TNs--memorable all-whites evening at Langdon Hall

This was some night. Tran Bronstein, Jay Shampur, Michael Wright and I–the founding members of Tran’s TWEC, headed out to a familiar haunt for them and a too-long-away location for me, Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Ontario. Chef Jason was in terrific form with the tasting menu and also spent considerable time with us—he is the Canadian rep for the Relais et Chateaux program. The service was…thrilling—the level of enthusiasm and engagement by all the staff, while at the same time maintaining elegance and letting us enjoy ourselves, was second to none.

I will let Tran provide his usual excellent pictorial and sartorial (sometimes satirical, sometimes stentorian ) commentary. On to the wines.

2008 Pol Roger Brut

A great starter from Tran, this is a beauty. The understated elegance that for me is a hallmark of the house is on full display. I was happy with how accessible this wine is already, with very pretty apple cider threads and sneaky/silky presence. Really good stuff.

2015 Meo Camuzet Corton Charlemagne

One of my two brings, this was my WOTY last year. And it was no less swoonful this time around. The fun part for me this time was assessing its reaction to various of the dishes. I departed from my usual prepping methodology (sort of based on a coravined sip last week) and just had this decanted at the restaurant. Light flowery glints around an apple and lemon nuzzie, this also hinted at light tropical fruit at times, and then with the caviar-and-brioche dish, some salinity was naturally highlighted. The culmination was 4 hours later with the main, a hen dish, where it was simply a dream come true. This is pure in a way that even white burg for me seldom gets. I never give WOTY to a wine twice, but it goes on the list, gets a 97 from me and is incredibly revelicious. I am the most fortunate of humans to have 2 more of these in the cellar.

2007 Jean-Noel Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet Caillerets

Michael ordered this off their list and it was a stunning counterpoint. What a treat to be shown the spread that white burgundy can attain. Laser-racy to start, this finally opened up after 3 hours and had so much to say—lemoncurd, nutmeats, a very small gingerale component, and real steely resolve. Noble austerity? It was a bang-on 2007 and reminded me why I love this vintage so much when the wines are healthy. Dazzling and some gunflint makes itself known in the nostrils later in the evening.

2003 Chateau Beaucastel Blanc

I was super-keen to try this, as my VV version of this last February really did not show well. We did decant this some, and perhaps we shouldn’t have—treatment of these is still a bit of a mystery to me, it seems. Regardless, I think we all agreed that this was the wine that showed the most flexibility and matchworthiness with the various dishes. Initially, the aroma and palate are all you could want, with beeswax, honey aplenty and lovely creamy feel with some length. That length fades as the evening goes on (though not as sharply as my VV) but for me the flavours do remain. A nice peach cobbler note shows up near the end of the evening. Excellent to have this counterpoint to the Champers and the burg.

Argyros 20 year Vinsanto

Indulge me as I post my note on this from the last time I had it, 6 years ago:

“Not Italian, this is 80% Assyrtiko, 10% Aidani and 10% Athiri. It’s left in oak barrels for 17 years and then bottle-aged another 3. Non-vintage. A good start on the nose, baked maple butter and sultana raisins come to the fore, some yellow plum. And truly? OMFG. First, it lasts forever. Then you talk about what it is…fruited treacle toffee, maple covered raisins, nips of spice here and there, and it has entrancing, perfect tannins as it goes down, a just-there grit that is a marvelous counterpoint to all the flavours. There is, amazingly, cherry at the back and possibly some bark as well, but mostly a rhapsody of toffee-infused goodness. Absolutely haunting stuff, I can’t stop thinking about it today. In character? Maybe this sums it up best----it’s a sweet version of a fine old red bordeaux. I haven’t given a 97 to anything that doesn’t have the word “Sauternes” attached to it in a long, long time, but I do so here. This is one of those “affirmation wines”—one that I will be able to call the taste, feel and experience of to the tip of my tongue 3 and 4 years from now. Tran paid just over $100 for this, and I am very lucky to have had the chance to share. My DOTY—Discovery of the Year.”

