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whiner
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning
Wine Thief
Posts:2871
 | | 04/28/2004 10:20 AM |
| This past night I made it through an entire off-line without falling asleep on the rest of the Cru! I had a great time and it was wonderful to meet scottj from Huston (or, 30 miles outside of Huston) and the legendary TJ  I am very sorry that tlily was unable to join us as I was certainly looking forward to meeting him.
Dinner: I believe most of the table ordered either the mushroom (with truffle) risotto with gold leaf, or else the duck confit salad. I had the risotto and it was excellent, people who ordered the salad seemed to have only nice things to say. For a main course I had the rack of lamb while others had the filet mignon or the seared Ahi with a stuffed langoustine. (My girlfiriend, who goes veggie, was easily able to order off the menu, and actually preffered her main dish to the one she had at Palena just a few nights prior.) The table shared 2 large cheese courses after our main courses -- they consisted of a Drunken goat, a Manchego, a soft Spanish cheese of some sort, and a soft cheese that seemed a mixture of various soft-ripened cheeses. The cheeses were served with a date cake, another sweet fruit concotion, and bread sticks. The rhubarb and chocolate tortes were the deserts the Cru went after and both were very yummy. Given my love of chocolate, I prefered that, although, the rhubarb torte/pie was excellent. Unfortunately, my friend was not on tonight; whether it was because I was recognized, or because we were just so cool, we were still charged for only 5 ($15) cork fees, although we opened 12 bottles (among the 7 of us! ) I didn't take a look at the actual bill, but we were served bottled water all night and, based upon what I was told to put in, I don't think that was added into the bill either. I know this restaurant has gotten slightly mixed reviews, but it continues to impress me with its decor, service, originality, and quality. If I could find a fault, it would be that the kitchen seemed to err on the side of more cooked -- my lamb, ordered medium-rare, was actually, somewhere between medium-rare and medium. It looked as though the steak ordered rare was closer to medium rare, and the Ahi was cooked a little longer than simply seared. I will, however, let others comment on that as I tasted only the lamb -- which was delicious. The layout of the restaurant is brilliant, and it really can (and did) feel like you are in a private space, even while in the middle of the dining room. While I can't call a restaurant like thist a value, for under $100/person I was very pleased with the experience and I have every intention of returning at some point. FYI: The food has improved with the new chef (the former chef at New Heights) but the menu has also gotten a bit more expensive -- menu items are now about the same price as Tosca, Taberna del Alabaredro, Kinkead's, etc.
Wine: I will be inappropriate and rate all the wines, including those I brought (which I will mark with an asterisk)
2002 Spotteswood Sauvignon Blanc: Great SB. Far less grassy than I expected -- although I did discern a little. "Lemon batter" and a slight doughy quality were apparent. Light and fairly crisp, this is one of the best American SB's I've tried. (I'm not the biggest SB fan, so my points might be low and it is harder for me to rate this wine) 88-90.
2002 JJ Christoffel Riesling Auslese Urziger Wurzgarten* (No, this wasn't the 1-star, that asterisk is because I brought the bottle): I opened this at 5:15 and we drank it at around 7:30 -- the air did it some good. Ripe peach and nectarene flavors. Clear Mosel slate characteristics. Some found a hint of petrol. Sweet, but not at all cloying; I bet the sugar will recede over the years, although I'm still not certain how that works. I'm biased, not only because I brought this, but because I love JJ Christoffel. 91.5 now, I bet it will be 92(+) in 8-15 years.
2001 Duckhorn Napa Merlot: Great Napa merlot. Lots of cinnamon on the nose and finish, though less on the mid-palate. Black cherry is the dominant fruit flavor while I get hint of chocolate and tar as well. The tannins were fine but pervasive and I bet this wine might be even better in about a year. The mouthfeel was similar to the '01 Pride, but the wine was not as Cabernet-like, in whole. 91(+?)
