Page 54 - Blog

I just had the pleasure to attend the Wine Spectator Grand Tasting in New York City!  Over the course of the night, I was able to taste dozens of wines from amazing producers.  First Growth Bordeaux, big name Super Tuscans, legendary California Cults, Grand Cru Champagne, and the list goes on...

One of the highlights from the entire tasting for me was Michel Niellon's Chassagne Montrachet. They were proudly pouring the 2008 Premier Cru from La Maltroie vineyard.  What a treat! The 2008 White Burgundies are among my favorites right now to drink, and the 2008 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet La Maltroie is no exception. Full of honeyed pear on the nose, the palate opens with great acidity, fruit and oak - all in perfect balance. Great length and overall amazing value for Premier Cru Burgundy. This is a producer to keep on the lookout for, as their wines are always excellent quality at very reasonable prices.

This particular white is one to seek

With fall in full swing and Thanksgiving coming up in a few weeks, I thought this Pumpkin-Lobster Bisque Soup would be an ideal recipe to feature now. I actually came up with this recipe a few years ago by chance when making preparations for an Opus Wine dinner menu with Michael Silacci. I needed a first course that paired well with the only white of the evening, a Mondavi Fume Blanc. I initially started to make a traditional pumpkin soup, but it just seemed boring to me. So, to solve that, I blended in some of my lobster sauce and really liked how the two went together. The finishing touch was to butter poach some lobster and add it to the dish to really round it out. This is a great soup to enjoy on cold autumn evenings.

Yield: 1 gal.

Lobster, culls - 4 pounds
Celery, diced    - ½ stalk
Plum tomatoes, quartered - 2 each
Shallots, sliced - 3 each
Garlic, crushed   

“…unequivocally one of the most exciting portfolios that I tasted and I sincerely hope an American importer with niche clientele embraces “Passionate Wines” in the future.” - Neal Martin

Thankfully for passionate consumers of wine here in the U.S., Monsieur Touton must have read the quote above from last October’s issue of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.  And when they tasted the wines from Matias Michelini’s project, they realized his passion for wine as well as respect for the Tupungato terroir.  Incorporating biodynamic techniques with a range of varietals in this part of Mendoza, Matias appears to have hit a homerun on bottling interesting wines that capture the essence of the area under the Passionate Wines label.

Two of their wines currently in the market are the 2010 Montesco Parral and the 2011 Montesco Punta Negra.  Parral is a blend of 40% Malbec, arguably Argentina’s most notable varietal,

James Molesworth of the Wine Spectator travelled around Bordeaux tasting the 2010 Futures this past March.  As we all know, the hype was significant (again) and much of the talk was how the 2009s and 2010s compare to each other.  But at many of his stops, he was asked if the 2005 vintage is now a "forgotten vintage".  He wanted to know how 2005 measures up against the two most recent legendary vintages.  Most of the answers were frank and complimentary.

Personally, I like what Christian Seeley (who is responsible for the Bordeaux estates of Pichon-Longueville-Baron, Pibran, Petit-Village and Suduiraut) did: 

JM: "Suddenly, '05 seems to have become a forgotten vintage. Does it measure up to '09 and '10?"

CS: "How about we taste it?"

Last spring, we were fortunate enough to get an allocation of G.D. Vajra's 2007 Kye, a wine made from the usually overlooked Piedmont varietal Freisa.  Vajra arguably set the standard when it comes to bottling excellent examples from this genetic parent of Nebbiolo, but with their newly released 2008 vintage, they have raised the bar.

Upon swirling a glassful, one is exposed to aromas of dark berries, baking spices, herbs and tobacco.  The palate is rich with minerality, as well as spicy, nearly peppery.  Unlike the '07 which felt 'together', the '08 is constantly in flux - all the characteristics taking center stage at different moments and continually transforming.  Our tasting panel was truly floored while enjoying this wine last week.  It truly is a vin de garde and a wine to follow over years to come.

