Cold fried chicken, pickleback sandwich and 2003 Allemand Cornas at Momofuku Ko

A look back at Momofuku Ko Bar with a legendary last call by the glass list before a friends departure from the restaurant.  Pictured is the legendary cold fried chicken 

and the Pickle Sandwich-back with a glass of wild turkey .

Legendary winemaker Thierry Allemand makes two bottlings of Cornas from the Chaillot and Reynard vineyards.  In certain years he bottles a Cornas without a vineyard designation as with the case of 2002 and the above pictured magnum of 2003.  The wine was very open yet harmonious showing a beautiful ripe texture and a signature of the warmer 2003 vintage. 

Monthelie from Roulot, a new release worth drinking

Domaine Roulot, Monthelie 2014

Perhaps best known for their white wine and Meursault parcels, Domaine Roulot also has .38 hectares located in Monthelie, just north of Meursault in the Côte de Beaune.  A great example of trusting an epic producer no matter what they are bottling. The 2014 Monthelie was one of the best new release red wines I have tasted in a long time. Super expresive nose that kept getting better throughout dinner.  Tons of minerality, asphalt and purity of red fruits. All of their wines are farmed organically.  The pinot noir is destemmed for the Monthelie and the fermentation typically lasts 12 days in open wooden vats and ages 12 to 15 months in barrel-15% new oak.  The low yields and strict farming practices delivers an expression of Burgundian purity that is hard to come by.  If you can get your hands on any wines from Domaine Roulot, snag a bottle immediately.  

  

Magnum Mania for a 30th birthday celebration at Fort Tilden, NYC

The first saber of the day,  Billecart-Salmon Extra Brut NV in magnum

The gorgeous weather for the beginning of fall this month inspired me to bring everyone to the beach for a mid september birthday celebration.  I figured if I'm turning 30 I might as well make it that much more ridiculous and get everyone together on the idea of bringing magnums instead of normal format wine bottles.  Hey, we are already illegally drinking on the beach so lets just say fuck it and start sabering some big ass bottles of champy. 

The beach was Fort Tilden, an old military base, now hidden gem for beaches in New York City.  You really don't feel like you are just minutes from Brooklyn and New York. 

Liz Nicholson, Sommelier at Marea NYC, came in with the heavy hitter magnum of 2009 Leflaive ''Les Folatieres". First opened it was big, with strong fruit and oak present, but quickly morphed after we let it open up for a couple of hours into a much more mineral driven long drinking chardonnay.  Great stuff (And thanks to the police for the help).

Nick Leplant, moments before the sabering of a Ferrari magnum

Flawless Victory

Champagne of the day, shout out to James Obrien of Maialino for the Jacques Lassaigne Blanc de Blanc

Will Edwards of Elan, NYC with a sick magnum of Madiran 1996, made from 100% Tannat, delicious.

Thanks to Blake Noyes for the fly ass photography (far right kimono) and thanks to all these beautiful people!

Sunset in Bushwick followed by a Smokin' 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin at Boulud

 Above, That spring feeling in the air with a rooftop spritz, Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Later, we dined at Bar Boulud which was a pretty memorable charcuterie experience.  Also happened to open two memorable wines.

Starting with a 2011 Chablis from Domaine Pattes Loup, who practice organic viticulture, we were sold on it as soon as Sommelier Eduardo described it as fresh, and like tapping a glacier.  It really brought a whole new style of freshness and acidity to chablis that I have never tasted.

The second bottle made its way to our table in the form of Philippe Livera, Domaine Des Tilleuls, Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos Village 2008.  After this bottle I am sold on 2008 red Burgundy, for however long it lasts the wines at village level from this vintage are really expressing themselves.

In 2005 Damien Livera started estate bottling his wines.  Since the 1930's his grandfather was selling the wines to the Beaune negocient houses.

This bottle was full of sharp toasty notes; like an enticing burnt match that slowly morphed into dark tobacco, cherry and leather with amazing acidity. Really food friendly as well, gorgeous stuff this night.

Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway, New York, NY 10023

Chateau d'Arlay Corail, somewhere between rose' and orange

If you can find this wine here, it surely is one bad ass rose' to be drinking in the spring/summer time...
Chateau d'Arlay Corail, Cotes Du Jura,  a magical blend of 3 red and 2 white varieties, Pinot Noir, Trousseau and Poulsard, as well as Savignin and Chardonnay, then aged in oak barrels for three years.  This wine doesnt give you everything its got on the first sip, instead it slowly releases notes of dried rose petals, hibiscus, turpentine, alpine herbs, with constant subtle floral aromas and steady acidity.

Bunga Bunga with 1996 Corton-Charlemagne

Last night my friend Giuseppe Locascio invited me into his apartment for a pasta con le sarde dinner.  When I arrived Iacopo di Teodoro (below) was tossing together a classic Puntarelle with anchovy and shortly after we had guzzled down some Sauvignon from the Alto-Adige Iacopo unleashed a 1996 Corton-Charlemagne from Bonneau du Martray.  This Domaine holds only Grand Cru vineyads on the Corton hill. 9.5 hectares of Corton-Charlemagne as well as some Pinot Noir in the Grand Cru of Corton.

The wine had been open for about an hour and by the time we got to it (at slightly colder than cellar temperature), it was super expressive, singing to all of us.  Sometimes when you are poured a magical wine that is aged properly and fully expressing its true character, you cant help but to smell it over and over.  At one point I stopped sipping this wine and just continued sniffing the magical aromas coming from the glass.

For shits I was browsing the cellartracker.com notes and most reviews ripped apart this wine for being over the hill and/or oxidized which was not in any form the case here.
This '96 Corton-Charlemagne had the classic deep golden colour of aged chardonnay from Burgundy and bursted with scents of deep caramel, almonds, candied citrus and held an impressive weight, acidity and minerality on the palate.
Cheers Iacopo!

An overall classic Italian dinner in New York City with the New York Italian connection.  Of course the conversation drifted from wine philosophy to the absurdity of recent Italian politics and it brought to mind the Bunga Bunga Ford advertisement that just went down in India.

Thursday, celebrating Beaujolais

Yesterday (November 15th) brought us the celebrated Beaujolais Nouveau Day and while tasting a handful of Beaujolais Cru's I found myself fascinated by the above bottling of Domaine des Billards Saint-Amour 2009.  Belonging to the Barbet and Teissier families natural/organic farming is practiced in the vineyards as well as traditional winemaking.

The wine has some nice bright fruit aromas jumping out of the glass at first, but on the palate a whole different story of complexity.  Luscious red fruits and cherry notes are balanced by a wonderful minerality and earthiness.  The most focused Beaujolais I have tasted in a while and it really stood out from the rest.  You can find this wine through David Bowler imports for the U.S. market.

A Beaujolais Slinger at L'express on Park ave and 20th st. New York.

Francois Barmes

More words with Francois Barmes, found the full video from the earlier post...

Barmes-Buecher in Alsace, and his definition of wine.

A bone dry Riesling and a Pinot Gris with residual sugar thrown into a batch of other Alsace wines made for quite a confusing blind tasting.  Both were equally brilliant bottling's though, coming from the Biodynamic producer Domaine Barmes-Buecher, which is located in Wettolsheim, Alsace.  The acidity and persistent minerality on the Riesling were insane, and all for around $20.  The Pinot Gris (which blind, you may have guessed anything but Pinot Gris) made for a great meditation wine.  Maybe best enjoyed after dinner with a friend just talkin' bout what the hell is going on in the glass.

Both wines were purchased at Moore Brothers Wine Company near Union Square, NYC.  They have a pretty impressive temperature controlled operation going that deals directly with smaller producers.  If you have the time they will talk to you all day about the wine your buying, who made it and the history of the land.

I found this video attached showing Francois Barmes explaining what he believes is the definition of wine.

What Is Wine?

Pic Saint Loup Ermitage and the Garrigue Effect

Over the last couple of months my roommates and I noticed this very petit bistro slowly pop up in our turf of Williamsburg.  Bistro Petit. After pointing fun at this tiny business for a few weeks my mate Jimmy sprung it on me to give it a try on a quiet Sunday evening.  I first checked some Yelp reviews because I was very hesitant, and every single one raved about it even going as far as claiming best spot in Williamsburg.

