jparrott

Hey Steve: has/did Sr. Andres give any thought to making his own limoncello for the bar? Jake

Craft Bar is about as good a wine bar as you could find. They've really upgraded the list in the last couple of months, especially the rieslings and gruners, and the charcuterie and sandwiches are awesome. Stick to that stuff (although the roast cod is very good also) and drink well for relatively reasonable tariffs, and you'll do fine. Go there expecting to eat at Craft for a third of the dosh and you'll be disappointed. Jake

Here are my notes from a Rudi Wiest portfolio tasting from this past summer. Vintages are 2001 except where noted. Letter grades reflect my view of VALUE, based on the wholesale prices provided us at the tasting. Karthauserhof, Estate QbA trocken: Almost Pfalz-like, with pure stoney elements. Not elegant, but expressive for QbA. C Karthauserhof, Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Kabinett: A bit clunky and sulfury. D Karthauserhof, Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Spatlese: Very very nice and focused, much more typical, but drinking awfully well now B Karthauserhof, Eitelsbacker Karthauserhofberg Auslese: Melony and elegant, with a core that really comes out with air. An ager and for medium-term, equal to the Weins-Prum Auslese. B- Karthauserhof, Eitelsbacker Karthauserhofberg Auslese trocken: A rarity, requiring a very physiologically ripe year. Compelling and floral, with a slate core that is the only thing that makes it different from a Wachau Smaragd. A great restaurant wine that will also age forever. B von Buhl, Estate QbA trocken: Musty, with little fruit definition despite the fine mineral core. C von Buhl, Estate Spatlese trocken: Melon, lemongrass, ripe chalk and slate. Very long. Very backward. Very fine. B von Buhl, Kabinett "Armand": Honeyed and jammy, a bit obvious for Pfalz. B- von Buhl, Forster Jesuitengarten Spatlese: Another wine that really tightened with air. Spicy, very Pfalzen. A long ager. B+ Zilliken, Estate QbA: Balanced but lacking cut and core. Breakfast wine? :-) B Zilliken, Estate QbA halbtrocken: Riper nose, but otherwise showing the same minor flaws as the regular QbA. B+ Zilliken, Saarburger Rausch Kabinett: Pulsating attack with real complexity and interest, tho the core is not as solid or steely as the Rheingaus. Good medium-term. B+ Zilliken, Saarburger Rausch Spatlese: High-toned, a bit minty, suggesting some vineyard problems. But very complex now. B Zilliken, Saarburger Rausch Spatlese 1991: Peppery, spicy, but a very fresh core of fruit. Probably from an extra cold cellar. A real treat and fabulous food wine. B+ Gunderloch, Estate QbA trocken: Perfumed nose, but none of the extra definition that a trocken should show. C Gunderloch, Kabinett "Jean Baptiste": Unconvincing...my notes read "Trimbach pinot blanc?" F Gunderloch, Nackenheimer Rothenberg Spatlese: very nice, very floral, about as good as Rheinhessen can get. C+ Gunderloch, Nackenheimer Rothenberg Auslese: 100% botrytis. No structure. F Gunderloch, Nackenheimer Rothenberg Auslese GK: Fat and more defined, but short. Not concentrated enough for the level of botrytis. N/R (no price) Pfeffingen, Estate QbA trocken: Floral, with an intriguing herbal edge. Great food wine. A- Pfeffingen, Kabinett halbtrocken "Pfeffo": Compelling, sappy, floral, focused, complex. Wonderful, long-lived kabinett. A Pfeffingen, Ungsteiner Herrenberg Spatlese: Honeyed and ripe, but less food-friendly than the kab. B- Pfeffingen, Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Spatlese: Powdery, with fat tangering fruit. Candied. More interesting than the riesling spatlese. B Pfeffingen, Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Auslese: Red fruity, rich, high-toned, expansive but maybe a bit too expansive. C Wirsching, estate Silvaner QbA trocken: Washed out, soave-like. Hard to taste in this context. C Robert Weil, Estate QbA trocken: herbal and floral accents to the beam of fruit. Very typical and nice. A- Furst, Burgstadter Centgraf. Muller-Thurgau Kabinett 2000: A bit like a dry gewurz, but without stuffing. C+ Furst, Burgstadter Centgraf. Riesling Kabinett trocken 2000: Like a federspiel, well defined for the style and level of ripeness. Impressive. C- Wirsching, Iphofer Kronsberg Scheurebe Kabinett: herbal and unfocused. F Furst, Volkacher Karthauser Silvaner Spatlese trocken 2000: unfocused. Would be better with a bit of RS. F Schloss Lieser, Estate QbA halbtrocken: Perfumed, nice structure, but restrained fruit. Nice now. B Wegeler, Estate QbA halbtrocken: Sappy, spicy, crystalline. An ager and another Rhiengau winner. A Kunstler, Estate QbA halbtrocken: A lot going on, with steely melon and mineral and a little honey. Very nice for early drinking. B+ Robert Weil, Estate Kabinett halbtrocken: Ripe and balanced, but a bit diffuse. C Rudi Wiest 1999 "Mosel River Selection": Very ripe, but balanced and good minerality. A- Rudi Wiest 2001 "Rhein River Selection": Linear and focused. Classy and steely. A von Hovel 2000 Estate QbA: Honeycomb, lemon, not much structure. Forgettable. C+ Bert Simon, Estate QbA halbtrocken: Very floral, but diffuse on the finish B Monchhof, Estate QbA: Very big, extracted and honeyed, not a great food wine. B- Bert Simon, Serriger Herrenberg Kabinett: Minty and a bit herbal, with quite some complexity. B+ von Hovel, Oberemmeler Hutte Kabinett: Focus, focus and more focus. An archetype. A- Monchhof, Kabinett "Astor": Rich, but a floral spine keeps it from being clunky. B+ Schloss Lieser, Estate Kabinett: sulfury N/R Milz, Neumagener Nusswingert Kabinett: Less ripe fruit, more apple-focused. Drink soon, but nice. B- Kunstler, Hochheimer Reichestal Kabinett: Beautiful. Pure slate and almost Nahe-like red fruit and Rheingau flowers. Wow. A- Weins-Prum, Graacher Domprobst Kabinett: Crystalline and expressive, food friendly. A- Weins-Prum, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett: Powdered slate, focused. Beautiful fruit. A Milz, Trittenheimer Leitarchen Spatlese: Closed but fat, lacking cut. D Milz, Trittenheimer Felsenkopf Spatlese: Deep, complex, and focused. Very nice. B von Hovel Oberemmeler Hutte Spatlese: Dry honey, lemongrass and crushed flowers. Nice. B+ Monchhof, Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese: Lots of minerals, but a bit acid deficient. Great near-term, though not that expressive. B Weins-Prum, Graacher Domprobst Spatlese: So ripe, so focused, maybe too ripe? Tasty, though not completely compelling. C+ Weins-Prum, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese: Acid-deficient. C Wegeler, Estate Spatlese: Too ripe, too rich for much interest. C- Wegeler, Bernkasteler Doktor Spatlese: Coiled, minerally, already starting to shut. A long ager. C+ Haart, Piesporter Goldtropfchen Spatlese: Sulfury. N/R Robert Weil, Estate Spatlese: ripe, reserved, complex minerals and a dollop of beautiful spice. Wonderful. B Kunstler, Hochheimer Kirchenstuck Spatlese: Sappy, crystalline, ripe flowers and lime curd, great structure. Utterly compelling. B Wegeler, Rudesheimer Berg Rottland Spatlese: Honeycomb, more lime character. Very nice. B+ Schloss Lieser, Niederberger Helden Auslese: sulfury. N/R Bert Simon, 1989 Serriger Wurzberg Auslese #32: Shut. Wonderful potential. A Weins-Prum, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese: Beautiful, huge minerals. Balanced and compelling, especially with air. A- Haart, Piesporter Goldtropfchen Auslese: sulfury. N/R Wegeler, Geisenheimer Rothenberg Auslese: Great structure, the most structure of the Wegelers. Very nice. B+ Meyer-Nakel, 2000 Pinot Noir "S": Woody and mature, like a 1994 Oregon. Nice enough, I guess. F

most Banyuls are grenache-based, IIRC Jake

I think Carignan and Syrah are, by far, the best varieties for the uniquely high and sloped vineyards of the Priorat.

I had a late lunch at the bar today. Started with the Ksara Ksarak, which was a bit sweet when neat but very nice at 1:1 with cold water. Spanakopita was very good, although the filling was a tad shy of pepper. The pastry was a real triumph and shows the value of handcrafting it. The Kibbeh Nayeh was well seasoned, although I wish it was chopped a bit coarser. Garides Saganaki, shrimp in a tomato broth gratineed with cheese, was incredible. The cheese served more as a dumpling in the stew than anything else, and served it well. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and sweet as candy. A triumph. Mavrofassoula Me Loucaniko--perfect sausage, perfect beans. Nice dish, a good accompaniment to the lighter, lither reds offered by the glass. The dates in the Medjool date dessert were a bit sticky, and the shortbread crumbs were not quite enough of a textural contrast. Okay, okay, I've now said everything I can say negative. Zaytinya is the most engaging, best value restaurant within 200 miles of Washington. The food is subtle without being precious, full-flavored without being cloying, wine-friendly without being subservient. The servers, especially the barkeeps, are knowledgeable, have good palates and appreciate customers who engage them. The room is stunning, without being beaten down by loud music or stifled by poor lighting, day or night. You can feast and drink like a king for less than 50 bucks. The barstools are comfy. The Metro is right outside the door. Do I need to go on? I'd like to get a straight answer on the corkage policy, though. :-) Jake

Steve, do you think the fact that you were a group of four people aided your view of the Trio meal as cluttered? I wonder if you had been in a two-top you would have been able to focus (be focused?) on each thing?

