A little more than a week ago I attended a 2000 First Growth Bordeaux dinner at 2941. The dinner was held on a Saturday night, and we had an amazing amount of Chef Krinn’s attention. It ranks as one of the best meals I have had anywhere. The dinner started with passed Hors D’Oeuvres and Champagne (1996 Gosset Grande Millesime). There were three different Hors D’Oeuvres; smoked trout on a potato chip, tuna on a crisp, and a crab cake. I had never been much of a fan of smoked trout, and had I known that it was what was being offered I would have missed a wonderful dish. It was neither overly smoky, nor fishy like I find most smoked trout, but meaty with a hint of smoke. The tuna was pure and clean, and the crisp was unobtrusive. The crab cake was on par with some of the best I have ever had. These were small one bite wonders with no filler and filled with an intense crab flavor. Poached Maine Lobster and a Duo of Foie Gras 2001 Rieussec and 2001 Sunduiraut The lobster cooked perfectly and was served with a sauternes reduction. The lobster was rich, and delicate. The foie gras was a torchon and a piece of sautéed lobe. Both were perfectly prepared, and the sautéed lobe was as good if not better than what Nectar had put out (and that is my previous bench mark for great foie). The Torchon was smooth, and rich. The dish was also served with an exotic fruit confit that brought a wonderful foil to the fattiness of the foie. While these wines were not 2000 Bordeaux they did represent some of the best Sauternes released in many years. The Rieussec was a complex wine filled with an abundance of tropical fruits, honey, and spicey with enough acid to provide balance to the botrytis sweetness of the wine. It is better than any Y’Quems I have had in the past. Herb Roasted Australian Kangaroo with Yukon Potato and Bacon Confit 2000 Leoville Barton and 2000 Leoville Las Cases I had never had kangaroo before this dish, and was not sure what to expect. Since it contains almost no far, it was prepared very rare. The meat was rich and tender. I look forward to trying kangaroo again. The bacon confit was not really a bacon, but a pork belly cooked in pork fat. The fat delightfully crispy, and the meat was succulent. The potato was also a confit, that was soft and buttery. These wines are not first growth, but they were spectacular. I thought that the Barton was the better of the two wines. Neither will be ready to drink for many more years (but before any of the first growths). Marinated Roasted Squab and Venison Rack with Morel Custard and Blackberry 2000 Lafite Rothschild and 2000 Margaux Squab is not one of my favorite foods. The only thing I generally find positive about it is that the world has one less pigeon crapping on my car. Chef Krinn’s preparation of Squab was very good. The marinate was red wine based and had a hint of cloves and allspice. The bird was cooked so that the skin crisped up and the meat was still on the rare side. As far as squab goes it was quite lovely. The venison had a delicious slightly gamey taste to it, and was cooked rare. It was served with a cherry and blackberry sauce. The meat and sauce were a perfect complement to one another. The morel custard was packed with bits of morel, and had ample flavor of the fungi in the custard itself. Both of these wines were intense and still quite tight. They had been double decanted with four hours in the decanter. It was obvious that they were both maturing into beautiful wines. The Margaux was delightful, and had as much fruit as the blackberry cherry sauce. The Lafite was good but not as good as it was during a pre-release tasting. Wagyu Beef Tenderloin and Chopped Tartare 2000 Latour and Mouton Rothschild The Wagyu that 2941 uses is from a herd of cattle in Texas that is 100% Wagyu with no crossbreeding with other breeds (most American Wagyu have been bread with Angus). The tenderloin was simply cooked, just a little salt and pepper. It needed nothing more, as it was a rich and beautiful meat. The tartare was a chopped version of the tenderloin with small pieces of roasted bell pepper and a drizzle of mustard oil. The heat that the oil provided spurred debate about where it came from, some thought that it had hot peppers thinking that the roasted bell peppers were Jalapeño. Others thought that it was horseradish. Finally Chef Krinn answered the question. While these two wines are still young and tight, they did exhibit wonderful potential. After four hours of decanting the fruit was starting to show, and surprisingly the Mouton was showing better than any of the other first growth. This is in stark contrast to the way Mouton tasted at pre-release, where it was a disappointment. Quartet of Artisanal Cheeses 2000 Haut Brion and 2000 La Mission Haut Brion The presentation of these cheeses was beautiful. The four cheeses were matched with a matching accompaniment. The cheeses were: Gaperon, Vella Dry Monterey Jack, Tomme de Savoie and Montbiac. I would give more details about what each was accompanied with but I cannot remember. The one exception is that the Jack was served with a “mole” of bitter chocolate, chili peppers, and chopped pumpkin seeds. This was not a sauce, but more of a confection. These wines were very elegant, and like I expected the La Mission Haut Brion was showing better than the Haut Brion. I believe that high level of merlot in these wines makes them a little more accessible sooner than the cab heavy wines. As a bonus when we all retired to the bar to figure out how we were going to get home, one of the other guests purchased a 1963 Fonseca Port. I had never had a port with this kind of age on it. Now I am going to have to seek out more of them. The nose was a wonderful mixture of spicy cedar and chocolate, with hints of licorice. The finish seemed to last forever. One of the other guests decided to be a pain in the ass and eat like a vegetarian (he as scared off by some of the "non-traditional" elements of teh meal). They gracously provided these dishes to him. The two dishes that I remember was an herb risotto that was as good as any risotto I had ever tasted. The other was a mushroom ravioli on a bed of lentels. Apparently most of the mushrooms were porcinis. While he let me try the risotto, he would not give up any of the ravioli.
