Richard, Conrad, Rebecca, Mike and Jeff
I’ve been dying to do a dinner at Cyrus since it opened, and had heard universally good things from all friends who had been there. It finally took Conrad, in town from Maryland for the weekend’s La Paulee events, to make it happen. The food was creative, flavorful and beautifully presented; the service was impeccable; and the wine service, and attention to the needs and questions of a table-full of wine geeks, was everything we could have wanted. Sommelier Chase DuBay is a gem. This is a top flight restaurant that strives to please, and has the talent, training and creativity–not to mention, also, superlative raw materials–to ensure a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Having the perfect group of people to enjoy it with, as was the case for me, made it one of the most memorable meals of my life.
The wines below are a combination of a few wines that we brought (or ordered off the wine list, in the case of the Selosse and the Dönnhoff), along with the wine pairings for each of the eight courses (and for four courses there was a choice between two dishes, so we ended up with all 12 possible wine pairings).
Champagne starter
We started with a glass of this at the bar (well, Mike started with a Sazerac).
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N.V. Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée Brut - France, Champagne
Light yellow color; yeasty, light toast, mineral nose; elegant, tasty, mineral, yeasty, cream, tart citrus palate; medium-plus finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.)
Amuse Bouche flight
Some of us still had our Krug to compare with this unique Champagne – both great, and so different in style. The slightly oxidized nature of this wine paired well with our more savory amuses, as well as the next course.
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N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Brut Initiale - France, Champagne
Light golden yellow color; intriguing nose, a little oxidative, very tart kumquat, lemon peel, hazelnut nose; nutty, sherried, tart lemon, mineral palate with depth and grip, and a ginger note that develops with air; long finish (94 pts.)
1st course
For some of us, the first course was a fabulous Soup Billi-Bi with fennel puree and tempura mussel, for others it was a Seared Hamachi with battera konbu, radish and candied kumquats, and chilled dashi. Chase DuBay’s wine pairings below worked very well with both of these dishes, as did our Selosse Initiale. The white Lopez de Heredia was the best of their whites I’ve ever had. What a way to start a meal!
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1990 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Medium orange color; oily, poached orange, mineral nose; very tasty, oily textured, poached pear, almond, mineral palate; long finish (95 pts.) -
N.V. Equipo Navazos Jerez-Xérès-Sherry La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada Nº 10 - Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
Light medium amber color; rancio, sherried, wonderfully nutty nose; tasty, light bodied, light sherry, nutty, almond palate; long finish 92+ pts. (great match with our savory fish dishes) (92 pts.)
White Burg
This wine, one of the ones we brought along, was, unfortunately, affected by the '96-'03 white Burg curse of pre-mox.
Sommelier Chase with Jeff, Wine Director for Manresa, looking for something from the wine list to replace our pre-moxed Leroy. Jeff went with a gorgeous Dönnhoff.
My dish with this course was a beautiful looking and tasty Roasted Lobster with daikon, blood oranges and tamarind ponzu.
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1999 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Charmes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Medium golden yellow color; mature, apple sauce, smoke and herb nose; mature, honeyed, tart citrus, apple, mineral palate, somewhat oxidized, but still retaining good acidity; medium-plus finish (89 pts.) -
2007 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs trocken - Germany, Nahe
Light canary yellow color; nice tart peach, apple, fuzzy peach, floral nose; lovely tart peach, apricot, mineral palate with depth and a crystalline quality, medium acidity; long finish (94 pts.)
Riesling Flight
Those who didn’t have the lobster dish had the Seared Foie Gras with Asian pear coulis and lentils, vanilla bean gastrique. Chase’s wine pairing for this was the Mount Horrocks, which tasted very much like a Kraacher. The Zilliken was the wine pairing choice with the lobster.
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2008 Mount Horrocks Riesling Cordon Cut - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
Light golden yellow color; rich apricot, cream, orange sherbet nose; very tasty, apricot, peach palate with some acid zing, surprisingly reminiscent of a Kraacher from a ripe year; long finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.) -
1995 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese Auction - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Light yellow color; light petrol, mineral, apple nose; tasty, maturing, apple, mineral palate; medium finish (92 pts.)
Sekt and Ikeime Tai
Our dish for this course was Ikeime Tai with galangal rice noodles, banana blossoms and coconut milk froth. The sekt, which had good texture and a coconut scent of its own, was a brilliant pairing for this dish.
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2002 Georg Breuer Brut Sekt - Germany, Rheingau
Light medium golden yellow color; salty, tart peach, coconut nose; creamy textured, tart peach, tart cherry, mineral palate; medium-plus finish (worked wonderfully well as a pairing with a fish dish with coconut milk and banana blossoms) (89 pts.)