I gotta say, that's a remarkably lame set of wines for such an--allegedly--serious menu at Trio. Jake

my thanksgiving wines: Thursday, traditional turkey/trimmings, no sausage dressing though: white: 1996 marc tempe riesling burgreben red: 1998 argyle reserve pinot, i think. Not final, though. Friday, long-smoked brisket, and other slightly similar trimmings, plus leftovers white/aperitif: 2001 brun beaujolais blanc, in copious quantities red: 1988 clerico arte en magnum

I have two problems with the burger, one easily correctable. 1. If you order it medium-rare, as suggested, the shortrib middle isn't, well, hot. So order it medium or medium well. That way you'll get a good crust and the entire thing will be a bit warmer. 2. There's not enough truffle to suggest that you're really eating anything other than meat. Of course, I ate mine in late May, which may have made it problematic to sufficiently truffle the thing within the amount of space that can be allocated to truffle, but still... Jake

The final day. I was a bit pooped by now (and my lips were chapped from all the Bordeaux tannin), so I stayed only a half day. 2001 Prosper Maufoux Sancerre: Rich lime and chalk, a bit hard and short. 2000 Prosper Maufoux Vire-Clesse: a bit of herb, floral and leesy, soft but complex. 1999 Prosper Maufoux Bourgogne blanc: candied, offish, rough. 2000 Prosper Maufoux Chablis Mont de Milieu: rich, ripe lime and herb, ripe chalk, very expressive. 1999 Prosper Maufoux Pouilly-Fuisse: Rich and hazelnutty, little depth, candied and creamy. 1999 Prosper Maufoux Puligny-Montrachet Folatieres: Light oak, some slate and lees. Harmonious, with pure fruit. 2000 Prosper Maufoux Cotes-du-Rhone Domaine de la Lyre: a bit of kirsch, cherry, wild strawberry, with earthy accents adding interest. 2000 Prosper Maufoux Bourgogne rouge: candied, cherry, underripe. 1999 Prosper Maufoux Gevrey-Chambertin: Raspy, a bit oaky, chunky, beety, spicy, disjointed. 1999 Prosper Maufoux Santenay Gravieres: Heavily oaked, nice complex nose, spicy, but wood tannins detract. 1999 Prosper Maufoux Volnay Angles: Floral, a bit syrupy, black cherry, long and perfumed. 2001 Porta Regia Syrah Alicante: Nutty and meaty, rich, with old wood accents and dark herbs. Dark fruit is just another part in the harmony. Rich, expressive, long. 2001 Pasamonte Utiel-Requena: Light cherry/herb, lithe, with ripe minerals, a good quaff. 2001 Vegalfaro Barrios: Rich cherry, with a Graves-like edge, traditional and focused. 2000 Vegalfaro Crianza: Darky, plummy, woodier. Not focused. 2001 Kugler Vinum Saxum Gruner Veltliner: Very ripe, a bit floral, focused. 1995 Kugler Cuvee Beerenauslese: Succulent apple, raisin and honey, but a bit flat. 1999 Kugler Vinum Saxum Cuvee Eiswein: Lithe and racy, with apple skin and deep, complex minerality. Needs time. 2001 Kugler "Vision" TBA: Restrained, crunchy, very complex white and yellow fruit. Needs time. 2001 Muller Chardonnay: Perfumed, chalky, more Styrian than chardonnay. 2001 Muller Sauvignon Blanc: Minty, herbal, very fresh, Touraine-like. 1999 Muller Chardonnay Barriques: Nutty, leesy, very mineral, very expressive of Styria. Oaky but harmonious. 1995 Muller Pinot Gris Barriques: Closed, peachy and leesy. Needs time. 1999 Muller "Riuntana": Cigar box, rich oak, dark, delineated fruit and extreme minerality. Very nice. 1969 Muller Riesling Spatlese: Reduced and petrolly, dark flowers and earth, a bit past prime. 1969 Muller Traminer Beerenauslese: Floral and smoky, big dried orange, long. Wonderful. 1998 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan rouge: Very pure and expressive, dark cherry and chocolate. Harmonious. 1998 Chateau D'Issan Margaux: Darker, roast flower, too much oak. 1998 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac: A bit reduced and roasted, classic charcoal and pencil. Hard but well-balanced. 1999 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan rouge: A bit earthy and woody, kirsch scents, but a rich, perfumed palate. Tight finish, well-balanced. 1999 Chateau D'Issan Margaux: Very, very oaky. 1999 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac: Closed, pure pencil and charcoal, with purer fruit than the 1998. Very nice.

Here's the biggie, the Union des Grands Crus tasting (not necessarily in the order tasted). Also a horizontal of 2000 Vintage Porto and a few interlopers. 2000 Chateau Carbonnieux Pessac-Leognan blanc:Oak soup. A little oxidation to boot. 2000 Chateau Carbonnieux Pessac-Leognac rouge: Roasty and a bit candied, better acidity, a touch herbal, but the candied nature doesn't go away. 2000 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan blanc:Lithe, with tangy herb and melon scents and a fierce chalky core. Needs time, very nice. 2000 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan rouge: Feminine, with beautiful floral accents and complex, wild raspberry and plum fruit. Long, slightly torrefacted finish. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. 2000 Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac-Leognan rouge: A bit oaky, but warm, lithe, plummy and floral. Very ripe, but just holds it together. 2000 Chateau La Louviere Pessac-Leognan rouge: Warm and rich, with ripe herbs and anise accenting a pure plum and cherry core. Very mineral on the finish.Very, very nice. 2000 Chateau Latour-Martillac Pessac-Leognan rouge: A bit reduced, with roasted plum fruit and a succulent finish. Too ripe? 2000 Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan rouge:Warm and soft, with stylish floral edges to the ripe plummy fruit. A bit acid deficient. 2000 Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere Pessac-Leognan rouge:Warm, with charcoaly oak. Plenty of fruit but a bit out of balance. 2000 Chateau Pape-Clement Pessac-Leognan rouge:Very, very mineral and spicy, very closed. Classy and delineated. 2000 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Leognan blanc: I wish this was corked. DNPIM (did not put in mouth). 2000 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Leognan rouge:See note for the blanc. Rancid flower scents. 2000 Chateau de Chantegrive Graves rouge:Oak soup. 2000 Chateau Ferrande Graves rouge:A bit roasty, but wonderfully perfumed and floral. Stays together. Good value. 2000 Chateau Rahoul Graves rouge: Classic Graves hot stones frame dark cherry and plum fruit and succulent acidity. Already complex. 2000 Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot Saint-Emilion: Hot stones, very ripe and oaky, but there is a taut balance here, with good acidity and a wild, scorched flowers accent to the finish. Pretty refined for all the oak. 2000 Chateau Canon Saint-Emilion: Ugh. Oak jam. 2000 Chateau Canon-La-Gaffeliere Saint-Emilion: So ripe, but complex cedar and floral notes rein this beast in. Very nice if a bit moreish. 2000 Chateau Dassault Saint-Emilion: Syrupy and oaky. Blah. 2000 Chateau Figeac Saint-Emilion: Classic St.Em. nose of rubber, plum and grainy minerals. Lithe on the palate, with stunning complexity.Very balanced. A winner. 2000 Clos Fourtet Saint-Emilion: Chunky, gobby, yucky. 2000 Chateau Franc-Mayne Saint-Emilion: Very typical, with hot stones and ripe red fruit. Long, ripe, focused, succulent. Nice. 2000 Chateau La Couspade Saint-Emilion: Bright and floral, a bit soft, with good mineral delineation. Complex and balanced. 2000 Chateau La Gaffeliere Saint-Emilion: Good typicity on the nose, and good astringency, but the finish is muddled and gobby. 2000 Chateau Pavie Saint-Emilion: Port. Expensive port. 2000 Chateau Pavie-Decesse Saint-Emilion: More port. 2000 Chateau Beauregard Pomerol:Oak soup. 2000 Chateau Clinet Pomerol: New label. Nice floral and astringent nature here, but nasty wood tannin and no acid. 2000 Chateau Gazin Pomerol: Earthy and rich, very ripe. Complex but unstructured. 2000 Chateau Chasse-Spleen Moulis: Very ripe and succulent, with cassis and plum and a dash of herb and earth. Nice early drinker. 2000 Chateau Poujeaux Moulis: Lithe and floral, with proper ripeness. Harmonious and pure, very complex. Balanced. A winner. 2000 Chateau Clarke Listrac: Too ripe. 2000 Chateau Fonreaud Listrac: Meaty and earthy, harmonious, with an anise edge to the defined black fruit. Complex already. 2000 Chateau Fourcas-Dupre Listrac: Butter candy. Ugh. 2000 Chateau Beaumont Haut-Medoc: Oak soup. 2000 Chateau La Lagune Haut-Medoc: Minty, gravelly, complex, angular. Real Bordeaux. A winner. 2000 Chateau La Tour Carnet Haut-Medoc: Oak soup. 2000 Chateau Brane-Cantenac Margaux: Nice floral nose, but gobby and torrefacted. 2000 Chateau Cantenac-Brown Margaux: Masculine, with cigar and cedar scents along with Margaux flowers and spice. Nice astringency. Backward. 2000 Chateau Dauzac Margaux: Floral, with some charcoal, but a beam of ripe fruit and pleasing anise here. Closed, succulent, crunchy. Nice. 2000 Chateau du Tertre Margaux: Overripe. 2000 Chateau Kirwan Margaux: Very floral and typical, with rich plum fruit. Harmonious and very backward. A triumph. 2000 Chateau Beychevelle Saint-Julien: Smoked port. 2000 Chateau Branaire-Ducru Saint-Julien: Floral and bitter, with wood tannins. Unfocused. 2000 Chateau Gruaud Larose Saint-Julien: Complex nose of plum, cassis and earth. Chewy dark cherry fruit, with good astringency and minerality. A triumph. 2000 Chateau Lagrange Saint-Julien: Very ripe, with chocolate and underbrush accents and a lot of cedar. Harmonious. 2000 Chateau Leoville-Poyferre Saint-Julien: Jammy, with dark cherry and spice. Overripe, but lithe. Drink young. 2000 Chateau Talbot Saint-Julien: Darker, with asphalt accents to the ripe nose. Unintegrated and acid deficient. 2000 Chateau Croizet-Bages Pauillac: High-toned, with leather, cedar and loads of spice character. Ripe structure and pure black fruit. Very, very nice. 2000 Chateau Grany-Puy Ducasse Pauillac: Harsh and short. 2000 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac: Very rich chocolate, ripe fruit and a wall of minerals. Classic. 2000 Chateau Lynch-Moussas Pauillac: A gobby, stinky mess. 2000 Chateau Pichon-Baron Pauillac: Perfumed, floral, cigar-box and spice.Succulent and complex. Wow. 2000 Chateau Pichon-Lalande Pauillac: A shell of a wine. Bottling problems? 2000 Chateau Pontet-Canet Pauillac Compellingly floral, but plenty of oak and not enough acid. Drink young. 2000 Chateau Cos Labory Saint-Estephe: Charcoaly, overripe, but succulent. Drink young. 2000 Chateau Lafon-Rochet Saint-Estephe: Cedar and powder on the nose, stylish and ripe, but lacking depth. Good mineral finish. Shut? 2000 Chateau Les Ormes de Pez Saint-Estephe: Meaty, jammy cherry fruit and smoke. Well balanced. An accessible winner. 2000 Chateau Phelan-Segur Saint-Estephe: Oak soup. 2000 Chateau Bastor-Lamontagne Sauternes: A bit herbal, with flowers and exotic melon fruit and strong botrytis. Not particularly sweet. Needs a lot of time but should be pretty good. 2000 Chateau de Malle Sauternes: Lots of botrytis here, with dark honey, roast melon and grapey accents. Mineral and tight. Promising. 2000 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau Sauternes: Floral and chalky, a bit dilute, apple-y fruit. 1999 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes: Roasty, lots of botrytis, deep caramel, apple and a bit of herb. Shut tight. Very promising. 2000 Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes: Ripe melon and peach blossom, elegant, fruity, a but unfocused. 2000 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes: Very floral, not much botrytis and some raw sugar. Melon, a bit of herb and chalk. Stylish. Classy, especially if it buries the raw sugar. NV Gosset Brut Champagne "Excellence": Bit spicy, rich pear fruit. Long and fruity. 1999 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese: Rich red currant, lime, jammy and talcy, layered, with lemon character poking in the long, perfumed, closed finish. 2000 St. Urbans-Hof Ockfeiner Bockstein Riesling Auslese: Roasty, dark flower and caramel accents, a bit offish and early-maturing. 1999 Dr. Becker Dienheimer Tafelstein Riesling Auslese: Honey, bit yeasty, heavy lime candy. 2000 Dr. Loosen Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese LGK: BA like, lots of botrytis, roast apple and crunchy mineral, fine for the vintage. 2000 Emrich-Schonleber Monzinger Harlenberg Riesling Auslese ***: Pure auslese, with little botrytis here, floral and high-toned, crunchy and structured. Very nice. 2000 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Eiswein: Lithe and racy, with acids framing quartz and lime on the palate. Very harmonious, but may not evolve well. 2000 Gunderloch Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesing Beerenauslese: Flat and heavy. 2001 Strauss Sauvignon Blanc Kabinett Gamlitzberg (Styria): herby and crunchy, with some white pepper. Expressive, but a bit offish. 2001 Proidl Riesling Urgestein Senftenberger Hochacker: Crunchy, very dry, a bit herbal, long lemon and lemongrass finish. 2000 Klosterneuberg St. Laurent Rield Stictsbreite Ausstich: Very stemmy, with some asphalt notes and earth framing pure cherry on the long palate. 2000 Leo Hillinger Cabernet Sauvignon Jahrgangwein: Lots of oak frames stemmy plum aromas here, with a wilder palate, raspy and floral. A bit oaky but still a nice drink. 1999 Steindorfer Muscat Ottonel TBA: Restrained and complex, peach, quartz and candied lime. Very long and lithe. 1998 Munzenrieder Welschriesling TBA: High-toned, with roasted schist and lots of botrytis, more defined, elegant and floral on the palate with very ripe structure. Needs lots of time but very nice. 1999 Munzenrieder Samling TBA: Darker, with red fruits and stones and some sweet herb notes. Austere, raisined and chalky. Classy. 2000 Munzenrieder Chardonnay-Welschriesling Eiswein: Apple skin, very floral, pure but a bit dilute. Closed? 1998 Munzenrieder Chardonnay TBA: An astonishing 243 g/L residual sugar. Richly colored, with caramelized hazelnut, floral and old wood nose. Big floral and pear palate, with big mineral in the finish. Very nice. 1996 Munzenrieder Bouvier TBA: Roasted pomegranate accents here, woody, raisiny and not particularly pure. 2000 Quarles Harris Porto: Sugarplum, high-toned, hard. Not particularly good. 2000 Quinta do Roriz Porto: A bit dry, floral and restrained. Early-maturing, but balanced. Could be am early bellwether. 2000 Smith Woodhouse Porto: Beautiful cassis, floral and mineral nose, very complex already, not too sweet. Fabulous. 2000 Warre Porto: Bit old wood/mahogany, raisin and earth. Very backward on the palate. 2000 Dow Porto: Cassis jam, very stony, complex, with rubber and mahogany accents. Very ripe but in balance. Needs 30+ years. 2000 Quinta do Vesuvio Porto: Hot stones, crushed, dried violets, intense nose. Floral, bit restrained sur-maturite, incredible balance, succulence. Wow. Wow. 2000 Graham Porto: Torrefacted, overripe, but structured with great acidity. Needs about a million years.