2001 Dehlinger Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (Mystery Wine #1): I guessed this was an Oregon PN when I first tasted it. After being told it was CA, I then guessed a 1999 Carneros based upon body. In hind sight, the fruit profile was that of a younger PN. The wine is lighter than most Russian River PN, and doesn't have that deep dark cherry flavor characteristic. Yet, after being open for some time, the wine became lush and rich, while remaining light on its feet. There was clear strawberry, raspberry, cherry, blackberry flavor here with some earth characteristics (clay?) I think some people chose this as their WOTN. I prefer slightly more powerful PN, in general, but this was certainly impressive. 91
2001 Two Hands (forget which bottling, I'm sure TJ will say) (Mystery wine #2): Based upon smell, I noted that this was very similar to D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie. I also knew it wasn't because the foil wasn't red, but I digress. The sense at the table was that this wine was not a 100% Shiraz, but rather a Shiraz blend -- the question: is it blended with Cabernet or with Grenache? To me, it tasted more like a Shiraz/Cab, but I couldn't think of any Shiraz/Cab blends that it could be. The wine is inky, lots of eucalyptase, a bit of "bramble," a hint of blueberry. I have been on an anti-Aussie kick for the past year or so (simply because I drank them nearly every night for the year prior to that), so I might be scoring this low. 90
2001 Rochioli Zinfandel, Russian River Valley: This was a bit hard to taste right after the Aussie -- it took a bit of bread and food to really ready my palate. The wine had a magnificent color and was more medium-bodied than I had expected. This did not exhibit the tell-tale black pepper Zin characteristics, nor did it have that lush, jammy quality. Some commented that this had a caramel-y-ness to it, and I cannot dissargee. This had a unique delicacy and complexity to it with raspberry flavors and maybe just a hint of dry cherry cola. I'm deffinitely going to have to try a Rochioli PN at some point. 90.5
1999 Pegau Reservee CdP: Awesome wine. I think I enjoyed this wine more than most of the table. But, wow, was this good. Barnyard, but in a good way. Lots of grenache jammyness. Medium-dark fruits. This wine reminded me of a cross between 1998 Domaine du Marcoux and 1999 Bosquet des Papes Chante le Merle -- perhaps combining the better parts of each. I was also struck by how approachable this wine is, currently. I think I had just finished my lamb at this point, which is a shame, as this would have made an awesome pairing. 92-92.5
2001 Pegau Reserveee CdP*: Tight as a drum! Wow. I had this wine a few months ago and it was open and expressive. The wine has shut down considerably since then. In fact, the wine was closing down in the glass. The flavor profile to this wine is nearly identical to the 1999, although there is a bit mroe complexity, perhaps. Given the history of this wine (that it is on the closing slope) I wouldn't open another bottle of this for a very long time (8 years?). Right now, 90. In a few months, probably 89 - . Ultimately (10+ years) this may be extodinary (93+?  )
1997 Fattoria Le Pupille Morellino di Scansano Riserva: Someone referred to this as tire rubber. Perhaps, but if this is the case, Goodyear might need to get a restraining order Seriously, there was a lot of tar to this wine, but also a good amount of clay earth. Dark fruits. 91.
1997 Mill Creek Reflections Meritage: CORKED! 
2000 Ridge Monte Bello: Yum. This was the first time I've gotten to have more than a sip of Monte Bello. The wine was not quite as full bodied as I had expected, but it was very good. It reminded me of a slightly lighter bodied, more aged, Dunn -- that same leaf over red and black fruits quality. I'm not too acustomed to this style of CA Cab/blend, but with time, I'm sure I could be 91.5
1998 Allegrini Amarone*: I know it is wrong to pick a wine you brought as the WOTN, but I've gotta do it. The nose on this, chocolate and cassis and blackberry with brown spice, was awe-inspiring. The palate almost didn't do the nose justice, but it was like biting into a super-ripe grape. A little less chocolate than the nose would suggest, the wine just evoked the color purple for me. There were quite a bit of medium-fine tannins and I bet this wine will be even better in a few years. I prefer this vintage of Allegrini to the 1995, 1996, and, maybe, 1997. 93 now, 93.5(+?) in a few years.
I had a blast. I hope to see the Cru again next month!
a | |
I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.
-- Woody Allen | |
| Budman
Master of Wine
Posts:11841
| | 04/28/2004 11:10 AM |
| | whiner... great writeup. Hope the rest of your Cru pipe in soon! | | | |
| travelrep
Northern Virginia
Barrel Filler
Posts:1091
| | 04/28/2004 12:28 PM |
| I must be the second one awake this morning...
A great time last night. Good to see the local Cruites and to meet ScottJ, who said that due to his job, he's in the DC area about once a month. Seems like we'll have our first regular out of town DC Cru member.
As for dinner, I too had the mushroom risotto appetizer. It was just awesome. I wasn't quite sure why there was a sheet of gold leaf on top of the risotto, but it didn't take away from the dish at all. I had seared ahi tuna with nori, rice, wasabi mayo and a stuffed langostino for my entree. Not sure what the stuffing was but the entree was very good.
Since Dinwiddie and TJ were taking copious tasting notes around me, I didn't take any myself. I had two WOTN's...the Dehlinger 2001 Pinot Noir really opened up and was delicious and the Amarone, which was my first time tasting this wine, was a really nice surprise.
