TN: Last Supper At Troquet On Bolyston

Troquet will be moving soon to a new location in the Leather District and so our tasting group decided to have one last meal at the famous round table overlooking Boston Common. I have had dozens of memorable meals with friends new and old at that table and last night was incredible. Great company, a great tasting menu from Scott and great set up and service as always from Chris, Rick and the team there.

No set theme or real planning for dinner except we all agreed to drink some special wines and the wines were truly spectacular - not a bad bottle in the bunch.

Starter
2002 Pierre Peters Cuvee Speciale Blanc de Blancs “Les Chetillons” - Beautiful pure apple, honey, pear and a little hint of yeast bread on the nose. Much more powerful on the palate, with beautiful pure minerals, cinnamon and baking spices and meyer lemon. Drinking very well at the moment but clearly a long life ahead of it.
Flight 1 - 4 very different whites
1998 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune - An incredible pure riesling nose -a hint of petrol, white pears, slate and granite. Just kept sticking my nose in the glass for another heavenly sniff. If the nose is the velvet glove, the palate had quite a bit of the iron fist - really powerful and tightly coiled - really emphasizing the slate and granite notes with powerful honey and lemon on an acid filled finish. Well stored bottles like this one have a long way to go till maturity.

2007 Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo - I love these wines as they really are a singular crazy experience. Huge blast of salty sea air on opening - like walking in an intense seaside fog. With some swirling, pears, beeswax and white pepper. After sitting for another 20 minutes, notes of hazelnut and parmesan cheese. As I said, a crazy wild ride. On the plate, a little oxidized in a good way with a nice green herbaceous streak and great meaty acidity. Really came to life with food, particularly with a seared scallop and lobster roe pasta - saltiness of the wine and the dish just complemented each other perfectly.

2009 Ramey Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard - Beautiful clean pure nose of white peaches and pears, white flowers, lemon and baked apples. As it warmed up, nose started to show more tropical fruits, but very clean precise versions of them. Nice palate with great balance of sweetness and acidity. Really well balanced and a beautiful expression of Ritchie fruit.

2009 Foreau Domaine de Clos Naudin Vouvray Demi-Sec - Brilliant gold color. Wax, lychee nuts, peach and apricots on the nose along with a nice balancing limestone mineral note. Very richly textured palate, almost a pleasant fuzziness that envelops the mouth. Great balance between the same fruit notes as the nose and crisp acidity. Also went beautifully with the scallop dish as the sweetness balanced the saltiness of the dish.

Flight 2 - Aged Bordeaux
1961 Lynch Bages - The second bottle I have had from this lot in the past year. Last summer’s bottle seemed to be a little faded, but this bottle was remarkably youthful and ready to go from the start. Almost no signs of bricking, still a very solid dark core to the wine. Smoky black pepper, licorice, tobacco, cedar and that tell tale LB green pepper note on the nose. Still very concentrated on the palate, with beautiful texture, still some tannic grip, leather and sweet red fruit. Very sexy and youthful for a 55 year old. Outstanding bottle - no signs of fading after sitting in the glass for over an hour for the last sip. Went incredibly well with a quail stuffed with boudin noir.

1982 Branaire Ducru - A beautiful feminine counterpart to the Lynch Bages. Violets, white flowers, saddle leather, licorice on a beautiful elegant nose. Fully resolved tannins, gorgeous red fruit on the palate - lots of nice leather, game and tobacco secondary and tertiary flavors - really at its peak and a pleasure to drink.

Flight 3 - 97 Italians
1997 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello Riserva - This was drinking beautifully. Leather, tar, white pepper, intermingled red and black fruit on the nose - very opulent and concentrated. Big concentrated black fruit on the plate with a lot of intense structure and acidity. I am not sure the wine is showing all of the complexity it may have with time, but it was so beautifully constructed, opulent and polished that it was a joy to drink. Went fabulously well with a perfectly cooked lamb chop and braised lamb neck.

1997 Mauro Molino Barolo Vigna Conca - Despite vigorous swirling, this wine is still too young and not really showing all that it will have to show. Smoke, tar, roses on the nose, but still a little shrouded and muted. You can tell there are lots of layers on the palate and great texture and persistence, but the wine was not going to loosen its grip and show all the potential that is there. This will be good in another 10 years, fabulous in another 20.

Dessert
1999 Piero Constantini Frascati Cannellino Villa Simone - In all honesty, I was so full and a little bit palate fatigued I did not give this wine (hand carried back from Italy) the full attention it deserved. Reminded me of nice barsac - deep rich mineral filled nose, ripe sweet tropical fruit on the palate with a good balancing dose of acidity.

I look forward to creating new memories in the new Troquet location and thanks to Ed, Adam and Michael for such a magical night!

Jeez, Jud, am I off your list? I always invite you…

Merrill - plan came together in a few days- did not think to invite out of town guests. Next time!

Jud, tremendous notes! You are going to shame me into getting back into posting my tasting notes, it seems!

Dinner was great, that 61 Lynch Bages stole the show, but as you said there were thrills around every corner this meal! Long live Troquet…

I had the '97 Pertimali Riserva at a dinner on Saturday, and agree that it is drinking well right now, but still feels like it has time in front of it if you are so inclined.

Jud, why are they moving? I only visited once, but I thought that was a nice room/great location.

Great notes Jud! I had the 02 Peters Chetillon last week. I really like your description of the flavor profile. I am not sure about its long-term potential. Based on my bottle, I would drink the rest of my bottles in the next 2-3 years.

Cheers,

Hal

Rent increase is what they told me when I was last there. The new location is in a less convenient location for many, I suspect, but it’ll still be great I bet.

Not entirely sure why they are moving - I I know it is a bigger space, with a private room and they will be open for lunch. Given the proximity to the financial district, l expect that lunch could be an important bottom line contributor.

I hope it doesn’t take away that warm, intimate feeling of the upstairs. Is there an opening date for the new place? I guess can just email Chris - he is so great at responding.

He is waiting for a new liquor license and expects it within a couple of weeks,

Was there a cat and a doorway at that location?

Chris - not that I know of? Maybe you are thinking of a different place?

Sorry, just a reference to one of my favorite movies, The Freshman.