Dinner with the In-Laws

That phrase alone is enough to send shivers down the spine of many of us. It's never easy to completely relax but if you and the husband/wife are in a good place together, it can be done. BrooklynLady and I are in such a place, luckily, because her folks flew in last Thursday from California and we had several dinners together, all in our living/dining room.

For the last dinner of this visit I decided to whip up something special, a little bit festive. But with tiny daughter needing attention, the occasion called for a meal that would be simple to prepare. I went with roast rack of lamb - rub it with mustard, garlic, herbs, throw it in the oven, let is rest, presto. Also some simple roast potatoes with white truffle oil, and some braised kale. Everything worked out well, I am happy to say, and the in-laws were appreciative and in YUM-land.

I wanted to serve something interesting as an aperitif, I didn't feel like defaulting to Champagne. Not that there's anything wrong with Champs, but we did that on Thursday night. How about something elegant and festive in a white wine? I opened a bottle of Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer, an Alsace producer I have been meaning to try for a while now. Both Fork and Bottle (if you read the WBW 29 Biodynamic Roundup, you already know this) and The Wine Doctor have nice profiles of this biodynamic producer, so take a peek.

2004 Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim, $28.
Not vieille vignes, not a grand cru vineyard, this is more of an "entry level" Gewurz from the Zind. I LOVED it, and will definitely investigate Zind Humbrecht further. Deep golden color, very inviting. Expansive floral aromas, also some classic lychee, some citrus, and a touch of honey. And that's just the nose, people! First impression of the palate is purity lean and clean wine, surprisingly so for a wine with innate sweetness. The wine zings with the tension that comes from a perfect mixture of sweet yellow fruit and acidity. The label indicates that this wine is a "2" out of 5 on the sweetness index, and this honeyed and floral residual sugar carried through on the long and elegant finish. I wanted more and more of this wine. I want some now...

Father-in-law stunned us by bringing to this dinner a bottle of mature Burgundy wine, a 1993 Volnay 1er Cru by Robert Ampeau, a producer I had never encountered. It gets mostly excellent reviews from the community on Cellar Tracker, and one of the reviews said that it needs time to open up. Good thing I read that note...

1993 Domaine Robert Ampeau et Fils Volnay Santenots 1er Cru
Smells of seaweed and rotting vegetables when first opened. Reminded me of the older regional wine I opened with cheese at our holiday wine dinner. Not good. But almost 3 hours later (thank you Cellar Tracker reviewers), by the time we sat down to our dinner, the nasty smells had completely blown off. Lovely tranparent ruby, no visible signs of aging. Enticing smells of sweet cooked cherries, some spices, and some musty earth undertones. Amazing, how much changed in the nose over a few hours. Silky texture, flavors of cooked red fruit and clay earth with some dried leaf character - an interesting and delicious mature Burgundy. Made fast and close friends with the food too. This wine is available at Crush in Manhattan for $70, and although I really enjoyed it, I am not sure if that represents a great value. I guess if you're in the market specifically for a mature red Burgundy, it is a good value, but if you have $70 to spend on any bottle of red Burgundy...not so sure.

I opened a half bottle of dessert wine as a final flourish, a 2002 Grgich Hills Violetta, $30 (on secondary market). I have enjoyed, but not loved this wine in the past, and this was the best showing thus far. This is a late harvest blend of mostly Chardonnay (65-70% I think), Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. Deep yellow with some light orange tint. Orange blossom and honey smells, some citrus peel. Fat and intense on the palate, with confectioners sugar and orange liquor at first, then some floral and honey flavors. A somewhat flabby and unfocused finish prevents this wine from soaring, in my opinion, but it is certainly a treat.

So the in-laws had a great time at dinner, and we did too - a successful evening to be sure. BrooklynBabyGirl slept through almost the whole thing too. And how lovely was that gesture, bringing that lovely old Burgundy? Good luck with your dinners with the in-laws.

Sotheby's Pre Sale Tasting Report; Part 2

And what of the white wines? The lineup of white Burgundies certainly was impressive on paper, with notable wines at various stages of maturity. I was not so impressed, though, overall. None of them really hit me where it counts. Some were out of balance, others just plain strange. The exception was a younger wine, a Chablis - my favorite of the flight.

