Fevre and Gattinara at Stone Barns

A dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns is always an event, this time we were four to try the new spring tasting menu. Some amuse, a crab dish in some rhubarb and tapioca cold sauce,a soft cooked deep fried egg!!!!!, an incredible potato gnocchi, and a lamb thee way (shoulder, loin and sausage). The food was extraordinary; inventive, focused, layered, light all with impeccable flavors and some of the technique left us making orgasmic sounds. As good as Per Se for me.

The wines:
2004 William Fevre Chablis Fourchaume; crisp steely and focused. Still a bit young but very intense and the acidity works very well with the crab.
2001 Antoniolo Gattinara Vigneto Castelle; smells great and is more open for business than I imagine. I can't discern any oak, but I do get huge violets, a bit rustic, the wine is dusty on the attack with a bitterness on the finish that complements rather than take over the taste of the food. Very good.

An incredible fest for a foodie with a great service to go with it.

thanks for the notes. Mark was ragging on BH@SB Monday, saying they had oversalted everything. Glad it seems like that was a one-off event, and kitchen on track.
I bought several '02/05 Fevre, somehow missed '04.
Antoniolo is a new producer to me, the only Gattinara I know is Travaglini with the odd bottles.

Antoniolo is a new producer to me, the only Gattinara I know is Travaglini with the odd bottles.

I'm not familiar with Antoniolo either, but in my market there's Nervi, which usually offers better value than Travaglini

thanks for the notes. Mark was ragging on BH@SB Monday, saying they had oversalted everything. Glad it seems like that was a one-off event, and kitchen on track.

Dale, this was one of the best meals of my life!!!

Antoniolo Gattinara was my "epiphany" wine in the late 70s, when I was in my early 20s. I was studying in Boston and met up with my Confirmation (Catholic equivalent to Bar Mitzvah) godfather on one of his trips to New York. He was of Italian descent and took me to dinner at Giambelli's, and old line Italian restaurant in midtown that still exists, though I imagine it has seen better days. My godfather ordered a bottle of Antoniolo Gattinara (no idea what vintage). Up to that point I had been completely indifferent to wine, and this was my first encounter with "hmm, there's something going on here that is more than meets the tongue."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/nyreg ... ref=slogin