I brought the Mill Creek 1997 Reflections meritage which was unfortunately corked. Bummer!!!!
All in all, a great night was had by all. Now for that pot of coffee.
T-Rep | | | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13672
| | 04/28/2004 12:52 PM |
| Whiner, unbelievable that you should post such a detailed account so early in the morning. While I feel fine this AM (he Trep, good call on that pot o' coffee!), I think at 6:20AM I was just getting out of the shower. Oy!
I'll post TNs tonight, but I gotta say this was a fun night. It was great to get 'back in the saddle' as it were, even if Corkage, Jaimetown, JohnnyB and Fred couldn't make it. This might have been the 'highest median age of attendees' DC Crü event yet . And it was indeed unfortunate that our CA-pal, tlily, Mr. Killer Bunnies himself, couldn't make it (sudden illness prevented his travel, but I talked to him last night and he ws now feeling much better) -- I was hoping to hang with him and talk some hockey. Ah well, another time perhaps.
But I got to meet TRep, CapitolKat and Whiner -- members of the Crü I'd not even met yet. Man, 5 months between DC Crü events it just toooo long. On that note, I have dibs on organizing July's event -- the next one I'll attend.
TTFN and more on TNs later.  | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
| travelrep
Northern Virginia
Barrel Filler
Posts:1091
| | 04/28/2004 1:01 PM |
| TJ:
It was good to meet you as well...but what was the comment about this offline having the "highest median age"??????? Didn't your parents tell you to respect your elders?? Just kidding of course...but someday you'll also hit 50!
I've also volunteered to coordinate next month's dinner and dammit...we'll have Italian!
T-Rep | | | |
| Fred
Wine Thief
Posts:2673
| | 04/28/2004 1:09 PM |
| Sounds like a good night guys. mmmmmm Truffels. We should definetly do a truffel dinner once they come into season. Your night contrasts sharply my night of going to the gym and then eating a peanutbutter sandwich for dinner! AHHHHH I'm such a Looser! | |
"It's better to have your enemies inside the tent pissing out, then outside the tent pissing in." -- Lyndon Johnson | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13672
| | 04/28/2004 3:03 PM |
| | mmmmPeanutbutter | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
| jaimetown
DC area
Wine Bottler
Posts:3430
| | 04/28/2004 3:25 PM |
| | Good lord that was a lot of wine for you guys! Glad you had a good time. | | | |
| dinwiddie
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2162
| | 04/28/2004 3:45 PM |
| | I made it home OK (God knows how) and made it into work by 7:30 this morning. However, I'm not up to writing up notes at the moment. Will do later. Lots of good food, good wine, and great company. But I'm getting too old to do this more than once or twice a month. 11 bottles for 7 people, oy! | | | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13672
| | 04/28/2004 6:00 PM |
| Thank goodness I kept my pours light into my glasses. I felt great this morning.
DW-- You caught that metro really quick, didn't ya? I had to wait a half hour before my lousy green line train pulled in. rat bastards | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
| scottj
Houston, TX
Grape Fermenter
Posts:555
| | 04/29/2004 3:59 AM |
| A GREAT night ! Great food, great wines, and especially, a great group of people. I hope my travels bring me back to DC when the Crü has another event planned !
It's tough to add to whiner's excellent write-up, but I'll try ...
I really enjoyed the food. The amuse bouche - spicy shrimp on a bed of seaweed on a sesame cracker - was a great start, and even the breads were memorable, especially the anise/fennel flavored flatbread. I had the risotto others have raved about, and agree with their comments. I'm not sure when I've eated so much gold leaf (or what it really added to the taste), but it made for an interesting presentation. For the entree, I had the filet, and it was cooked as ordered, a prefect medium-rare. The cheeses were a treat, and I skipped dessert - probably a mistake, based on whiner's comments.
The service was very good, although I think the staff was surprised when we sat down and placed a dozen wine bottles on the table when we arrived. They also seemed concerned about having too many wine glasses in front of us at once, as we had to ask for additional glasses a few times. Other than this very minor comment, everything was great. The price we paid seemed very fair, and I will also put this on my list of places worth a repeat visit.
Whiner's tasting notes really cover the wines well. There were several wines that were new to me, as I drink Ca wines almost exclusively, and it was very enlightening to listen to those with more experience when we discussed the wines. I won't comment on all the wines, but wil add my thoughts on a few of them ...
I brought the Spottswoode sauvingon blanc, as this has been my favorite SB for the past few years. I found this a little disappointing, as it was a little less rich and lush as I recall earlier vintages.
