TN: JD Birthday Dinner at Fleur de Lys (old Burgs, '55 Bordeaux, old Sauternes, '74 Heitz Martha's)

WINE TALK
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JONATHAN DINH BIRTHDAY DINNER AT FLEUR DE LYS - Fleur de Lys, San Francisco, CA (12/30/2009)

I’ve joined Jonathan and company for this ultimate birthday (and wine and food) celebration for the past three years now. Chef Hubert Keller, Wine Director Marcos and the rest of the team always do a fabulous job for us. This time there were twelve of us in the fireplace/wine cellar room (we had to get them to douse the fire that was raging in it when we got there and open the doors as it made the room very cozy but too hot for our wines). JD had us first meet in his hotel suite for opening wines and appetizers, then we all headed over together to Fleur de Lys. After 8 fabulous courses at Fleur de Lys (and many amazing wines), it was time for JD’s traditional post-dinner dinner, which ended up being at Sam Wo’s (one of the few places still open at 2 am that night). All in all, an over-the-top but delicious and memorable celebration with our over-the-top wine buddy.

There were many standout wines, as usual, but the ones that were most memorable (and moving) for me were the '99 Leroy Corton Charlemagne (my WOTN), the '74 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, our two '55 Bordeaux (Montrose and Lynch Bages), the '01 Prum Auslese in our pre-dinner flight, the '55 Gilette Sauternes, and the '88 Vogüé Bonnes Mares. As far as the dinner, I’m still savoring the memory of our egg, black truffle and vegetable dish.

Pre-dinner flight at JD’s Omni suite

The gang met up at the Omni, in Jonathan’s suite, for Champagne and Riesling, with pata negra, prosciuttos and cheeses. The '01 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese easily stood out as the wine of this “pre-game.”

Champagne starters

Served with duo of chestnut fondant with caviar, salmon and sea scallop ceviche with sea urchin. Both Champagnes were rather flat, lacking in bubbles. The '88 Grande Dame seemed very suspicious, after we examined the cork with an '85 date and virtually no flare to the bottom of the cork. So Grande Dame mags are now being counterfeited?

  • 1977 Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée - France, Champagne
    From magnum - light medium peach yellow color; nice mature, baked peach, mineral, mushroom nose with a touch of caramel; caramel, a little sherried, tart peach, mineral palate with depth, texture and medium acidity; medium-plus finish 91+ pts. (91 pts.)
  • 1988 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame - France, Champagne
    From magnum - lemon, almond, cream nose; creamy textured, tart lemon, mineral, baked lemon, nutmeg palate with medium acidity that’s surprisingly flat compared to when we’ve had it before; medium-plus finish (the cork lacked the usual flared bottom of a Champagne cork, and was stamped 1985 instead of 1988 – probable fake?) (92 pts.)

Sauternes

Some lovely, mature, Sauternes, thanks to Craig. Our dish for this flight was Winter Chilled Truffle Vichyssoise, salad of morels and artisan foie gras torchon.

  • 1955 Château Gilette Doux - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
    Medium dark golden yellow color; earthy, dried mushroom, tart apricot, orange nose; rich, surprisingly youthful, apricot, mineral palate with laser-like definition, a dried mushroom note and good acidity; long finish 94+ pts. (94 pts.)
  • 1935 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
    Dark orange color with red lights; hazelnut, coffee, prune, slightly maderized nose; tart orange, tart prune, coffee, hazelnut palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)

Corton-Charlemagne Flight

The Leroy was stunning, and both my WOTF and WOTN. The Camille Giroud was oxidized, and the Coche-Dury was too toasty oaked for my taste. Our dish for this flight was roasted Maine lobster, a large portion, with corn fondue and truffle sauce.

  • 1999 Domaine Leroy Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    Light canary yellow color; lovely, elegant, mineral, shale, lemon nose; very tasty, youthful, lemon, mineral palate with structure and depth; long finish (97 pts.)
  • 1988 Camille Giroud Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    Light medium gold color; a little maderized on nose, with hazelnut and butter, that changes to a quince cream nose; mature, tart, somewhat sherried, tart orange, mineral palate; medium-plus finish (84 pts.)
  • 1988 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    Light golden yellow color; smoky, dried beef, sauvage, Northern Rhone red nose, that changes over 20 minutes or so to more of a smoky, truffle popcorn, toasty oak nose; smoky, tart lemon, mineral, earthy palate with depth, a little chewy, and too much smoky oak for me; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)

Mature red Burg intermezzo
We had these two Burgundies in between courses. The Clos des Lambrays was surprisingly youthful.

