Shhh, don’t tell Salil I was in NYC. . . .
Up here for the U.S. Open Tennis, so a bit of a whirlwind. Caught both women’s semis on Friday, then during a freaking hot, 7-hour schlog, watched both epic and surprising men’s semis. Wow, what a show, worth roasting for hours in the sunny, hot, cloudless sky. Hotter than where I’m from!
Friday night we hit Racine’s, co-owned by one of the owners of Chamber’s Street Wines. A fantastic, geeky wine list with lots of Loire wines and Northern Rhones, many with some age on them. All fairly priced. Started off by the glass with a 2012 Gonon Chasselas to pair with a cheese plate. Clean, crisp, waxy with nice floral and peachy notes, relatively simple but a nice starter. (87 pts.) Had decanting through the starter course a 2003 Domain Baudry Franc de Pied. I’m a nut over these Cab Franc Franc de Pieds, so when I have a chance to try some with age on them, it’s a no-brainer. Such elegance, built from mid-weight, sheer materials, wonderfully expressive nose of ash, bell pepper some leather and red fruits. Really evolved on the palate, quite ripe almost sappy but decent acidic lift. Fruits ranged from crunchy reds to plummy darks and just a slight, ever so slight hint of raisin after about 2.5 hours opened. Paired very well with the hanger steak. Really in a good spot right now. (93 pts).
Saturday night we went to Perla in Greenwich Village. Let me just cut to the chase: Eat here. Phenomenal, creative, well-priced cuisine, with very knowledge staff at every level. Started with a rose sparkler from Plouzeau, simple, crisp, light skin contact, decent starter with cheeses. I could not resist the 1993 Olga Raffault Chinon Le Champ-Chenin blanc. Raffault is an icon, the domaine that got me on my Loire kick way back in '96 when I was mesmerized by a Cab Franc from 1982. An epiphany domaine for me. This wine delivered in spades. A 20 year old Loire white, just singing. Really expressive notes of minerals, petrol, honey, lime and some lanolin. Very large presence on the body, nutty, earthy, honied, with a clamp-down tart kick of lemon zest. Great acidity. Wide open all night. Fantastic. (93 pts.)
An overall great weekend, love this town!.
