WTN: Tale of the tape- 6 Bordeaux, 2 Champagne, 1 Barolo

Headed to One Fifth, a newish Marc Forgione place, for a Bordeaux dinner last night. Some interesting Champagnes to start
NV Agrapart Mineral (2015 base)
Crisp snappy BdB. Dry but not austere, bright pear and peach fruit with snappy acids, long rocky finish. A-

NV Calsac “Les Revenants”
This is an unusual blend - Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Arbanne. Really unusual profile at first - someone said Indian spices, I got cumin and celery seeds. Not as crisp as the Agrapart, I found more interesting than tasty. But a revisit after some time in ice bucket revealed a nice aromatic Champagne. B/C+ to start, B at end. But fun to try!

We started with tuna crudo (ok tuna on a bed of bland green olives) and a really delicious lamb mortadella roll with pistachio pesto (I wasn’t sure what to expect, these were little slider size sandwiches).

We had some changes as to wine plan, one person missed final round, and brought a blind Italian. I got Piedmont, but thought Barbaresco and younger. 1996 Francisco Rinaldi Brunate Barolo had some tannin but lovely black cherry with a touch of tar, fairly elegant. B+

The Bordeaux were blind, everyone had wrapped in aluminum foil, we randomized and then marked with blue painters tape so we wouldn’t mix up. We had tagliatelle with rabbit and mushroom, chicken under brick, strip steak, and broccoli,

“Low Tape” Mature and developed, lovely mocha and forest floor aromas, smooth resolved palate. A-

“High Tape” Young and pretty structured, solid tannins, cassis with an herb edge B but likely to improve

“Two Tape” old school claret, tobacco and black fruits, cedary, ready. A-

“Three Tape” reserved, coffee and black plum, midweight. B

“Four Tapes” Sweet and ready, black plum and cherry, pencil shavings, good finish A-/B+

“Six Tape”- cassis, a little chipotle, herbal, some tannin B

The votes and the reveals
Low Tape 11 pts 1982 Grand Puy Lacoste
High Tape 3 pts 1986 Pichon Lalande
Two Tape 9 pts 1983 Pichon Lalande
Three Tape 0 pts 1988 Magdelaine
Four Tape 13 pts 1989 Beychevelle
Six Tape 0 pts 1988 La Lagune

Fun night!
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Headed to One North, a newish Marc Forgione place...

I think you mean One Fifth? So would you recommend the restaurant? Over on Berserkers someone said the starters were weak but pastas and mains were good. It's right in my hood, which of course does not lack restaurant options. But it's right down the block from where we put our NYU guest speakers and always looking for convenient options that are a cut above the rest.

oops yes will edit (as I was walking the last few blocks I was thinking about North Square, in area and where we used to do offlines).
Yes, One Fifth (old Otto space).
I've been there twice, previous time was whole pig dinner.
First of all, great for carb loading, most of the starters are bread heavy.
I really likedt the lamb buns, but crudo was meh, as were some of starters last time.
The taglitelle was strong. I'd really like to try the chitarra with squid ink, but not with Bordeaux.
Chicken and steak were fine, broccoli was overcooked and oversauced.
I think there were scallops as a main, but overall not a ton of choices for a pescetarian.
Overall I'd give a B/B+, which is fine with a good corkage deal. But don't think I'd take Betsy for date night.

Thanks for that. I guess many restaurants fall into that range, and one could do worse. But always searching for the elusive something 'special'.