  • 1976 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
    Medium cherry red color with pale meniscus; initial VA, very tart red fruit, mineral, sweet tobacco and cigar box nose; tobacco, tart red fruit, mineral, tart raspberry, cigar box palate; medium-plus finish (starts to decline after 25 minutes in the glass) (94 pts.)
  • 1962 Domaine Louis Remy Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
    Bricked very light red color with clear meniscus; light, sweet and sour sauce, balsamic nose, that changes to soy sauce and then brown sugar; light-medium bodied, very tart red fruit, tart tomato consomme palate with medium-plus acidity and good grip; medium-plus finish (declines precipitously, however, after 15 minutes in the glass) (92 pts.)

'88 Burgundy Grand Cru Flight

The Vogue Bonnes Mares was my WOTF. The La Tache was both mature and very tannic. Our dish for this flight was a fabulous poached egg, with black truffles, vegetables and truffle port wine sauce – my DOTN. Jonathan ordered a second helping.

  • 1988 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru
    Light-medium bricked red color with clear meniscus; very mature, mushroom, earthy, cigar box nose; tasty, mature, tobacco, cigar box palate with very firm tannins and medium acidity; medium-plus finish (92 pts.)
  • 1988 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
    Bricked light medium red color with clear meniscus; mature, briny, earthy, tobacco and brett nose; tart mature red fruit, tobacco, earthy, deep, mushroom, brett palate; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)
  • 1988 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
    Medium, slightly bricked red color with pale meniscus; lime, tart raspberry, cigar box nose; good tart cherry, red fruit, mineral palate with good grip; medium-plus finish 94+ pts. (most youthful of our flight of '88 Grand Crus) (94 pts.)

Cali Cab Intermezzo

We had these two, lovely Cali Cabs between courses. The Heitz Martha’s was particularly good and youthful.

  • 1974 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
    Dark red violet color; nice mature cassis, mint, spearmint and cigar box nose; tasty, poised, cassis, mint, spearmint, black currant, blackberry palate, fresh and youthful; long finish (a pristine bottle) (96 pts.)
  • 1992 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
    Opaque black red violet color; tart plum, black fruit, tobacco, leather nose; tart plum, black fruit, mineral, leather palate; medium-plus finish (94 pts.)

Mature Bordeaux Flight

With the exception of the over-the-hill Calon Segur, these were lovely wines. The '55 Montrose was showing beautifully, as was the '55 Lynch-Bages, one of the best Lynch-Bages I’ve ever tasted. Our course for this dish was seared duck breast with choucroute gratin and a red wine, shallot, thyme bordelaise sauce with wild mushrooms.

  • 1955 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Slightly cloudy, bricked, medium raspberry red color; elegant cassis nose with subtle tobacco; tasty, mature cassis, mild tobacco, tart raspberry palate with balance and depth; long finish (begins to fade after 45 minutes in the glass) (95 pts.)
  • 1990 Château L’Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
    Dark red violet color; nice leather, tobacco nose; beefy, mature, leather, mineral palate; long finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.)
  • 1961 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Medium dark bricked violet red color with pale meniscus; mature, maderized, Worcestershire sauce, beef bouillon nose; oxidized, beef bouillon, leather, brown sauce palate; medium finish (82 pts.)
  • 1955 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    Bricking medium red violet color with pale meniscus; smoky, cigar box, mint nose; minty, tart cassis, elegant palate; medium-plus finish 94+ pts. (94 pts.)

Mature Barolo Flight

Our dish for this flight was pan seared lamb on celery root puree, with grenadine pickled onions and a spicy ginger and lemongrass infusion. Very tasty. The '47 Barolo was lovely, but not as awe inspiring as the flight of older Barolos we had for JD’s birthday the prior year.

  • 1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Very light bricked red color with clear meniscus; coffee, mature, dried mushroom, mushroom tea nose; coffee, dried mushroom, beef jus palate with grip; long finish (94 pts.)
  • 1970 Bersano Barolo Reserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Bricked light medium red color with clear meniscus; a little musty, maderized, smoky on nose; better on palate, tart, mature, beefy, lamb jus palate with grip; medium-plus finish (93 pts.)

'78 Rhone Flight

We did this unusual flight, from George Kautzman’s purchased-on-release collection, with our cheese course. The Guigal was corked, but the Clavelier was quite lovely, and the Lirac was hanging in.

