Truffle time

Chris_Buddress · November 28, 2009, 6:54pm

Post turkey day dinner with family. Wines were '64 G. Conterno Barolo and '82 Gaja Barbaresco.

Mushroom/chevre/black truffle quenelle on brioche, asparagus cream, asparagus salad, black truffle.

Sage brown butter, fresh tagliatelli, white truffle.

Seared pork medallions, braised leek/mushroom/endive, black truffle cream, black truffle.

Breakfast today.
Buttered brioche, crispy prosciutto, poached egg, creamy fontina, white truffle.

ToddFrench · November 28, 2009, 6:55pm

Chris, you are officially my king.

Eric_LeVine · November 28, 2009, 7:02pm

OMFG.

Chris_Buddress · November 28, 2009, 7:05pm

Thanks, guys! Turned out well even though this year’s truffles weren’t as good as last year. Tasted delicious though.

Paul_Jaouen · November 28, 2009, 9:57pm

Chris, food looks awesome! As to wine, I had the '64 G. Conterno Barolo on Tuesday and thought it was a very good wine. I actually thought it had more going on than the '41 and '55 Conterno Monfortinos that night. What did you think of it?

Chris_Buddress · November 29, 2009, 8:39pm

Paul, unfortunately I’m on a drinking hiatus, so I didn’t taste, only smelled the wines, but my family and girl friend enjoyed them both a great deal.

The color on the '64 was showing more age than previous bottles I’ve had, very light coppery orange edge with a light brick/burned rose petal core. The label and capsule were also noticeably older looking than other bottles of '64 that I’ve seen and had. Not sure if some of the '64’s have undergone reconditioning, but this bottle, capsule, and cork definitely showed their age and appeared original. The nose seemed muted to a point of almost seeming DOA when I popped the cork, but with about two hours of sitting open and then a gentle decanting just prior to dinner, the wine really came to life. Dried flower, tar, caramel, and dusty cherry and forest strawberry notes dominated the nose.

I’ve never had the '41 or '55 Monfortino, so I have no basis from which to compare them to '64.

Paul_Jaouen · November 30, 2009, 12:55am

What the heck is a drinking hiatus?

Seriously, hope all is well.

Ray.Tuppa_sch · November 30, 2009, 1:17am

And what does that tell you ?

Paul_Jaouen · November 30, 2009, 5:42pm

Ray, you may be absolutely right. I just don’t have enough experience with these to opine. Probably only ones I can nail pretty well would be bordeaux or rhone.

Eric_LeVine · November 30, 2009, 5:57pm

Are you implying fakes?

Ray.Tuppa_sch · November 30, 2009, 6:09pm

Yes.

I thought that both Monfortino’s were not as labeled incliding the '41 which was my bottle. However, when I mentioned that I thought the '55 Monfo wasn’t real, the person who brought it got upset and a couple of other people said unless I’m 100% sure the wine isn’t real and/or drinkable I shouldn’t rain on the parade. So, in the future I will keep my thoughts to myself regarding this unless I know that nobody will get offended or upset.

Of course, at this point there’s no way to ever know for sure, which is generally the case with fakes and/or suspected fakes.

Eric_LeVine · November 30, 2009, 6:15pm

FWIW, from the peanut gallery where I sit, the more that people call legitimate attention to this issue (versus brushing it under the carpet to be polite) the better.

Chris_Buddress · November 30, 2009, 6:19pm

Agree 100%. Sure, some egos may be bruised, but I find the discussion about the qualities and proper characteristics (displayed or lacking) of a wine far more interesting than forcing myself to believe that I’m drinking what the label tells me if there’s a reason to believe that I’m not.

Ray, what tipped you off as seeming uncharacteristic with the '41 and '55, or just the '41 since that was the bottle you brought to the tasting?

Ray.Tuppa_sch · November 30, 2009, 6:51pm

Chris,

I opened both bottles. both corks came out not only intact, but extremely easily which can be a sign of recorking a wine. A secondary point was the both corks were upside down. Again, not always a sure sign but another possible sign.
The label on the '41 was pristine and seemed in the restaurant light to have a high gloss to it ( I had the bottle sent from outside storage so didn’t see it until I got to the restaurant)
Both wines, while they tasted like nebbiolo didn’t look or taste as old as they should have nor did they have the complexity that Monfortino’s generally have. I’ve had the '55 more than a couple of times, and it is usually a monumental wine. This wine was just ok. Both wines were bested by a Conterno generic Barolo that was more powerful and more complex.

All of that put together leads me to my conclusion.

But one never knows.

Chris_Buddress · November 30, 2009, 7:00pm

Thanks, Ray. Interesting details on the corks.

Paul_Jaouen · December 1, 2009, 2:18am

I agree and I thought the discussion there and via email later was very good. Really no reason for anyone to get upset.

I kept the bottle of '41 so Ray you can have a better look at it one of these days soon.

Michael_Bowden · December 1, 2009, 3:03am

Truffles look great!

JayRosen · December 1, 2009, 3:22am

Ray,
If you are under the impression that a fake is lurking, you should not hold back your opinion. There is no reason for anyone to get upset and if they do, too bad. It’s always interesting to get an expert’s opinion, especially in the case of a fake. I don’t want you to misinterpret what I said that night about if the wine was good, what difference does it make. I have not had experience with either of those wines so it will be interesting to try and real one and see how they differ.