Wednesday night I made two decisions- never, ever, again to spill a
package of mung beans, and to take Loire gamay off my buy list. After
spending a loooonnngg time trying to find all the escaped mung beans,
we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
method), a combo of roasted yellow beets, potatoes, and onions, and
spinach. Wine was the 2006 Clos Roche Blanche "Cuvee Gamay" Touraine.
On the plus side there's nice sweet berry fruit, nice mouthfeel,
bright acidity, good length. A bit of mineral note. But the minus for
me is there weird "potted plant" aroma (I don't know if it's pansy,
geraniums, or actually potting soil) that I've gotten from Loire Gamay
before. It's not particularly strong, but I find it a bit offputting.
I have had similar experiences with this wine in other vintage. CRB
Gamay is supposed to be a winegeek's dream, but I'm just a wannabe
winegeek. Pleasant enough, but never exciting for me. I want my Gamay
to be Beaujolais (or California pink). B/B-

Thursday Joseph Coulter and his wife Beverly were in NYC for one
night. We've both been posting on alt.food.wine for many years, so
decided to take opportunity to meet. Arv and Jen Rao joined us at
Triomphe, and we had a very nice evening. Fun to realize people are as
nice in person as online!

We started with a wine from Triomphe's list, the 2006 Nigl "Kremser
Freiheit" Gruner Veltliner. Nigl's base/negociant bottling, but
punches considerably above its weight. Good ripeness, but balanced by
laser clear acidity.Sweet apple/pear fruit, some white pepper, very GV
and very good. B+

Chris Wilford had waived corkage, we brought an assortment of wines. I
brought the 2002 Domaine Billaud-Simon "Les Vaillons" Chablis 1er Cru
because of an earlier dream matching of a Droin GC Chablis and an
appetizer of chicken livers with sherry-braised onions. This wasn't
quite as good a match as I remembered , but still find,and also did
well with Betsy's scallops with foie gras butter and porcini. The wine
was weightier and less bright than on release, but I still found it a
clean rich Chablis. This might be a bit of an awkward time to drink,
but with the white Burgundy pre-ox issues I'm less likely to try and
age them. This did show significantly better at end of night, with
more chalky minerals and more expressive frut. B early on,. B+ later.

The reds went around with the main courses (I had the filet, Betsy the
signature coriander-crusted chops with foie gras stuffed prunes, both
tasty):

1988 Ch. Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol)
(Decanted for an hour in afternoon, then back in bottle for a few
hours)
Blackcurrant and plum, surprising acidity for Bon Pasteur, still some
tannins. There's a little wood still present, but enough fruit to keep
it in background. Good, not great, Pomerol. B/B+

1999 Gaillard Cote-Rotie
My favorite of night. There is a bit of a vanilla-y oak thing that I
wish was toned down a bit, but underneath that there is a gorgeous
Northern Rhone syrah character. Fresh blackberry fruit, loads of
smoke and bacon- hey. double-smoked bacon! Gets some earth, leather
notes with time. Good acidity. Young, but very promising,thanks Arv.
A-

1976 Domaine d'Ambinos Coteaux du Layon
This looked good in bottle, but darkened a bit in glass. Arv sent my
way for an opinion, I thought it showed some oxidative notes, but was
mostly sound. That opinion changed 14 times during the time folks had
dessert, this wine had more ups and downs than a roller coaster. I'd
decide it was completely past it, then a sip would seem to be far
livelier, with apple and quince fruit with an edge of honey.
Ultimately, this was more of academic interest than fun to drink, but
while the wine gets a C+, a couple of sips were damn good. Funky
chenin.

Nice to meet Joe and Bev, and to see Arv and Jen. Wine was nice, but
secondary..