1991 Remoissenet Pere et Fils Batard Montrachet Grand Cru - Smells of wood and banana, some barnyard elements. Not altogether pleasing nose, but interesting. Lovely palate of rich yellow fruit, honey, some vanilla, a bit of spice. My favorite wine, other than the Chablis.

1997 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Caillerets 1er Cru - incredible (as in odd, not as in amazing) nose of marzipan, cake, and toast. Almondy marzipan palate. I have never encountered anything like this before - tasted as if someone doctored this one with almond extract. Not to my liking at all.

1998 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Montrachet - Icy petrol aroma, some vanilla. Flabby palate, unfocused.

1998 Louis Jadot Criots Batard Montrachet Grand Cru - Smells of bananas and vanilla, same on the palate with some spices too. Pleasant.

2000 Domaine Tollot Beaut Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru - Oaky vanilla aromas. Full bodied, heavy palate of banana and rich dark yellow fruit - almost over-ripe.

2002 William Fevre Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru - Aromas of white flowers, wet stones, and lime. Lovely light zippy palate, light-medium body, white fruits, citrus, and minerals. Beautiful! My favorite of the white wines by a long shot. Others must have agreed, because Sotheby's estimated the lot price at between $550-750 for 9 bottles of this juice, but the final price was over $950. So now I have to look into trying some more Chablis. Maybe Marcus in Montreal, who seems to love the stuff, can help...

Now, back to the reds. The California flight in this tasting surprised me, in that I found myself enjoying the wines more than I enjoyed their counterparts from Bordeaux.

1992 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon - Cedar on the nose, medicinal, herbal quality too. Interesting paalte of Cassis and herbs, with significant grip to it. Still young, this wine was medium bodied but powerful and complex.

1992 Dominus - Dark fruit on the nose, balckberries and mint on the palate. Fine, but I just don't understand all the hype...

1994 Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon - Complex nose of menthol and dark fruits. Soft and silky palate of plums and herbs, some leathery earth. Tannic on the finish. My favorite of the flight.

1995 Stags Leap Merlot, Napa Valley - Opulent nose of plums and spices. Rich plums and choclate, some earth on the palate. This is a decadent wine, a very classy merlot. I thought it was delicious, and I found myself thinking "I bet this will go cheap - who is buying Merlot anyway?" And I was right. The lot of 24 bottles sold for $540 including buyers premium. We're talking about $23 bucks a bottle for mature and delicious wine, wine that would be great with food. I should have bid...

1997 Peter Michael Les Pavots - Reserved nose, some cedar, some flowers. Palate of bright red fruit, some pine. Very nice.

Next time I go to a Sotheby's pre-auction tasting I plan on focusing my attention on one, maybe two flights, and tasting the wines more thoughtfully. I think something is lost in trying to taste everything. This is really fun stuff though - if you're in the area you should come. Too much good wine to miss out.

Sotheby's Pre Sale Tasting Report; Part 1

BrooklynLady graciously gave me clearance to attend the Sotheby's tasting last night, so I donned my best fleece jacket and outer shell (it's freezing here in the city now - winter finally) and went to meet Deetrane at the famous auction house on 71st Street and York Avenue.

The event was a bit more subdued this time, maybe the weather kept all but the most serious wine lovers and tradespeople away. I was the only person in this crowd (including Deetrane) who had never before tasted a Cheval Blanc, for example. No one was rushing to taste wines. People instead were focusing on the regions or wines that they were interested in, and lingering.

I, on the other hand, made sure to taste everything, and then to go back for seconds on wines that intrigued me. It was not possible to keep thoughtful notes on all of the wines, but I scribbled down some impressions, and I also picked favorites in each flight which I will share. I'll begin with the red Burgundies, because the white table was jammed when I walked in so these were the first wines I tasted. I was impressed by two of these wines, and not so moved by the other two. Here are the wines, with the few notes I wrote during the tasting:

1999 Bouchard Pere et Fils Clos Vougeot Grand Cru - Bright red color, oaky, tangy sour cherries.

1999 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu 1er Cru - Deep purple, reserved nose of blackberries and underbrush, indistinct palate.

