Cincinnati Off-line 6/12 : TNs
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 4:07 pmThanks to everyone for a great evening. A pleasure to see all of you again and a delight to meet some new people. And extra thanks to Jens for setting this all up and getting chef to cook for us.
Menu was as follows (and I will add pics later):
Amuse of tuna tartare, white chocolate disc and spoonfish (KY) caviar
Mango and crab salad w/ chili oil
Foie gras w/ pineapple
Monkfish and sweetbreads w/ rice, veg, morel and lavender demi
Curried-crusted lamb w/ corn polenta, asparagus and a pea shoot salad w/rhubarb
My dessert : Curried-banana chocolate cake
WLDG DINNER @ PHO PARIS - Cincinnati, Ohio (6/12/2006)
Yet another rendition of the WLDG gave rise to my suggestion to 'get the band back together' and an dinner was organized around Pho Paris' "Half-Price" Mondays. Most of the wines were ordered off the very nice list with a few supplements from the crew. Chef pulled off a superb 'cook for us' meal as well.
An excellent evening. Lovely service from the staff.
Posted from CellarTracker
My favorite wine was the Musar Blanc - just breathtaking complexity it revealed over the evening.
A.
Menu was as follows (and I will add pics later):
Amuse of tuna tartare, white chocolate disc and spoonfish (KY) caviar
Mango and crab salad w/ chili oil
Foie gras w/ pineapple
Monkfish and sweetbreads w/ rice, veg, morel and lavender demi
Curried-crusted lamb w/ corn polenta, asparagus and a pea shoot salad w/rhubarb
My dessert : Curried-banana chocolate cake
WLDG DINNER @ PHO PARIS - Cincinnati, Ohio (6/12/2006)
Yet another rendition of the WLDG gave rise to my suggestion to 'get the band back together' and an dinner was organized around Pho Paris' "Half-Price" Mondays. Most of the wines were ordered off the very nice list with a few supplements from the crew. Chef pulled off a superb 'cook for us' meal as well.
- 2001 Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris Pfingstberg - France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru AOC
Thick nose with some fleshy flower notes. Nice body, good up front fruits. A bit thick and a touch of sweetness balanced with almost enough acidity. Good finish, a nice lightness and solid elements of peach peels and tea oil. Very nice wine overall. - N.V. Jean Milan Champagne Charles de la Milaniere - France, Champagne, Côte des Blancs, Champagne
Good fruit nose, light but clear. Better acids this around and more purity to the fruit. Clean finish with a good body and bright rose hip notes. Nicely balanced. Great pairing with tuna tartare topped with white chocolate and caviar. - 2004 Marcel Deiss Riesling Beblenheim - France, Alsace, Alsace AOC
Light nose with good florals and a wet stone feel. Very pure and mineral with bright acids, sorrel and unusual citruses. Very delineated and penetrating. Lovely finish with a laciness and slowly receding fruits. Delightful with crab and mango salad. - 2004 J.K. Carriere Pinot Noir Provocateur - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Yeasty, slight oxidized nose with pretty Asian spice underneath. Canela elements, light berry fruit and tea notes. Short finish, but clean and balanced. Grew very quickly to more body and a pleasing velvetiness. - 2002 Finca Sandoval Manchuela - Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Manchuela
Very modern. Dark and extracted, definite prickly oak notes peeking out. Good quality fruit here, but this is not a wine for me at all. - 1998 Chateau Musar Blanc - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
(Decanted @ 10 AM, drank @ 9PM) Lovely golden hue. Rich nose with true lacquer, root vegetables and a dusty earthiness. Waves of it. Rich and bold on the palate, almost tannic in texture. Definite oxidative notes like a Serrano ham and backed with saffron feeling. Olive notes and cactus fruit. Evolving in the glass and ultimately a chimera expressing different parts of it along the way. Long finish with persistence and power. Just a full blown captivating wine. Incredible. Perfect pairing with monkfish, sweetbreads and vegetables in a lavender demi. - 1974 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Off-putting browned colour. Nose started off with oxidized and furnace notes, but the palate showed a lightness and a softness with out unpleasant notes. Decanted. In about 10 minutes, this bloomed. Gained weight and colour. Picked up faint mint notes, dried cherry fruits and a leathery backing. Still slightly off nose, but great depth and pleasure in the mouth. Definite old cab elements holding it all together, but a nice spiral around it of green tea, mints and leather. Incredible silkiness and sauveness in feeling brought this to another level and delivered the real pleasure. Amazing stuff. Well-matched with monkfish, sweetbreads, rice and lavender demi. - 1997 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
Nice currant-y nose with some tobacco and cedar. Good fruit and a solid backbone, but overall composition was unremarkable and this finish fell short. Quality in the structure and delimitation, but not memorable or greatly pleasing. Matched with lamb w/ curry spice, corn polenta and asparagus. - 1996 Allais Vouvray Moëlleux Clos du Petit Mont - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Nice nose with lily flowers and green papaya. Light sweetness providing a nice backing to precise acidity and nice mineral, slate-y core. Very taut and nervy, though not deep. Shorter finish with nice elements. A solid wine. - 1992 Bollig-Lehnert Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Auslese *** - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Oily nose with mineral and resin. A bit abrasive. Good body with meyer lemon and tonic notes. Good acid/sweet balance. Light and slightly lacey, but short, disappearing finish with nothing extra. Pleasant enough.
An excellent evening. Lovely service from the staff.
Posted from CellarTracker
My favorite wine was the Musar Blanc - just breathtaking complexity it revealed over the evening.
A.