WTN: Dinner and Blind Wine Tasting

It was my turn to host. Arrangements were made with a local restaurant, and the chef did a terrific job. With a couple of fantastic bites to start, we had

N.V. H. Billiot Fils Champagne Brut Réserve - Understated with a hint of toast and the flavor of apple. Clean and precise.

First course was pan seared scallops, vegetable root salad, and a dab of truffle cream sauce
2004 Domaine Guy Roulot Meursault Les Luchets - Much more simplistic than I expected. It drank like a young, one note wine. The nose was empty at first, but with some time in the glass, it showed citrus with the same on the palate. Not sure what is going on with this.

2004 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses - My favorite of Fevre's 2004s, but not on this night. A very shy showing - a little lime, some acidity, but not that tight citrus spine I usually find in this wine.

Second course was striped bass, celery root puree, clams, fava beans, saffron broth. This was a course that stumped me and with the help of this board, I settled on
2008 Huët Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont - Sweet overtones that mask the crispness that I expected. I feel it should have shown better, and blame my disappointment on the pairing with striped bass with favas and clams in a saffron broth. For some reason, the dish seemed to emphasize the sweetness.

2008 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos Habert - Served with the 2008 Huet Le Mont Demi Sec, this had the stronger showing. A fine, soft texture with a good balance of acid and fruit, less sweet than the Huet, it was the essence of pear.

Third course was pan roasted duck breast, sweet potato puree, demi-glace
2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - Fantastic bottle. The nose was stunning with berries and florals. It was loamy and earthy with bright fruit and good acidity.

2003 Arcadian Pinot Noir Francesca's Cuvée - I wish I would have decanted. It was holding so much back, with the potential to be great.

2006 Arcadian Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard - Subtle fruit, yet fresh and attractive with good structure. I brought a bottle of this to Aruba last month, and shared a glass with our waiter who had spent some time in Burgundy. He loved it and thought it tasted like many of the wines he drank while he was in Burgundy.

Fourth course was grilled prime shell steak, Yukon gold potato puree, natural jus
1997 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia - Intense and complex nose. Good balance with earth, fruit, and tannins.

1999 Fattoria di Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia - more acidic than the 1997 and without the compexity.

With poached pear and assorted cheese
2002 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume - Savory nose with a hint of honeysuckle. Crisp acidity, with an underpinning of pineapple - just a lovely wine that paired nicely with assorted cheese and poached pear.

Terrific menu, Diane..am long time fan of Felsina and Aracadian (The Sleepy Hollow and Francesca's are favorites of mine, I think we barrel tasted a Dierberg Syrah and PN some years back when we visited Arcadian and Barry Rossum hosted us on a tasting)..Where did you hold this tasting? we will probably be heading out to the island in August, perhaps visit Charles at Paumonock on the North Fork, Wolffer and Channing Daughters on South Fork plus friends in Montauk and family in Dix Hills and Melville

Jon - can you believe that I've never visited the wineries on the South Fork, and I live less than 1 hour away. We are always drawn to the North Fork to spend an afternoon at Paumanok.

The restaurant I chose for this dinner is Chachama Grill in East Patchogue, which is a somewhat undiscovered gem in an unlikely location. In addition to the food being outstanding, the chef/owner totally understood how I wanted the wine service handled - clean glasses for each wine and either 2 or 3 glasses for each course. We were 12 people and this is not a big restaurant. He supplied all of the stems and service was seamless.

The Arcadian flight seemed to excite everyone, and most pegged it as Old World Pinot. The group became animated when it was revealed as California Pinot. Arcadian and Scherrer have been my top Pinots outside of Burgundy, with Rhys now joining this group. The 1997 Felsina really stumped everyone. They were coming up with Rhone and Bordeaux and were shocked to see Chianti. Felsina's Riserva Rancia can age gracefully.

I hope you enjoy your visit to Long Island...I've been hearing good things about Shinn Vineyards. Maybe one time I will just drive past Paumanok and check out Shinn.

Interesting outcomes with the Huet and Chidaine. I only had the Huet once and I haven't had that Chidaine, but these things are so often dependent on the time, mood, and of course the food pairing as you noted. Based on track record one would expect the Huet to be the slightly 'finer' wine. But Chidaine can be pretty darn tasty and enjoyable as well. Nice to have them both together.

thanks for the feedback, Diane..We rarely ever hit the South Fork as well ..something always seems to come up and we stick to the North fork, and I wind up buying Wolffer chards at local stores on LI ..We have never been to either the Wolffer or Channing wineries and I was hoping to give em a shot this time around. I do like the Wolffer chards. Have a fair amount of Arcadian and Rhys/Alesia PN's in the cellar..I have been buying Fred's Zins and Rose for some time now but have never tasted, let alone purchased, a Scherrer PN(or his cab and chard ,for that matter, did buy a few of Fred's syrahs, )...hmmm.

I love Fred's zins and absolutely love his Pinots, especially Big Brother and Russian River. The 2007s are excellent.

[Jenise]

Diane, we opened our last 2001 Arcadian about two weeks ago, a Pisoni. I had held it the longest of the pack and this bottle proved that a good move. It drank like a grand cru--absolutely delicious, and drunk with some salmon still warm from the smoker. Best wine I've had in some time, and the only thing that marred the experience was our guest commenting that the newish Ken Wright he brought would blow it away. He's entitled to prefer any wine he likes, of course, but not to presume that I'd agree.

Jenise, like you, this was my last 2001, and it was the best bottle. I have yet to try a Pisoni (I have a couple of young ones), but I absolutely love Arcadian's Sleepy Hollow. I have a few 2005 SH and will do my best to hold onto them.

No comment on your friend, but let me tell you about my friend who gave me a 2008 Hanging Vine Merlot for my birthday.

[Jenise]

Jenise, like you, this was my last 2001, and it was the best bottle. I have yet to try a Pisoni (I have a couple of young ones), but I absolutely love Arcadian's Sleepy Hollow. I have a few 2005 SH and will do my best to hold onto them.

No comment on your friend, but let me tell you about my friend who gave me a 2008 Hanging Vine Merlot for my birthday.

My friend and his partner just prefer a few degrees more sugar of the type that is more evident in both Ken Wright's style as well as a wine seven years younger. But they don't realize this about themselves. That is, they get the compliment that 'Burgundian' is--and when in Burgundy they love the wines--but if they were tasting blindfolded at home in California, they'd prefer new world every time. I'm going to have to locate some Sleepy Hollow. Have only had that vineyard from other producers, like Talbott. Also must try some Rhys and Scherrer. The first has been on my target list, but the second I know nothing of and clearly should, since our tastes seem very closely aligned.

thanks for notes Diane, sounds like a great tasting and you did well with pairings. Too bad about the Roulot, that should be outstanding-