One of my top wine events of the year (and often THE top) is Ben and Wendy’s annual white truffle dinner. I trained and subwayed down to their lovely loft in Greenwich Village, hung with convivial crowd while we waited for those that tried to travel by car in Manhattan in Dec.
Started with kaluga caviar, homemade potatoes chips, and creme fraiche with 2 great Champagnes
2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose (mag)
Deeper pink than normal, strawberries and blood orange, lots of chalky minerality. A-
2008 Agrapart Mineral Blanc de Blancs
I love Mineral but have never had this one this old, and it’s quite youthful! Pear and citrus zest, tangy but not austere, long. A-
Perfect soft scrambled eggs with truffles (and Ben's bread with French butter)
1958 Fontanafredda Barbaresco
Diane was a little worried about this when opened, but with air it turned into an elderly but intact dowager. A little bit of red fruit, black tea, some flowers and spice. B
1964 Marcarini Brunate Barolo Riserva di Famiglia
Deep color for age, deep and solid. Black cherries, tree bark, campfire smoke. A little tar on long finish. Really quite lovely, A-
Tajarin (egg yolk pasta) with truffles
2001 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili
Black cherry, violets, young and elegant. B+/A-
1999 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Rocche del Falletto
Powerful and young, meaty notes and quite approachable despite the structure. A great wine that will get greater. A- (for now)
2004 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo (mag)
Dark fruit, a little coffee groups, lots of tannin. Good but not the most delicious right now. B
2006 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe Riserva (mag)
More fruit driven than I’d expect from Cavallotto, interesting miso meets herb edge, not what I expected but I enjoyed a lot. B+/A-
2000 Produttori del Barbaresco Rabaja Barbaresco Riserva
Ripe and ready, warm red fruit, on higher octane side but manages it well. Other than the ‘58 only wine I’d call fully ready so far. B+/B
Coq au vin, with potatoes and Brussels sprouts
1961 Jules Regnier Musigny
Still has some heft, cherry and red plum, some speculation that maybe a little Hermitaging occurred.Interesting old wine, with some leathery notes and good finish. B+
1985 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
Surprisingly sweet fruit, some earth, good length. B+/A-
2008 Meo-Camuzet Freres and Soeurs Les Cras Chambolle-Musigny 1er
So this wasn’t a bad wine, but more about Meo than Chambolle. Loads of black cherry fruit, cocoa/mocha. Tasty but no sense of Chambolle. B/B+
2008 Jadot Musigny
Young, powerful, and wonderful, that blend of elegance and stuffing that makes Musigny great.Black cherry and raspberry, smoke, grilled meat, mustard seed. So long. Will be even greater in 10-20 years. A-
2008 Meo-Camuzet (Domaine) Clos Vougeot
Loads of tasty black plum and currant fruit, zesty acids, very good length. Meo knows what to do with Clos Vougeot.A-/B+
1999 Drouhin Volnay Clos des Chenes Volnay 1er
Dark berry fruit,mushrooms/truffles, earth. Resolved tannins and good finish. B+
Dessert was a pavlova (used at least some of the whites from 30+ eggs in pasta)
1998 Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen Clos St. Urbain SGN (375 ml)
Dark and intense, honey, apricot, and peach pie. Not a lot of acid (well, it’s PG), light caramelly flavors, ok. B/B-
2006 Littorai The Gift Chardonnay (375 ml)
Fun to try, apparently something Ted Lemon from Littorai did as literals gifts one year when botrytis was heavy.. But reminds me why you seldom see (and I never buy) LH Chard. Sweet and unctuous, really acid deficient (makes the ZH seem racy, glad to taste, but….C+
Really great meal, lots of great showings by the wines, lovely generous crowd.
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.