This post covers the morning and early afternoon of day two, up to the Union des Grands Crus tasting, which will be in the next post. Included here are two seminars on Austrian wines, one on established labels and the other on producers looking for importers. 2001 Niederhauser Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spatlese Trocken: Pure red currant and slate, with a citric edge adding definition. Long and typical. Wow. 2001 Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett: Slate and swet lime and apple here, with a sliceable quince finish. 2000 Max. Ferd-Richter Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett: A bit sulfury, but the fruit shines through. Soft and rich, reflecting the vintage's lack of focus. 1999 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese: Sulfur. 1999 Tesch Lauhenheimer Karthauser Riesling Auslese: Floral, thick apple jam, lithe and persistent. Closed. 1999 Ress Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese: Roasted, with heavy botrytis and caramel overlaying schist and volcanic tones. Intense. 1999 Kunstler Hochheimer Holle Riesling Beerenauslese: Pure honey controls the roasted, botrytis notes here. A crunchy, very mineral palate provides delineation, with expressive roast apple, lime and slate dancing around the endless finish. Needs many years, but this is wonderful juice. 2001 Louis Jadot Morgon Bellevue: Candied, astringent, not ripe, though more typical character shows through later. Offish finish. 2001 Louis Jadot Pommard Commardine: Chunky, structured, with austere perfume. Not quite ripe. 2001 Guigal Cotes-du-Rhone rose: Wild strawberry adds interest, but this is a bit alcoholic. 2001 Guigal Tavel rose: Apple, plumskin, well structured, but lots of yucky wood. 2000 Guigal Cotes-du-Rhone rouge: Washed out and talc-like. 2000 Guigal Crozes-Hermitage: Fresh meat and plum accent the earthy palate. Ripe and lithe. Nice. 1999 Guigal Gigondas: A bit foxy and off. 1999 Guigal Chateauneuf-du-Pape: a little oaky, but relatively traditional nose, with wild Grenache accents. 1999 Guigal Hermitage: A bit hot, charcoal oak, nondescript. Ugh. 1999 Guigal Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde: Wild and rich, very typical, bacon, blueberry, a little woody and soft in the finish. 1998 Guigal Cote-Rotie La Mouline: Currant skin, very hard and perfumed, pure bacon on the finish. Needs a ton of time. 1998 Guigal Cote-Rotie La Landonne: Warm, expensive-style nose, more character on the palate, with raw meat and blackberry framed by a lot of oak. Will integrate, but not for many years. 1998 Guigal Cote-Rotie La Turque: Very ripe, with asphalt accents. Very oaky and not in balance. 2001 Jurtschisch Gruner Veltliner Achenkenbichel (Spatlese trocken): Sliceable quince and white pepper on the nose, very complex white pepper, herb, apple skin and lemon verbena lead the attack. Extremely complex, with firm minerals on the finish. Nice. 2001 Brundlmayer Gruner Veltliner Alte Reben: Riper and honeyed, less herbal. Fat, oily and spicy. Long, but not as complex. Needs time. Very serious stuff. 2000 Freie Weingartner Wachau Gruner Veltliner "Exceptional Reserve": A beerenauslese, vinified dry. One-third botrytised. Very honey, with orange and black pepper. A bit hot. Complex, effervescent honey, almond, mace and quartz on the intense palate. A bit much. 1999 Heidi Schrock Ruster Ausbruch: Crunchy roasted honey and dried peach on the nose, very sweet but a bit simple on the palate, with apple jam and quince and some unintegrated sugar. 1998 Kracher TBA #4 (Welschriesling): Higher-toned pure shale, but a bit chunky. Lithe roast apple and lime on the very complex palate, with a long, bitter, floral finish. Very nice now. 2001 Chateau Treytins Lalande-de-Pomerol: Deep cherry, herbal, very structured and meaty. Cab-franc character. 2001 Chateau Garraud Lalande-de-Pomerol: Floral, more oaky, rich black fruit, some wood tannin detracts. 2000 Chateau Garraud Lalande-de-Pomerol: Roasty a bit candied and rich, some herb, ripe structure. Very nice. 2000 Chateau L'Ancien Lalande-de-Pomerol: Oak. 1999 Chateau L'Ancien Lalande-de-Pomerol: Reduced and oaky. 1999 Chateau Garraud Lalande-de-Pomerol: Minty and complex, with a wide variety of fruit and spice. Well structured and complex on the finish. 2001 Lenz Moser Gruner Veltliner "Prestige" (Kremstal): Juicy quince and apple, with white pepper and lime edges. A bit bitter on the palate, with lime and lemongrass accents. Fruitier on the finish. Nice. 2001 Huber Gruner Veltliner Alte Setzen: More focused and mineral with lime zest and flowers providing the backbeat. Very dry, bracing and fresh. Very harmonious, very long Wow. 2001 Muller "Der Morillon" Chardonnay: Dry perfume, with leesy and apple character. Nutty and rich, round and deep. Minerals creep in on the finish, reflecting the terroir. Very nice, very expressive. 2001 Zantho Zweigelt: Spicy, with black plum, earth and rubber, a bit Beaune-like. Earthier on the long, pure finish. 1999 Riedenhoff Kadlec Lyss Rouge (St. Laurent, Zweigelt, Cabernet): Graham cracker, overripe character here, very international, harmonious, with oak integrating on the finish, but not particularly expressive. 2000 United Vineyards Pentagon (CS/Mer/Syr/Blauf/PinotN): Spicy, leathery and oaky, international character. Succulent and very ripe, and some better structure. Could be from anywhere. 2001 Franz Klein Beerenauslese "La Metisse" (WelschR/Ries/Tram/PG): Juicy peach and roast schist lead the way here, very harmonious in the attack, but a nutty, alcoholic (15.5%?!?!) mess in the midpalate and finish. 1997 Kugler "Vinum Saxum" Cuvee Eiswein (WelschR, GV): light color, metallic and racy, with considerable mineral character. Crunchy palate, with light peach fruit. Not sure if the structure is stern enough to let this unwind. 1999 Rivolo Toscana IGT bianco: High-toned, mint, herb and quince, a bit offish. 2000 Villa Poggio Salvi Rosso di Montalcino: Spicy, leathery, with a solid core of plum and black cherry fruit. Turns chalky and lithe on the nice finish. Very good. 1999 Biondi-Santi Rosso di Montalcino: More traditional, with clay, mint, floral and leather accents to the lithe black cherry fruit. Succulent and structured. 1999 Villa Poggio Salvi Lavischio: More rubber and herb character here, well structured, floral, a bit plumy, but a nice mushroomy finish. 1997 Villa Poggio Salvi Brunello di Montalcino: Roasty, with leather and plum on the harmonious nose. Dark, chocolatey and floral. Very ripe tannins.Well-balanced. 1997 Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino: More minty, with roast plum and cedar framing a very complex nose and palate. Traditional, with succulent acidity. Very, very nice. 2000 Biondi-Santi Sassoalloro: Oak spice overwhelms the plumy fruit here, with good acidity failing to lash this beast together. 1997 Montepaone IGT: Weedy and curranty with lots of oak influence on the nose. More harmonious in the palate, with plum and cassis. Very ripe, long finish. 1999 Castello di Montepo Morellino di Scansano Riserva: Minty, cherry and plum, very fresh with pleasingly light oak. 1998 Schidione IGT: Oak, oak, oak.

