Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Dinner at 11 Madison Park
Seven youngish NYC winos had dinner at 11 Madison Park, enticed by the 1964 Petrus on their wine list at a very good price. The food was really amazing; the food is now much more French, and the kitchen was in terrific form. I'd rank it among the best meals I had in the city, which is especially noteworthy since it was July 3rd, and holiday weekends don't tend to lead to great restaurant experiences.
I arrived to find a bottle of 1997 Vilmart Cuvee Creation circulating. Pretty tasty, a little lemony, but not all that complex. Much better, to me, was the 1979 Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame, which had that great old Champagne caramel and nuttiness going on. Amazingly, it continued to improve throughout the meal; hours later, it had gone flat, but the flavors were even better.
Next up were two rieslings, a 1985 J. J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, and 1983 Dr. Thanisch Bernkasteler Doktor Auslese. The Prum had a really pronounced orangey character; the Thanisch was showing much more pineapple and other tropical-type fruits. Both had nice acidity, with the Prum having a little more weight, but the Thanisch getting the edge for complexity.
The final two whites were a bottle of 1985 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne, and my offering, the 1995 Haut-Brion Blanc. The Latour was a really classic top-notch white Burgundy, with a hefty dose of minerals, rich texture, and enough acidity to balance the whole thing out. The Haut-Brion was my wine of the night, also showing a lot of minerality, but with a lot of citrusy goodness. It was also an absolutely perfect pairing for the lightly poached egg over frogs' legs, spring garlic and beurre blanc, which was one of the best dishes I've had in a very long time.
Time for some reds, starting with the 1968 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia, and while it faded after 45 minutes or so, it was knockout stuff while it lasted. "Earthy" is the adjective pretty much everyone used for it. Alongside that was the 1999 DRC Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru, which I liked quite a lot better than when I had it a couple of times on release. It's very good stuff, but I don't tend to like cherryish Burgundies, and this one is all red fruits. I much prefer my Burgundies earthy, floral, a little smoky, rather than this style. Purely objectively, though, if you like this type of wine (and plenty of Burgundy drinkers do), you won't find many better than this.
Finally, some Bordeaux. The main event, 1964 Petrus, unfortunately was disappointing. Very good, but lacking both concentration and complexity. Surprising amount of eucalyptus, along with nice minerals; still, the tannin was out of balance, and it never quite came together (some opinions were expressed that we should have given it more time in the decanter). The 1983 Palmer was just plain terrific. Classic Margaux floral aromatics, a little tobacco, great secondary flavors, completely balanced.
We wrapped up with 2001 Rieussec, which I absolutely loved. Honey, tropical fruits, thick as motor oil but not cloying at all.
My wine of the night: The Haut-Brion Blanc, with the Grande Dame, Palmer, Rieussec and Bosconia in a 4-way tie for second.
A huge thanks to chef Daniel Humm, who if this meal is representative, is an absolute genius. He came out to chat with us for a bit, and it was obvious that he really understands wine as well as food, and how they interact. And sommelier John Ragan did a spectacular job of matching the food with the wines we brought with us.
I arrived to find a bottle of 1997 Vilmart Cuvee Creation circulating. Pretty tasty, a little lemony, but not all that complex. Much better, to me, was the 1979 Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame, which had that great old Champagne caramel and nuttiness going on. Amazingly, it continued to improve throughout the meal; hours later, it had gone flat, but the flavors were even better.
Next up were two rieslings, a 1985 J. J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, and 1983 Dr. Thanisch Bernkasteler Doktor Auslese. The Prum had a really pronounced orangey character; the Thanisch was showing much more pineapple and other tropical-type fruits. Both had nice acidity, with the Prum having a little more weight, but the Thanisch getting the edge for complexity.
The final two whites were a bottle of 1985 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne, and my offering, the 1995 Haut-Brion Blanc. The Latour was a really classic top-notch white Burgundy, with a hefty dose of minerals, rich texture, and enough acidity to balance the whole thing out. The Haut-Brion was my wine of the night, also showing a lot of minerality, but with a lot of citrusy goodness. It was also an absolutely perfect pairing for the lightly poached egg over frogs' legs, spring garlic and beurre blanc, which was one of the best dishes I've had in a very long time.
Time for some reds, starting with the 1968 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia, and while it faded after 45 minutes or so, it was knockout stuff while it lasted. "Earthy" is the adjective pretty much everyone used for it. Alongside that was the 1999 DRC Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru, which I liked quite a lot better than when I had it a couple of times on release. It's very good stuff, but I don't tend to like cherryish Burgundies, and this one is all red fruits. I much prefer my Burgundies earthy, floral, a little smoky, rather than this style. Purely objectively, though, if you like this type of wine (and plenty of Burgundy drinkers do), you won't find many better than this.
Finally, some Bordeaux. The main event, 1964 Petrus, unfortunately was disappointing. Very good, but lacking both concentration and complexity. Surprising amount of eucalyptus, along with nice minerals; still, the tannin was out of balance, and it never quite came together (some opinions were expressed that we should have given it more time in the decanter). The 1983 Palmer was just plain terrific. Classic Margaux floral aromatics, a little tobacco, great secondary flavors, completely balanced.
We wrapped up with 2001 Rieussec, which I absolutely loved. Honey, tropical fruits, thick as motor oil but not cloying at all.
My wine of the night: The Haut-Brion Blanc, with the Grande Dame, Palmer, Rieussec and Bosconia in a 4-way tie for second.
A huge thanks to chef Daniel Humm, who if this meal is representative, is an absolute genius. He came out to chat with us for a bit, and it was obvious that he really understands wine as well as food, and how they interact. And sommelier John Ragan did a spectacular job of matching the food with the wines we brought with us.
