So I called the Palace phone number and it seems to go straight to a voice mail which doesn’t mention The Palace at all. Is this normal? I tried the number listed on Yelp as well and that one is out of service.
Want to make sure that I update them on my food requirements before Wed.
Interestingly enough, I was just there tonight. I also found that their number wasn’t working over the last few days. They are still in business and going strong, but I don’t know another way to reach them. It seems like they are pretty good at dealing with dietary restrictions on the fly. They are charging corkage by the bottle though ($15) instead of by person ($15) as we had been getting previously.
Thanks for the heads up Ashish. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I’ll risk it on the fly.
So Ashish, we cannot appeal for the old deal!
True, although it looks like we will be averaging about a bottle a person, so it should be pretty close to the same thing.
Ashish,
Actually, don’t even know why I asked that; I guess just wanting what we’ve had in the past. I would like it if we had no more than a bottle apiece, having nothing to do with cost. I never drink a whole bottle of wine on my own.
I agree… I like the certainty of a corkage price per person, even if it ends up being the same price overall.
Really sorry to do this gang but I’ve got some craziness going on at work and won’t be able to attend tomorrow night. 
That’s too bad, Paul.
Looking forward to this tonight and will bring along the Cos.
Looking forward to it. My first offline.
Did we mention it’s customary to pick up the tab for the table at your first one?
I will happily pay you in my Premier Cru futures.
I think you got this wrong Craig, it is customary for the first timer to give a bottle of nice wine to the organizer of the offline… ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
(its a joke but this actually happened once).
Joel would have quite a large cellar then…
Great offline! Thanks, everyone.
Notes!
WINEBERSERKERS OFFLINE - 2001 TASTING - The Palace, Mission, SF (7/1/2015)
Whites
Both excellent examples of their relevant styles. Both superb wines, but my personal preference is always for off-dry German rieslings. The 2001 Prum was excellent, though perhaps still too young.
Pinot
Initially I had a preference for the dramatically complex nose of the Jadot, but over time that nose moderated significantly and the Dehlinger became more complex and spicy. By the end of the night, I preferred the Dehlinger.
Italian vs. Rhone
I had a strong preference for the Hermitage, which got progressively better as the night went on and had great freshness and synergy with the food. Not heavy at all. Not close to the level of a Chave (what is…), but other than that very solid.
Bordeaux
This was my favorite, though it was far, far too young. Needs at least 5-10 more years, but it had the great combination of density, freshness, balance, elegance, and potential for future growth. Well made bordeaux in a riper but classic style (balanced without being rustic).
Sauternes
Always one of my favorite parts of the evening. The Nairac was excellent and got better as it got more and more air. It’s never going to be the best 2001 Sauternes, but it holds its own and is extraordinarily enjoyable with almost any type of food. I think this is one to drink in the medium term, ie. over the next decade. I don’t think it will be a 40-50 year wine like the Suduiraut, Rieussec, etc.
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I find it interesting that off-liners do not talk about the quality of the food. It reminds me of that old British maxim; do not discuss the food at table. I did not find the food at the Palace quite as sparkling as my last visit. The amuse bouche didn’t taste of anything in particular. The seafood pasta was pleasant, and it was correctly al dente; I did not taste the caviar (perhaps having to do with an aged palate) and bay scallops just bore me. The chicken course was ok. The meat courses were cold, though the fist included a breaded piece that was divine.
The group and conversation: A+
My thoughts on the wines (I do not now, and never have, awarded points in my tasting notes (and I have been a wine columnist and have covered the beat for many a year):
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese: This is a particularly lovely wine but I don’t typically start out with an Auslese at dinner.
2001 Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots: This was not a Burgundy to seduce; I found it flat to begin with, it then gained weight in the glass and became a little more of a wine, but then fell back into it’s rut.
2001 Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle: God I loved this wine! Layers upon layers of complexity, and cedar. Fortunately though (and it was decanted) my last taste did not, thank god, make we want to rush out and pay $100.00+ to recapture the joy. Nonetheless, one of my favorite wines of the evening.
2001 Dehlinger Octagon Pinot Noir; I stated at table that Dehlinger is my family winery, so one could say I am biased. However, this was not posted ahead of time as “Octagon” (a reserve bottling) and I was nervous about about how a close to 14 year old California Pinot Noir would show. Well, it was my wine of the night; ephemeral, delicate, not sweet (which I have found many aged California Pinot to taste, not, I think from residual sugar, just an abundance of fruit.) and it showed strong until the very end of the evening. Bravo!