This post begins with a tasting of all the wines that Jeanne-Maire de Champs had open at her booth. J-M and her assistant were very helpful as I sat in their booth for 40 minutes or so tasting, writing and discussing. Following those wines are the rest of the days notes, including some wines from dinner that night. 2000 Chateau Philippe le Hardi Bourgogne-Hautes Cotes de Beaune Clos Chaize Dieu: Pure grannysmith apple, some earth, with Beaune chunkiness. Short and mineral. 2000 Denizot Montagny Pidances: Earthy and rich, with slate underpinning the apple palate. Tighter in the back palate, with good complexity. 2000 Bodard de la Jacopiere Rully "En Rabource": Volcanic stony, roasted apple and some spice. Lithe and long. 2000 Genot-Boulanger Mercurey "Les Bacs": Flat, woody, creamy. 2000 Fichet Bourgogne blanc VV: Meursault-like, focused apple and lees. Unfocused on the finish. 2001 Domaine Mignon Bourgogne blanc: Rich nose, a wall of unfiltered character, even a bit minty. Very, very nice. 2000 Dussort Bourgogne blanc Cuvee des Ormes: Nutty, leesy and chunky. 2000 Darviat Bourgogne blanc Jumelie: Warmer and leesy, with too many yeasty, doughy accents. 2000 Lafouge Meursault "Meix Chavaux": Tight apple nose and palate, simple and unfocused. 2000 Genot-Boulanger Meursault "Clos du Cromin": Expressive and nutty, but a bit too ripe. Drink soon. 2000 Genot-Boulanger Puligny-Montrachet Nosroyes: Expressive, with lime cream and a bit of oak, but wonderful minerality. 2000 Genot-Boulanger Puligny-Montrachet Folatieres: Very complex mineral nature, with lemon, cream and slate character on the palate and a long, leesy finish. 2001 Chateau de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Vigne Blanche: Riper but very well-defined, generous apple and lemon curd and ripe chalk. An early drinker but very nice. 2001 Chateau de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet Clos du Chateau: Tight, tangy and expressive. Lemon zest, apple and chalk. Wow. 2001 Chateau de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet Grandes Ruchottes: Toastier, a bit candied, focused and intense, with very ripe acids on the long, long finish. 2000 Rapet Corton-Charlemagne: Very floral and taut, with a rich lemon palate. Needs lots of time. 1998 Rapet Corton-Charlemagne: Toastier, with some lemon curd and rawer oak. Needs time. 2000 Herivault Vouvray Silex: Extremely mineral, but well supported with apple and dried honey. Very nice. 2000 Herivault Vouvray demi-sec Coudraies: Fruitier, with ripe slate and earth. Honeyed finish with some melon. Very nice. 2001 Rapet Bourgogne rouge "Bully": Some cherry and apple, a bit green, with nice spice, but unbalanced. 2000 Rene Leclerc Bourgogne rouge: Very concentrated, dark, delineated. Some oak spice but plenty of earth and red plum. Long, very ripe finish. 1999 Denizot Bourgogne rouge "Chalonnaise": Wild strawberry character here, very lithe, very pure. Nice generic bourgogne. 1999 Ferreira-Peirazeau Bourgogne rouge: Minty, a bit oaky, with considerable plum and cherry fruit. Unfocused, but still fun. 1999 Philippe le Hardy Mercurey rouge: Candied and unripe. Ugh. 2000 Genot-Boulanger Mercurey Saumonts: Dark flowers and wild strawberries show real character here, though some greenness pokes through in the finish. 1999 Genot-Boulanger Aloxe-Corton Clos du Chapitre: Pure cherry here, mouthfilling and delineated. Ripe tannins need a few years to resolve, but this is a real step up. 2000 Naddef Marsannay: Wood soup. 1999 Livera Fixin Tilleuls: Floral and pure, though a bit soft. Long, earthy and complex. Drink now but nice. 2000 Rene Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin: Minty and beety, very typical, with plum and hot stones. Succulent if a bit chunky. 2000 Rene Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin Combe aux Moines: Chocolatey, still with some beet character, but well focused. Needs time. 2000 Meo-Camuzet Marsannay: Oak spice, rich fruit. Oak, oak, oak. 2000 Serveau Chambolle-Musigny: Extremely floral, but knit together with lithe cherry and tobacco. A bit tight. Nice. 2000 Serveau Chambolle-Musigny les Amoureuses: Rich cherry and dark flowers in this beauty. Still some unintegrated oak, but plenty of tannins line the complex palate. Needs at least ten years, but absolutely wonderful. Already very complex. 2000 Lamarche Vosne-Romanee Croix Rameau: Minty and fleshy with spice, leather and red plum accents. Complex, a bit chalky on the finish. Nice. 2000 Meo-Camuzet Echezeaux: Big flowers here, very complex and holds the oak well. Pulsating and backward. Needs 15 years but very fine. Very expensive. 1997 Hutcheson Porto: Round fruit, not too sweet with good astringency. Complex already and not a long ager. 1994 Presidential Porto: High-toned, disjointed, green and raisined at the same time. Ugh. 2000 Cockburn Porto: Very floral, with pure chocolate and plum. Very concentrated and holds alcohol well. Already complex, so maybe an early drinker. 1995 Vista Alegre LBV: Well-rounded, with cassis, plum, leather and spice. Very complex. 1973 Laubade Bas-Armagnac: Big honey, tea and stone fruit, with a bit of raw wood still showing on the palate (needs air) around the vanilla, and honey accents. Angular. 1969 Laubade Bas-Armagnac: Old-school, with heavy rancio and rich chocolate. Soft and round and yummy. 1952 Laubade Armagnac: A bit stinky, with old wood and cupboard accents. A tad astringent. Needs air? 1943 Laubade Armagnac: So smooth, with milk chocolate and rancio character but a lot of youthful caramel and honey. A triumph. 2000 Blanc de Lynch-Bages: Considerable quince character here, with some oak and nice herbal accents. Long, leesy and mineral, needs several years to integrate. Beautiful. 1999 Voge Cotes-du-Rhone: Meaty and cranberry edges to the wild raspberry and earthen palate. Very mineral, very food-friendly. 1990 Salomon Riesling Reserve (Wachau): A baby, rich lime and quartz. Crunchy. Needs 10-15 more years. 1984 Ampeau Volnay-Santenots: A bit tea-like, with dried cherry and cabinet accents. Not quite ripe, but shows more complex with food.