Roasted Chicken and Pinot
Our next course was Roasted Chicken with Potato Puree, asparagus and morels with fresh black truffles. Delicious! The '89 Roumier, which we had brought, seemed rather tired, although there was still a core of tart red fruit. The Peay Scallop Shelf was the Cyrus wine pairing with this dish.
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1989 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Medium dark cranberry red color with pale meniscus; mature, major mushroom, tobacco, brett nose; mature, tart red fruit, tobacco, brett, mineral palate with a tart cherry/tart raspberry core; medium-plus finish (91 pts.) -
2007 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Scallop Shelf - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Medium dark cherry red color with pale meniscus; ripe cranberry, black cherry, tart cherry, raspberry nose; rich but balanced, black cherry, black raspberry, tart cherry, cinnamon palate; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.)
Big Red Flight
We were served little frozen mango sorbet cubes on the end of a stick for a palate cleanser after the chicken course. For our next plate, some of us had the Lamb Loin Roulade with green garlic risotto, spring onions and fava beans, with which the Cyrus recommended wine pairing was the Piancornello Brunello, and others had the Hoisin Glazed Short Rib with water chestnuts and ginger bone marrow flan, for which the '07 Copain Syrah was Chase’s recommended pairing. Both wines were very good, but very young and tight, of course.
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2004 Piancornello Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Dark red violet color; chocolate, tar, licorice nose; tight but very tasty, tart black fruit, tar palate; medium-plus finish (modern style Brunello, needs 3+ years) (93 pts.) -
2007 Copain Syrah Baker Ranch - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Nearly opaque red violet color; olive, black fruit, pepper, green peppercorn nose; tasty, tart black fruit, berry, olive palate, with good textured; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)
Cheese Course Flight
The artisinal cheese table next made an appearance, and we were offered a choice from over a dozen different cheese. I chose the Saint-Maure (quite delicious), the La Serena (a thistle infused sheep’s milk cheese) and the Bo Poisse. At this point we poured the '07 Rhys Swan Terrace we’d brought along, and had decanted through the dinner. The Cyrus wine pairing recommendation was the Bordelet Poiré Granit, which also worked well, and was refreshing and minerally.
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2007 Rhys Pinot Noir Swan Terrace Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Dark red violet color; tart cherry, menthol, black cherry nose; velvety textured, youthful, tart black cherry, menthol, mineral palate with depth; medium-plus finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.) -
2008 Eric Bordelet Poiré Granit - France, Normandy
Light golden yellow color; big pear, chalk nose; focused, chiseled, tart pear, chalk, mineral palate with depth; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.)
First Dessert Flight
Our first dessert was the Seville Orange Cream, with macaroon and marmalade. The wine pairing was the Bert Simon BA, and we had another Rhys Pinot opened as well.
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2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Dark cherry red color; menthol, tart black cherry, berry nose; velvety, tart red fruit, menthol, cinnamon, stems, mineral palate; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.) -
2003 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Müller-Thurgau Beerenauslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Medium gold color; honeyed, baked apricot, pear, lime nose; luscious, unctuous, honeyed, apricot nectar palate, lacking acidity; long finish 91+ pts. (91 pts.)
Second Dessert Flight
For our second dessert, some of us had the Chestnut Souffle with passion fruit and green tea, and the rest of us enjoyed a German Chocolate Doughnut with toasted coconut gelato. The wine pairing for the souffle was the Toakji Aszu, and the Alpianae Italian sweet wine, my WOTN, was Chase’s pairing with the doughnut. What a lovely way to end a very memorable meal.
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2000 Disznókő Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos - Hungary, Hegyalja, Tokaji
Light medium orange color; rich caramel, coffee, orange syrup nose; orange syrup, tangerine, tangy lemon syrup, mineral palate; long finish (93 pts.) -
2005 Azienda Agricola Vignalta Colli Euganei Fior d’Arancio Alpianae - Italy, Veneto, Colli Euganei
Medium orange color; kumquat, preserved orange, chalk nose; luscious, mineral, herb-infused, tart orange, papaya, spice, ginger palate, full of complex twists and turns; long finish (96 pts.)
Mignardises
We weren’t quite done, of course. There were also assorted mignardises to be had, along with a boxed package of mignardises to take home (for breakfast, of course).
Posted from CellarTracker
And I agree about the No. 10, and Chase. I now have two favorite somms: Chase, and Jeff at Manresa.![[welldone.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/fc9709a841aa9379fd892a9cf0b535b05f473b86.gif "[welldone.gif]"){kind=small}