TN: Manresa Dinner with Dade, Rebecca and George (Roumier, Coche Dury)

MANRESA DINNER WITH DADE, REBECCA AND GEORGE (ROUMIER, COCHE DURY) - Manresa Restaurant, Los Gatos, CA (8/1/2009)

Richard, George, Rebecca and Dade

This was quite the fabulous and memorable dinner, not only with Chef Kinch’s always excellent food and the wonderful wines noted below, but also since it was a rare chance to spend time with three of my very favorite people who happen to work in the wine biz: our host, Dee Vine Wines’ Dade Thieriot, Vin Vino Wines’ Rebecca Rapaszky, and Manresa’s wine director, Jeff Bareilles. The other lucky guest, besides me and Rebecca, was Dade’s friend George, in for the week from Philadelphia.

I always love David Kinch’s tasting menus, and there were some new seafood oriented dishes we were served that evening that we all wanted more of: the softshell crab with garden pesto, the spotted shrimp with white peach, and the salmon dish, all of which are pictured below. All of our wines were great, but the two standouts for me were the '97 Coche-Dury Les Rougeots and the '93 Roumier Bonnes Mares. The latter was so good and satisfying – not to mention very instructive to taste next to the more rapidly maturing '90 – I was stunned by my first sip, and in a deep reverie of pleasure by the third. Thank you Dade!

The handsome threesome: Rebecca, Jeff and Dade

Champagne opener
This lovely, maturing Champagne served us well through a couple of amuse bouches and opening courses, including avocado mousse with country ham jelly, coriander granita with pickled green strawberries and tomato soup, and Manresa’s version of the Arpege egg.

  • 1990 Drappier Champagne Brut Carte d’Or - France, Champagne
    Light medium golden yellow color; bread dough, marzipan, slightly oxidized nose; tasty, focused, creamy textured, maturing but still youthful, tart lemon, mineral, baked lemon and tangerine palate; medium finish (93 pts.)

Gorgeous Meursault


crispy soft shell crab with yogurt, garden herb and green pesto

  • 1997 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
    Light medium golden yellow color; smoky, mineral, savory, earthy nose; very tasty, poised, wonderful, silky textured, mineral, baked lemon and clementine palate; long finish (95 pts.)

Condrieu
Spotted shrimp with white peach

  • 2007 Cave de Chante-Perdrix Condrieu “Authentic” - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
    Bright light yellow color; floral, orange blossom, orange sherbet and lime cream nose; big, voluptuous, creamy textured, lime cream, peach, tart orange, honeysuckle, slightly hot but flavorful palate; medium finish 92+ pts. (Jeff poured this for us blind, and it was unmistakable as a good, young Condrieu; it showed much better than when I’d tried it some months ago, and was a perfect match for our spotted shrimp and white peach dish) (92 pts.)

Roumier Bonnes Mares flight

wild Pacific salmon with green onion cream, morels and bone marrow broth

  • 1990 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
    Slightly bricking medium dark red color with clear meniscus; barnyard, tart red fruit, mineral, maturing nose; elegant, tart red fruit, roses for days, mineral, black raspberry, strawberry, dried cherry and iron palate; medium-plus finish (94 pts.)
  • 1993 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
    Medium dark red color with clear meniscus; sexy, tart cherry, wild cherry, raspberry nose; fabulous, youthful but elegant, roses, tart cherry, red fruit, mineral; medium-plus finish (97 pts.)

Musigny

  • 1993 Louis Jadot Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
    Dark cherry red color with clear meniscus; black cherry, black raspberry nose; lovely, poised and solid roses, tart red fruit, mineral palate with a touch of brett; medium-plus finish 94+ pts. (94 pts.)

Sweet finish



Posted from CellarTracker

Richard,
the meal and the wines both look outstanding.
I would love to visit Manresa.

Wow. Fabulous looking dinner with wines to match. Coche-Dury and Roumier. It doesn’t get better than that.

I really have liked the 97 Coche wines. They don’t have the minerality or acidity of other vintages, but they have a purity of fruit that I find outstanding.

I am truly envious of the 90 v 93 Roumier Bonnes Mares comparison.