Our friend Joe has been dating Donna for a while now, and mentioning
they would like to have us up to dinner at her place in CT. Finally we
settled on Saturday, and Betsy and I drove to Wilton. I hadn't
understood Joe's invite title (Dinner with Daffodils) until we pulled
into the driveway of the incredible 18th century house and spied the
pasture filled with thousands of beautiful daffodils.

Joe was cooking madly, stirring the polenta for later. The other
couple arrived (a bass player colleague of Betsy and Joe , plus her
cellist husband), and we headed out (gorgeous June day in April!) for
some Adirondack chairs with platter of charcuterie and some great
tapenade and bread. First wine up was the 1996 Klein "aux Vieux
Remparts" Riesling Burgreben. Light petrol notes,dry, a bit austere,
yellow fruits. Pleasant enough, but without the minerality or length
of a great dry Riesling. B-

A tour of the house (part dated back to 1714, majority late 1700s) and
we settled on the porch with the 2007 Domaine de la Rochette
Sauvignon*(Touraine). Good balance of crispness and fruit, clear SB
characteristics, some gooseberry and grass. Nice clean wine. B

We moved to dining room for dinner, first sitdown course was a lovely
sea bass with ramps. The fish was cooked perfectly, and the ramps were
divine. Wine was my offering, the 2000*Carillon*"Les Combettes"
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru. Whew, no oxidation. Pears and lemon, a bit
lower in acidity than my preference, but good length and lots of soil/
stone notes. B+, could have moved into A territory with a little more
crispness.

With a lovely endive salad, we tried my backup bottle (why carry it
home), the 2006 Biondi "Outis" Etna Bianco. Floral nose with a hint of
fennel seed, clean fresh lemony fruit, good acidity. Some mineral
notes, light herbs. Pretty fun little wine. B+/B

Main course was an incredible lamb navarin, from a Thomas Keller
recipe, served with the creamy polenta. Wine was a magnum of the 1994
Prieure Saint-Jean de Bebian (Coteaux du Languedoc). This would make a
great ringer in a lineup of Chateauneuf, it reminded me of Beaucastel
in a less explosive vintage. Red and dark fruits, lots of leather,
good dose of herbs and garrigue. Mostly resolved tannins, good fruit,
not too Grenache-jammy. B++

Dinner was followed by a cheese course - an Ossau-Iraty*was my fave,
but I liked all of the cheeses (there was a tomme de Savoie, a
Roquefort-ish blue, a chevre, and a washed rind cheese whose name I
missed). Then the dessert eaters enjoyed Donna's offerings- a flan/
custard with prunes and raisins soaked in Armagnac, a apple tart, and
some cookies. Finishing wine was the 2001 Doisy Vedrines from a half
bottle. Infanticide, maybe, but actually showing beautifully. Full
bodied but with a sprightly/nervy acid backbone, tropical fruit and
apricots, good length. 2001 Sauternes/Barsacs are amazing. A-

Really an extraordinary meal, with great company in a great setting. I
was grateful that Betsy was doing the driving!

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:
> Our friend Joe has been dating Donna for a while now, and mentioning
> they would like to have us up to dinner at her place in CT. Finally we
> settled on Saturday, and Betsy and I drove to Wilton. I hadn't
> understood Joe's invite title (Dinner with Daffodils) until we pulled
> into the driveway of the incredible 18th century house and spied the
> pasture filled with thousands of beautiful daffodils.
>

I'm glad to hear that Joe has someone in his life, and glad for him also
that his party was such a hit. But what a naricissistic title! ;-)

Nice sounding lineup of wines (a '94 CdR that's still vivid -- wow), but
I'm a bit surprised that there was no Barolo, given my recollection of
his tastes in wine.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:01:20 -0700, DaleW wrote:

I am happy to hear that "Daffodils" were not the entree. That would sound
something like "California Cuisine" that I am extremely happy to have
moved 2000 miles away from. ;-)

Godzilla

"DaleW" > wrote in message
...

A tour of the house (part dated back to 1714, majority late 1700s) and
we settled on the porch with the 2007 Domaine de la Rochette
Sauvignon (Touraine). Good balance of crispness and fruit, clear SB
characteristics, some gooseberry and grass. Nice clean wine. B

"DaleW" > wrote in message
...
Our friend Joe has been dating Donna for a while now, and mentioning
they would like to have us up to dinner at her place in CT.