In the following few posts, I will present my notes from two-and-a-half days of schmoozing and spitting at VinExpo Americas, at the Javits Convention Center, October 22-24. First, some general observations. 1. Not that many people there. Had to be disappointing for the producers who came seeking importers. 2. Not that many big names there. Almost none of the top smaller producers (Ogier, etc., most of whom had no reason to be there), and a lot of swill. Again not that surprising, just a bit disappointing. 3. Many of the booths seemed designed only to receive friends of the exhibitor. A bit silly, don't you think? 4. The Austrians produced the best booths, the friendliest staffers (including the tireless Michael Thurner, the head of the Austrian wine marketing board), and totally awesome dry, sweet and red wines. Almost every TBA I tasted at these tables was better than any Kracher I'd ever had. The wines were expressive, mineral, balanced, as well as flamboyant. 5. Finally, my empirically-based guide to getting through these huge tastings: a. Always have some champagne to start. b. Always have some champagne after each 24 or so reds. c. Get to know one or more of the champagne pourers so you can have the good stuff for your palate-rinsing. d. Look for typicity in wines rather than a bunch of specific flavor characteristics. e. Spit. Duh. f. Talk with your pourers. It'll help you gather your thoughts about each wine and make sure you don't taste wines too quickly. g. Write down your nose notes before you taste the wine. Same reason as above. This first post covers the first morning and early afternoon. No real focus here, just a lot of wines. NV Thienot Brut, Champagne: Soft, doughy, a bit fat, like an apple dumpling.Low acid? NV Joseph Perrier Brut, Champagne: Strong pinot meunier character, floral, a bit earthy 1995 Joseph Perrier Brut, Champagne: Oaky, bread crust, strong green raisins and toast, long, spicy finish. Very nice. 2000 Paul Blanck Pinot Auxerrois: light and floral, lemon candy, a bit soft 2000 Paul Blanck, Riesling Patergarten: ripe minerals and lime zest, taut, bit fruitier on the palate but well grounded in quartz and flowers 2000 Paul Blanck, Pinot Gris Patergarten: Coconutty, ripe grapefruit, very crystalline and long. Very nice TPG. 1999 Paul Blanck, Riesling Schlossberg: Ripe slate, almost fruitless (but in a good way) on the nose, lithe texture but turning unfocused. Reflects the vintage. 2000 Paul Blanck, Riesling Schlossberg: Very focused, rich and floral, very long, complex fruit, a lot of baby fat but an iron core. Pulsating. Beautiful. 1999 Paul Blanck, Riesling Furstentum: A bit honeyed and peachy, with some loose minerals and raw sugar. More complex on the palate, but still soft. Drink soon but pretty nice. 1999 Paul Blanck, Gewurtztraminer Furstentum: Very harmonious, chalk, rose and lychee, still honeyed, but with an austere core of caramelized basil and smoke. Perfumed and focused. Very good for 1999. 2000 Louis Jadot, Beaune-Greves "Clos Blanc": Perfumed on the nose, but more chunky on the palate, like a white Pommard. Creamy with some nondescript apple and oak spice. Drink soon. 2000 Louis Jadot, Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne "Domaine de Duc de la Magenta": Tight and chalky, with restrained butteriness. Very tight, or perhaps just dilute. An aging gamble, but may put on weight. 2000 Guigal Crozes-Hermitage Blanc: Floral and waxy, a bit muted. Flabby. 2001 Guigal St-Joseph Blanc: High-toned, a bit oaky but not harsh. Perfumed, but short. 2001 Guigal St-Joseph Blanc "Clos St.-Joseph": Stinky and oaky. A mess. 2001 Guigal Condrieu: Classic nose, not as oaky as past versions, a but milky on the palate, spicy, a bit low in acid. Drink soon. Not anywhere close to Villard but decent Condrieu. 2001 Guigal Condrieu "La Doriane": Strong oak, but the concentration allows the oak to show perfume instead of harshness. Better acid makes this a roller-coaster ride of expensive viognier. Good for the style and appealing to those who like it. NV Taittinger Prestige Rose, Champagne: Light cherry, but mostly lemon and dough. A bit coarse and offputtingly earthy, a bit unripe. Doesn't taste like a rose. 1996 Taittinger, Brut La Francaise, Champagne: Crystalline, ripe apple and complex florality. Long and citric. Very young. Very, very, very good. 1995 Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Champagne: Toasty and earthy, in the pinot noir style. Chalky finish.Very tight. Right now, the 1996 La Francaise is considerably better. 1995 Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Rose, Champagne: Beautiful strawberry nose, defined earth and honey accents, very long. Incredible. 2001 Cave Kouroum de Kefraya Blanc de Noir (Cinsault, still): Bit diffuse, mineral, bit pinot-blanc like, tighter and more mineral on the finish. 1999 Cave Kouroum de Kefraya Cinsault Rouge: Bit light, black cherry and earthy but not well-structured. 2001 Vignerons de Saumur blanc (cooperative): Very nice, ripe flowers, rich, focused apple and dry honey. Long, lemon-mineral finish. Very nice. 2001 "Folies Siffaint" Muscadet-Coteaux de Loire: Very soft for Muscadet, no real core. 2001 Domaine de Hautes Noelles Muscadet Sevre et Maine: Crystalline, very ripe, which obscures the mineral core. Early drinker, not like the Pepiere wines that age several years. 2000 Domaine de Haites Noelles Muscadet Sevre et Maine "M": 30% new oak. Juicy, a flash of Chassagne character but turning muddled. Why? 2000 Chateau Plaisance Blanc (1er Cotes de Bordeaux): 100% Semillon, holds it oak well, with a surprising herbal core. Lithe and a nice value. More generally, 2000 dry white Bordeaux is looking to be a nice value. 2001 Sella & Mosca Vermentino "La Cala": Bit diffuse, good minerality but not balanced. 2000 Sella & Mosca Vermentino DOCG "Montoro": Rich, rocky texture, perfumed. Very nice and very long. 2001 Sella & Mosca Alghero "Arenarie" (sauvignon blanc): Wild herbs, with a succulent texture and full fruit. Delineated and long. Very nice and expressive sauvignon. 2001 Moreau Chablis: Bit honeycomb, some chalk but a ripe core. Good basic Chablis. 2000 Moreau Chablis Vaillons: Sharper and more taut, with pulsating lemon and quartz character. Almost too ripe. Not my favorite terroir, but a nice expression, if too ripe. 2000 Moreau Chablis Les Clos: Purer than the Vaillons, with ripe chalk and pure, dry honey and lime. Very complex already, with a long life and a spicy, mineral, lactic finish. A triumph. 1998 Moreau Chablis Bougros: Less ripe, but very taut apple and lemongrass, with a ripe mineral finish. Producer over vintage. 1996 Moreau Chablis Vaucopins: Shut and a bit metallic, with lemon oil and raw citrus. Put it away for 10 yrs. 2001 Domaine Wachau Gruner Veltliner Federspiel "Terrassen": Formerly known as Freie Weingartner Wachau. A vineyard blend. Piquant nose of ripe veggies and white pepper, round and fruity on the palate, with a peppery edge. Great value. 2001 Domaine Wachau Weissenkirchner Achleiten Gruner Veltliner Smaragd: Bit honeyed on the mineral nose, very closed with roasted apple character. Very long. Very pure. 2001 Domaine Wachau Durnsteiner Kellerberg Gruner Veltliner Smaragd: More herbal with an overt mineral character, honeyed and lemony. Not complex, yet, but very nice. 2001 Domaine Wachau Riesling Federspiel "Terrassen": Vineyard blend. Very, very spicy. A big wine, very approachable. Could sell like hotcakes. 2001 Domaine Wachau Weissenkirchner Achleiten Riesling Smaragd: Very, very tight, with minerals overpowering the apple and lime core. Complex, oily, with a great future. Very ripe, floral finish. Wow. 2001 Domaine Wachau Loibner Loibenberg Riesling Smaragd: Tighter than the Achleiten, chalkier and more lemony. Like 1995 Trimbach Frederic Emile-tight. 2001 Domaine Wachau Durnsteiner Kellerberg Riesling Smaragd: Volcanic nose, with very ripe, red fruit, very Nahe-like. Focused. Enormous. A 50-year wine. 2001 Domaine Wachau Riesling TBA: Vineyard blend. Bitter, volcanic botrytis nose, burnt honey and hot rocks. More botrytis than fruit on the palate, but impossibly deep, with a wonderfully perfumed finish. Needs 50 years, but glorious and so much more characterful than any Kracher. 2000 Masi bianco "Serego Alighieri": Honey and wild herbs, very rich, very Veneto sauvignon. Pulsating. 1999 Masi Campofiorin: Heavy oak and butter on the nose, but more defined on the raspy, leathery palate. Tight, with balanced tannins. Needs time for the oak to integrate. 1999 Masi Amarone "Costasera": Dark, rich, pure, fruit-driven nose. Chocolatey, almost botrytis-like, with very sweet fruit. A bit acid-deficient on the otherwise complex finish. 1995 Masi Amarone "Mazzano": Leathery, high-toned, beautiful nose. Tight, cherry-earth palate with no real oak influence. Needs 15 years but very well balanced. 1996 Masi Amarone "Serego Alighieri" Vaio: Port-like nose, with substantial leather character. Licorice chimes in on the impossibly deep finish, with succulent acidity. Needs many, many years but will be wonderful. 1998 Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva: Deep cherry, with ripe earth and substantial oak. Wood tannins dominate the palate. 1999 Antinori Tignanello: Some leather on the candied nose. Well-structured, with characteristic Tuscan mustiness. Sweet tannin. Very nice. 1997 Antinori Brunello di Montalcino "Pian della Vigne": Pure nose of must, roasted cherry and clay. Wood overpowers the palate, with insufficient acid. Nope. 1999 Antinori Bolgheri Superiore "Guado al Tasso": Minty, cassis nose. Smells expensive. More characterful attack with mint and some wood tannin under the black fruit. Will be awkward for a long time. NV Piper-Heidseck Brut Champagne: Toasty, bit raw butter nose, some white fruit and flowers and an attractive honeyed edge. Nice entry-level, better than in the past. NV Piper-Heidseck Brut Champagne (special, red-leather-wrapped bottling): Honeycomb and toast, even more honeyed, some leather and pear, with dough accents in the backpalate and spicy, fruity finish. Nice, though a bit flabby. NV Charles Heidseck Brut Reserve: Coconut, flowers and burnt toast on the nose, but a summery, lithe palate of ripe citrus and flowers. Long finish with apricot accents. Very nice. 1995 Charles Heidseck Brut: Very young, with ample Savennieres character, creamy and floral with a tight, spicy, minty finish. Needs time but very nice. 1990 Charles Heidseck Brut Blanc de Blancs "Millenaires": Beautiful golden color, earthy and rich, with peach, toast and custard characteristics. Long and fresh, but unfocused finish. Drink soon. 2001 Caves de Vignerons de Saumur, Saumur rouge: Candied, with raw herb. Better on the palate but little sophistication. 2001 Caves de Vignerons, Saumur "Croix Vert": More buttery, with better definition, but still flabby. 2001 Caves de Vignerons, Saumur-Champigny: Roasty, with some tobacco character. Soft. 2000 Clos Lysardiere Chinon: Roasty, but more lithe on the palate, with black fruit. Flabby finish but a nice quaff. 2000 Chateau de Riviere Chinon: Focused and complex, with good cherry-tobacco typicity. Rich finish. 2000 Caves de Vignerons, Bourgueil "Philippe de Valois": Bit reduced, but nice dark fruit. Sweet tannins but loses focus on the finish. 1997 Cave de Grand Vins de Bourgueil, Bourgueil "Vinee du Roy": Oaky, but still good character. Drink now. 1998 Fazi Battaglia Vino Nobile de Montepulciano "Pasiteo": Dark and oaky, with nice earth accents, turning more harmonious. 1995 Fazi Battaglia Vino Nobile de Montepulciano "Salarco": Truffled leather, with succulent acidity and dark cherry and plum. Old-school and very nice. 2001 Fazi Battaglia Rosso del Montepulciano "Selciaia": Plummy and spicy, focused and long. Nice. 1998 Fazi Battaglia Rosso Conero Riserva "Passo del Lupo":Plummy, oaky. Could be from anywhere. Needs time. 2001 Cooperativa Baga "Beiras Vineyards": Portugese. Lite cherry and real dusty character, with some nice herb on the finish. The first of a progression of beautiful Portuguese reds. 2000 Marques de Marialva Bairrada "Baga": Very ripe, with a little volatility. Star anise, leather, red plum and cherry, with classic sweet Bairrada tannins. Nice. 2000 Marques de Marialva Bairrada "Reserva Seleccionada": Cahors like, with big black fruit and chunky structure, but lither on the palate, with tobacco and a bit of herb. Very, very long. Wow. 1997 Conte de Cantanhede Bairrada Reserva: Bit milk chocolate, dark cherry and licorice. Intense and harmonious, an accurate harbinger for the younger wines. 1996 Marques de Marialva Bairrada "Reserva Seleccionada": Very Barolo-like, with cherry and tar characters and a long, floral, finish. 1998 Chateau Petit-Faurie-de-Soutard St. Emilion: Black fruit and leather, very harmonious and ripe. Licorice and herb accent the finish. Very nice. 1997 Chateau Cissac Haut-Medoc: Bit leathery and raw oak on the nose, with classic pencil and cassis scents. Green tannin detracts. 1999 Les Fiefs de Lagrange St. Julien: Toasted wood nose, bit underfruited and already maturing. No thanks. 1999 Reserve de la Comtesse Pauillac: Rich and toasty, with plum and herb, but an offputting buttery finish. 1998 Chateau Senejac Haut-Medoc: Bit sauvage and asphalt character, a lot of cab-franc aspects. Dark plum, tobacco and herb. Drink soon but nice for modest Bordeaux. 1998 Chateau Prieure-Lichine Margaux: Very oaky and toasty. Tastes like a concentrator machine was used. NV Mont Marcal Cava "Extramarium": Lots of mineral in the nose here, with honey and apple character and a harmonious, quartz finish. NV Mont Marcal Cava "Gran Reserva": Toasty and earthy, a bit coarse. 1999 Chateau Florestan, 1er Cotes de Bordeaux: Cheap oak, candied and herbal. Blah. 1999 Chateau Plaisance, 1er Cotes de Bordeaux: Harmonious cherry and herb, complex and lithe. Good value. 2000 Chateau Plaisance, 1er Cotes de Bordeaux: Much like the 1999, but riper, with plum and tobacco accents.Very nice and great value. 2001 Collavini Pinot Grigio Collio: Almondy and lemony, but diffuse. 2001 Vietti Roero Arneis: Oily and rich, with typical almond and apple. Long. 2000 Vietti Barbera d'Asti Tre Vigne: Bit buttery and candied, turning richer on the finish. An enigma. 1998 Vietti Barbera d'Asti La Crena: Minty, with fancy wood lending too much sharp tannin.Plum and wood. Wood. Wood. 1999 Vietti Barbera d'Alba Scarrone: Leathery, oaky, hot. Not as bad as that sounds, but still... 1998 Vietti Nebbiolo Langhe "Perbacco": Spicy, tar and floral accents. Approachable and leathery. Very nice but very small production. 1998 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria: Jammy, with rich cherry and leather accents. Tangy and approachable. 1997 Vietti Barolo Castiglione: Spicy, ripe and focused, with cigar and ripe plum accents. Turns more focused. Very long. 1997 Vietti Barolo Rocche: Dark and ripe, but chocolatey and torrefacted. Needs a ton of time. 2001 Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d'Asti: Floral nose, but raw sugary palate.