1994 Bouchard Pere et Fils La Romanee Grand Cru - Rose red with orange rust. Highly perfumed, lots of flowers. Very deep and fresh flavors, surprisingly, since the color is light and the wine looks old. Orange peel, spices, pure sappy blackfruit, and pine on the palate. Well balanced, great acidity. Unquestionably my favorite wine of this flight.

1990 Billard-Gonnet Pommard 1er Cru - Light red color, some rust. Pine and earthy smells, youthful flowers also. Reserved palate, somewhat indistinct.

Now the Bordeaux wines. I was more impressed by these wines than I was by the lineup of Bordeaux at the previous Sotheby's tasting, but I still have to say that I just don't get it with expensive and fine Bordeaux wines. So rarely do they excite me, make me feel passionate about their aromas and flavors. That said, most of the wines in this flight are adored by the community on Cellar Tracker, so you really shouldn't listen to me if you're a Bordeaux fan. I mean after all, with the exception of Gruaud Larose and Grand Puy Lacoste, I had never before tasted these producers. I'm a Bordeaux neophyte. These are my impressions:

1983 Chateau Cheval Blanc - Transparent rusty brick color. Interesting nose of orange peel, medicine, and pine. I have never encountered this aroma profile before, and it was perplexing to be honest. I didn't like the palate at first, but when I came back later I enjoyed it more. Velvety texture, brambles, perfumed wood (is this what people smell when they say sandalwood?), and raisins on the palate. This wine was more intellectually appealing to me than it was delicious.

1986 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron - Spicy pine nose, velvet texture, lovely red fruit, some tar, dark cassis flavors. Impressive. My 2nd favorite wine of the flight.

1986 Chateau Gruaud Larose - Cedar on the nose, and oddly, spring water. Chewy texture, simple plummy palate.

1990 Chateau Latour a Pomerol - Dark color, dark fruit nose. Nice balance, but somewhat simple palate of dark fruits.

1990 Chateau Haut Bages Liberal - Eucalyptus and some tar on the nose, lots of cassis and cedar on the palate, with good acidity and balance, spicy. If I had to plunk down my money for one of these Bordeaux wines, at a projected auction price of about $50 a bottle, this would be the one.

1995 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste - Blue fruit nose, Welch's grape juice smell. Tannic, young, and simple right now. Just doesn't excite me.

1995 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou - Cassis and black fruit nose, sweet plums and dark fruits on the palate. Not exciting.

There was only one Rhone wine poured at this event, but it was a fascinating wine. I have never tasting anything like it:

1990 Guigal Hermitage - Nose of road tar - lots of road tar! After plenty of swirling, some rosemary too. Gamy palate, meaty, some minerality. Not special to me at first, but when I returned to the wine later and spent some time with it, I discovered orange peel and rose petals underneath the gamy flavors, and found myself longing to eat a meal with this wine.

Just goes to show that tasting this many wines this quickly is not going to reveal any kind of "truth" about them. I need to be more selective at these Southeby's tastings. Hard though, when there are so many famous wines that I wouldn't otherwise get to taste. Part 2 tomorrow.

Down Under in Brooklyn

Wine Blogging Wednesday is again upon us, a bit earlier this month because of a few holiday Wednesdays later in the month. WBW is Lenn's baby - he got it all started over two years ago now. Lenn has a brand new baby, by the way, and this may or may not impede his ability to participate in WBW this month. We'll see...

Tim at Winecast is hosting this month, and new world Syrah is his theme of choice. I have little experience with Syrah, and I don't drink much new world wine, other than Oregon Pinot Noir. When I start to explore wine made from a grape that is unfamiliar to me, I usually begin with the classics, the old world versions. I began to explore a bit with a couple of bottles from Cornas, the famous Northern Rhone appellation, but really I have no context in which to frame my tastings. The theme this month offers a great learning opportunity for me.

