Mark Sommelier
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Posts posted by Mark Sommelier
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Some consistent favorites of mine in un-classifed Bordeaux:
Chateau Poujeaux
Charmes de Poujeaux (2nd label)
Roc de Cambes (same owner as Tertre Roteboeuf)
Chateau Haut Mondesir
I am also a big fan of second labels for taste and value:
Pavie Decesse
Petit Mouton Rothschild
Petit Cheval
Clos du Marquis
Reserve de la Comtesse.
Sarget de Gruaud Larose
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The first book I always recommend is Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Wine Course. My two favorite books are Hugh Johnson's The World Atlas of Wine , recently updated with Jancis Robinson, and Michael Broadbent's Great Vintage Wine Book. Zraly's book starts from scratch and was originally intended for the waitstaff at Windows on the World in the World Trade Center. Johnson's book has an easy to understand introduction to every aspect of making wine, including the history of winemaking, plus detailed topographical maps of every great vineyard site in the world. Broadbent's book is fascinating in that there are tasting notes of great wines that go back to the mid-nineteenth century.
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I have always heard that the host is offered the fish head to suck. Them little fish brains are supposed to be quite tasty.
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Finally made it to Palena last night and nearly everything was very good (those same gnocchi Malawry descibes and the late summer salad with a dressing that included truffles and almonds) to excellent (the trio of pork - tenderloin, house-made bacon and a garlicky sausage was very satisfying and the sweet corn raviolini improved on the taste of the best summer corn on the cob I have ever had). The only real miss was the tomato and bread soup which tasted mostly of salt.
And the caramels that come with the cookie plate could turn me off forever to mass made caramel.
Looking forward to going back to try the bar menu soon.
How was the service? That is always mentioned as an issue.
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I was aware of that but I don't think they use his name on all of their offerings. If they do I am sorry for the misinformation
The Italian selections are usually labelled Leonardo Locascio. They handle many important importers also. Kermit Lynch among them. Ask them if they have some Raveneau under the table!
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I hope you're not talking out of your butt, sweet cheeks.
Ahem.
I, too, wondered about rieslings...and also Frog Leap's "Leapfrogmilch," which has that beautiful, sweet/dry combo I love in these grapes.
In a similar vein, what about the Austrian Gruner Veltliners? I love them.
I have become the Ambassador of Gruner Veltliner. Last year the wine geeks called it "GV". This year it is being called "GruV" (pronounced "groovy"). It is one of the only wines that can handle artichokes, asparagus and ripe heirloom tomatoes. I have no demand for domestic gewurztraminer, therefore, I buy none. I list 7 Alsatians and one Austrian on my winelist presently.
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sounds like this thread might raise the awareness level of Long Island wines. a good thing, of course.
Why? They are generally overpriced for such a new and unproven appellation.
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Just to let you know, Leonardo Locasio IS Winebow. He started the company.
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1918 Yquem
in Wine
For all its storied greatness, with which I have no quarrel, I'd gladly give up a glass of it for a few drops of a good Huet Cuvee Constance. SB/Sem stickies just don't do it for me.
There is no accounting for personal taste. I'd rather have a Muller-Catoir Beerenauslese.
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Last year, talking with Olivier Humbrecht and his (gorgeous) wife, he said, "She won't let me release any more pinot noirs". I have a '96 Paul Blanck Cuvee "F" on my list that I use to confuse the great wine experts who visit my place. It is almost always taken for a Cotes de Nuits. I think it is a most interesting wine.
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1918 Yquem
in Wine
Holy shit -- I want an Yquem slushy!Like, right now.
Mark, the dark, nutty qualities -- are they sherry-like? (Not as in oxidized, as in the underlying depth of flavor; or maybe it is oxidized too?)
Le Slurpee Lur Saluce! Eureka!
Yes, the nutty qualities remind you of old Amontillado. Slight oxidation is what causes the color change.
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try palena, obelisk or tosca.
Obelisk is now $58 prix-fixe. 2 dinners at that price plus tax leaves very little for anything else. Tosca might a better choice. Try Bistro Lepic in Georgetown, also.
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'86 was a strong cabernet sauvignon vintage. Many of the great wines from that vintage still taste youthful. The Sociando should very good. Remember, though: '86 was the Chernobyl vintage.
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I will repeat the old chestnut about Alice Waters:
She's not a cook, she's a shopper.
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I know that chaptalization is allowed in Burgundy. I drink a fair amount of both white and red Burgundy. I always wonder if people can tell if a red wine has been chaptalized by the taste. Certain vintages are always suspect. Any comments?
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1918 Yquem
in Wine
I'm doing a fun story about a guy who found a bottle of 1918 Chateau d'Yquem when cleaning out the basement of a 91-year-old woman's home. She even didn't know it was there. It's like Antiques Roadshow for wine. No telling the conditions in which it was stored (at least it wasn't the attic, right?), but does anyone here know where I might ask about its value?Only one I've found for sale online is from the UK: 685 pounds.
Has anyone here tried one from 1918?
Funny thing about Yquem. It is the one wine I am afraid to drink. What if it disappoints? Some things, especially when they're so highly anticipated, are better left imagined, aren't they?
Thanks.
Liz
D'Yquem doesn't disappoint. The politics and ownership behind it are a different matter. It is a great wine. The oldest that I have tasted several times was the '34. I also tasted the '47. Both very interesting. They cannot be chilled too much. Sauternes of this age turn very dark. They have nutty qualities not seen in younger Sauternes. The storage is the key to the viability of the '18.
Liz, you shouldn't be afraid to drink it. You swirl it around in your mouth, then swallow. The finish goes for 2 minutes. It will knock you out.