This has haunted my dreams for 6 years. It will haunt them for at least 6 more. Huge thanks to Tran for once again sharing one of these treasures. The texture hasn’t changed one bit tonight–the smooth-and-grit in perfect balance. What has changed for me is the scent and palate profile, where this time I picked up strawberry spread and chocolate as the main foci, along with some of that treacle. Superbly stunning meditation wine—I’m more niggardly with scoring now than I was back then, so today it only gets a 94 For me, that is still a huge compliment. In terms of ageing, I don’t think it will get any better or change, but it has what it needs to last forever and 7 years.

2004 Tablas Creek Vin de Paille

I was intending to bring this anyway, but for sure once Tran said he was toting the Argyros along. This? Not my favourite dessert wine of all time, but absolutely unique to anything—anything—I’ve ever had. Much more active and–Michael notes–acidity—to be found here, he also astutely catches orange marmalade. I see that too, but also with a ginger-anise zing-zang that certainly gets your attention. I saved some of this off and I am super-curious to see how it will perform over the next day or two, but when you combine the flavour profile with the very buttery and clingy feel of the wine, you have something not like the others.

My sincere thanks to the entire staff at Langdon Hall and, even more, to my good friends Tran, Jay and Michael for their continued friendship. It is a journey I hope we continue to make together for many more years.

That Argyros is something right? My wife and I came back with an assortment of Vin Santo from various producers after our honeymoon in Santorini. The Argyros remains one of my favourites. Hauntingly beautiful stuff.

great notes!

Very envious. Too long since last there. (Spa weekends tend to be at St Anne’s now, which is terrific but the food is not at the same level of course). Can’t wait to hear about the food.
I have to find that Vinsanto … Im a fan of Assyrtiko in most of its forms.

Thanks for starting the thread, Michael, I am happy to embellish it with both my usual photography and food and wine notes. Yes, the original Toronto Wine Elitist Cabal ™ founding members found ourselves at the beautiful Langdon Hall spa and hotel grounds in Cambridge for a fabulous tasting menu dinner evening under the expert auspices of Executive Chef Jason Bangerter who has worked very hard to return the Hall to great heights in the culinary world with his farm to table approach to high end cuisine. Chef Bangerter was a recent winner this past November on Iron Chef Canada and will be releasing his first cookbook very soon to add to his already myriad accomplishments. We were quite happy to share both wine and company with not only himself but the Hall’s sommeliers and floor staff as well.

Michael Wright, Jay Shampur and I arrived a bit early and decided to partake in a cocktail out on the patio. The view was beautiful and the weather cool, making it seem more like a pristine Fall day than a Summer one. The festive mood was further enhanced by the activities of two weddings taking place on the grounds. My cocktail was a vodka and Chartreuse mix enhanced with herbs and fruit which I asked for a Cognac substitution in place of the vodka which turned out beautifully. I generally hate cocktails with a passion but Langdon Hall is literally the only dining establishment where I will indulge in them because they do such a great job with them. Jay had a vodka martini and Michael had a rum-based cocktail. (Not pictured):

To go with our cocktails, we had a bowl of their house made spiced nuts:

We then moved to the main dining room and were seated. Let’s start with the evening’s wines. As it turned out, the seasonal menu leaned heavily towards white wines for food pairing so we went with the flow.

POL ROGER 2008 VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE: My first contribution of the evening. This absolutely spectacular champagne which I’d been saving for just a special occasion blew all of us away. As Mr. Grammer put it after just one sip: Elegant and clean as a whistle. Superbly structured, perfectly balanced light brioche and green apple flavors that are virtually indistinguishable on both the nose and the palate from each other. I mean, literally, if I’d either snorted it into a nostril or sipped it into my mouth with a straw it would be the exact same experience. Incredible champagne. It would only lose out to the top enders like a Cristal or Dom Perignon or Krug but is honestly really close and a lot more affordable. Superb value for the dollar considering it’s a $100 CDN champagne. I’m a fanboy now and I’m happy to report I acquired this and the 08 Rosé as a pair before closing things out so what a great catch to end the sparkling collection with.