So it was with an intrepid spirit and good cheer that I set out to taste a new world Syrah for WBW #30. I decided to make a night of it - go Down Under in Brooklyn. Why not crack open a bottle of that Two Hands Shiraz that everyone raves about in their Cellar Tracker notes, and how about a roast leg of Aussie grass fed lamb to go with it?

First, the lamb. I really went for it, buying and roasting the whole leg. No one came for dinner, and BrooklynLady was 9 months pregnant and could eat only small amounts at a time. Leftover lamb happens to be a favorite of mine though. Something about the cool to room temperature herbal, salty, and gamy slices...I can pick them out of the fridge and start munching, any time of day.

I figured that the wine would be big and fruity, maybe with some sweetness to it, so I decided to marinate the lamb with something salty and savory to create a bit of contrast. I used a mortar and pestle to pound three anchovy fillets, about a tablespoon of fresh rosemary needles, and a large garlic clove into a paste. Transferred that to a bowl and whisked in some good extra virgin olive oil. Rubbed this all over the lamb, massaging it in like you would your pregnant wife's feet, and let it sit for about two hours.

Side dishes: a mix of sweet and savory again. Sweet: butternut squash, pan roasted at low enough heat so as not to brown, with some butter and brown sugar, then pureed with a little whole milk and salt. Savory - a green salad made with Romaine lettuce hearts and Persian cucumbers - the un-waxed skinny and long ones with a high meat to water ratio - they're bitter and crisp. Dressed with a simple vinaigrette that began with anchovies, again pounded with garlic, some Dijon mustard, and then the vinegar and good olive oil.

You say it's geeky of me to echo the anchovy thing in the salad dressing? So what? There are only so many things in life I care to obsess about, and the war in Iraq is not one of them. Neither is global warming, nor is my current "job," the crap I do to get a paycheck. So can't you just let me have my matching marinade and salad dressing anchovy geek out, please?

The lamb came out lookin' good and I let her rest under tin foil for about 20 minutes. Served with the squash and salad YUM. I cannot say that I have ever worked with better quality lamb. Good fat layer, but no big fatty deposits inside the leg, beautiful gamy rich flavor, and a minerally freshness - it's grass-fed.

About 2 hours prior I opened and decanted a bottle of 2004 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden, $42. Two Hands, located in the Barossa Valley of South Australia, produces many different wines, but I believe is known for their McLaren Vale Shiraz. As I said before, I have no context for tasting this wine - no experience with Aussie Shiraz (other than a few bottles of inexpensive stuff that I thought was just too sweet and alcohol driven), and little experience with Syrah, period. So take my notes with a grain of salt.

2004 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden
Inky purple. Nice aromas of dark fruit, rosemary, and an iron, blood like smell. These aromas, while lovely, were somewhat fleeting, as there was also a prominent alcohol heat that pushed them aside. Hard not to, I guess, at 14.5%. Two hours later, by the way, the herbal and metal aromas were more reserved, and the fruit and heat more prominent. Very interesting palate of juicy red and black fruit, black licorice, and raisins, with pretty good acidity. A big and powerful wine, even on the finish.

It did pair well with the lamb, and yes, the palate was interesting. But only in an intellectual way, not for me in the emotional way that I usually react to a wine that I love. in other words, I recognize that this is quality juice, and that it might even stand out among wines of this style. It's not a style that I favor, because it is so overwhelming, such a bully on the table. I can't imagine sitting around chatting and sipping this wine - too big and too much alcohol. But even gamy roast lamb with anchovy paste was having a hard time competing. And by the way, the critics all loved this wine, rating it between 91 and 94, and the folks on Cellar Tracker rave about it - tasting notes praise the lavish fruit and texture, the community average rating is 92. So what do I know...

I am certainly open to suggestions from you Aussies about other pairings (I still have one more bottle), or about similar wines so I can learn more about the style. And big thanks to Tim at Winecast for hosting this month's WBW.

Catching up a Little Bit

Life is really beautiful, I have to tell you. I know it's corny, but having my little daughter has put me in this all-forgiving, in love with the world frame of mind. I'm polite and helpful towards everyone now, even those folks you deal with in the city who are not always so friendly themselves. Why? Because they were small like BrooklynBabyGirl once, and maybe they even have a child of their own. We are all miracles.