The Duckhorn merlot was really nice, and really filled out with a hour or so of air.
The Dehlinger pinot noir, mystery wine #1, was a surprise to me. I thought it was a younger pinot from further south, because of the rich, ripe fruit.
Mystery wine #2 was the Two Hands Angel's Share. This wine was just "over the top". I've heard the term "blueberry milkshake" used to describe this style of wine, and it fit this one to a tee.
The Pegaus were fun. I've had the '01 before, and this was much tighter than it's been in the past, although you could still see that everything's in place for a fantastic wine. Time to lose this one for a decade or so. It was my first time for the '99 (I brought this, too) and it was drinking very nicely. Pop the cork on these while you're letting the '01s (and the '00s and '98s) sleep in your cellar.
The third wine I brought was the Monte Bello, and I really like this wine. The nose was stunning - very rich fruit and cassis. It continues to be very accessible, while showing the potential for further improvement over the next few years. My problem will be keeping my hands off of them.
The Allegrini Amarone ... I'm sure I tried this one, but I have no recollection of it at all. The consequence of being the 11th wine of the evening, or my aging mind, or ???
Once again, a great night, and I thank the DC Crü for letting me join them.
Scott | | | |
| whiner
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning
Wine Thief
Posts:2871
| | 04/29/2004 4:13 AM |
| scottj,
It was great to meet you; and thank you for bringing all that great wine. It is a shame you missed/forgot ( ) the Allegrini. I guess you'll just have to come to another DC offline to test it out again (or, perhaps, something else)
take care,
a | |
I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.
-- Woody Allen | |
| dinwiddie
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2162
| | 04/29/2004 12:14 PM |
| Now that I have had a night with sleep I can try to post some coherent comments.
Dinner was very good. I started with the confit salad and loved it. The black truffle risotto looked good and the presentation with the gold was interesting. I had the filet and like scott, it came out a perfect medium rare, problem is, I ordered it rare. But it was very good, tender and lots of flavor. For dessert I had the rhubarb pie. Also good, not too tart, not too sweet, flaky crust.
I can't top whiner's TNs, so I will just say a couple of things. My WOTN was probably the Amarone, but closely followed by the Dehlinger Pinot Noir (which suprised me when it turned out to be a RRV), the Duckhorn Merlot (I let some stay in the glass for an extra 1/2 hr and it was wonderful), or the MonteBello. I think the 94 MB was better, but this was great too.
Good company, whiner didn't fall asleep next to me this time (you are forever going to be remined about that I'm afraid), it was nice to meet scott, and of course, haveing TJ there to prove that he did exist outside cyberland was a plus (Yes TJ, I know I have been to off-lines with you before, but none of the others had never met you and were wondering if you weren't really someone else's alter ego on the board)
All in all Butterfield 9 did a great job for us. I understand their concern about too many glasses on the table at once, since they were constantly haveing to move them about gingerly to set down the bread etc. But the service was first rate, the server sure seemed to enjoy the wines we asked him to taste, and it was a long, fun evening. | | | |
| Corkage
Grape Puncher
Posts:975
| | 04/29/2004 1:53 PM |
| | Sounds like a great time. Butterfield 9 is one place I'd happily return to. | | | |
| AlexRed
Northern VA
Barrel Filler
Posts:1347
| | 04/29/2004 2:42 PM |
| sounds like a great list of wines and food (and company)....
we've been to B9 a number of times and really enjoyed it. went to a 5(?) course wine dinner there some time last year put on by Paul's in Chevy chase. Joseph Phelps wines paired with every course (including the insignia). very tasty. the distributor was there describing the pairings etc... a lot of fun.
the TN and the reception of the Allegrini makes me more excited about trying to make a pit stop at the winery in June. | | | |
| norm herring
Grape Sorter
Posts:234
| | 04/29/2004 3:43 PM |
| WEll I think Whiner got the reviews right- I might move the Duckhorn up a little but that's probably because it's my kind of wine and it opened up and toasted the tongue as the night wore on.
But, what I really want to talk about is the corked Reflections. I had not tasted it when I noticed the future Ms. Whiner noticably stop in mid= sniff and poke the future MR. Whiner. He then did his own sniffing and they shared a knowing look. This drama was playing out 3 feet away and Whiner innocently asked-- Who brought the Reflections? An answer from the other end of the table--Then another innocent- Have you tasted it yet? No, from the other end.And conversation died as everyone took to swirling and sniffing the Reflections-- I joined in but after 7 different samples of earlier wines I couldn't discern any problem, but Ms Whiner now educated us on what she and the future Mr already knew. Well they knew but I was still looking for clues.