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NHCountrygirl said:
"Telling excerpt "I've met Rocco a number of times and he's a great guy. ...But he's done a disservice to himself and the indsustry as a whole through this horrible portrayal of how a restaurant operates."
Think most everyone on egullet will second that statement?!? "
Yes and yes.
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The French government just got handed a windfall from the 15,000 recently deceased pensioners from last Summer. They've done this wine tax thing before. They already have a standing inventory tax. This is why all of us have a hard time buying older Burgundy.
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For the one special meal, you might consider Nectar.
Up in Cleveland Park, you might look at Ardeo as well as Bardeo--its companion wine bar/small food plate room. I second the suggestion of Indique in that neighborhood as well.
Down in Dupont, Johnny's Half Shell, BeDuCi, and Pizzeria Paradiso would be excellent candidates for a meal.
If you are in Cleveland Park, you must go to Yanyu. Order the sushi assortment to start and the Big Duck and Lobster Pad Thai for the main. You won't be disappointed or hungry after that.
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So that people who don't know that you're trying to do you a favour don't get offended that the sommelier is "stealing" some of their wine. There was a thread on this site (can't find it now) in which I'm sure someone said that she would hit a sommelier if he tried to taste any of her wine.
I can tell you from many years of experience that the vast majority of consumers wouldn't know a bad bottle of wine if their life depended on it. TCA is the most common problem. I pick it up right away. When the customer says "Ah, smoky!" and I'm offering a taste of Sancerre, I know something is wrong. I get asked 20 times a night what "that thing" is around my neck. Sometimes I tell them the truth, sometimes the answer is "I am the King of the World".
As for the woman who wants to hit the sommelier for tasting her wine........ another enlightened consumer. NOT
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During some conversations with some wine professionals this weekend, One in particular made an excellent observation of which I agreed with.
"Why is it that when you are served a bottle of wine in a restaurant, you must determine if the wine is good instead of the person serving you the bottle"
I agree wholeheartedly
I get quite a lot of use out of my tastevin at work. It is almost always me who rejects a bad bottle.
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I heard about the grape glut last year but I never saw it reflected in the prices at the many vinyards I visited in Napa (just moved here a year ago). So what is the deal? Why didn't they lower their prices in the midst of a glut?
The grape glut that has been so widely reported about exists in the Central Coast region. Prices for prime vineyards in Napa Valley have held steady and in many cases risen. Two Buck Chuck is not a Napa wine.
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I wonder, would any given restaurant rather I dine out less frequently but at a more profitable pricepoint (buying wine off of their list)? Or would they rather I dine out more often, but allow me to BYOW (paying a reasonable corkage fee (say $20 or less))?
I think one has to consider just how much business a restaurant is doing before asking that question. If it's impossible to get a last minute table at the restaurant, we could assume they don't have reason to care if you dine out, or dine there, more often. If the restaurant has empty tables on a regular basis, it needs more business.
The argument about a restaurant's overhead being so high, and including tablecloths and lost silverware as reason for high wine markups is not one I completely understand. Perhaps the food prices should rise to cover those costs. Why are the wine drinkers being asked to subsidize the teatotalers? If I may answer my own question, I think it's because people check menu prices more than wine prices when they are planning to eat out. Frequently they'll pick the restaurant with the less expensive menu items, and ignore the fact that they're going to get soaked on the alcohol. In a way the consumer is to blame, although it's probably not the same segment of the consumer market that's complaining.
One more point I'd make is that the charges for bottled water are even higher on a percentage basis although that often brings complaints. Fewer complaints are heard about the more excessive charges for hard liquor, which have relatively few costs invovled in storage and handling. I don't understand why wine at 3X retail value is a crime while whiskey at a considerably higher multiple brings few comments. Finally, what do they charge for a Coke at a fine restaurant although I have no idea why anyone would order one in a fine restaurant.
Bux,
I am not advocating high wine markups. We were talking about reasonable markups and the reasons they exist. You need to read "Fast Food Nation". I work in a fine restau. Coke costs $2.50. Yes, if you had read that book, it costs us $.01 a glass. Horror!!! Where are the people yelling about that? What's next, the bread? Is it really "free"? A restaurant is a business. Businesses exist to make money. Gouging is a separate issue.
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Mark,
I do know about your restaurant's policy on no BYOW. However, I don't mind so much, since the restaurant you work for is very much a destination restaurant. So much so that the one time that I have dined there so far, it is one of the 2 top two meals of my life (the other being at Babbo, with the Laboratorio del Galileo and The Inn At Little Washington rounding out the top 4). When one dines at such a destination restaurant, one generally doe not tend to argue the points about BYOW. If everyone offered the quality and depth of your wine list, and marked up to a reasonable degree (by the way, what, in general, is your definition of a 'reasonable mark up' for a restaurant? -- I think 2x retail reasonable (with allowances for the cheaper wines to be a higher multiple and the very expensive wines to be of a lower multiple)?), I would not generally argue for the BYOW concept.
I do enjoy having the opportunity to BYOW at many dining establishments here in our Nation's Capital. As I explained before, I am able to dine out more frequently as a result with generally better quality wines (or wines that aren't just the currently released vintage)
BTW, do you know the sommelier at Daniel in NYC?
Tj,
You are pretty much correct as to how "reasonable" markups are figured. In many cases, though, the price retail stores pay for wine is lower than what restaurants pay, so saying 2X retail is misleading to a degree. I am lucky that my boss and the accountants agree with me that cash flow is more important than arbitrary percentages.
No, I don't know the sommelier at Daniel. I do know Daniel, though.
Sommelier
in Wine
Posted
Check here:
http://sommeliersocietyofamerica.org/about/
and here:
http://www.mastersommeliers.org/