WTN: Riesling & Chateauneuf Dinner

[Rieslingfan]

Notes from a dinner at Grants in West Hartford, CT on 5/13/04.

First of all the food and service were very fine. The only quibble I have is that the offline organizer and the chef were very secretive about the menu, so it was near impossible to match the wines to the first two courses. Had I known the specifics of the first two dishes I would have brought different wines. It’s not that the wines or the matches were bad, just that it could have been even better.

We started off with a small glass of 1993 Schramsberg Reserve Brut. It was fairly simple, with toast and apple aromas and flavors, but I left some in my glass, and it developed the most interesting brown sugar nose I have ever encountered in a sparkling wine.It did very little for me in terms of flavors, but the nose was something.

First Course: Diver sea scallop with sweet pea ravioli and truffle butter

Paired with

1997 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese (AP#12)

1997 Deiss Riesling Engelgarten

The scallop/ravioli dish was just awesome. Unfortunately I wanted to pair it with a bottle of Grüner Veltliner. Alas that was not to be the case. The Deiss was showing lots of dried flower aromas and tangerine flavors. It went ok with the scallop, but not with the ravioli. The Schaefer is just starting to enter a window of maturity. Let’s say it has defeated the window lock, and is just about to start opening the sash. Some smoke on the nose (one person said “old tires”), showed the beginnings of the development into a mature Riesling. Schaefer has always made slimmer styled and elegant wines, and this was no exception. It was a very good match with the sweet pea ravioli, and acceptable with the scallop. Oh for a bottle of 1995 Brundelmayer Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben.

Second Course: Butter poached lobster with spring vegetable succotash

Paired with

1998 J. u. H. A. Strub Niersteiner Paterberg Riesling Spätlese***

2002 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Spätlese ‘Reiler’

Again I wished I could have gone back to the cellar for a White Burgundy or Chablis. Next time I will bring a more diverse array of bottles. The lobster was succulent, tender and sweet. The succotash on its own was a good match with the Strub, but I found both Rieslings to sweet for the combined lobster/succotash preparation. Overall both Rieslings showed well, with the Strub actually being showing initially drier than the Vollenweider. The Paterberg leaned to peaches, apricots and raspberries; while the Vollenweider had an effusive nose of apple peel, stone dust and strawberries, with a creamy edge. The Strub had not completely re-opened from its adolescent sleep, and with some air time the flavors and aromas became significantly richer. The Vollenweider just kept blasting out of the glass all evening.

Then there was a sort of intermezzo of two wines.

1998 Coudelet de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhone

1998 Domaine Cabrieres Châteauneuf du Pape

Neither of these wines did much for me. The Coudelet seemed tired and hollow, which made little sense. After a few minutes I detected some oxidation, so I suspected heat damage. I did not get to see the condition of the cork. The Cabrieres was pleasant, with moderate black cherry fruit, but no real depth. If I wasn’t so darned spoiled I probably would have enjoyed it more. I (and my wallet) miss the uncritical days of yesteryear.

Third Course: Roast duck breast with duck leg confit and foie gras

Paired with three wines from Châteauneuf du Pape

1995 Vieux Telegraphe

1995 Domaine de Pegau Cuvée Laurence

1998 Domaine Montpertuis Tradition

I really enjoyed the Telegraphe, as it still showed significant youthful fruit, but also dusty earth and slight herbal components. The Pegau was hollow in the midpalate (a condition I’ve noted before with this wine), but had a lovely nose of black currant and saddle leather. Perhaps still shut down? The Montpertuis was youthful but very closed. Tons of material for aging, but nowhere near ready. The Telegraphe was the clear winner with the food IMO.

Fourth Course: Rack of lamb with braised lams shank and potato gratin

Paired with two more flights of (mostly) Châteauneuf du Pape

1999 Domaine de Pegau Cuvée Reserve

1999 Domaine de la Solitude Cuvée Barberini

1998 Chateau de Beaucastel

The Pegau continues to show very well. The herbal and fruit components are in harmony, and the wine has never shut down as far as I can tell. It’s good to drink now, but there’s lots of stuffing there, so consumption and cellaring are both viable options. It tasted great with the lamb shank. The Barberini (a new wine for Solitude in ’99) showed some oak influence, but not a great deal. Rounder and lusher than the Pegau, it was more about fruit than earth. The Beaucastel was just shut down.

The potato gratin was good enough to merit its own paragraph. Instead of being some thick glop of potato and cheddar, it was an elegantly style mixture of potato and goat cheese, fried to a golden brown on the outside, and delicately creamy inside. There was just enough browning on the bottom to add a light crunch, and extra goat cheese on top was a nice counterpoint to the heavy flavors of the rest of the dish. It was just lovely, and along with the butter poached lobster my FOTN.

We managed to save enough food to serve with the final flight of reds

2000 Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Croix du Bois

2000 P. Usseglio Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul

2000 Cailloux Cuvee Centenaire

The Chapoutier seemed cooked to me. I won’t comment further. The two Châteauneufs were a study in contrast. The Usseglio combined rich earth with graceful fruit, and was a match with the lamb shank, while the Cailloux was more about perfectly balanced fruit, with an elegance that was missing from every other wine. They were both great but totally different & co-WOTN. I had expected both to be big bruisers, and was struck by the grace of the wines. After the plates were whisked away I spent a few minutes just smelling each of the two Châteauneufs, and basking in the rich warmth of the Usseglio, and the panoply of fruit in the Centenaire.

Finally we were presented with a lovely dessert sampler

Mini Crème Brulee

Chocolate Opera Cake

Cherry Gelato

Served with

1994 Osborne Port

All fo the desserts were quite good. The Crème Brulee was one of the creamiest I had ever tasted, the cake rich, but not thick or heavy, and the gelato (in a tuille cup) very fruity and the best match with the Port. Overall the Port tasted good (cherry and black cherry fruit, moderate alcohol, softening tannins) but didn’t offer anything to knock my socks off. The desserts took center stage.

The overall meal was excellent, overshadowing most of the wines. Again had I known the menu I would have paired things differently. The reds worked pretty well, but the first two courses could have had better matches.

A fun evening nonetheless!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Fabulous, fabulous notes...

Thank you!

[bleachboy]

I second that emotion. Wonderful notes, thank you rieslingfan!