This one's for Jo Ann, mostly. I am taking her advice to review a wine once in a while. If she tries it and reports back, I can get a sense of her palate. It costs next to nothing to check it out for anybody would like to. A most amazing value.
On Friday night I stopped at the Beacon Hill Bistro in Boston. My second favorite spot in Boston when I am dining alone. First is No. 9 Park, on Beacon Hill next to the Common. I dine in the Big Apple when I can, and sometimes try a a little French bistro like Beacon Hill. Beacon Hill delighted me as much as any bistro in New York. I had a duck liver pate appetizer and Columbia River Sturgeon for my main course (I hope it not endangered making me a criminal). I will email the cook and ask him for some details about the preparations, which made the two plates unique, and then post them if he responds. They were remarkable, but I will save the descriptions until later, when I am better informed.
Atmosphere-wise, the place, for my blood, is wonderful. It very much reminds me of Paris. The waitresses look Parisian, in their lithe elegance, with a little insouciance tossed in. But when there was no place for me to park, two of them rushed outside when a car pulled away from the Charles Street curb and stood in the parking spot warding off all comers who tried to park until I could fetch my car, drive for several blocks before being able to turn around, and come back to the spot. They take care of you there.
I looked for a half bottle of Bordeaux on the wine list because I had meetings planned for the next day, in which I needed to be sharp. Drinking a full bottle was out of the question. There were none. But I espied a full-size bottle for thirty-something dollars (which probably meant $15 to $20 retail), called Chateau Semonlon (2006). That would be cheap enough to leave half without feeling guilty. I asked my waitress if I could see the bottle. I was hoping it was at least a Cru Bourgeois. It said nothing on the label that told me anything, but I had really no choice, so I ordered it.
I took one sniff and it could have been a $100 bottle. It was absolutely classic, and dark, and had the most wonderful earth and dark fruit taste, and nice medium body, and good acidity with fine, silky tannins, and left a touch of spice on the tail. I guessed the Margaux area, because of the earth and sensuality, but it could have been nearer St. Julien, because of the sweet dark fruit taste and tail. It was absolutely lovely.
At the Park Avenue Bistro (in NYC, of course, Murry Hill area), another similar and great spot, a couple of weekends ago, I did something similar and ordered a 2006 Allées des Cantemerle, the second wine of Fifth Growth Cantemerle. My wife and I had very much the same reaction to it as I had with the Semonlon. It was almost as good, with a similar earthy style. Every year is wonderfully unique, as unique as the personalities of people. I am pleasantly surprised at how good the 2006 vintage tastes to me, and how ready its so-called little wines are. My wife is bugging me to stock up, and I will start tomorrow.