I've finished typing my tasting notes from VinExpo. I can post them here (they're very long) or link to my posting them on another site. Anyone have a preference? Jake

I'll be there the whole time, pretty much... Jake

And that store, quite frankly, stinks. There are far too many good restos in and around Cape May for the pedestrian selection offered there.

November 9, DAY FOUR-Modern Art, Grizzlies and Cassoulet, Oh My! Omissions from yesterday: We tried to go to the Delacroix museum, but it was closed—big bummer; he’s my favorite French painter. Then we headed to the Musee d’Orsay, where we saw the eternal Olympia and a selection of Gustave Courbet’s greatest hits, including L’Origine du Monde, which you either know or you don’t. If you do, you know what I mean; if you don’t, you’ll be curious sometime and look it up. All I gotta say is, can you believe they were selling postcards of that thing??? We awoke on Saturday knowing it was the last day of our museum pass, so we decided to see the modern art museum at the Centre Pompidou. It didn’t open until 11, so we had time to scarf our culatello (very good, very truffly and garlicky, not as good as the best paleta iberico, but a #### of a lot better than anything that shows up on these shores. We also tried some of the fromage de Pyrenees that I picked up at Ferme-Saint-Aubin, but it was not so good. It’s nice when the price for trying a new cheese is one dollar, not seven as it too often is for a good cheese here in the States. We rode the metro down to Etienne Marcel and strolled the bustling Montorgueil market street, one of the best in Paris, according to various guidebooks. And it was great, with the smells of roasting farm chickens intermingling with the beautiful perfumes of stinky cheeses and dry-cured hams. Of course, we stopped for pastries at a prominent patissier whose name I did not note. Christina’s pain au chocolat and my pastry, a sort of star-shaped thing, made from croissant dough, stuffed with hazelnut paste, were the best we’d had so far. Emphasis on so far, and not counting that mushroom brioche. We found the Centre Pompidou, took the obligatory outside pictures, then strolled up the escalators to the modern art museum. Normally I’d go on in great length about the art, but other than a few Picassos (I sorta feel like I at least understand him from an artistic point of view) and the odd Magritte, the rest of the place was filled with randomness, packed too tightly. I firmly believe that a single piece of modern art can have a great deal of meaning, but if you put so many of these absurdities together, it dulls the senses. Of course, many of the pieces have to be showcased in a museum to attain their value as art. A paradox. I guess I lost the song when the titles of artwork started to have meaning (see Courbet, Gustave). Besides, we were hungry. Le Grizzli has recast itself as “Grizzli Café,” presumably to attract more folks for those nice high-margin café tabs. We sat down on the heated patio for lunch at this place. Christina had a kir and I had a demi-pichet (25cl) of an unnamed Cotes de Gascogne wine that didn’t taste like cheap wine at all, and better than every Beaujolais I’ve had in my life, with rich plum, some earth and structure. Christina had French onion soup (Jones #1 gone), which was light and flavorful and in the traditional style, with only a smattering of cheese. I had an unctuous cream of lentil soup with shards of duck confit. Mains were Fresh pasta with tomatoes for Christina, cooked a little past al dente, as is proper for very fresh pasta (and it was very fresh), but piled so high on itself that it continued to cook in the bowl. Christina liked it, but thought the sauce could’ve had a bit more punch. A nice August dish on a cool November afternoon. I had wonderful lamb chops with a potato gratin and a pan sauce made with stock. Simple, extremely flavorful (recently slaughtered lamb, maybe a smidge older?) and just right. No dessert today, so we paid and left, feeling proud that we were able to conduct the entire meal in French—slowly improving. We then Metro’ed toward Place Vendome to shop at Comptoir Sud Pacifique, a perfume and couture boutique, whose Paris prices are about 50% less than the US prices, when you can find the stuff. We sniffed fragrances for about forty minutes, conversing all the while (in English) with a charming saleswoman. Christina bought some perfume for herself and several more gifts and we hit the Detaxe milestone—score! Note to everyone, their new “Rizieres” fragrance is out of this world—and again, it was the only one we really agreed on (well, that one and kumquat). Next we headed to Place de la Madeleine, food shopping mecca of Paris. On out clockwise loop around the rather uninspiring central building (church?), we stopped at several places. Maille, the mustard folks, never noticed us, so we left without buying any of their blackcurrant mustard. Whatever. We had better luck at Verger de la Madeleine, the wine shop just off the Place, where I scored an absolutely pristine bottle of 1989 Coulee de Serrant for า. We broke our foie gras duck for the day at Hediard’s tea salon, where Christina had unctuous jasmine tea and I a glass of the 1997 house label Sauternes, which was a little chippy and earthy, which meant it went great with the thin slices of foie on Poilane grillee and some apple compote. There were slivers of roasted red pepper on the toasts too, which added absolutely nothing at all. Hediard’s wine selection is nice, though I didn’t pull the trigger on any of their small but interesting Loire and port sections. We cruised through the rest of the Place, gawking inside and out at Maison de la Truffe and finding no deals on wine or spirits at Fauchon before returning for our evening nap and Eurosport before heading to a late reservation at Baracane in the Marais. Here we encountered the most bumbling service of our trip, as they brought us the red version of the white wine we ordered (they didn’t have any trouble taking it back, even though it was opened—nice thing about half-bottles), then forgot to charge one of us for our menus (they caught the error before we left—I hadn’t even looked at the slip when I signed it, bad me), but couldn’t figure out the credit card machine, so we paid the rest in cash. All that said, it was a lovely meal. To wit: Christina started with a kir royale and a mussel soup with saffron, which, while salty, was well balanced by the white wine we ordered (Baracane has a three-course-plus-coffee-plus-half-bottle prix fixe, so we had a half of white and a half of red—notes to come), followed by cassoulet (Jones #2, gone) which was also a bit salty but incredibly robust in every possible way, with excellent sausage along with the confits (no lamb). I started with a black Muscat petillant (didn’t catch the producer), which was interesting, though not quite as refreshing as your basic kir royale, then an absolutely fabulous green salad piled with tenderly cooked duck gizzards. My magret de canard was perfectly saignant (if I cook the magrets I get in this country to this color, they are tough), with potatoes fried in goose at with lots of garlic. And, the wines: Domaine Dulucq Tursan blanc 2000: Crisp, overtly mineral with lemon oil. Like a light Savennieres, though not that serious. Blown away by my salad but great with Christina’s soup. Chateau de Lastours Gaillac rouge 2000: Fresh cherry and plum, doesn’t taste expensive (it wasn’t), but none of the bubble-gumminess of cheap-tasting wines. Solid if unspectacular. Desserts were fun too. Christina had crema catalana which was a little overcooked to my taste, but not so much that you would notice. My apple tourtiere, apples cooked in armagnac and piled with shards of very thin pastry (I don’t think it was feuille de bric however) was great crackly fun and very tasty. Espressos were fruity, not bitter, but not all that noteworthy. After the bill hijinks, we metro’ed home on a cool night.

These guys had it right--they didn't describe the dish until they were done garnishing. As for Salon d'Helene, we judged how much to order from the prices--an "assortment" was a certain price, so we figgered that was about what a plat would be under a more normal format, and ordered accordingly. Jake

Thanks for the writeup on Salon d'Helene. Our wine was on our table, so pouring it ourselves was no problem. If you want to nuke the second and third sets of reports and make new threads for them, go ahead (it doesn't much matter to me--I was trying to balance cluttering the board with too many threads with cluttering a thread with too many reports). I'll hold off on posting Day 4 until we figger this one out. I think it's instructive that we were at Salon d'Helene a week apart from one another and had almost none of the same dishes--pretty impressive for a second restaurant. And those garbure bearnaise were out of this world! Jake

I did not major in art history (chemistry, minor in history with a focus on Spain and France, 1600-1850 in my papers); my history professors instilled the historiographic approach in me. It must be cool being the world's leading Zurbaran authority--his paintings have it all. Maybe if he had painted the Mona Lisa it would have had some personality. Savoy probably deserves three stars; I don't have enough perspective. He probably doesn't have a three-star cheese selection and his table spacing is a bit tight for three stars perhaps, and we did get something like five or six soups in our menu, but for sheer joy and interest he definitely warrants consideration. Jake

