Met Betsy in the city Saturday for dinner (her birthday). We went to Eleven
Madison Park. Had a very nice dinner, rather than choose an all-purpose bottle
we ordered wine by the glass for each course.

Betsy started with delicious seared foie gras. She had a small glass of the
2002 Huet "Le Haut-Lieu" Demi-Sec Vouvray. Bracing acidity countering the mild
sweetness, strong citrus fruit balanced by assertive minerality. Notes of
honey, ripe cheese, and lanolin zipped in and out of the mix. Needs time, but
awful nice right now. As Betsy is sometimes not as enamored of Chenin as I tend
to be, I was a little worried, but she loved it. Bright and lively, A-

My first course was sweetbreads, with haricots verts, frissee, and verjus
grapes. As good a sweetbreads dish as I've ever had. The wine was a glass of
the 2000 Colin "Les Chaumées" Chassagne-Montrachet. Deep rich sweet pear fruit,
a hint of honey and butterscotch, good acidity. Nice clean young white
Burgundy. B+/A-
(note: I wrote this down as it was on list. Now I THINK this was Marc Colin,
but it could be Colin-Deleger - I was looking more at Betsy than the bottle as
it was poured)

Betsy got the braised short ribs, with a glass of the 1998 Clos de La Cure (St.
Emilion). Not a producer I know. Sharp black plum fruit, some oak, still
somewhat tannic, maybe would have gone better with a rare steak. Hard to say if
this is just closed (this is an awkward time for '98 Right Banks), but usually
with a closed wine I get a sense of something lurking underneath. A somewhat
one-dimensional Merlot. B-/C+

I had tasty venison, with black trumpet mushrooms and spaghetti squash. A glass
of the 2001 Lucien Barrot Chteauneuf-du-Pape to accompany. Actually, of the
wines I ordered this was one I had least expectations from, after some
boring/frumpy Barrots before. But this was a beautiful CdP. Dark fruit
entertwined with coffee and leather, gentle notes of spice. Good finish. A-/B+

I held onto both reds as we entered the dessert/cheese stage. Betsy had a
dessert that she raved over ( I believe it was a couple with creme fraiche ice
cream). I ordered her the
1984 Ch. Raymond-Lafon (Sauternes). Pretty nice sticky from an (I think)
unheralded vintage. Sweet tropical fruit with light botrytis and lots of
nervosity. Not for the acid-averse. B/B+

I had 3 cheeses - Pleasant Ridge (from Michigan I think - clean & nutty), Tomme
de Crayeuse (like a slightly funkier Tomme de Savoie), and Cypress Grove
Midnight Madness (very very good aged goat). In addition to the reds, I had the
1996 Huet "Clos du Bourg 1er Trie" Moëlleux Vouvray (amazingly, the list
included the '89 Cuvée Constance, but as it was Betsy's birthday, not mine, I
went with the considerably less expensive wine).The '96 Moëlleux was young yet
complex- orange peel, apricot, ripe fig and herbal tea notes. Like the
demi-sec, a mineral note than cannot (and should not) be ignored. Good
balancing acidity, frankly yummy. A/A-

Overall, a nice dinner with the woman I love. Very good food, good service.
Nice by the bottle list, but I think next time I'll again go with the by the
glass option. Each bottle was brought to the table before pouring, and one had
a choice of 3 or 6 oz pours. Prices were quite fair, with a good range of price
options, too.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a
good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where
it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy,
and certainly not of consistency.
Dale

Dale Williams
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