We left our apartment and one block away there is Bistro Petit.  Some of the interesting notes about this restaurant are NO BATHROOM, NO TAP WATER, NO BOOZE, but thankfully BYO no corkage charged.  The baby blue tiles await you with a very small but interesting menu including a kobe burger, lamb shank, homemade pasta and duck confit. It is a truly intimate restaurant and grasps the feeling of your go to small local eatery where you can unwind with whatever the hell you want to drink.

This time around on a Tuesday night, after barely sneaking into a spot at this twelve person capacity restaurant I brought a bottle of 2009 Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup ($17).

The Ermitage is a blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mouvedre from the Languedoc.  Since 1999 the Ravaille brothers have been practicing Biodynamics, and mainly traditional techniques.  This wine had beautiful fruit and mouthfeel with a touch of femininity that was reminiscent of some Paolo Bea wines.  The nose was strongly muddy and herbal, which with some research I discovered the meaning of Garrigue.

The word Garrigue refers to the windswept hilltops around Provence which include scrub-brush and Provencal herbs.  It's used in wine tasting to describe the notes of rosemary, fennel, thyme, lavender and lemon verbena that are typically found in red wines from Provence and The Languedoc.  What an amazing sensation in this wine and with it I ordered the duck confit which I had planned at the end of my last trip. All so very delicious together.

Above, Chef Park at Bistro Petit
South 3rd and Driggs of Williamsburg.
Brooklyn, NY

2007 Vacqueyras shining bright for a nice buzz during lunch.

Le Mas Des Collines, Vacqueyras 2007 was on point for a simple Bucatini Al pomodoro lunch.  Watching Hannibal snack on Ray Liotta's brain was a perfect movie match with this wines dark fruit, earth, and beef blood tasting notes.  Underneath thats Terje Haakonsen soaring a method from the 2000 Norway QP.  Can't dig up the wine making technique on this wine, but it is for the most part traditional, probably stainless steel and/or cement vats, $15-$20.

california dreaming (again)

Watching instragram posts pop up all today (including the one above from my friend Pizzle) of the opening day at Mammoth Mountain, I cant help but to feel empty inside all the way over here on the east coast.  Being a traveling man is the most incredible feeling in the world but comes with the uneasiness of wishing you were somewhere else no matter where you are.

In Brooklyn tasting news...

A new oldest wine I have ever tasted
1947 Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu - What an insane wine this was the other night

For now I'll settle into Brooklyn and hope to find an escape onto the snow whenever possible.... or at least a mental escape from time to time with amazing wine like this Champagne from Laurent-Perrier (Grand Siecle).

Hah, never seen Cristal pour faster...

Working one last dinner in the Berkshires brought Frederic Rouzaud of Louis Roederer to the area for a Cristal and Pichon lalande wine diner.

The collection of wines included:

Louis Roederer Brut Premier Magnum
Louis Roederer Brut 1985
Louis Roederer Brut Vintage 1990
Cristal 1996, 2000
Cristal Rosè 1996 2000
Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande 1982, 1996, 2005

The Brut 1985 was brilliant, complex and if I could put it into words it was like drinking honey graham crackers.  The 1990 wasnt holding up as nice and had an edgy oxidation that wasnt so attractive.  For the Cristal I preferred the 2000. It was rich, powerful, crisp and seductive while the 1996 (also amazing) was long, deep, more complex and had nutty characteristics.  The second growth Lalande uses the highest percentage of Merlot in Pauillac which I thought really stood out in the 2005.  The 1996 had reached a nice stage with loads of tobacco and cigar box, and a slight gaminess to it.  I didn't taste the '82 but have in the past and a year ago it was amazingly complex and definitely my favorite vintage.

The title of this post comes from the Notorious B.I.G. song ''Your nobody 'till somebody kills you''.  The album was released in 1996 and Biggie was the first rapper to promote Cristal in his songs and hip hop culture (which contributed to Cristal's success in America).  Ten years later Jay-Z started a Cristal boycott after Mr. Rouzaud made some comments in the Economist towards rappers drinking and promoting the Champagne that Jay-Z saw as snotty and racist.