November 8, DAY THREE--Settling In Omissions from day two--The bread was good (but not too good--there is of course such a thing as too good bread in a restaurant), with two kinds of butter. I asked the origin of the salt butter (Normandy, of course--didn't get into more specifics) but forgot to ask about the sweet. We sat down at 8:15 and got up at 1:30AM. The Louvre's musuem shop has almost no postcards (or at least we couldn't find them). Everyone has to go through security to get into the major museums, which greatly reduces the convenience of the museum pass (which isn't that great a deal, 170FF for three days, unless you're into hardcore sightseeing, which we weren't). And the staff at Guy Savoy seemed quite young for the classical vision of top-end French restaurants. Anyway. We awoke on Friday still totally sated from the night before, and my head was still spinning from the excitement. We decided that lunch would be progressive, not exactly light, but not three courses in one place with wine. We took the Metro into downtown and visited Sainte-Chapelle, the small, very old chapel on the Ile-de-la-Cite within the Palais de Justice grounds. The art is only halfway restored, but there's a beautiful melange of styles in the stained glass and sculpture here; you can really see the progression of art through the years, particular in relationship to the depiction of eyes, gazes and expressions. We then ducked into the Crypt next to Notre Dame. This small museum describes the various cities that exist in the ruins under "modern" Paris. The remarkable aspect of this short tour was the close resemblance of the building styles between the 4th and 16th centuries. Made us realize how much technology and techniques have changed in a relatively short time. That whole globalization thing again. We then toured Notre Dame and trudged up the towers. Inside Notre Dame, there is a series of paintings representing the traditional May offerings of art to the Virgin Mary. While some of these paintings were only okay, there were a few that really stood out. I think cathedrals are wonderful venues for art—I wrote a college essay about the small, brightly-colored fresco at the top of the apse of the Cathedral at Antwerp, and the Rubens triptych there, which just sort of stands there in a corner of the room with no fanfare at all, are the three greatest religious paintings to my mind. My wife does not agree. On either point. The towers were tall, the view was pretty good for an overcast day. It was a good workout. The Rue de St-Louis-en-L’Ile is probably the most concentrated street of cool shops and eateries in Paris. Not a lot of high-profile things (Berthillon excepted), but the hits just kept on coming. We stopped at Ferme-Saint-Aubin for a wonderful, candy-sweet bite of goat cheese (or, rather, I did), then to Calixte for an (overrated) croissant and small pots of acacia honey and cassis jam. I broke the small pot of jam by dropping it, and I have yet to try the honey, but both looked very good and came well recommended in my readings. Then, of course, we made our pilgrimage to Berthillon. We sat in the café and had coffee with our noon ice creams—vanilla and caramel for Christina, the vanilla darker in color and more concentrated than any I’d ever seen or tasted, and the caramel shot through with little crispy bits of the stuff. Divine flavorings. I had agenaise (prune and armagnac) and marrons glacee. I found out I don’t really like marrons glacee, though the ice cream in which they swam was quite agreeable. The agenaise was divine, a classic interpretation of an even more classic combination. I agree with Thor that there was some graininess, but it’s definitely its own style, and there was none of the waxy, eggy, off aftertaste you get in a lot of purportedly rich ice creams (like, say, mine). How would you rate it against Toscanini’s, Thor? I’d put them about on the same pedestal, towering over everything else (yes, yes, including Herrell’s—it’s so clear to me that smoosh-ins are just a ploy to counteract Tosci’s superior purity of flavor and richness of texture <g>). We then crossed over to the left bank to begin our Christmas shopping in earnest. Our first stop was Diptyque, a fancy parfumier headquartered in Paris. We were there for candles, so strong that burning just a little while fills the room with very pure fragrance. We ended up buying a candle, a room spray and seven soaps in various fragrances, for various people. Christina and I enjoy perfume shops—she lets me smell everything, and I’m pretty opinionated. I don’t like sweet scents (their quince, however, is absolutely balanced) and I don’t like vanilla, chocolate or coffee, or very white flower scents. I like herb scents (blackcurrant leaves, fig leaves, basil) and the like. Of course, Christina likes everything I don’t like. This makes shopping very easy—there’s only ever about one or two scents we both like, and we stock up on those for her and for gifts. Next we plowed through the bowels of the 6th (Derniere Goutte was closed both times we passed it) and found Huilerie Leblanc, a tiny closet of a store selling Paris’s most fragrant walnut oil. To my mind, walnut oil was the first priority for bringing back foodstuffs from France—it’s legal, of course, and the French make the best in the world. I bought a little bit here, and more at Bon Marche later in the week. Christina had been looking forward all trip to Pharmacie Fouhety, which looks from the outside just like all the other pharmacies in Paris. But their prices are the best in the city, and Christina wanted to stock up on some shampoo that has rum and egg yolks in it. I’m sure after too many showers, your head turns into a giant crème brulee, but whatever. I took the opportunity to sit down and have a rest. We then hit the food hall at Bon Marche, where I found some “artisan” potato chips that were way too overtly greasy (Pennsylvania has nothing to worry about), some culatello that appeared to be the real thing or close to it (anyone know if the laws have been relaxed? It did carry a DOC Parma), and the steal of the day, 1990 (!) Baumard Quarts de Chaume for ฾!! Last bottle, unfortunately. Bon Marche also has some great Huet prices at the higher ends. We found a bar, Sip Babylone, at the Sevres-Babylone square and settled in for our daily foie gras, this time paired with southwestern ham, smoked duck breast, a good salad and pain Poilane grillee on a cold plate. By this time, we had resolved to eat foie gras every day, at least a little, because of the sheer quality of it here and its very, very low price compared to the US (this whole plate, groaning with everything, was like พ, and that felt high for some of the places we went). We guzzled kirs and went back to the hotel for a nap. We awoke about 10PM with not a whole lot of dinner options—we didn’t have a reservation, and Christina wasn’t that hungry yet. So we headed to the Champs-Elysees for our first experience of the place at night. What an mélange of light, color and motion! We made note of shops to visit and strolled around, stars in our eyes. Then we got hungry, and thirsty. There was only one place to go. Maison de l’Aubrac is a kitschy little place, with lots of fencepost décor and pictures of French cattlemen and their cattle. We slotted in at the bar, asked for a table, and cooled our heels with the best kirs royals of the trip, made (I believe) with Pommery Brut Royal. After about forty minutes, we were seated. This place is all about beef, specifically AOC Aubrac beef from the southwest. I had a wonderful beef terrine with some preserved morels and salad, while Christina had a “salade de boeuf” of greens and cold beef chunks that was exquisitely dressed. Then came the main event—a glorious entrecote for Christina, a pretty good-if-slightly-passed-saignant faux-filet for me, accompanied by potatoes fried in goose fat. Too mad this place is so serious about food. It’d never survive in an American city ;-). With all this beef, we drank (from a great, pretty-well-priced list of Rhones and Southwesterns): Dom. Font Douce Montpeyroux 1997: Big, big meaty nose, blackberry, blueberry, lots of meat and a little plum. Tannic, and still opening up when we drained the bottle about 90 minutes later. A big yum and about ฮ on the list. We were well sated (obviously more simply, but still very pleasurably) when we left. We walked down Ave. George V, but the Tour Eiffel was not lit. We walked back, found a cab, and strolled home about 2AM for a good night’s rest. (Edited by jparrott at 4:36 am on Nov. 16, 2001)

