We drove down to the LA area to spend 2 nights and parts of 3 days with dear friends. On the first night, we dined at Patina Restaurant in downtown hoping to replicate a stellar experience we had shared with them at Providence Restaurant a few moths back. Patina surpassed that one.
Prior to leaving for Patina, we drank an amazing Madeira:
1864 SOLERA BLANDYS GRAND CAMA de LOBOS MADEIRA- 20% abv; from an estate established in 1811, this bottle had a mid neck fill and when poured, was mindful of pure maple syrup in color and almost in texture; the taste profile was a so pleasing with caramel, butterscotch and apricot embellished by a toasty, nutty accent; we sipped our way through a small glassful.
Our choice to go to Patina was predicated upon our friends having gone to the restaurant numerous times and being well acquainted with the Patina Group`s co-owner/ master chef Joachim Splichal. As we arrived, we were first warmly greeted by general manager, Kevin Welby, before he turned us over to 3 very efficient, informed and service minded staff members who took royal care of us. The esteemed executive chef, Andreas Roller, was in the kitchen and came out for a brief moment of gratitude we bestowed upon him.
We took our own wines and had the very best of attentive wine service and stemware from the somm. Each one showed brilliantly and we got off to a splendid start with:
2000 KRUG BRUT- I had bought 96 for this dinner. My friend had pulled the 00 to drink during our stay. Before leaving, I mentioned the 96 was not on the restaurants on line wine list, but the 00 was, but he misunderstood and he placed the 00 into the bag and thankfully so as the 96 was oxidized when we had it the next night; this was a fantastic bottle; it had all of the Krug attributes that I am very fond of starting off with a pure yellow gold color, a nose of toasty brioche, ginger and lemon zest followed by all of the same joined by slightly honeyed golden delicious apple, lime and grapefruit with a touch of saline; it had a really creamy mousse contributing to a fabulous tactile sensory experience; it was full bodied and held on at the end spreading out the joy of each sip. 43% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier.
We actually took our own champagne glasses as both of us have discovered one that is just perfect for bubbly. They are handmade, lead free, elegant, thin and elastic with a wide base as made by Sophienwald from Austria. These have a much larger opening than a flute and a mid stem equator that allows for aeration and thus the combination of a real good aromatic pickup as well as a nice spread on the palate. I like these better than Zalto or any other stem.
2005 DOMAINE de la VOUGERAIE MONOPOLE le CLOS BLANC de VOUGEOT 1er Cru- like the Krug, this nailed it from the first pour into a Riedel Sommelier Burgundy stem on; the nose had mild but distinct citrus, mineral and flint notes which translated into serious citrus fruit with a hint of almond butter on the palate; it had an amazing smooth mouthfeel and finished on a high note with everything coming together seamlessly; being in perfect balance, it was extremely impressive. This was a great choice to pair with the red coming up, but first a bit of history here:
As old as the Clos de Vougeot, The Clos Blanc de Vougeot was Cîteaux Abbey’s special wine. The monks planted the first vines 9 centuries ago, and the white wine pressed from the golden grapes filled the abbey-church cruets for almost 700 years. Such precious drops of gold, blinding and rare, are like an island of Chardonnay in an ocean of Pinot Noir… A single violin at the heart of an orchestra.
The Clos Blanc de Vougeot used to be known as the Petit Clos Blanc de Cîteaux, or simply Vougeot’s white vineyard. Like the Clos de Vougeot, it was founded by the monks of Cîteaux, which was constructed on the nearby plain in 1098. Saint Bernard was almost certainly present at the first harvests in Vougeot, which date back to 1110.
This walled vineyard is special for another very rare reason. Despite the French Revolution in 1789 when national property was sold off, Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot remained a monopole, an undivided property. Nurtured by Jules Ouvrard then Jules Régnier in the 19th Century, it belonged to L’Héritier-Guyot in the 20th Century and now forms a part of the Domaine de la Vougeraie, sole owner of the monopole.
1990 LOUIS JADOT CLOS VOUGEOT GRAND CRU- I thought this might be ready to shine and it did perform OK, but in actuality, it needs much more time; the nose is redolent of super ripe fresh red fruit that in the taste profile included a degree of sweetness as well as a huge dose of a spice accent to the pronounced red raspberry flavors; later on, some red cherry and cranberry showed up; it improved considerably in the glass and kept on evolving and by the evenings end, it was just about ready to give more of its treasures. As the ole saying goes, “drink no wine before its time’.
The wines were perfectly paired with the 6 course pre-fixe menu which in our case came from the vegetarian menu which all 4 of us chose after hearing the description from our waitress.
The combination of an elegant dining room ambience, great wines, creative and sumptuous cuisine and special friendship made for an absolutely wondrous evening.
There’s more to report from the next day as we visited the Reagan Library & Museum, lunched at Nobu, Malibu and dined in for the evening.
Cheers,
Blake
