This dinner was a part of the guys trip to RJ's. The Bluffton Room left a pretty strong impression on me. This is a modern American restaurant situated in the heart of old town Bluffton, a beautiful brick building. The old town strangely reminded me of the downtown Greenwich.
We were greeted by Tonja and Cory Hughes, super energetic and friendly couple who are the proprietors along with the chef Jeff Congdon.
The ingredients were top notch and perfectly executed.
Excellent Baked Oyster
Duck Duck Goose, incredibly decadent and original
This was one of the best duck breasts I had in the states. If you are in the downtown Bluffton, you owes to yourself to try it.
My sincere gratitude goes to the team for the great experience.
-
2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut - France, Champagne (4/6/2023)
Beautifully mature nose displaying juicy yellow fruit with a hint of white, lemon curd, baked apple, yellow peach, apple, strong brioche, light caramel, burnt sugar, smoke, sweet spices and limestone. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of generous yellow fruit, rich, medium fine generous mousse, sweet and deeply toned, excellent precision and balance, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral, and along dense rich yellow fruit driven finish with brioche and caramel at the end. This rich and concentrated style of Cristal is drinking beautifully. This seems to show a bit more freshness than the previous bottles. (96 points) -
2009 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (4/6/2023)
Expressive nose displaying concentrated ripe yet pure yellow citrus fruit with a hint of white, lemon curd, sour apple, beeswax, saline, vanilla, cream, honeysuckle, cedar, cool mountain stream and crushed rocks. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of succulent yellow citrus fruit, rich, dense and opulent, excellent balance and precision, bright acidity, strong mineral, and a long concentrated yellow fruit driven finish with a hint of lanoline at the end. A classic rich and generous Raveneau from a ripe and concentrated vintage. Drinking really well. (96 points) -
2006 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2023)
Beautiful classic Rayas nose displaying sweet ripe red fruit, cherry liqueur, strawberry jam, dry cherry, candied rose petal, strong tobacco, white pepper, root beer, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mineral. Perfectly integrated palate, layers upon layers of decadent red fruit, warm, sweet and round, but also silky and fluid, medium acidity, strong mineral, and a seamless long decadent slightly dry red fruit driven finish with tobacco and cinnamon at the end. This is very expressive and drinking well. (97 points) -
2009 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru (4/6/2023)
Intoxicating classic DRC nose displaying perfectly ripe opulent black fruit, blackberry concentrate, black berry liqueur, strong Chinese herbal medicine, rose, stem, sap, roasted coffee bean, exotic incense, smoke, sand crushed rocks. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of perfectly ripe pure black fruit, rich and opulent but also rich and beautifully detailed, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and the never ending finish. This is incredibly expressive and drinking perfectly in a youthful way but can easily improve for a couple more decades, gaining sous bois and tertiary notes. (98 points) -
1948 Château Lafleur - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (4/6/2023)
Fully mature nose displaying intense black fruit, blackberry, blackberry liqueur, ink, licorice, bitter chocolate, leather, dark spices and scorched earth. Excellent concentration, nicely layered generous black fruit, still quite dense and rich, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long concentrated black fruit driven finish with a hint of caramel and smoke at the end. This was purchased from Luxembourg in 2007, the height of old Pomerol craze. I paid around $1k, equivalent of 4 Rousseau Chambertins. I am reasonably certain that this is a counterfeit but it is really darn good, showing the fully mature black fruit. The fruit is clearly mature, at least 30 years old. It would be very difficult to identify as “fake” if served when people are inebriate. My educated guess is that this is made by H. Rodenstock. (94 points) -
2012 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford (4/6/2023)
Expressive nose displaying hedonistic black fruit, blackberry liqueur, crème de cassis, licorice, milk chocolate, cab floral dust, lead pencil, vanilla/oak, caramel and mineral. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense black fruit, rich and unctuous, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long opulent concentrated black fruit driven finish with ink and milk chocolate at the end. This is drinking incredibly well. (97 points) -
2019 Domaine Coffinet-Duvernay Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru (4/6/2023)
Expressive nose displaying pure white and yellow fruit, pear, white peach, apple, lemon curd, lemon, a hint of flint, white flowers, spicy spices and crushed rocks. Excellent concentration, very finely layered pure white and yellow fruit, cool and elegant, bright acidity, very fine mineral, and a seamless long pure white fruit driven finish. This is very refined Batard, more like Chevalier than Batard. (96 points)