2001 Cos d’Estournel: For me, (though I see some complimentary notes on cellar tracker) this was dark and full, but green, green, green. I see no future here, at least in this bottle. The Right Bank wines fared better in 2001. I could not drink it; a famous property, in this vintage, the emperor’s new clothes? Spent a lot; it is great?
2001 Pertamali Livio Sassetti Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva: Not discussed at all by anybody. I should have known not to bring an Italian wine to a sea of French wines, one beauty of a California wine, and one Alsatian. Now, this should have been slo-oxed and decanted, but I have never had a Brunello of this age, not to mention a Riserva. Not to self: many people dislike Italian wines. I queried Ashish and he stated “it couldn’t compete” (very politic), I actually felt it competed in a very big way though it was too young. I am astonished that a Sangiovese could have such power and I appreciated it’s dark and brooding character, with the tell tale hint of bitterness that Italian wines often have. I will amend my tasting note after tasting this wine again tomorrow.
2001 Sauternes Chateau Nairac: This Barsac sure isn’t Climens! Actually, Ashish is the resident Sauternes freak and I expected more. We needed white wine to begin with, so this was opened to accompany the first courses, but no Foie Gras, alas. This reminded me very much of my half bottles of Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey.
2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile: Now this was simply glorious and perfectly accompanied the first courses. Laser like concentration, vivid, very very dry, but not lacking fruit in any way. My runner up for the evening.
Great offline!
I enjoyed every bit of our conversation and wines from last night. Great to see the contrast from the notes by Leonard and Asish. This is what makes these tastings so interesting.
Next theme - Spanish? (I am still holding on hope for my all whites offline)
This was one of my favorite offlines. For me it’s the right size of group since you can, at least with a bit of stretching, speak to and hear everyone at the table. The number of wines is right as well as you can concentrate on and revisit eight wines but it gets quite difficult if you get to 10+ - not that it isn’t fun to have more, of course.
I was really happy with the food and the wines.
The two Rieslings were a super contrast, and both seemed quite young. I expect they will both be long-lived. My strong preference was for the CFE which is just about the only Alsace wine I have bought in the last ten years. I had never tasted the 2001, nor do I own any. Compared to others, it is interesting as it is very dry but also more extracted than some of the other super dry vintages. You could get a bit of riper fruit on the nose but on the palate it was very minerally.
The pairing of the Sauternes with the melon course was fantastic. Each was exotic and aromatic in its way. Overall I really liked the Nairac. I didn’t think the other whites did so well with that course. The Prum was fine but I felt the melon washed out its complexity. The Trimbach’s fully dry style just clashed.
The Dehlinger Octagon showed just as well as I hoped. Their 2001s have been drinking extremely well over the past few years and I think there is still promise for the future. I’m going to open the Estate and the Goldridge soon. There are actually five bottlings from that year with the Reserve and the High Plains. You can buy the Estate and the Reserve at K&L right now (just one bottle each, $50 and $60, but these show up periodically and always at reasonable prices). This wine had plenty of acid and while the fruit is ripe, it has really mellowed nicely. There is a lot of spicy complexity to the nose, some of which comes from the distinctive oak treatment in the Dehlinger wines. It’s an all-American wine – no mistaking it for Burgundy, but this is the type of wine that made me interested in Pinot Noir in the first place.
I felt the Boudots started out quite tight and over time I got more and more on the nose – almost the opposite of what Ashish said. I think it’s an excellent wine but it is a bit hard on the palate. I expect it will be sublime in 10-15 years. You can see it heading to that point where it is relatively light in color but full of aroma and flavor, and if it drops some tannin and opens a bit more it will have the whole package.
There was a separate discussion on WB about 2001 Cos a few weeks ago. I thought I remembered hearing that it was the first year when they really changed their style, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. It is softer than some of the wines they made in the 80’s but not out of character. I loved it and would happily drink it anytime, but if they were my bottles I would try to wait 10 years or so as I expect it will be super then. It showed very well for me with the meat dishes which helped to cut the tannin.