MEO CAMUZET 2015 GRAND CRU CORTON CHARLEMAGNE – Mike G.'s first contribution. I don’t know a thing about Corton Charlemagne and I was wrongly referencing this against my faves Chablis 1er Cru and Meursault in my head and wondering why Mike was bringing such a young white Burgundy dinner. Hoo boy, was I way out of whack here. This was incredible. It’s Mike’s personal 2018 WOTY and I 100% agree. Easily as clean and perfectly balanced as the 08 Pol Roger. Rich creamy entry on the palate is balanced by light but pristinely structured green apple and unripe pineapple. A slight touch of lees that was more like perfume and not a hint of sulfur on the nose or the palate. Another perfectly balanced wine. Just unreal and literally makes me regret my Chablis and Meursault bottles and making me wonder if I should trade them all in for any Corton Charlemagne I can get my hands on. Are they all this good? Because if so, I might have to turn that thought into reality. It really is that good.

JEAN-NOEL GAGNARD 2007 CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET CAILLERETS – Michael Wright contributed this from the Langdon Hall wine list. And now to the complete opposite end of the spectrum, this wine is a powerhouse. Strong sulfur nose. A very complex mix of flavors on the palate of lemon, popcorn, nut skins and flint. Jay particular notes the nut skin flavor and Mike G. notes there is a touch of cream. The lemon flavors stand out to me personally. This is a ridiculously powerful wine that took all night to change a little. That made it very impressive but also very hard to pair well with the food. I ended up favoring the Corton and the Beaucastel with the food but happily sipping this in between courses to cleanse my palate as it were.

CHATEAU BEAUCASTEL 2003 CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE BLANC – Jay’s contribution. This well aged wine had a lucious creamed corn nose and flavors of cream, roasted corn, melon and umami. This was absolutely delicious and went through an interesting evolution as the night went on. It seemed to start a bit of a decline halfway through the evening but then halted its decline and started to pick up again. Absolute best food matching wine by far of the entire evening.

TABLAS CREEK 2004 VIN DE PAILLE – Mike’s second wine contribution. And it’s not a Sauternes! OK, we’ve got an Italian passito style dessert wine made from French white Rhone varietals that have been grown and dried in California. This is the kind of wine that literally crosses border and boundaries and brings the world together. A rich caramel and baked pineapple nose gives way to roasted tropical fruit and orange marmalade flavors. A slight touch of acidity on the finish lifts the wine at the end. Extremely unique wine. Would like to try it side by side with a Ben Ryé or Ca’Rugate for comparison.

ARGYROS 20 YEAR OLD VINSANTO – My second contrib. Wow, has it really been six whole years since we last had this at the late lamented Dyne in Yorkville? Where has the time gone? This is just as superb now as it was back then. A rich smoky nose gives way to flavors of burnt sugar toffee, raisins, drieed pineapple and candied lemon peel. Extremely high acidity and powerful heat on the nose. Finish lasts forever. Michael is right: this is a haunting wine. Easily beats any Italian Vin Santo or aged Pedro Ximenez sherry and I absolutely adore those.

So about that food. We did the full seasonal tasting menu. No amuse bouche this time, the staff just dove us right in. First up was the Taste the Garden course, which is composed of items taken directly from Langdon Hall’s own gardens: baby radishes, honey butter made with honey from the Hall’s own bees, beeswax fudge, young radish, and lavash all served with a homemade sourdough crisp. Accompany this was a juiced herb gazpacho served in a vintage liqueur glass made from herbs, cucumber, watercress, mint, and lilac all grown in their own water garden. No alcohol, this is all fresh juice from the herbs grown from their gardens:

Second course was Forage the Grounds, consisting of wild watercress found growing near the Hall’s stream and an aioli made with wild leek also foraged on the property grounds. The watercress is served on dry ice which is set off by pouring water into the vessel to melt it:

Next up was the bread course consisting of house made dill chive bread and house made sourdough served with cultured house made butter and maldon salt flakes on the side:

Next was the L’il Pee Wee Egg, a deviled heritage hen egg topped with a slice of black truffle. This was superb with the Beaucastel:

The first of two asparagus courses then followed. First up was a green asparagus in a butter glaze served with a squid ink purée:

This was followed by an intermezze of Sheep’s Milk Sorbet flavored with olive oil, basil, and peppers. Michael Wright was enamored of this and called it a remarkable palate cleanser:

The white asparagus course followed. White asparagus was topped with brown butter hollandaise and roasted hazelnuts. Mr. Wright felt that the dish didn’t need the hazelnuts. I enjoyed them but I see his point. Regardless, this was another superb match with the Beaucastel.

