TN: Bodega Bistro OL with Brad Kane (Loire whites and Rieslings)

WINE TALK
1

BODEGA BISTRO OL WITH BRAD KANE - Bodega Bistro, San Francisco, CA (5/25/2009)

This was the third annual OL for me with Brad Kane, when he visits San Francisco and Norcal wine country. This year we did it at a favorite spot for delicious Vietnamese food, Bodega Bistro. The wines were lovely as usual, and it was great to see Brad and to meet his friend from L.A., Sarah. My WOTN was the 1992 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese (which Rob brought by mistaking, thinking he was packing a '99, to go with his other ten year old Riesling.) Definitely a tasty and enjoyable end to a fun long holiday weekend.

Tony, Traci, Christianne and Ileen

Rob, Sarah and Brad


Champagne starter

  • N.V. Marguet Père et Fils Champagne Rosé Grand Cru - France, Champagne, Ambonnay, Champagne
    Light orange pink color; tart cherry, red fruit, nose; tasty, rich, roses, dried cherry, strawberry and orange palate, juicy, with good acidity; short-medium finish 91+ pts. (91 pts.)

1st white flight
With papaya salad, spring rolls and calamari

2nd white flight
With crab and garlic noodles


Red flight
With squab, lamb chops and shaking beef



  • 1990 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
    Medium garnet red color with clear meniscus; big herbaceous, olive, tobacco nose; focused, pointed, tart and ripe Cab Franc, tart red fruit, mineral and tart cherry palate; medium finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.)
  • 2005 Domaine Durand Cornas Empreintes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
    Medium dark garnet red color; tart red fruit, tart plum, mineral and oak nose; tart plum, mineral, olive and pepper palate; medium-plus finish 90+ pts. (90 pts.)
  • 2004 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Cloudy, medium dark raspberry red color; big, tart cherry and berry nose; tasty, tart cherry, cranberry, mineral palate with lime acidity and a touch of mint; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

2

You know, I ate a good dinner. I was happy. Now I am trying to finish up a contract and reading some BB and you have to assault me with this. Now I have the munchies. That is just cruel, nicely done!

3

Thanks Eric.

I do look forward to organizing an OL or (2 or 3) with you, if we can ever get you down to the Bay Area. There are a lot of people here who would like the opportunity to thank you for your great work.

4

Richard, with my partnership with Vinfolio I will definitely be back down at some point.

5

Thanks for the notes. I think you capture the wines very well. Although I probably liked the Marguet less than you…I found it rather simple burst of creamy strawberry fruit…

For those in the bay area, Bodega Bistro is an awesome place to have dinner. Terrific food, wine friendly (low to no corkage), the chef, Jimmy, loves wine and the place is fairly cheap.

6

Thanks for the write-up, Richard. So nice to catch up with you and the gang again and many thanks to Traci for setting this up even though she had to get up really early the next day for work!

Loved the food. I had lunch there by myself last year after Christine Huang spoke so highly of it, but I certainly couldn’t take advantage of the menu the way this dinner did. That squab dish was probably my favorite, along with the dungeness crab.

As for the wines, I think you captured them nicely. Many of them showed well and were a terrific accompaniment to the cuisine. Only real quibble with your notes is with the '92 Grunhauser, which I found quite enjoyable and an excellent success for a fairly maligned vintage, but I thought there were a few holes in the mid-palate. I rated it a solid B+. The Durand Cornas also wasn’t a favorite. A little coarse and too oaky for my tastes. As you know, I’m still trying to warm up to Pinot and found the Rivers-Marie pleasant, but nothing there really grabbed my attention.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Olga Raffault showed considering that in the six days before the tasting it had been schlepped home from a wine store in Brooklyn, bounced out to Kennedy, stuck in the belly of a plane and flown out to California, driven to San Francisco, then down to San Mateo and then San Francisco again.

I forget who brought the '02 Baumard- Savennieres Clos Papillon, but it was a treat to try it again as I hadn’t had it in about 3-4 years and it’s opened up a lot since release. It was one tough and tight wine on release.

My wine of the night was probably the ZH Gewurz. Rich with some sweetness, though balanced, but certainly not in a style that pleases everyone. Nicely spicy and full of lychee goodness. Just great with the food.

Cheers,

Brad

7

Brad - Christianne did most of the setting up with the restaurant. Traci organized the participants…including those that mysteriously cancelled. [shrug.gif]

8

BTW - good seeing you too Brad!!

9

I’m not the draw I used to be…

10

You were a draw on the Left Coast?

Well you’ll always be a draw around these parts if you keep posting. [gheyfight.gif]

11

We’ll get you to warm up to CA Pinot Noir yet. Tough to beat the '04 R-M Summa though. We should stick to old Williams Selyem for now…