  • 1978 E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
    Slightly cloudy bricking medium raspberry red color with pale meniscus; corked NR (flawed)
  • 1978 Clavelier Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
    Medium bricking red color with pale meniscus; nice roses, cherry, dried cherry, chlorine, cigar box, incense nose; dried cherry, roses, tart red fruit, tart raspberry, mineral, surprisingly youthful palate; medium-plus finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.)
  • 1978 Château Saint-Roch Lirac - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Lirac
    Slightly bricking medium red color with pale meniscus; earthy, bretty, horsey nose; tart mature red fruit, dried red fruit, raspberry, black cherry palate; medium-plus finish (92 pts.)

Mystery red intermezzo

This was poured blind. We knew it was from David Niederauer, though, and we know he has a stash of Diamond Creek Lake, so it was natural to guess what this was. A lovely and rare bottle.
Jonathan and Chef Hubert Keller

Massandra finish

This group has shared quite a few Massandras. This is one of the older ones we’ve had. It was complex and enjoyable, although I would have liked more acidity. Our dessert course was a pistachio gateau, sauternes poached pear cooled off with almond and amaretto ice cream.

  • 1928 Massandra Muscat White Muscat “Livadia” - Ukraine, Crimea
    Lemon tea color; lemon meringue, orange cream, cantelope, orange creme brulee, mushroom nose; orange creme brulee, orange cream, sweet orange marmalade, white chocolate palate with virtually no acidity; long finish (94 pts.)

post-dinner Chinese food wines

A multi-course dinner at Fleur de Lys is not enough nourishment for JD at night, so we went in search of Pizza Orgasmica, where we had our post Fleur de Lys nosh the prior year. Unfortunately they were closed at 1 am on a school night, so we finally ended up at Sam Wo’s in Chinatown, for some noodles and Burgundy out of Dixie cups. The Nadeff Mazis showed the best under these conditions.

  • 1990 Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
    Medium golden color; honeyed, beeswax nose; slightly oxidized, honeyed, baked lemon, mineral palate; medium-plus finish (91 pts.)
  • 1993 Labouré-Roi Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
    Tart red fruit nose; maderized, tart red fruit, mineral palate; medium finish (83 pts.)
  • 1991 Domaine Philippe Nadeff Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
    Tart berry, tart cherry, mineral nose; tart berry, tart cherry, mineral palate; medium-plus finish (92 pts.)





Posted from CellarTracker

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Wow…just wow.

The '74 Martha’s is one of my trophy wines that I hope to some day get to try. Nice job on the Lake Vineyard DC as well.

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To hell with Being John Malkovich, I want a portal on the 7½th floor into Richard Jennings.

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Thanks as usual to Richard for documenting a great evening. Thought for once I would post a few notes:

99 Dom Perignon - was nice, needs time, a solid B

02 Coche-Dury Meursault - showed less oak than many Coches, a little difficult to discern the Meursault character though, B+

I skipped the rieslings.

77 Bollinger Special Cuvee - Too oxidized to judge, DQ

88 Veuve Clicquot Grand Dame - Moderately oxidized and completely lacking in bubbles. Still unclear to me whether this was a fake, the taste profile was reasonably consistent with Grand Dame but the 85 branded cork was highly suspicious. Then again, who would bother to fake 88 Grand Dame? DQ

55 Gilette - Very good, probably the best Gilette I’ve had although they’re always a bit behind the upper tier of Sauternes, quite well preserved however, B+

35 La Tour Blanche - Very little sweetness left and not a ton of complexity. Dry and stony finish. Color indicated this was a well-preserved bottle but overall, not a great wine. Was much more impressed by a bottle of the 23 that some from this group shared a few weeks ago. C+

99 Leroy Corton Charlemagne - Spectacular, very powerful and dense stuff, jumps out of the glass and smacks you on the face. In a good way. Intense petrol notes on the nose. Another bottle of this taste six months ago was on the front end of premox, this one showed no signs whatsoever. Solid A

88 Giroud Corton Charlemagne - Moderately oxidized and flat, uninteresting next to the other Corton Charlies, D+

88 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne - Great wine, couldn’t decide whether I liked this better than the Leroy, eventually concluded that they were equal in quality. This is one of those wines that changes every 30 seconds or so in the glass. Some barnyardy notes early on that others found troubling, with air it cleaned up to some extent. Either the oak had integrated or it received a less aggressive treatment than the more recent versions of this wine, either way it wasn’t obtrusive. A