Scottj next to me said what I thought - I can't smell any problem- so we gulped away. but you know what ,Lisa was right, it was corked, as my first sip uncovered the distinct flavor of wet cardboard- not something I think the vintner was trying to impart.
What did you experience with this wine as I think a number of us said it had no off nose but clearly didn't clear the hurdle on the taste test? I ask from a sense of curiosity as I seldom have had a bad wine but have had some I really haven't liked. This has made me wonder if some of the wines I previously didn't like were something else.  | | | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13672
| | whiner
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning
Wine Thief
Posts:2871
| | 04/30/2004 8:41 AM |
| CK,
As soon as I smelled the wine I knew it was corked -- L, too. We both detected 2 things from the nose. (1) there was a deffinite smell of cork to the nose. Not really a moldy smell, the the wine smelled of cork, and that is a very bad sign. (2) There was very little fruit on the nose. Had this been something like certain earth-driven provencal wines, that might not have been a dead give-away, but given that this was a CA meritage, there should have been a lot more fruit to the wine, just in the smell. One thing TCA does is that it eats away (or masks, depending who you believe) the fruit in the wine.
I'm told different people have different sensitivities to TCA. I know L and I are both on the more sensitive end. But, really, those were the two things that caused me to know, without tasting, that the wine was corked.
Regarding the Dehlinger, I must say, it reminded me of a certain wine but I was unable to put my finger on it. I now realize that it was the '01 Gary Farell Russian River Pinot Noir (makes sense, don't it? ).
a | |
I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.
-- Woody Allen | |
| norm herring
Grape Sorter
Posts:234
| | 04/30/2004 2:04 PM |
| Whiner and TJ-- great notes- I did not intend to hijack this thread as I did have comments on the meal and service as well as the wines.
Butterfield 9 is one of my wife and my favorites as we had her 50th BD party there and they threw a great party for us and we still recall that wonderful night. We like the restaurant layout as there are several alcoves where you can still be in or close to the main area but somewhat segregated. Our tables for the Cru event were located in the elevated portion of the restaurant and we could see both down and up but there was enough space that we did not intrude with our revelry on other tables and in kind they did not intrude on our specail event. It felt like to me we were at the head table at a nice occassion.
I had the duck confit and the Ahi Tuna and a banana puff for dessert. The confit was well put together for a salad as it had body ,flavor and plenty of interesting tastes as the duck was tender beyond expectation and the dressing was inconspicuous but right for the combination of greens, duck, citrus and nuts. The Tuna was well seared, and was cool in the center so I think just about right. The Nori rice was highly spiced as the wasabi was muted- a fact I was grateful for later as some of the wines may have been overshadowed by the wasabi had it been strong as I remember from previous dinners.
The Tuna's flavor was wonderful, as it was sushi quality and when combined with the spicy rice set off the taste buds. The banana puff was not too sweet, and warm when served. the pastry was light and banana were caramelized but firm- a nice trick.
ON the wines- all were special and I was grateful for the chance to taste the Two hands and the Amarone. The Reisling was refresing - even if sweet. A few weeks ago I was immersed in Reislings at the German embassy and found I liked their refreshing flavor with an appetizer or salad and the sweetness( not a white zin experience) was just fine. I think TJ's ratings are in line with my own- but I would flip the two Pegaus as the 2001 has really shut down for my taste buds and a blunt tannin veil concealed the fruit.
Good company, good food and fine wine- what else could you want??  | | | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13672
| | 04/30/2004 5:29 PM |
| I had three courses plus the cheeses. I started with the Duck Confit salad, which was delicious and balnced and good. Nice effort and worthy of a repeat order IMO.
I moved on to the truffle riotto which was delicious as well -- though the gold leaf was unnecessary IMO. The aroma of truffles was intoxicating.
I really wanted to try some of the fish dishes listed, but, seeing what reds were on deck, man, I needed to go meat, meat, meat. I narrowed it down to the lamb or the filet. The concept of a 'potato marrow' thing made me order the filet -- which I usually never do in restaurants anymore. I ordered it medium rare and it came out perfectly so. The strong cheese-butter was playing mayhem with my palate so I scraped that off. The Potato Marrow was a potato column done up to look like a bone -- it was cool to look at, but did not do much for me taste-wise -- my only real disappointment of the meal. The filet was nice, but I cook mine up better. Ah well. The cheeses during the cheese plate were nice, but not really impressive or wow cheeses.
It was very nice that they only charged us for 5 of the 12 bottles for corkage. That was a nice touch. | |
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