What I thought was going to be a run of the mill cellar raiding turned into an impromptu dinner reservation. What was going to be a scant Monday night meal became a memorable excursion into the steepest of wine-bearing slopes, producing one of the finest wines to ever touch my lips. Fellow board members Darryl Priest (wb), Joe Vuckovich (wb) and Elliot Levy (ebob only, jeez ) joined me at Restaurant 2941 in Falls Church for some degustation. Little did we know what we were getting into. We combed through their wine list like ravenous fiends, looking for spritely beverages to quench our devilish thirsts. We arrived with a gameplan of what to order but our mischief got the best of us.
Joe had a “metro mishap,” befitting of a NYC transplant, who must be used to the straightforward dealings of the Big Apple’s metro system. What could be easier: Orange and Blue or LV to 42nd Street, on peak hour switch to the express up to Yonkers via the Red 1 (MWF not T/Th Holiday)? I digress (and kid)
While we waited for Joe, we discussed what to order but needed refreshment to match. We started with a recommendation that Joe made previously, in honor of his empty seat. It was an Austrian sparkler, the 2004 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer (*) . Opens very lively, with great bubbles ripping through the flute. On the nose, it has a lot of very confectionary lemon and grapefruit, with a bit too much res. sugar coming through for my liking. It lacked the yeasty biscuity quality of various classical champagne houses but it started to develop a floral aspect of honeysuckle and honeycomb with some air.
As we nibbled on some bread and a delightful amuse bouché of duck terrine, we tossed aside our flutes and delved into the land of Borgogne. Darryl, not being a man of delicate palate, prefering the brusing wines of the Southern Rhone to the wimpy floral expressions of pinot noir, was skeptical as Elliot and Joe combed through the Burgundy section. Who needs pinot noir, he must have thought. As skeptical as he was, even Daryl was convinced by the 2001 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares (). The nose of this wine has such a wonderful pitch of pinot experssion. Not being a burg nut myself, Elliot and Joe were explaining how Bonnes Mares has a more masculine approach, a concept I didn’t really appreciate from the nose. But on first sip, I saw what they meant. The wine was still boldly structured while being quite delicate and balanced on the nose. A nice spine of mid-pallate acidity and minerality complemented a lush, compote of cherry with a lushious but not wimpy texture. Joe remarked that as the wine developed in the decanter, a nice floral note began to develop as well as a finish of fresh thyme. What really got me on this wine was the pitch of the nose. Very elegant, almost regal. It paired very well with Tuna Tartare, even though i was a bit underwhelmed by the dish.
As we began rolling out the big order, the wonderful staff obliged with a delicious complimentary entree of seared foie gras with blueberry and syrah au jus, served on top of brioche. A fantastically balanced but complex dish, just splendidly done. Kudos to the chef!
Syrah au jus you say? Well let’s pump out the big guns. We had a bottle of 2003 Etienne Guigal La Mouline (**+ now, ****** in 10 yrs) sitting in the decanter with about a quarter of an ounce sitting in my stem, which I couldn’t. stop. smelling… Just an ethereal nose. The best word to describe this infantile wine. It opened with an expansive purfume of cherry, olive tapenade and asian spice which quickly stiffened and began to unearth the serious new age oak that this wine was treated with (34 months, sacre merde!). As the pour developed, the oak simply began to grow, but not in an obtrusive way that I find in, say, an 04 Monbousquet or 04 Grand Chenes (cheap shots, I know). This isn’t two-by-four to the fourhead. This is a different breed. The fruit is so balanced with the oak, however massive it is, that is holds it, like a baloon waiting to burst, but always assured of its integrity. We followed the nose over two hours in the stem while it decanted and it simply blossomed, peaking for me right before we decanted. There was a moment where the glass had a bouquet of artisinal flowers, provencal cherrys with light spices and saffron infused essence of cassis that simply blew my mind. Never have I inhaled such a complex wine at such an infantile age. We poured the wine with the Foie and finished with our main course (everyone ordered duck breast, but I went with a veal loin). The oak returned with avengance from that last quaff and the wine began to develop an exquisite mocha and caramel complex which was so delicious, it remarkably overshadowed another table’s coffee pot.
On first sip, the Mouline contains such dark fruit; a shade that defies any description by a pigment of artifically mixed black, but necessitates the abscene of color to describe it. Just an absolute bomb of black fruit. However, this wine has such a refined mouth feel, not like th bruising tannins of a precocious first growth or the glycerin packed syrupyness of a boisterous special cuvee CDP. It was almost Burgundian in its presence (out Burgunding the Bonnes Mares). The finish is a haunting spectacle, that lingers in the mouth, but does not cloy. It lasts forever. And then some. Definition of Unctuous? La Mouline.
As the hours progressed, the wine slowly disappeared, as our table continued to indulge more pours, but I held steady to my slow drinking, clinging onto my stem well into the desert course. We had a 5 cheese spread paired with an 1997 Weingut Kruger-Rumpf, Münsterer Pittersberg Riesling Eiswein (.5)**, a delicate but very floral wine that could develop finely with more age. It doesn’t have a razor sharp acidity nor a botrytised weight to it. It is a balanced Eiswein with a very fine nose of honeycomb and lillacs. It did well with several of the cheeses.
As I stood in the bathroom, washing my hands, thinking about the Mouline, all I could think of was a scene in Apocalpyse Now where Kurtz (Martin Sheen) looks at his case brief as he wades deeper into the Heart of the Jungles of Vietnam, into the unknown abyss of Cambodia, on his quest to find his spiritual end (Kurtz aka the madness inducing Mouline). I leave you with it, unedited from the transcript, which offers my feelings for the wine better than I ever could.
Cheers,
Faryan
There has been a new development regarding your mission which we must now communicate to you. Months ago a man was ordered on a mission which was identical to yours. We have reason to believe that he is now operating with Mouline. Saigon was carrying him MIA for his family’s sake. They assumed he was dead. Then they intercepted a letter he tried to send his wife :
SELL THE HOUSE
SELL THE CAR
SELL THE KIDS
FIND SOMEONE ELSE
FORGET IT I’M NEVER COMING BACK FORGET IT
Captain Faryan Amir-Ghassemi - he was with Mouline.