A tour of the house (part dated back to 1714, majority late 1700s)

On Apr 26, 3:16*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Our friend Joe has been dating Donna for a while now, and mentioning
> > they would like to have us up to dinner at her place in CT. Finally we
> > settled on Saturday, and Betsy and I drove to Wilton. I hadn't
> > understood Joe's invite title (Dinner with Daffodils) until we pulled
> > into the driveway of the incredible 18th century house and spied the
> > pasture filled with thousands of beautiful daffodils.
>
> I'm glad to hear that Joe has someone in his life, and glad for him also
> that his party was such a hit. *But what a naricissistic title! ;-)
>
> Nice sounding lineup of wines (a '94 CdR that's still vivid -- wow), but
> I'm a bit surprised that there was no Barolo, given my recollection of
> his tastes in wine.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

He is a Barolohead, but I think this springish menu didn't
particularly scream Nebbiolo.
Note it was a Coteaux de Languedoc, not a CdR. I'd never heard of
producer, but just searched old WLDG, positive notes on the '93, '95,
etc

"Godzilla" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:01:20 -0700, DaleW wrote:
>
> I am happy to hear that "Daffodils" were not the entree. That would sound
> something like "California Cuisine" that I am extremely happy to have
> moved 2000 miles away from. ;-)
>
> Godzilla


I join in with agreement. 2,781 miles.
Dee Dee

On Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:38:08 -0400, Dee Randall wrote:

> "Godzilla" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:01:20 -0700, DaleW wrote:
>>
>> I am happy to hear that "Daffodils" were not the entree. That would
>> sound something like "California Cuisine" that I am extremely happy to
>> have moved 2000 miles away from. ;-)
>>
>> Godzilla
>
>
> I join in with agreement. 2,781 miles. Dee Dee

To further elaborate on the subject: While still a California Prisoner
(oops, Resident) I attended a very enjoyable and worthwhile demonstration
given by the cook book author, Marion Cunningham. When I spoke to her
afterword, she told me of being taken to a well known expensive
restaurant in La Jolla and being served "Squid with Blueberry Sauce!" We
were both horrified at the combination.

Later, I related the incident to the wife of a good friend and her
response was "What's wrong with that?" (I sincerely doubt if that lady
has ever eaten Squid in her lifetime.)

Godzilla

Godzilla wrote:

> To further elaborate on the subject: While still a California Prisoner
> (oops, Resident) I attended a very enjoyable and worthwhile demonstration
> given by the cook book author, Marion Cunningham. When I spoke to her
> afterword, she told me of being taken to a well known expensive
> restaurant in La Jolla and being served "Squid with Blueberry Sauce!" We
> were both horrified at the combination.

Sure, but don't you think that every cooking trend (indeed, every
artistic movement) ends up in bad caricatures of itself when untalented
or uninspired chefs/musicians/artists aspire to the heights achieved by
the true maestros? Witness the various insults to eating being
perpetrated by so-called purveyors of "molecular gastronomy," though I
have no doubt that I'd greatly enjoy a meal at Alinea or Moto in
Chicago, The Fat Duck or even -- dare I say it? -- at El Bulli. 'Twas
ever thus, I say. On a more personal note, the punk rock that was
shocking in 1975 is now a clichéd fashion statement, nothing more.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:34:39 -0400, Mark Lipton wrote:

> Godzilla wrote:
>
>> To further elaborate on the subject: While still a California Prisoner
>> (oops, Resident) I attended a very enjoyable and worthwhile
>> demonstration given by the cook book author, Marion Cunningham. When I
>> spoke to her afterword, she told me of being taken to a well known
>> expensive restaurant in La Jolla and being served "Squid with Blueberry
>> Sauce!" We were both horrified at the combination.
>
> Sure, but don't you think that every cooking trend (indeed, every
> artistic movement) ends up in bad caricatures of itself when untalented
> or uninspired chefs/musicians/artists aspire to the heights achieved by
> the true maestros? Witness the various insults to eating being
> perpetrated by so-called purveyors of "molecular gastronomy," though I
> have no doubt that I'd greatly enjoy a meal at Alinea or Moto in
> Chicago, The Fat Duck or even -- dare I say it? -- at El Bulli. 'Twas
> ever thus, I say. On a more personal note, the punk rock that was
> shocking in 1975 is now a clichéd fashion statement, nothing more.
>
> Mark Lipton

I second your illustrative comments. :-)

Godzilla