X20 PRE-HOLIDAY FEAST - X20 - Yonkers, NY (11/19/2011)
My wife Gina and I were lucky enough to be invited to join Cindy & Gary Alweiss and Steve & Kathy Gellman at the unbelievably good X20 in Yonkers for a pre-Holidays feast. We decided a California theme would be appropriate and settled on some Cultish wines. Our reservation was set for 8:30 but the restaurant was so busy we weren’t seated for nearly an hour. Billy (the sommelier) apologized by bringing a lovely bottle of Gruet Rose to the table once we were seated. It was a very nice gesture on his part. Let me just say that if you haven’t eaten at X20, but are thinking about it, or live somewhat nearby, stop waiting and go! The food is phenomenal, as good as anywhere in NYC, truly artistic, mind bendingly good food. Peter X Kelly is a true culinary genius. My wife and I opted for the Cowboy Rib-eye (the one that bested Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America), this is the 3rd time we’ve had that dish and it was the best rendition we’ve had. Tender and cooked to absolute perfection. We had some wonderful wines and my meager notes are below.
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NV Gruet Winery Brut Rosé - USA, New Mexico
Billy, the Somm, brought this to the table as “sorry it took so long to seat you” gift. I was most appreciative, as I love rose sparkling wines, it was a nice way to kick off the evening. Tight bubbles, a bit yeasty, raspberry and ginger notes. Very refreshing and quite lovely with the fennel dusted shrimp and fennel soup that was served as an amuse bouche. (88 pts.)
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2006 Peter Michael Chardonnay Ma Belle-Fille - USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
When the Sommelier brought this over it was initially a bit too cold so we had short pours to let it warm a bit, but Gary and I both thought it a bit oxidized once it did warm. It was a nice wine once you (and if you could) get past the oxidation. A shame, as I love P-M Chards. NR (flawed)
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1999 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietor Grown - USA, California, Napa Valley
Gary started off the flight of red with this wine. At first it was a tad tight despite it have been decanted some 8hrs prior to tasting. It slowly unfolded and revealed a lovely black fruit profile, a bit muted when tasted side by side with the more in your face '03, but this was a fantastic wine. The '99 and '03 share the exact same fruit profile, just at different levels of intensity. This had deft balance though and in my opinion is fully mature. I would have loved (and should have) to try a blend of the Colgin (for it’s nose)/'99 Bryant (for it’s balance)/'03 Bryant (for it’s power) to see what could have been. This is a terrific wine and will likely drink well for the next 5yrs or so before seeing any decline. (94 pts.)
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2003 Colgin IX Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
Truly stunning nose. I decanted this wine at 1pm(ish) and we didn’t get to taste until nearly 9pm, but this was flat out the best nose of the night. The flavor profile was very different from the Bryant’s as it was clearly on the red fruit side of the fence, softer and more elegant than the powerful and muscularly built Bryants. I loved the feminine curves of this wine and was fairly torn between this and the 03 Bryant as WOTN, but picked the Bryant due to it’s fuller fruit core. I loved this wine though, very well structured, very elegant, soft and velvety with a long lush finish. (95 pts.)
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2003 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietor Grown - USA, California, Napa Valley
Wow! This didn’t have the effusive nose that the Colgin had nor the true balance the '99 Bryant had, but it had depth and power is spades. Huge notes of crushed blackberry, blueberry compote laced with minerals, you could absolutely tell this and the '99 were brethren, they had a very distinctive flavor profile that was so very different than the Colgin. This was squarely on the black fruit side of the aisle. We drank this wine over the course of the evening and it changed with each passing hour, opening another layer of petals to reveal it’s true self. Delicious wine and my red WOTN. btw - bite of the cowboy rib-eye steak and a sip of this wine was an unbelievable experience. (96 pts.)
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2006 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Ahh, the Arthur Johnson rule need be applied to this wine as it would have garnered WOTN honors from me. Color was a deep golden hue that showed some aging, the palate was unreal, not over the top cloyingly sweet but full of dried apricot, mango drizzled with honey and dusted with allspice. A phenomenal wine that fairly close to being a perfect dessert wine for me. (97 pts.)
We had such a great time talking we wound up closing the place down being the last ones to leave as the midnight hour passed. I can’t wait to get together again, we had an amazingly good time.
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