I highly suggest picking up some of the 2008 G.D. Vajra Freisa Kye and explore for yourself.  We still have some 2007 in stock

Robert Parker recently led a historic 2009 Bordeaux tasting at Wine Future in Hong Kong this past week with 1,000 people in attendance.  The "Magical 20" were served that night, a group of wines that aren't first growths, but top quality wines that Parker believes are of "first growth quality".  The Magical 20 included names like Haut Bailly, Palmer, Pontet Canet, Lynch Bages, Cos d'Estournel and Pichon Lalande.  The results were astounding, and Parker compared the 2009 vintage to '21, '29, '47, '49, '59, '82, and '90.  He went on to say, "I feel validated that this is a truly, truly magnificent vintage," which was in part to confirm his initial findings a few years ago.  He added that the window of drinkability of these wines will be huge, meaning that they drink young and will age for decades, despite their approachability today.  He further stated, "This is one of the greatest vintages of my lifetime."

James Suckling was also in attendance,

Wine: 2009 Domaine Les Grands Bois Cote du Rhone Villages Rasteau Cuvee Marc
Region: Rhone
Sokolin Price: $19.99/btl
Rating: 93 RPWA

The latest edition of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate came out last week, and it came with much praise for 2009 Rhones. Robert Parker has a love for Rhone wines, and many of Parker's highest scoring wines come from the Rhone. The 2007 vintage was one of the best to come out of the region with quite a few wines receiving 100 point scores. And the 2009 vintage produced another round of incredible wines from the Rhone. Production levels in 2009 were lower than they were in 2007. 

We've recently tried several 2009s from the Southern Rhone, including bottles of Cote du Rhones from multiple producers. In our next series, we will be getting into the 2009 Chateauneuf du Papes.

A few nights ago over a dinner of homemade spaghetti and meatballs, we opened a bottle

Thanksgiving is only a few days away, & dinner party season is ramping up too. Just about every weekend for the next couple of months will be spent with friends and family eating, drinking & celebrating the season. For me, dinner party season kicked off this past weekend. I was invited to a small dinner party with some close friends, & I was very excited to pick some great wine to bring. Since I was going with my girlfriend, I had to pick two nice bottles for this evening. I already had one bottle in mind that I've been dying to try, and that was the 2008 Sassicaia. The 2008 vintage has received great praise from the critics receiving 97 points from James Suckling & 96 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. I knew it was going to be a bit on the young side, but it's always nice to try wines at different stages in its life cycle, so you can see for yourself how it changes as it ages.

For my next pick, I was racking my brain trying to figure out what else

This Scallop presentation seems to have become one of our signature dishes here at the Plaza Cafe. I remember working as the Banquet Chef for Marriott Corporation many, many years ago and constantly seeing Chicken Piccata on the menu. I got so tired of this preparation that I never wanted to cook this dish again. Needless to say, that flavor profile of acid, capers, butter and so forth stayed in the back of my mind. So when I started thinking of a new way to accentuate the sweetness and texture of our local bounty of scallops, this combination came to mind. Of course it is not a traditional 'Piccata' and is just a play with words, but it did bring back memories. The dish seems to surprise most guests because it doesn't sound like all the ingredients will meld together, but they really do. The cauliflower-white truffle puree adds earthiness to the dish, while the capers add a touch of bitterness and the clementines offer a fresh burst of acidity. However, the real star of the show is by

This year's Thanksgiving table was once again one to be very thankful for! Lots of delicious food, great family and of course, some excellent wine. Being an American holiday, it's a perfect time to enjoy American wines!

One wine that I thought truly stood out this year was the 2005 Ramey Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard. David Ramey has been making amazing Chardonnays for many years, and this vintage was no exception! This single vineyard offering from Napa is truly an American "Grand Cru". David Ramey uses Burgundian barrels with native yeasts and no filtration, so these wines are very rich and full of flavor. The 2005 Hudson that we enjoyed this holiday had an amazing nose of honeyed pear, tropical fruits and toasted almonds. It was full-bodied and had a great mouth-feel with perfect balance and rich fruit that lingered on the finish for nearly a full minute. And with the turkey and trimmings, what an incredible pairing! Everyone else at the table agreed as well.