The Brunello tasted quite young and a bit rough. It had quite a bit of ash on the nose and I’m not sure if that is from wood or some characteristic of the grape. I also enjoyed it with the meats.
2001 La Chapelle is one I hadn’t tasted previously so I was excited to have it. It is a step up from the late 90’s wines, I think. My taste in these wines is for older ones but I felt it was drinking quite well. It had a really nice iron/mineral streak in its nose.
2001: A WINE ODYSSEY — BERSERKER OFFLINE @ THE PALACE - The Palace Steakhouse, SF (7/1/2015)
I enjoyed the Berserker company immensely, and it was a rare treat to be able to taste so many textbook examples of great wine styles. The Trimbach Freddy Emile and the Nairac were easily my favorite wines of the night, and for me, both paired excellently with every course.
The food was, as I’ve come to expect from The Palace, well executed, and modest in flavor and complexity, which is superb for a wine dinner. Highlights were a dulce de leche souffle and a perfectly done rare steak that followed the also-excellent lamb pictured above.
Whites (and a sticky)
Rich and pleasantly brioche-y out of the bottle, with air this develops into seriously focused, pure, un-botrytized Alsace Riesling. Phenomenally high acidity with elegant varietal character.
Score: Around 9.
Visual:
Clear, day-bright. Light gold with reflections of yellow and straw. Moderate-plus concentration.
No gas or sediment. Diminished tears.
Nose:
Clean, moderate plus intensity nose.
Notes of baked green apple, with emphasis on “baked” - some brioche / autolytic notes (possible lees stirring?). Warm stone. Faint lime pith note.
As this opened up, some lemon (confected) and slight petrol/pool-toy (TDN) emerged. Notable (though not especially surprising) is the absence of any hints of botrytis in a Grand Cru bottling of such ripeness. This may be stylistic (the Osterberg and Geisberg GC vineyards are steep, with good winds that stave off rot). Also 2001 was cooler and more classical than the exceptional 2000 - perhaps it wasn’t a vintage conducive to botrytis.
Overall still youthful with some signs of development, especially towards the end of the evening (the brioche aromas blew off a bit, revealing more varietal character underneath).
This wine has some complexity already, but will develop even more with age.
Palate:
Dry (<3g RS, possibly bone dry), medium bodied with moderate alcohol ~12.5%? [yes—12.5%].
More baked apple yeastiness mid-palate, with some citrus tones and hints of warm stones.
No phenolic bitterness. Solidly high acid (very clean, balancing tart malic with strong tartaric character).
Phenomenally balanced in a classic dry riesling style.
The finish is moderately long, with balanced fruit, secondaries, and acidity all the way. (91 pts.)
This wine is so young, so primary, and so classic! I was surprised by the strength of the burnt match, but it seems (according to the interwebs) this is perfectly normal for young Prum Riesling - especially from the Sonnenuhr vineyard. Moderately sweet, light, and saffron-scented, with good varietal character and sparkling acidity.
Score: Between 8.5 and 9.
Visual:
Clear, day bright, medium-straw with moderate concentration. I’m a bit surprised this was lighter in color than the Cuvee Freddy - especially since this has botrytis on it, and that usually hastens oxidation and thus deepening of color.
Nose:
Light burnt match (reduction), which yields to a light (but present) tone of petrol/pool-toy (TDN). There is a slight hint of grapefruit pith (thiol character), and a moderate influence of botrytis (warm saffron and rice tones). Fruit wasn’t dominant for me.
Surprisingly youthful and moderately complex, with both varietal character and botrytis influence. The burnt match certainly evokes a sense of warm crushed stones (Terroir!). The fact that it seems to be a reductive character doesn’t change the magic of this combination. I’m becoming more and more convinced of the argument that minerality is in fact the combination of high acidy and moderated reduction.
I think this probably needs a lot of time — decades, perhaps — for the struck match aromas to subside and for secondary and tertiary aromas to develop.
Palate:
Off-dry (I wrote ~15g/L, but given the ripping high acid it could be in the 30’s or 40’s).
Low alcohol (not even diminished - I feel almost no alcoholic heat). ~10%? [actually 7.5%].
Solidly high acid, both malic and tartaric, though initially the acidic spark is softened by significant sweetness.
No phenolic bitterness.
Superb balance with sweetness lifted by strong acid.