Okay, wipe your mouth, because you still have a bit of vomit on your lower lip - I know, that was disgustingly sentimental. But real for me. So now, some catching up with other things...

If you are superstitious, you might want to take note of what we were drinking, eating, and listening to as we went into labor, because they all clearly brought us great luck. We ate leftover roast lamb for dinner with butternut squash puree, and I opened a bottle of 2002 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvee. 2002 was a great year for Willamette Valley Pinots, and Domaine Serene is considered to be a top Oregon producer. I tasted this particular wine, their "entry level" wine, a little over a year ago and found it to be too aggressive, too spicy, to herky-jerky for my taste. What a difference a year makes!

2002 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvee, $35.
Pretty ruby color, even prettier aromas of rich red fruit, flowers, and clay earth. Very Burgundian nose. The palate doesn't quite live up to the nose, but it is delicious nonetheless. Well balanced with red cherries, herbal notes, and some earthiness, with good underlying acidity. I must say, I wish I had more of this wine in the cellar.

We enjoyed this wine (and yes - BrooklynLady had a few sips - you're allowed) with our lamb, and we were listening to the blind musicians from Mali, Miriam and Amadou, the album "Dimanche en Bamako" (Sunday in Bamako). This is definitely a good luck album people, and worth the investment.

Other recent wines worth mentioning include the NV Perrier-Jouet Champagne Grand Brut that we enjoyed when we returned from the hospital. Sure, it's not a vintage Champagne from a trendy small producer or anything, but it's classic for a reason - it's just good. Nice floral aromas with some orange blossom, and a pleasant chalkiness on the finish. And this is the Champs that BrooklynLady and I drank on our 1st anniversary vacation in Miami last June, right before we learned that she was pregnant.

Last night I made dinner for the first time sine Pia arrived (made, as in cooked, not plated from Tupperware). We had roast rack of lamb rubbed with coarse mustard and Herbs de Provence, sweet potato puree, and salad. Rack of lamb is a great dish for people who want something yummy but have little time to spend in the kitchen. I took 10 minutes to make and rub the marinade, and then 25 minutes to roast the lamb at 450.

We opened a special bottle of wine with our dinner last night, not because it was so expensive or rare, but because it was one of three bottles we brought back from our trip to Burgundy in November. And I cannot believe that it took until last night to notice the name of the vineyard, "Les Belles Filles," meaning "The Beautiful Daughters." Appropriate, I would say.

2003 Pierre Maray et Fils Pernand-Vergelesses "Les Belles Filles."
Light ruby color, high toned nose of cranberries, some herbs, some underbrush. Light bodied wine, with pronounced cranberry flavors, and some of what I have been calling "yogurt," but recently read described as "aspartame." I think that reflects a particular soil composition, but I am not sure. After about a half hour open, the wine revealed very lovely rose petal aromas, and the palate deepened to include some juicy cherry flavors.

We loved this wine, the Beautiful Daughters (notre Belle Fille, a gauche), with our dinner, and I cannot really overstate how happy BrooklynLady is to be able to drink a glass of wine at dinner (yeah, yeah, yeah, she does so only after a feeding, and with 3 hours before the next feeding, so just relax).

Enjoy those who are special in your life - it's too easy to forget sometimes how important they are, how miraculous even. Cheers from Brooklyn!

One More Picture of Tiny Daughter

And then back to business, I promise - plenty of interesting things food and wine to write about. But just look at this sweet little girl!

It's a Girl!

I am overjoyed to announce the birth of BrooklynBabyGirl, otherwise known as Pia. Pia was born on Thursday February 1st at 5:58 am, and she is a precious 5 pounds, 2 ounces. BrooklynLady is an utter champion of labor and is resting comfortably. Pia is already enjoying the 2007 Brooklyn Breast Milk, BrooklynLady Vineyard, $ Priceless.

This is really incredible people, I can't really describe it. I will probably be gone for a little while. And to Lenn and Nena, huge congratulations, and I wish you a beautiful next few weeks!

XXOO,

BrooklynGuy