About once a month, we like to take our tastings on the road. We have several favorite restaurants within 30 minutes of our offices. Because we're so close to the Hamptons, naturally, we find ourselves there quite often. Last night, our restaurant of choice was the Plaza Café in Southampton, probably one of the best restaurants on the east end with one of the most talented and creative chef/owners Douglas Gulija. The restaurant has a quiet elegance, known for its world-class seafood but the meats are out of this world. So with our pairings we can get really creative.
We took a new approach last night. Often, one person picks the wines for the night and everyone else gets to blind taste. On this occasion, two groups selected two sets of four wines so everyone could get into the guessing game. Taking this approach made the line-up even that much more of a challenge for the table and unexpected fun for the palate. Here's the run down:
Wine #1 was poured immediately as everything had already been decanting for a while before most of us arrived. A real unexpected, and under-the-radar treat - 1982 La Dominique - Fairly dark in color, cedar on the nose with earth and almost spicy like fruit, medium bodied and still plenty going on with great fruit and a long finish. A classic 82 right bank Bordeaux. Many of us agreed, we could've drank this all night long.
The chef started us off with an amuse bouche of sunchoke bisque with butter poached sweet Maine shrimp, crispy pancetta, Croatian virgin olive oil. A perfect palate pleaser to lead off the night.
Wine #2 was poured: 1985 Lopez Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Tempranillo - A Tempranillo, this is a beautiful and elegant wine with a nose full of flowers, leather, and dark fruit. Almost Nebbiolo or Burgundy-like. Plenty of bright acidity on the palate leading us to believe this wine will last another 10-15 years easily. Flavors of berries and cherries. Medium bodied with a nice finish.
As we pour the third wine, the chef served our first course for the table - Penne alla Bolognese in a classic meat ragu, sun dried tomatoes and shredded parmesan. The slightly gamey flavor of the sausage in the ragu was an outstanding pairing for:
Wine #3: 1990 Boisrenard Chateauneuf du Pape ' Boisrenard' - Deep ruby red and youthful, ripe cherries, kirsh and spicy plums. We were shocked that this wine is over 20 years old as the acidity on this wine was still solid. Most of us guessed this was late 90's or 2001. Wonderful length and roundness with good sweetness. Kind of reminded us of Rayas.
We were just finishing up our first course when out came wine #4: 1993 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon 'Eisele' Vineyard - Unfortunately this wine was a little oxidized so the stewed fruit (raisiny) profile of this wine kind of overtook what this wine had to offer. A shame.
With that wine behind us, we were treated to our delightful mid-course dish Spinalis dorsi (cap of ribeye) slow-cooked suvee style, in a red wine truffle reduction sauce with grilled ramps and cornmeal crusted oysters. The next wine was poured and also happened to pair perfectly with the tender texture and robust flavors of the dish:
Wine #5: 2001 Banfi Brunello di Montalcino - Dark color, captivating on the nose with vibrant aromatics of raspberries and subtle licorice. Great mouthfeel with silky tannins on the palate. Layers of dark fruit with some earth and nicely integrated oak. This is classic Brunello from a great vintage and will age effortlessly for another 10-15 years no problem.
Wine #6 was another big wine: 2001 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo - Awesome nose with concentrated black cherries , spices and tar. On the palate, black cherries, tar, pencil shavings and a bit of tobacco. The tannins were still quite present but softening. While the wine is great now it is only going to get better and better! It's a steal for the money when you consider how expensive current vintages of San Lorenzo are.
With six wines down and just two left, we knew we were in for some amazing bottles to enjoy with our main courses. The table ordered a variety of dishes some of which included:
-Duck breast and duck leg confit, accompanied by foie-gras-chestnut bread pudding
-Grass fed sirloin with roast garlic mash, sautéed spinach, grilled portobello, red wine sauce
-Sage marinated pork tenderloin, sweet potato puree, ragout of brussel spout leaves, figs and bacon lardons
-Sliced flat iron steak, grilled shrimp, potato spinach hash and two delicious sauces
Then out came wine #7: 1986 Cos d'Estournel - What a beauty this wine is! This is textbook Bordeaux from the St. Estephe. Lots of black cherry, intermixed with juniper and cedar and a bit of tobacco on the nose. Gorgeous mouthfeel with cherry and bit of truffle on the finish with the classic tobacco/cedar nuances that you get from Cos. This has lots of life left in it still and is practically seamless now. We just acquired 4 pristine cases that we are selling at $279 per bottle. When you consider that this is higher scoring than the 82 for nearly half the price it's an amazing deal in back-vintage Bordeaux.
And finally, the perfect bottle to finish off the evening and most certainly, the wine of the night, #8: 1996 Grand Puy Lacoste - Another classic Bordeaux that has just started to hit its drinking window! Typical Pauillac nose of cedar, cassis and pencil lead. Still quite youthful on the palate but exceptionally smooth tannins for being a relatively young Bordeaux. It is packed with thick layers of juicy, ripe fruit that dance on the palate with lovely balance and incredible purity. This wine would rival any first growth in this vintage and is a small fraction of the price. For $135 per bottle (we sell it at the lowest price in the country) this is an absolute STEAL!
With so many huge wines, and incredibly flavorful dishes paired with them, this was one of our most enjoyable and memorable staff tastings in a long while. The question is, can we top it next month? Somehow, we always do.