Our trio of protein mains then came to close the savory portion of the menu. First up was the Yelloweye Rockfish with Pernod and onion soubise. This was a delicious combination that caused some controversy at the table. Jay and Mike G. sent theirs back feeling it was overdone and should have been undercooked and received more tender less cooked versions to their liking within minutes. Mr. Wright and I absolutely devoured ours and I in fact wanted to eat their rejects before the staff took them away.

The second protein course was Braised Beef Short Rib and Caviar on Brioche decorated with wild onion flowers. Before the dish came, Michael Wright and I were discussing that this sounded like an odd combination as they sounded to us like distinctly clashing flavors. It turned out that the brioche deliciously served as a perfect intermediary to bring everything together. In fact, Jay who doesn’t eat red meat, was served the exact same dish without the slice of tender braised beef which is how we figured out that the brioche was the key. Once again, amazing with the Beaucastel.

At this point, Chef Jason came to talk to us about the prior fish course and while he agreed that the first two portions were overcooked, he also understood while Michael and I devoured ours. Rockfish is a meaty fish and with all meaty fish, there is a risk of it being overdone and a risk of it being underdone, both of which will earn a customer’s ire. That said, some customers are perfectly happy with a fully cooked firm fish as long as it’s not dry and overdone while others basically want the equivalent of sashimi no matter how you prepare the dish. Neither preference is wrong but finding the medium to make all customers happy is a true test of a restaurant. Regardless, everyone was happy and satisfied with the dish in the end. I must confess that I do now wonder how a more tenderly cooked piece of fish would affect this delicious dish. Still loved it in the end, though.

He also brought with him as a surprise treat an unscheduled course of his famous Mushroom Risotto Soup. This is his own personal signature dish, a truffled mushroom soup made using the exact same ingredients he uses to make a Truffled Mushroom Risotto. Clients have literally followed him from restaurant to restaurant pursuing this dish which he came up with early in his career. In a neat callback to the earlier juiced herb gazpacho from the first course, this was also served in the same manner but this time out of a modern wine tasting glass.

The final protein course was the Heritage Hen and Prawns. A tender slice of heritage hen breast au jus was served with morel encrusted sliced prawn dressed with fresh green peas, green pea purée and tarragon.

And finally came our dessert course, an upscale take on good old Vanilla Pudding. This was a fun little parfait composed of homemade strawberry preserves, vanilla bean pudding, and a rhubarb foam. On the side was a “strawberry rock” aka a tiny strawberry dacquoise cookie nugget.

This was a superb evening. We would like to thank Chef Jason Bangerter, his 55 person kitchen staff, and the dining room and sommelier staff at Langdon Hall for an incredible evening. We look forward to returning.

Super report, Tran—even got all the wine names right this time! Seriously, splendid counterpoint notes. I’ve edited my note on the Chassagne as Tran rightly reminds me in his note that some gunflint made its way to the fore later in the evening, mostly on the nose. Today, the Vin de Paille is much more settled down and more “typical” of this style, as it were. Still yummy, but not quite as uniquely galvanizing as yesterday. Of course, today it came after a day-decanted 2010 Vincent Girardin Pommard Grands Epenots (dad loves Pommard) which was really very good.

Tran said: “…Jay had a vodka martini…”

The best response to this blasphemy was well articulated by Joseph Welch in 1954: "“Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”

I request, nay demand a retraction with most abject apologies You dare accuse me of consuming Vodka martini - how utterly libellous

It’s true. Jay was drinking a GIN martini. Corrected above. My bad. I do most sincerely apologize… apologize for Jay’s terrible taste in mixed cocktails! Blech!

Tran, Great dinner, great pictures, great post. Thanks!

Langdon. What a great place. Thanks for sharing.