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

DaleW wrote:
> Wednesday night I made two decisions- never, ever, again to spill a
> package of mung beans, and to take Loire gamay off my buy list. After
> spending a loooonnngg time trying to find all the escaped mung beans,
> we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
> method), a combo of roasted yellow beets, potatoes, and onions, and
> spinach. Wine was the 2006 Clos Roche Blanche "Cuvee Gamay" Touraine.
> On the plus side there's nice sweet berry fruit, nice mouthfeel,
> bright acidity, good length. A bit of mineral note. But the minus for
> me is there weird "potted plant" aroma (I don't know if it's pansy,
> geraniums, or actually potting soil) that I've gotten from Loire Gamay
> before. It's not particularly strong, but I find it a bit offputting.
> I have had similar experiences with this wine in other vintage. CRB
> Gamay is supposed to be a winegeek's dream, but I'm just a wannabe
> winegeek. Pleasant enough, but never exciting for me. I want my Gamay
> to be Beaujolais (or California pink). B/B-

Thanks for the great set of notes, Dale. Someday I may get to dine with
Joseph, too, but it's more likely to be in his haunts than ours as
Indiana ain't quite the transit point that NYC is... go figger! ;-)

I think that I just picked up a bottle of the CRB Gamay, too, so I'll
post my notes when we open it. I suspect that our reaction may not be
too different, but who knows? And a new producer (to me) from Chablis!
Thanks for the heads up.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On 2007-11-30 12:35:16 -0800, DaleW > said:
>
> we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
> method),

First time I've ever seen "simple" and Thomas Keller in the same
sentence... :^)

> We started with a wine from Triomphe's list, the 2006 Nigl "Kremser
> Freiheit" Gruner Veltliner. B+
>
> 2002 Domaine Billaud-Simon "Les Vaillons" Chablis 1er Cru
> B early on,. B+ later.

> 1988 Ch. Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol)
> Good, not great, Pomerol. B/B+
>
> 1999 Gaillard Cote-Rotie
> A-
>
> 1976 Domaine d'Ambinos Coteaux du Layon
> while the wine gets a C+, a couple of sips were damn good. Funky
> chenin.

I think it would be interesting if Mr. Coulter could be prevailed upon
to offer his reactions as a comparison...

Ronin wrote:

>> we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
>> method),
>
>
> First time I've ever seen "simple" and Thomas Keller in the same
> sentence... :^)

I dunno: his signature dish (butter-poached lobster) is quite simple:
take a fresh lobster and poach it in butter. It doesn't get much
simpler than that.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Dec 1, 5:44�pm, Ronin > wrote:
> On 2007-11-30 12:35:16 -0800, DaleW > said:
>
>
>
> > we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
> > method),
>
> First time I've ever seen "simple" and Thomas Keller in the same
> sentence... �:^)
>
> > We started with a wine from Triomphe's list, the 2006 Nigl "Kremser
> > Freiheit" Gruner Veltliner. �B+
>
> > �2002 Domaine Billaud-Simon "Les Vaillons" Chablis 1er Cru
> > �B early on,. B+ later.
> > 1988 Ch. Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol)
> > Good, not great, Pomerol. B/B+
>
> > 1999 �Gaillard Cote-Rotie
> > A-
>
> > 1976 Domaine d'Ambinos Coteaux du Layon
> > while the wine gets a C+, a couple of sips were damn good. Funky
> > chenin.
>
> I think it would be interesting if Mr. Coulter could be prevailed upon
> to offer his reactions as a comparison...

They were in NYC because they were starting a cruise here, I think
he'll chime in on his return. IIRC from his email his favorites were
the Nigl and the Bon Pasteur, but I'll let him chime in. Hopefully
he'll disagree with me, I always hate when people all agree- where's
the fun in that?

On Dec 2, 12:57�am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Ronin wrote:
> >> we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
> >> method),
>
> > First time I've ever seen "simple" and Thomas Keller in the same
> > sentence... �:^)
>
> I dunno: his signature dish (butter-poached lobster) is quite simple:
> take a fresh lobster and poach it in butter. �It doesn't get much
> simpler than that.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Umm, have you ever done the whole recipe- with the beet essence,
leeks, and pommes maxim? I think Betsy spent about 4 hours on that,
and the kitchen looked like an A-Bomb had hit. Damn tasty though. But
you're right, the lobster itself is simple, just parboil, remove
flesh, poach.

The chicken actually is simple, from the Bouchon cookbook. Carefully
and fully dry, truss, season with lots of salt, bake at 450�F (no
basting), add thyme to juices.

> I always hate when people all agree- where's
> the fun in that?

Hear, hear...