I will bring you back to 1996.. where all of the sommeliers of my generation enjoy a little Cristal and Biggie Smalls.

(Second verse)

Uhh, uhh
Watch Casino, I'm the hip-hop version of Nicky Tarantino
Ask Nino, he know
Green with envy, the green tempts me
to make the richest enemy, and take their cheese
Take their spots, take their keys, make my faculty
live happily, ever after in laughter
Hah, never seen Cristal pour faster
And to those bastards, knuckleheads squeeze lead
Three of mine dead, nothing left to do
but tear they ass to shreds, leave em in bloodshed
Incidents like this I take trips
Lay up in Miami with Tamika and Tammy (huh)
Some Creole C-O bitches I met on tour
Push a peach Legend Coupe, gold teeth galore
Told me meet em in the future later, they'll take me shopping
buy me lavender and fuschia Gators
Introduce me to player haters and heavy weighters
Rich bitch shit, drinking Cristal
til they piss the shit, uhh
Thorough bitches, death to any borough bitches
Be in spots where they were no bitches, you feel me
Reminisce on dead friends too
You're nobody 'til somebody kills you

Cheers, motha fuckas!  Cristal spillin out the seams.

Life, Death and Yquem 1983

''Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I have ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.  Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.''   - Steve Jobs

Above, a birds eye view of 1983 Yquem in my glass showing the vintages captivating colour.

Last night I enjoyed some Chateau d'Yquem 1983 (in Magnum) which was given to us by a very generous guest at the hotel.  I don't think I have even seen Yquem in a magnum before, but I knew it would be special as it always is.  After many recent posts on brief tasting notes which gets old quickly this sauternes surely caused me to stop and think for a few days before attempting to write about it. First off, this must be my favorite vintage I have had yet from Yquem... definitely the most flamboyant and instantly seductive.  A very concentrated vintage.  The amazing thing about this wine which for me is the reason why it's delicious, is it's ability to be very sweet and bone dry at the same time.  at first you taste the sweet (the honey, creme brulee, citrus notes etc.) but in your mouth you are left with a sensational dry aftertaste.  There is a wonderful acidity of Yquem which balances the sweetness.

While drinking this wine as it made me ponder, I couldn't help but to think about life and death.  If your familiar with Yquem wines you know they are special for their capability to age for a very long time.  Many say over 100 years for the 1983 and it is already a year older than I.  Most of the people on this earth today will be dead when this wine is still being enjoyed by our children.  It recalls as of recent, the passing of Steve Jobs and his motivational views on life and death.  The importance of doing what you feel from your heart without any fear. Or as the slightly less optimistic motto goes in which Michelangelo Merisi lived by  Nec Spe Nec Metu.  Without hope, without fear. 

With your next glass of Chateau d'Yquem ponder just a bit.. about the future of the world and who will be drinking that same exact wine 100 years from now, long after you have passed.

above, natura morta. grapes from Yquem during the botrytis cinerea (noble rot) process. 

photo from myquem.com

above, Sommelier Luc Chevalier pouring some liquid gold.

Friday bringing more Leflaive to the table

Had a couple of Leflaive white burgundy wines this friday... The Puligny-Montrachet 2003 ''Les Pucelles'' was showing an unusual weak side.  There was not much expression here, tasted almost watered down.. mineral, citrus and some toasted notes but a weak finish and a bit of a disapointment..

Later in the evening a superior Grand Cru from Leflaive made an appearance in the dining room...
Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet 2004 Grand Cru was showing ages ahead of the ''Les Pucelles'' with an incredible complexity.
The 2004 harvest (ending on Oct. 3rd) took place a month later than the 2003 harvest (ending on Sept. 5th) in which the grapes suffered through some scorching summer heat.
Although tough to compare these two wines (sourced from different vineyards) I have had other great experiences with the 2004 vintage from Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet. 

The Leflaive website says the 2004 Grand Crus shouldn't be enjoyed before 2012.  I would beg to differ as this wine is already exploding with action...long, toasty, and mineral deliciousness!

19 year old Chardonnay!

Posting quickly about some nice wines tasted last night including 
Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet 1992!
19 year old Chardonnay from Burgundy. Amazing shit... layers of honey, citrus, toasted almonds, sauternes-like characteristics...longevity for days.. lasting over 5 minutes on the palate.