NOVEMBER 8, DAY 2--How Savoy-ry It Is! Omissions from Day 1: We stopped by the Legrand wine shop and found it a bit underwhelming, and I bought ring molds at Dehillerin. I could spend all day in there if I knew what I was looking for; but without a plan, I sort of petered out at 30 minutes. Great, great store--twice as much good stuff as Bridge Kitchenware and less useless stuff. Also, the ossau-iraty at Salon d'Helene was accompanied by a none-too-sweet cherry syrup, and the foie gras with some quince compote. We awoke about 8AM, showered, dressed, and strolled down Rue des Martyrs for a pain au chocolat and a chausson aux pommes. Both were nice, though the apples in the chausson were completely pureed--is this normal? After wiping the gluttonous crumbs from our faces, we slipped into the Metro and teleported to the Louvre. The Louvre isn't that big when you're not a big fan of sculpture. Like it or not, I take an historiographic approach to art, and while I'm able to grasp meaning and explain paintings in detail using this approach, sculpture has for the most part escaped me. We did make it a point to see Venus de Milo, the code of Hammurabi and a statue of Akhenaton (if you don't know him, he's like the Michael Servetus of his time--a revolutionary figure totally forgotten by his contemporaries). But mostly we looked at paintings. Not the Mona Lisa--I don't get it, the artistic devices used in it are a mishmash, and it doesn't "move off the canvas" like some people says it does. I'll take almost any Rubens over five Mona Lisas, thanks. The Rubens here was great, as were the like two Titians, as well as two of the more forgotten paintings of Zurbaran, whose work I admire more than almost anyone else. Despite a mid-visit stop at one of the terrace cafes for a coffee, we were bushed before we got to the 19th century Frenchies, but all the ones I cared about were at Musee d'Orsay anyway. Exiting the Louvre, we trekked to Willi's Wine Bar, but the kitchen was closed and my wife didn't want cheese. So we headed to Galeries Lafayette and the self-service place for passable couscous and very nice merguez sausage for me and lamb for here. I had a dark beer whose name I forgot. We ate about half of our plates, because we knew what was to come that night. Following our repast, I cruised the Galeries Lafayette food hall and wine shop. The coolest thing about the food hall was that it had about six places to stop and have a glass of wine and sample some of the wares for reasonable prices, as well as a pasta counter, a steak counter and a cooked fish counter (doesn't get much fresher than that). None were opened when we were there, but imagine the kind of business Balducci's or the like would do with places like that in the store. By the end of the food hall, I was tired and dehydrated, so we got some water and headed back to the hotel for a nap and a shower. I had made our reservations at Guy Savoy through e-mail about a week before our trip, and was a little surprised when they offered me a free choice of days. It looked like the place was fully booked, however. We arrived somewhat early and were ushered through a smiling gauntlet of "Bonsoir!"s, started by the eminent M. Savoy himself (who shook my hand and took my introduction, smiling the whole time. He looks like the happiest man in the world). Our table was in a corner of one of the back rooms, and we ended up being next to a large, loud, smoky table of the chef's closest friends (it appeared). Not that that was negative at all--it added considerably to the joie de vivre, though we didn't get any white truffles shaved on our soup :-). The champagne card arrived and we chose the house cuvee of Deutz. It was the best champagne we tasted the whole trip, well-integrated with real complex fruit over all the nuttiness. Our captain came over and asked if we wished to converse in English or French, and when I explained to him that we'd like to attempt to speak French at times just for practice, he smiled, chuckled and said "after the first glass of wine, we'll try to speak French!" If we were nervous, we would have been calmed by this line--we were already euphoric, so it was just another log on the fire. Then came the first two amuses--salt-cured foie gras on toast and a small piece of Bresse chicken breast with a brunoise of peppers and eggplant in a vinaigrette made from chicken stock. Both were wonderful, the salt-cured foie gras a total revelation in flavor and texture control, the best foie gras either of us had ever had and the best we would have on the trip. Not that any of it was less than wonderful, of course :-). Following those two amuses came three more, plated together. Carrot soup with a bit of star anise quickly established itself in my mind as the flavor combo for my next round of glazed carrots. A cube of quickly seared tuna, smaller than a Yahtzee die, accompanied some baby arugula that was all nuttiness and no bitterness, which is a long way to say that Christina actually liked it. Quite possibly the most champagne-friendly morsel attainable. Finally, a squid ceviche-style with bean sprouts and chanterelles. The first of many appearances of the chanterelle on the night, this time exposing its sweet, apricot personality. Next came another waiter with menus, which we refused, asking for a surprise tasting (many of you have probably read an account of such a meal on the Chowhound site--we acted similarly and got a similar response). Our captain returned to assess our likes and dislikes--Christina doesn't like goat cheese, that's pretty much it, and we told him we didn't want to know anything. He did ask if strong flavors, "like wild hare," were okay, and we told him absolutely! He did volunteer, before I could stop him, that we would be having six courses, plus cheese and two dessert courses, with the signature dishes of Guy Savoy. Or something like that :-). A table was placed next to my seat for the wine list, the size of a phone book, only because the pages were thick and the type was large. Guy Savoy doesn't have an encyclopedic wine list, but it's very good, with plenty of verticals and about ten half-bottles each, white and red. I perused those lists, as with the champagne, some dessert wine and armagnac (and a wife who is a very light drinker and who might have a glass and a half for the whole night), that would be plenty. Next came four more amuses on the same plate. Pumpkin soup, or rather, white truffle soup masquerading as pumpkin soup, had none of the musty flavors of old truffle oil. It's nice to come to a serious restaurant when both white and black truffles are in season! Another soup of lentils and langoustines had neither whole lentils nor langoustines, but the haunting, concentrated essences of both. I'm convinced the langoustine is the truffle of the sea, and I think Guy Savoy is too--more on that later. Third was a beet chip topped with a slice of black truffle and accompanied by a pretty-classical mustard vinaigrette--one sweet, earthy, bite. Last was a Savoy signature, an oyster on the half-shell topped with an oyster glace, in which floated a single slice of carrot (?). The glace, made from oyster liquor, tasted like it took at least a dozen oysters to make. I queried the captain about the number, and he agreed that twelve seemed about right. The sommelier returned and went over the half bottles with me. He downsold me from a Meursault when I told him I didn't like very oaky wines (I used the example of Ambroise, which he understood right away and smiled), and upsold me a little from one red burg to another. In the end, I chose the 2000 Georges Vernay Condrieu Coteaux de Vernon (is that designation right? It's something like that) and the 1999 Pierre Matrot Blagny, 1er Cru "Piece Sous Les Bois," both about ึ bucks for half bottles. He returned and opened both bottles and also poured some Evian (note, Guy Savoy operates on the "water fee" basis, charging you for one bottle, no matter how many you drink). Finally came the first course, two almost-raw langoustines covered with lines of sevruga caviar and served with a caviar cream. Nothing like a simple little starter to send you on your way :-). This was lovely, though it didn't match well with the wine, and I thought the langoustines could have been cooked a tad bit more (they were a bit mushy in the middle). Not that I minded, but the fully-cooked langoustines at Gramercy Tavern are a little sweeter than these. With this dish, the Condrieu tasted a bit metallic and chippy. It also needed air to open up, and air it got. We told the captain that we were in no rush, and we were certainly not rushed, if one judges by the clock. We were so into the experience, however, that we almost did feel rushed, only because each dish was worth an hour of conversation in itself. Each morsel showed either a new technique or a new flavor combination, and probing (and pondering) the possible motivations behind them was a foodgeek's (and cook's) paradise. I was also happy that Savoy chose to compose his plates very simply, validating (in my twisted mind) the menus I serve to guests at home, which often only have two or three elements on a plate. Then again, his cooking is on about twenty-five million higher planes than mine. At least. Next was bass, seared in Savoy's way in olive oil with the scales on, with braised fennel and a vanilla, coriander and fenugreek cream sauce applied at table. The scales puffed up, an eating experience not unlike a wispy-crusted soft shell crab, but with an earthier flavor lifted and enriched by the fennel and cream, respectively. Now the wine was starting to sing, too (a tasting note later, I promise). It was at this point that we began to pick up on the rhythm of plate service here. The plates would be placed in front of us, silently, by a waiter. The silence was a cue not to do anything. Next, the captain would come with a pot of something to spoon on, usually a sauce. Then, he would describe the dish. It's a nice rhythm, one that I wish more places adopted, even though it means having hot food sit on a table for <gasp!> ten seconds. People might think it was pretentious. Those people (who always seem to write letters to the editors of restaurant reviewers) would be, well, wrong. Next came the other half of our lentil dichotomy, a small plate of lentils cooked in broth and truffle juice and garnished with more truffle. The headiness of this dish, which was cut surprisingly well by the wine, was a neat juxtaposition to the different kind of headiness in the truffle-langoustine soup amuse. It was nice to see that Savoy had no qualms about repeating an item, even a lowly lentil, on his menus. It probably took me twenty minutes to eat the maybe 3/4 of a cup of this stew, with its haunting, earthy flavors and perfectly cooked lentils. Remember, kids (including me), don't salt the water until the lentils are done, and even then you've got only half a chance. Lentils de Puy are both Christina's and my favorite starch, and so we were on all levels of overdrive by now--me in technique and menu composition as well as hedonism, and Christina with three times the hedonism to equal my total enthusiasm. Or so it seemed. And, no, I'm not going to give you a note on the wine yet. There was some left in Christina's glass, and I reserved it (fending off a busboy's query about it) for my cheese. Yes, at that point it was that unctuous. The sommelier now poured some red wine (all Spiegelau glasses, BTW), and the fourth course was served and showered with sauteed chanterelles, white trumpets, black truffles and others that I forgot to write down (and couldn't remember after the captain, responding to my query, told them to me). It was seared foie gras, a thin slice (a technical error in my view--can't get all the different textures with this thin a slice, or maybe just the hedonist poking up again) with a chocolate-black pepper cookie (including roasted cocoa beans) and bitter chocolate sauce. Now _this_ is what I call young Burgundy food, with the FG (ironically) providing a lightening touch to the roasted and bitter flavors and the sweet earthiness of the shrooms. This gentle recastment of ingredients all night shows great refinement as well as the ability to be modern without affecting the diner's hedonistic experience. And the wine? Pierre Matrot, Blagny Piece Sous le Bois 1999--half bottle: Medium ruby garnet, rich cherry and chocolate, a bit oaky but not harsh at all, long and stemmy on the finish. Everything yound, reasonably priced Burgundy should be and then some. Next came the old Savoy standby, on the menu every day of the year, artichoke soup laden with parmesan and black truffles, accompanied by a mushroom "brioche" (it was like ten times richer than the name suggests, even richer than a brioche mousseline) smeared at table with truffle butter. I'd never had my bread buttered for me before, but this was no slice of Wonder bread! Amazing, as was the soup, although the flavor was so refined that the artichokes only really manifested as sweetness against the earthy and rich flavors (though that made the wine match better). Dipping the bread, which was encouraged, produced a total explosion in the mouth. As this was the end of the truffles for the night, I do want to point out here that the truffle flavor in Savoy's dishes was never harsh or unbalanced or musky, like it often is here in the States. Rather, it was refined, pungent but also sweet, and luxurious without drowning out the other flavors. With apologies to the advocates of black truffle ice cream, _this_ is what truffles are all about. The last savory dish for the night arrived as a small brown trapezoid of meet on some dark brown sauce, garnished with a single rigatone. Then came the waiter, spooning more of the thick brown sauce and some shrooms on the plate, before introducing the dish as "Wild Hare a la Royale [shooting a knowing glance at me], with a macaroni stuffed with celery root, and mushrooms." The oldest, most famous recipe in the classical repertoire! And it exploded tonight, with roasted, exotic flavors, plenty of the animal's fat in the terrine-like presentation of the stew (though it was warm and loose, unlike tightly-packed, cold terrines), a sauce clearly made from hare stock as well as the necessary blood, and a wonderful, sweet, pungent celeriac puree (and I know a thing or two about celeriac purees--it's my favorite root veg). As the waiter suggested by his knowing glance, Christina didn't know what "a la Royale" meant, so I asked the waiter to explain it when he cleared our (virtually licked clean) plates. Christina was very proud of herself once she knew it was blood (she had figured so much all along). Next came cheese. Savoy has a single cart, a manageable selection of about twenty cheeses, all attractive looking (except for the epoisses, which was kept closed, of course). I chose for Christina, cantal (which was a little too lemon-cakey for the both of us), parmigiano-reggiano, st-marcellin (which she didn't like), and a wonderful reblochon, which she devoured. I chose epoisses, of course, and the waiter had to fetch a separate spoon to serve it, vacherin, a corsican sheep cheese that I don't remember the name of, a beautiful and well-balanced southwestern goat cheese, and splendid roquefort. I had never had Epoisses or Vacherin before, and I don't necessarily like really pungent cheeses. But a lesson I have learned over and over again at Gramercy Tavern was hammered home here--no cheese is too funky for raisin bread! On the lovely raisin bread provided with the cheeses (and re-provided), the Epoisses shedded any gag-inducing spunk and became beautifully pungent, balanced, sweet and earthy, while the Vacherin was milky and candy-sweet. At no other restaurant we went to did raisin bread come with the cheese, and the smelly cheeses really suffered for it (the jellies and compotes notwithstanding). Also, the white wine really shined off of the milder cheeses on both of our plates: Georges Vernay, Condrieu Coteaux de Vernon 2000--half bottle: Light straw, with powerful perfumes of white flowers, with lemon oil and orange oil coming on strong after four hours of air. Lemony palate with bartlett pear skin and a pulsating, acidic, flowery finish. Needs decanting. Yum! By this time it was 12am (we had sat down at 8:15), but we were floating on top of the world. And so came the dessert amuses--a bright-green apple jelly with a marbled-chocolate wafer, a tart lemon cookie, an ultra-creamy vanilla macaroon, and a muscadelle grape sheathed in the thinnest possible layer of crispy sugar syrup, probably the most fun single morsel of the evening, even though the seeds were of course still inside. The sommelier proposed a dessert wine, and we ordered one glass, a 1997 Coteaux d'Audonce (forgot the producer--the AC is near Savennieres) that was earthy and balanced, especially for a 97, and just sweet enough to accompany the next dish, a tasting of pear and lemon desserts, with a no-sugar lemon sorbet (yow!), lemon custard with pear puree, a pear chip garnish and a lemon-poached pear with candied zest. The kind of dessert that would sell zero covers at most American restaurants, but the perfect palate cleanser from the robust cheeses, a festival of techniques and combinations (sometimes with the lemon providing the sweet and the pear providing the tart and sometimes vice-versa) and a vehicle for making the humble little dessert wine (which I think was only like ů/glass) explode. As we were eating this, a small dish of eight chocolate "pawns" was set down--eight small taller-than-they-were-wide pieces of a milk-and-dark chocolate terrine. Not too intense, just a segue to the next dessert. The next dessert was a presentation of chocolate sorbet with another bitter chocolate cookie and coffee cream. Probably the most conventional dish of the night, but a very pure expression of chocolate without resorting to complete cliches, and a comfortable way to ease back toward the ground. Two more dessert amuses were offered, a creamy-textured tea sorbet with vanilla cream, and Savoy's traditional closer, a sliver of a very thin apricot tart. I asked for an Armagnac, "nothing too expensive" and was poured a 1981 that was still a little chippy and tasting of hazelnut skins. Judging by the miniscule prices for old armagnacs everywhere we went, I should have known to go for something a bit older. Still it was a nice finish and aid to the digestion. We lingered a bit, made smalltalk with M. Savoy (he was chatting up the table next to ours the whole night, but glanced over quite often, making eye contact with both of us. And when the next table said anything in English, which was rare, it was always positive, and we made a little smalltalk with them, too). The restaurant called a cab, and unfortunately, it arrived. We paid (4090 francs, or about 軟) floated out of the restaurant to handshakes from the entire staff and the warmest handshake of all from a grinning Guy Savoy (and a gentle josh of the master from our captain, who told us "we got lucky" tonight in an obviously kidding tone). Best meal of our lives? Of course, though we are young and have many more great meals to look forward too, we hope. But it was, and it sets a high standard. Best food, best service, plenty of foodgeeking with the waitstaff in two languages, well-matched wines at reasonable prices. Our own little corner of heaven on a drizzly night in the most wonderful city in the world. And we weren't too full to wake up in the morning (tho we were close).

Robert--next installment will probably be later today, and daily if I have time to write. Takes a while to decipher my extra-cryptic notes. We had lovely service at Salon d'Helene, except they forgot to pour our wine once--inexcusible, yes, but the least "damaging" of the catalog of service errors. The waiter and busfolks were very nice, spoke very good English, knew quite a bit about the food (even in English), and gave me a quick lesson in the various beans of SW France. Reminded me quite a bit service-wise (and food-quality-wise) of the Tavern at Gramercy Tavern, but cheaper and much quieter (tho no less jovial). Jake