76 Lambrays - Pretty good, lots of forest floor, a nice 76 without the hard edge that the vintage sometimes shows, B

62 Remy Latricieres - Very acidic and sweet-tart at first, then morphed rapidly in the glass, fading over 10-15 minutes as Richard noted to an uninteresting oxidized state. Great nose while it lasted though. Needed food to balance out the acidity. B

88 La Tache - I liked this more than most at the table. The nose was fantastic but on the palate this was somewhat closed and showed a good dose of 88 tannin/hard edge. Followed it for an hour or so but air didn’t help much. Still, the nose redeemed it and there’s enough fruit that with bottle age I think this will be a good rather than a great LT. B+

88 Ponsot CDLR VV - Very good, surprising transparency and lack of density, drinking well now but this is not one to hold another 20 years. Showed a bit more developed than previous bottles. A-

88 Vogue Bonnes Mares - Halfway closed and showing some of the less desirable 88 characteristics (or perhaps late 80s/early 90s Vgoue characteristics), may improve with more bottle age, drinking well but not a “wow” wine, B

74 Heitz Marthas - Very impressive stuff, the legendary mint was present in spades but there’s plenty of traditional cabernet fruit behind it. The mint was quite clean and not eucalyptusy. Others who have more experience with this wine than I remarked that this was the best bottle of this they’d ever had. A

92 Dunn Howell - More open than a bottle tasted about a year ago, surprisingly so, not the tannic monster I was expecting. Good but outmatched by the Heitz. B

55 Montrose - Tremendous stuff, a testament to old school Bordeaux winemaking, this is in the perfect zone for drinking now but can be held for years, A-

90 L’Evangile - Showed tight and unready, much less flamboyant than on previous occasions. Have seen reports that this wine is heading downhill, that hasn’t been my experience, seemed more likely that this bottle was stored in exceptionally cold conditions and needed additional time. B-

61 Calon Segur - DOA (Craig reported that a bottle from the same case opened a couple weeks ago was excellent)

55 Lynch Bages - Great bottle, showed like the 61 but with a healthy and somewhat surprising dose of mint thrown in. An hour after this flight Mark handed something to taste blind and I called it as the Lynch when in fact it was the Heitz Martha’s (the mint in that having toned down a bit), that’s how much mint this had. A-

Palate too fatigued at this point to judge the Barolos. Both were moderately oxidized and I though the 47 Borgogno wasn’t nearly as good as previous examples of the same bottling. Didn’t try the Rhones other than the Clavelier which was good.

92 Diamond Creek Lake - Very good but in need of more time, this hit us a little late to be fully appreciated. B+

28 Massandra White Muscat Livadia - One of the best Massandras of this era. In between the rose muscats and the tokays in taste profile, showing a good dose of milk chocolate and a very long finish. Low acid as Richard noted but I think that’s more the style of the Massandra muscats than anything specific to this bottle. A

I didn’t have the stamina to handle Sam Wo’s, hats off to those who did…

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Okay, um…


Best first post EVAR!!!

Welcome!

Oh, and by the way, the rule on WineBerserkers is that when you have such a tasting, you have to invite me as the guest of honor. You didn’t know that at the time, but now that you do, I think a repeat is in order.

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Chris,

Thank you for the kind words.

Mischa,

Terrific notes! I hope you get a chance to do these write ups more often. We very much look to you as our Bordeaux/Sauternes/Massandra authority, and you’re getting dangerously knowledgeable about Burgundy too. Thanks for posting.

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Great notes as always. Please keep them comming

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Todd,

Thanks. Give a shout if you’re ever up in the SF Bay Area, particularly Silicon Valley, and I’ll try to round up a few of the usual suspects.

Richard,

A danger to myself and others on the Burgundy front … the cellar is approaching half burgs actually …

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Sam Wo’s–isn’t that the Chinese restaurant that has (or at least had) the “surliest waiter in Chinatown?” That’s what I remember from many, many years ago. I have a story about that…

Bruce

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Well done folks! [thumbs-up.gif]

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Well, well, well…so is this where everyone is now hahahahah…I figure since my exile will culminate in a few months, I should get back on the boards since I have left wine dinner scene to the wayside as of late…hmmm…looking forward to coming back and drinking well with great old friends and meet some new ones :wink:

Richie Rich…great notes buddy per usual and the pics warm my heart. With all the dinners we’ve had, its always nice to end the year on a high note heheheh…I wonder how I’m gonna top this year’s lineup…hmmm, I’m sure I’ll think of something muuaaahhhaaaaa (insert evil laugh here)

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richard,

simply amazing. well done. and always a great read.

best,