1978 Chateau Latour... Un Grand Vin!

Had the pleasure to taste this 1978 Pauillac from Chateau Latour on my birthday.  Tasted both of these bottles and they were both very similar... something that doesn't happen so often in a wine having over 30 years on it.  The complexity was amazing.  Right away I tasted fireworks and gun smoke... which morphed into a spicy pepper, tobacco and pencil shavings.  Long in the mouth with some fruit present and just enough acidity but you can tell it is fading quickly.

A lot of Bordeaux wines have the same characteristics but depending on the quality the complexity and elegance will change dramatically.. as with this grand vin from Chateau Latour.  The 2002 Sassicaia (a rough year for Sangiovese, but much better for Cabernet from Sassicaia) went better with the food as it had a flawless acidity to it and the Latour was the wine of the night to meditate on.  Drink this 78 Latour now!

Notice the fill difference here with these 78's... giving them 33 years to slowly evaporate

Un Compleanno... Non da solo ma con una boccia di Krug!

im not ashamed... Krug is a guilty pleasure of mine...

As midnight struck turning me 27, I looked around.. everybody was gone except a lonely bottle of Champagne. Soon we became friends, and I was beginning to understand my love for Krug... I will take it any day over Dom Perignon.  So often are luxury goods over rated and nothing near what they are talked up to be.  For me this is an exception. Although usually not a fan of grand oakyness the Krug grand cuvee (a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) fermented completely in small oak casks really shows the harmonious side of OAK.  The wine dances on your tongue and the components play together like a symphony.

All I need in this life of sin... is me and some Krug

Some of the wines opened tonight.  The 1999 Marcassin Pinot Noir was nice upon opening had a rich barnyard smell with dirty fruits.  Within only 10 minutes It completely cleaned up with bright red fruits and violets as if it had jumped in the shower, shaved put on a tie and said ''okay, I'm ready for ya!''.

French Mags' up in the spot

Had to do a post in honor of Wayne Young of old white wine, and which I drank a fair share of last week.  I put up these two bottles to mention briefly...


1995 Champagne Dom Perignon (Magnum)

This was a cool bottle of bubbly here.  I never thought to open champagne for the sake of breathing before serving.  You always pop the cork when you are ready to drink.  In this case we opened this vintage Champagne (which is roughly around 50/50 chardonnay/pinot noir) and I tasted it right before serving to the guests.  I wasn't expecting heaps from this wine, thinking it might be slightly past it's peak.  It had a very edgy, agressive oxidative character that bit at your toungue a bit.  We served it and that was that.  After service, maybe 3 hours later we opened it back up to share a drink before the nights end.  I wasn't even going to taste it as I had my eyes wrapped around a leftover Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco.  Someone said how great it tasted so I gave it another shot.  The wine changed completely!  Still fresh acidity and bubbles but that agressive oxidation was completely gone! and it smoothed out into a long finish.  Wow what an unexpected personality on this wine...


2003 Domaine Ponsot, Morey Saint Denis Clos des Monts, ''Vieilles Vignes'' (Magnum)

From the Morey Saint Denis Appelation in the Cote De Nuits - Domaine Ponsot produces red and white wines from Pinot Noir and Aligoté.  White wine only makes up 4% of the wine produced here.  This is the only premier cru burgundy made up of 100% Aligote.  This old white wine was killer though and had a perfect amount of cellar time on it.  The fruit still fresh, expressive and complex with a long finish.

Salute!

2 bottles of Krug, one faulty cork

After pouring a tall glass of Krug in an attempt to refresh the mind and palate after a night's work I found only great disappointment as I made a bitter beer face.  Shit! Despite the bubbles being lively and unharmed the wine immediately tasted terrible and oxidized.  After further investigation I noticed the odd looking cork.  I stumbled upon the cork from the first bottle opened (which I did not happen to taste) and set it next to the faulty looking one.  As you can see above the cork on the right from the oxidized wine is much skinnier and doesn't bow out into a mushroom shape like champagne corks normally do (hinting that oxygen was able to interfere much easier).