I was looking for a place for an evening out with my wife, and when I saw that The Modern, located at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, had just won the Best Wine Service award from the Beard Foundation, I decided to give it a try. The idea was to allow the restaurant to do it’s thing, so my wife and I both opted for the prix fixe dinner, with the wine pairings to be determined by the sommelier. It was a fantastic night, and I highly recommend the place next time you’re in NYC. The food and service were outstanding. As for the wines, I’ll tell you what we drank, and let you make up your own minds. Apologies in advance for my failure to get vintages and/or particular cuvees on the wines.
Bubbles
Vilmart & Cie. champagne - Served from magnum. Looking now at the CellarTracker entries for the variety of Vilmart cuvees, I am disappointed that I didn’t focus more closely on the label. But I am almost certain that we had the standard, non-vintage bottling. This is a chardonnay dominated blend, terrific tight bubbles, and, to me, more minerally than yeasty. Served with a variety of amuse bouches.
Whites
Arietta On The White Keys white bordeaux blend (Sonoma County)
Monopole rioja blanco,
Francois Baur 2002 riesling (Alsace)
Substance riesling (Washington State)
For me, the Arietta was easily the best performer in this grouping, and a wine that I will add to my cellar. Great stuff. I thought the Baur riesling was just on the border of oxidized, but the somm seemed to think that what i was sensing was the much-debated petroleum tone. I didn’t read it as petroleum - more of a wooden, bark-y note to me - but in any case it added complexity and did not diminish the experience. The Substance had some serious residual sugar; too much for my palate, but something that a younger person who you are looking to introduce to wine might find appealing (kind of like prosecco, which I also find useful as a gateway drug ![[drinkers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/82916bed5ad74ac8470bc04089d9758b0c80c9fa.gif "drinkers"){kind=small}
). The Monopole was nice, simple, not particularly memorable.
Pinot Noirs
Copain Goutte D’Art (Anderson Valley, CA)
Gresser (Alsace)
OK, Copain fans, prepare to be jealous. The Goutte D’Art (which translates to “The Taste of Art”) is, according to the somm, a special bottling which Wells does only for The Modern. The Gresser was a perfectly well-made pinot, but served against the Copain, it was no contest. The Copain was a far more complex and substantial wine, with hints of forest floor, a forever finish, and terrific aromatics. Serious stuff.
Big Reds
Bodegas Triton 2008 tempranillo (Spain)
Robert Sinskey Vineyards 2008 cabernet franc (Napa)
Interesting food pairings here, as the cab franc was served with duck, and the tempranillo was served to accompany a cod and bean dish. This round went to the cab franc, although having consumed as much wine as we had by that point it might have been a case of the bigger bodied wine simply cutting through the accumulated palate fatigue better than the tempranillo. Enjoyed them both, but neither makes me want to go search them out.
Sweets
Peterson Home Farm Muscat Blanc (Sonoma)
Laverriere Banyuls Grand Cru Clos Chatart 1999 (Languedoc)
Both really interesting, but unfair to render any kind of an opinion as by this time our palates were shot.
The stars of the evening were, without question, the Arietta and the Copain. The folks on this board probably won’t be surprised.