 2001 Kongsgaard Roussanne/Viognier

First Course
Choice of
Truffled potato salad
Haricots verts, frissee, truffle emulsion, sotto cenere cheese

Or

Chervil Papardelle Pasta
Crispy Eden Farm pork, chervil oil

Wine – 2001 Sine Qua Non #6 Pinot Noir

Second Course

Torchon of foie gras brioche toast & spiced fall fruit compote

And

Seared foie gras with gravenstein apple & apple caramel

Wine – 1983 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes

Main Course

Breast of Sonoma Muscovy Duck
Mushroom faro, fig & ginger jam, natural jus

Or
Shortribs of Napa Free Range Beef
Spaetzle, sage & butternut squash

Wines – in order served

2000 Bressler Cabernet Sauvignon
1999 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine
1995 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
1994 Dalla Valle Maya Proprietary Red Wine
1997 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch

Dessert

Strawberry shortbread
Housemade black-pepper ice cream & 25 year old Balsamic

Wines
2000 Kracher #4
2000 Kracher #8

Sounds utterly amazing! Thanks for the front-line reporting WineTex.

wow!!! what a line up. you sure have been drinking some good juice as of late. can we get a jealous emoticon?

How about thoughts on the following:

2000 Sine Qua Non #6 Pinot Noir
2000 Kracher #8

Thank You.

I'm working on TNs for this lineup. I hope to finish these on the plane tomorrow.

Briefly - the SQN #6 is a quality Pinot, 93 points from me. The Kracher #8 is the baseball bat of the Kracher line-up, huge and wild at 95 WT points. Both Krachers were very good.

In this line-up of wines I scored nothing under 93 points. I'm not sure this has ever happened before. Not to be hung up on points but it should give you a benchmark for the quality of the wines.

Wow, very nice winetex. Thanks for the writeup, wish I could have been there.

Wow. holycow!

Winetex...

Has Revlis offered you a job yet???

The Dalla Valle was actually the 1994 (and my WOTN)

FYI, The Sine Qua Non Pinot is from the 2001 vintage.

Thanks Bressler and Jones - I've corrected the vintages.

My WOTN was also the Maya with the Abreu at #2. The Harlan needs more time but is going to be terrific. A difficult decision I'm happy that I had the opportunity to make.

INCREDIBLE!!!

This was one fantastic dinner. Of all the events this weekend I pick this one as my favorite. The food, wine, company and atmosphere were all top notch. Many thanks to Bob for organizing this event.

I saw my Top Wines of 2003 vanish before my eyes. I told Bob that wines like these make me want to go back and re-grade everything for this year; they set a new benchmark.

When you have wines of this caliber across such different varietals and styles it is difficult at best to organize them into favorites. However, here is my best stab:

1983 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes (98)
1999 Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (97)
1994 Dalle Valle Maya Cabernet Sauvignon (96)
1997 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon (96)
Kracher No 8 (95)
2000 Bressler Cabernet Sauvignon (94)
2001 Sine Qua Non No. 6 (93)
Kracher No 4 (93)
1990 de Venoge Champagne des Princes (93)
2001 Kongsgaard Roussane-Viognier (92)
1999 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon (NR)

The d'Yquem was simply outstanding. I can't imagine it getting any better than this. Many thanks to davidn for bringing this wine. It is my new number 1 for the year.

The Harlan gets the nod just before the Maya. This is simply a phenominal wine that has great upside potential. This is a 20 year wine IMO and you should be thrilled to have it in your cellar.

The Maya was drinking the best of the Cabs this evening. If I was strictly going on what is drinking well now I would have put this above the Harlan.

I didn't rate the Shafer because I thought there was something slightly off in the wine and did not want to do it an injustice.

A fantastic lineup. Not a bad wine in the list. May thanks to everybody for brining these fantastic wines. But more importantly, thank you to everybody for attending. I thoroughly enjoyed your company. You are the best.

Amazing dinner! I would also have to say that for me the 1994 Dalla Valle Maya was my WOTN. With my 2nd place being the 2000 Bressler Cab. Can't wait to get my allocation on that baby!

The dinner and company were both incredible. Thanks to Bob and Stacy for organizing such a wonderful evening.

THANKS!

all this talk about the 00 bressler is making my mouth water. when is it getting released again? i can' t wait.

AI...
I believe Bob said March 2004.

One slight correction on my WOTN. I always think in terms of whites and reds because they are so different.

So I left out a wine that was just incredible - the 1983 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes. <<hitting self in head..>>

Revised with both reds & whites:
1. the Maya (99 points from me, a first)
2. The d'Yquem (98 points)
3. The Abreu (98)

Everthing was between 93 and 99 points. How do you choose?

Between the '99 Harlan, '94 Maya, '97 Abreu, and '00 Bressler I couldn't pick one above the other.

The No. 6 is wonderfully juicy.

The two Kracher's were absolutely fantastic too.

I absolutely loved the '01 Kongsgaard Roussabe-Viognier and the '90 de Venoge des Princes was delicious! Had a neat bottle too.

Of course, the '83 Yquem was pretty good too. What can I say?

Oh yes, the restaurant. I think this was among my top three meals I've ever had as far as food and service. Absolutely as good (if not better) than TFL. The food prep had the "fresh" edge that cannot be beat. We will be at TFL next Saturday so I will be able to make the comparison quickly.

Of course, my dining companions made this dinner! I'll never forget the evening.