detlef Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 So, the first time this guy came to my restaurant he was amazed to find this certain Canadian dessert wine, the Peller Cabernet Franc Ice Wine on my list. He said it was one of his favorites and you can't find it anywhere, blah, blah. It's pretty expensive and didn't move well for us so I offered to sell him a few bottles at retail price and he was, needless to say, pretty stoked. So, every time he's come in since then, he brings at least one really, really nice bottle of wine and always hooks me up with a fat pour. Tonight's wines? JL Chave Hermitage Blanc 2005 Wow, this is one insane wine. I was actually fortunate enough to try several vintages of it back when I was just getting into wine (and it was still a barely reasonable price of around $40) and it pretty much spoiled me for most Rhone whites. Aromas of pie spice and persimmon with richness, polish, and length surrounding fruit that's nearly impossible to identify but outrageously delicious. Taylor Fladgate 2003 They haven't gotten to dessert yet, so not tasting notes of yet. I can't imagine that 1) he and his wife are going to get through it or 2) that he's actually going to leave the 2/3s full bottle behind. We'll see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 OK, so the port is pretty off the hook as well. To be honest, when I read up on it, I was pretty certain that this was going to be a case of infanticide. I've not tasted a ton of top notch vintage ports, and when I have, they've always had at least 10 years, if not way more, of age on them. So I really didn't know what to expect. The thing that jumps out the most is the texture. The first word that comes to mind is supple. When you first bring the glass near your nose, you smell blueberries, which I found rather odd, but that is replaced by the more classic figs and dates when you give it a good smell. Then, the fruit itself is barely astringent like black walnuts and more of the fig fruit that I got off the nose. I put together a platter of Armenian candied baby walnuts and gorgonzola for them and that seemed like a nice pairing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 That's cool. Our friends and us do that kind of thing at favorite restaurants. A friend had her b-day party at a steak house here and invited the manager to join us. She brought a 12 year vertical of Cols de Bois Marlstone. A fun night. Alcohol makes great friends. Sounds like that was a pretty tasty line-up of wines. That's a winery who's best juice I think unfortunately go a bit overshadowed by the low end stuff they started pumping out. It was really a shame because wines like the Marlstone are really top notch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 Jeebus! Dude left the half full bottle of port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Jeebus! Dude left the half full bottle of port. well, there ain't no way I am going to bed early tonight... I can't wait to see what sort of rant you are going to post in the tailgate tonight as the result of your impending buzz. enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 well, there ain't no way I am going to bed early tonight... I can't wait to see what sort of rant you are going to post in the tailgate tonight as the result of your impending buzz. enjoy Naw, I gotta drive. I split both the fat pours with those in my staff who'd dig it and the port will hold up for a while so I'll see how it evolves over the next week or so. Besides, I'm in a great mood. We had a really busy week at the restaurant (maybe top 10 all time), are basically booked solid on Monday (which is totally bizarre), have two sold out wine dinners next week... I'm on cloud 9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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