wine pairing at Alinea

[jhowe]

Ah, just read this again and I assume you were referring to the Clair. Got me excited for a minute as I was getting ready to load up on some Dujac.

[david_li]

@Chris Seiber

@david li

Just got their burg list.
They have a bottle of 12 Dujac CSD for $800. It seems reasonable, relative to the high markups on some of the other wines.
2008 Bruno Clair “Clos Saint Jacques” for 325 seems to be OK for the quality of the wine. Although there is quite a markup on this one.

How did you get the list?

I looked on W-S Pro, the lowest price for that bottle is $150, so it’s not really an atypical markup for a fancy restaurant (which isn’t to disagree that it is a big markup).

They won’t give the full wine list, but emailed my a list for their burgs when I asked. That will be the wine I plan to get anyway.

I probably go for the Clair CSJ. It is a relative value on their list imo. Still quite steep with 30% extra tips and tax.

[david_li]

Finally went to Alinea last night. I was struggle to pick a wine from their list, because the server won’t tell us the menu before the meal.
Then I saw…
2005 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
For $2050 a bottle…the it is a very expensive bargain.
Heck…this is meant to be once of a life time experience. We ordered it…It changed my world.
Truly amazing wine…I was speechless after the first sip.

[John_Danza]

@david li

Finally went to Alinea last night. I was struggle to pick a wine from their list, because the server won’t tell us the menu before the meal.
Then I saw…
2005 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
For $2050 a bottle…the it is a very expensive bargain.
Heck…this is meant to be once of a life time experience. We ordered it…It changed my world.
Truly amazing wine…I was speechless after the first sip.

While that’s a big number for a bottle of wine, it’s actually a discount to current retail for that wine by a pretty fair amount. Fine Wines International is the only retailer on Wine Searcher Pro with that wine and it’s priced at $3,560. Cheapest worldwide is almost $3K. Nice pick!

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

@david li

Finally went to Alinea last night. I was struggle to pick a wine from their list, because the server won’t tell us the menu before the meal.
Then I saw…
2005 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
For $2050 a bottle…the it is a very expensive bargain.
Heck…this is meant to be once of a life time experience. We ordered it…It changed my world.
Truly amazing wine…I was speechless after the first sip.

Baller!

[david_li]

@David K o l i n

@david li

Finally went to Alinea last night. I was struggle to pick a wine from their list, because the server won’t tell us the menu before the meal.
Then I saw…
2005 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
For $2050 a bottle…the it is a very expensive bargain.
Heck…this is meant to be once of a life time experience. We ordered it…It changed my world.
Truly amazing wine…I was speechless after the first sip.

Baller!

Yeah…It is a big ticket for a bottle of wine. But it completely changed my view on white burgs. I wonder how many bottles of wine will do that in my life time.
Also I figured , it is probably no better opportunity to drink this wine. the price is cheaper than the market price. we are having some of the best food and I am not risking premox on an expensive bottle.

[Nick_Gangas]

Sweet ! Was it ready ?

[david_li]

@Nick Gangas

Sweet ! Was it ready ?

The wine keeps changing in the glass, during the 4 hours we were there. It was very big, almost chewy in texture in the beginning. It is beautiful by itself. But it is too strong and almost intimidating. Very strong white flower/citrus peel smell. The first several seafood/veggie dishes were just overwhelmed by it. After 2hours in the decanter, it opened up. A lot of wet stone/ roasted almond notes with a slight hint of honey. The acid started to sing. It balanced out the big texture of the wine. It is almost electrifying on the palate. The wine not only paired well with a Matsutake dish and the couple truffle dishes. Its acidity made it awesome with a pork belly dish.

It is a beauty right now…but will be aging nicely for another 10-15 year at least…

[PaulM]

@Izzy Nosnik

I’ve had the pairings a few times and I have found them to be mediocre at best. It is anything but a wine place and the focus is (and absolutely should be) the food. The way it is served is not conducive to pairings because the “dishes” many times are single bites… you may get 25 things in some cases. In addition, the pairing is offensively priced for what it is. IIRC, the premium pairing was $250 per head and included such $15 selection as Weimar Dry Riesling and a tasting of an $8 bomber of beer.

My suggestion is that if you planned on budgeting for the pairing, get yourself some serious champagne off their list and enjoy that. Champagne pairs with the vast majority of dishes they serve.

For the past few seasons they have done a red meat or duck dish that is a little more substantial about 2/3 of the way through. You can always get a single glass of whatever red they paired with it just for the hell of it. It isn’t worth splurging on a special bottle just for that one course.

This.

[Matt_Latuchie]

@david li

Finally went to Alinea last night. I was struggle to pick a wine from their list, because the server won’t tell us the menu before the meal.
Then I saw…
2005 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
For $2050 a bottle…the it is a very expensive bargain.
Heck…this is meant to be once of a life time experience. We ordered it…It changed my world.
Truly amazing wine…I was speechless after the first sip.

well-played…expensive, but a great price.

[david_li]

@Matt Latuchie

@david li

Finally went to Alinea last night. I was struggle to pick a wine from their list, because the server won’t tell us the menu before the meal.
Then I saw…
2005 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
For $2050 a bottle…the it is a very expensive bargain.
Heck…this is meant to be once of a life time experience. We ordered it…It changed my world.
Truly amazing wine…I was speechless after the first sip.

well-played…expensive, but a great price.

Yeah…It is a good investment for me …It is the first white wine, besides German Riesling, that wows me …now I am officially fall in love with white burgs.
Good price, especially given the high pre-mox risk with the white burgs.

[Patrice_Breton]

I took my wife to Alinea in December 2013. One the greatest culinary experiences of our lives. We did not take the wine pairing, but opted for a bottle of Jacques Selosse “Substance” & an Emmanuel Rouget Échézeaux 2009. Both paired perfectly with the dishes. Excellent wine list.

[david_li]

@Patrice Breton

I took my wife to Alinea in December 2013. One the greatest culinary experiences of our lives. We did not take the wine pairing, but opted for a bottle of Jacques Selosse “Substance” & an Emmanuel Rouget Échézeaux 2009. Both paired perfectly with the dishes. Excellent wine list.

Nice pick.
Actually, I was a little disappointed by their champagne list. Most of the choices are too rich and sweet. I was afraid it will overwhelm the fish dishes.

[Russell_Faulkner]

Good move. But why don’t they tell you the menu?

[david_li]

@Russell Faulkner

Good move. But why don’t they tell you the menu?

They just insist to keep the meal a “surprise”, which I am not a fan of. You can see all the dishes on the yelp anyway.

[George_Hejna]

@Russell Faulkner

Good move. But why don’t they tell you the menu?

Even if you read the menu, you would have a difficult time pairing wines to the descriptions they give.

George