Complexity is just moderate at this point - I think it needs significant age to develop further.
The finish is long, with sweetness and acidity neck-and-neck. (88 pts.)
Score: Between 8.5 and 9.
Visual:
Clear, day-bright, medium amber in the glass despite its relative youth (botrytis hastens the deepening of color). No gas or sediment, slightly elevated tears.
Nose:
Strong saffron-rice tones (botrytis) with slight fig (oxidation) and a savory gasoline tone (not TDN - actually gasoline). There’s also a faint meatiness reminiscent of Jamon Iberico. Primary. No apricot character and no apparent oak influence (despite being fermented in 50% new oak and spending 30 months in barrels of unspecified age).
Youthful and primary.
Palate:
Luscious (>45 g/L), with moderate alcohol (12.5%?)[actually: 13%] and solidly high acidity (very clean, tilting more towards tartaric than malic). For context this is 90% Semillon, with only a bit of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle).
Balanced and primary, with a long, sweet finish. (88 pts.)
Reds
Score: Around 8.
Visual:
Clear, bright, medium-minus concentration red with some garnet at the rim. No gas or sediment, moderate viscosity.
Nose:
I’m struggling with this. The fruit is dark, pruney, slightly overripe. It’s also reductive with a heavy dose of barnyard. My gut feeling is I don’t really like this, but it’s certainly interesting.
Palate:
Medium body, slightly elevated / un-contained alcohol. It feels a bit hot (alcohol is 13.5%), with the same slightly distasteful mix of fruit and barnyard. There’s an additional slightly stemmy tone (possible stem inclusion). The acid is solidly high, with the diminished tannins one would expect from pinot.
It’s technically balanced, but for me it doesn’t have the flavor concentration to contain even the modest 13.5% alcohol it is sporting. (80 pts.)
Score: Around 8.5
Visual:
Clear, bright, medium-minus concentration ruby with no rim variation. No gas or sediment, moderate viscosity.
Nose:
Excellently ripe warm red cherry tone, with very slight reductive character and faint barnyard aromas. There’s a very light oak influence that I picked up after some time. Maybe 10-20% new oak.
Palate:
Medium bodied, with elevated alcohol (13.5? no - actually 14.6%, but holds it well). Savory, ripe red fruit, with a nice purity to it, as well as a slight burnt/reductive character. Acid is high, and tannins are diminished. (85 pts.)
Score: Around 8.5
Visual:
Nearly opaque, medium ruby with some hints of garnet.
Nose:
Expressive and a bit dirty. Initial notes of barnyard and underripe stewed bell pepper (pyrazines). Underneath there is tightly-wound ripe purple fruit, with a savory cedar/tobacco note. Over time the fruit blossomed into a somewhat bacterial ripe-to-overripe black cherry, with a fair whiff of Brettanomyces.
Complex and developing, but still very primary.
Palate:
Medium plus body, moderate alcohol (13.5%? - actually 13%).
The oak is more apparent on the palate, presenting as finely ground nutmeg with a touch of cinnamon character.
Moderate acidity, moderate tannins - definitely less then I’d expect from a relatively young top Bdx. (85 pts.)
Score: I can’t rate this - I couldn’t see past the rotundone.
Visual:
Clear, slightly dull (low lustre). Medium red, nearly opaque.
Nose:
Clean, elevated-intensity. Dominated by raw, saline white pepper. An insanely strong whiff of rotundone that I found physically painful. After a lot of time and air, some secondary tones emerged— lambic, floral, and Jamon Iberico. All the while I was struggling with the searing white pepper.
Palate:
Medium plus body, elevated alcohol [14%]. Savory and floral in the mouth, with tones of cured meat. Screaming high acid and solidly moderate tannins.
Youthful, primary, astringent. Needs more time.
Score: Between 8.5 and 9.
Visual:
Medium-plus ruby, moderate plus concentration.
Nose:
Clean, moderate intensity nose of bloody red fruit, savory tomato, a hint of barnyard, and secondaries of incense, anise, fennel, black liquorice, and mushroom. No evidence of oak.
Definitely showing signs of maturation, and some complexity.
Palate:
Medium body, moderate alcohol, savory red fruit with a mushroomy quality in the midpalate. Acid is just elevated, tannins are elevated. Delicious. (88 pts.)
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