On 2007-12-01 20:57:24 -0800, Mark Lipton > said:

> Ronin wrote:
>
>>> we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
>>> method),
>>
>>
>> First time I've ever seen "simple" and Thomas Keller in the same
>> sentence... :^)
>
> I dunno: his signature dish (butter-poached lobster) is quite simple:
> take a fresh lobster and poach it in butter. It doesn't get much
> simpler than that.
>
> Mark Lipton

Isn't that like saying "Take a chicken and cook it." is a recipe? :^)

JB

We had his Butter Poached Lobster Mits when at the French Laundry...it is
very simple and one of the easier things to make.

My wife replicated easily.


"Ronin" > wrote in message
...
> On 2007-12-01 20:57:24 -0800, Mark Lipton > said:
>
>> Ronin wrote:
>>
>>>> we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
>>>> method),
>>>
>>>
>>> First time I've ever seen "simple" and Thomas Keller in the same
>>> sentence... :^)
>>
>> I dunno: his signature dish (butter-poached lobster) is quite simple:
>> take a fresh lobster and poach it in butter. It doesn't get much
>> simpler than that.
>>
>> Mark Lipton
>
> Isn't that like saying "Take a chicken and cook it." is a recipe? :^)
>
> JB
>

DaleW > wrote in news:05e49d5d-cff3-40e8-825b-
:

> On Dec 1, 5:44�pm, Ronin > wrote:
>> On 2007-11-30 12:35:16 -0800, DaleW > said:
>>
>>
>>
>> > we sat down to a delicious simple roast chicken (Thomas Keller's
>> > method),
>>
>> First time I've ever seen "simple" and Thomas Keller in the same
>> sentence... �:^)
>>
>> > We started with a wine from Triomphe's list, the 2006 Nigl "Kremser
>> > Freiheit" Gruner Veltliner. �B+
>>
>> > �2002 Domaine Billaud-Simon "Les Vaillons" Chablis 1er Cru
>> > �B early on,. B+ later.
>> > 1988 Ch. Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol)
>> > Good, not great, Pomerol. B/B+
>>
>> > 1999 �Gaillard Cote-Rotie
>> > A-
>>
>> > 1976 Domaine d'Ambinos Coteaux du Layon
>> > while the wine gets a C+, a couple of sips were damn good. Funky
>> > chenin.
>>
>> I think it would be interesting if Mr. Coulter could be prevailed
upon
>> to offer his reactions as a comparison...
>
> They were in NYC because they were starting a cruise here, I think
> he'll chime in on his return. IIRC from his email his favorites were
> the Nigl and the Bon Pasteur, but I'll let him chime in. Hopefully
> he'll disagree with me, I always hate when people all agree- where's
> the fun in that?

OK Back fomr the caribbean.

My favs, aside from meeting some very nice people and having perhaps the
best meal of my trip, the Gruner nad the as Dale Said the Bon Pasteur-
though the Chablis Les Vaillons, is always a hit and I know my wife
liked it the best.I had duck so neither red was really well suited. Dale
brought a Burg bt I could not see opening it for just my sake.

On the ship (Queen mary 2 good wine list) we discovered a couple of
fairly nice wines includeing a 2004 (5?) Mont Redon CdP that was really
quite nice with a little bottle time and a 2000 Chateau Bel Air that was
good after an hour but did not save well (two glasses the next night
showd a bit of worse for the wear)

I will likely chime in later, but for now it is time to unpack.

thanks to Dale for the Arrangements and as oft reported here to Betsy
for her charming presence- Dale is one extremely lucky man.

--
Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

> brought a Burg bt I could not see opening it for just my sake.
My friends on Friday night were thankful for your restraint, the 1993
Mongeard-Mugneret "Les Narbantons" Savigny-les-Beaune 1er was
challenger for WOTN at our Pinot Noir blind tasting

.>
> On the ship (Queen mary 2 good wine list) we discovered a couple of
> fairly nice wines includeing a 2004 (5?) Mont Redon CdP that was really
> quite nice with a little bottle time and a 2000 Chateau Bel Air that was
> good after an hour but did not save well �(two glasses the next night
> showd a bit of worse for the wear)
>
Compared to what most folks report from cruises, sounds like a great
list!

>
> thanks to Dale for the Arrangements and as oft reported here to Betsy
> for her charming presence- Dale is one extremely lucky man.

I was teasing my friend Oswaldo he had joined the Club of Men Who Are
With Women Much Better Than They Deserve, I think both of us are
charter members.

So nice to meet you, greetings from Bets!