Well, it was supposed to be a welcome to Arizona party for Mark Lipton,
however he and his family were unavoidably detained in Tucson, so we had to
fill the places with some winos, who can be ready at the drop of a hat.

Chef Vincent Guerithault, of Vincent's on Camelback, winner of James Beard
Award - Best Chef Southwest, International food & Wine Society - Citation of
Excellence, and Republic of France's Chevalier de L'Ordre du Merite Agricole,
catered the dinner. Though the Liptons were absent, we pressed on anyway.

The evening began with a "welcome wine," Domaine Des Baumard, Savennières
1999. This was a very light Chenin Blanc and a very good starter. Straw
colored with a noticeable clear meniscus, it exhibited good minerality -
rather like a mouthful of clean stones. The nose was of light citrus,
minerals, and a tiny hint of pine. Though Baumard creates some great single-
vineyard Savennières, this is there entry-level wine, and, as such was quite
light. The mouth feel was equally light, and the finish was rather short.
Still, not a bad place to start.

We began with salad, because of the wine pairings. First came a pear, and
walnut with Gorgonzola on endive. This was paired with the Sullivan Napa/
Rutherford Chardonnay 1999. This wine is beginning to show its age and these
were my last two bottles of the ‘99. The color is mid-amber, with a slight
clear meniscus. The nose is definite pear with only a tiny bit of citrus. It
opens, in the glass to a touch of mineral, as well. On the palette, there is
the pear, a hint of flint, and some honey with a silky mouth feel and a
generous finish. (Note: the ‘00 was the last Chardonnay produced from the plot
of grapes in Rutherford - glad I still have a case. Phylloxera hit that plot
and in ‘01, Sullivan sourced Chardonny from another source. That wine was
recalled for a fault, the vineyard replanted in Merlot, and all Chardonnays
are now from sourced fruit - hope I have those vintages correct.)

We then went to a soup course with wild mushrooms topped in Foie Gras. With
this dish, we paired a Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet, Premier Cru "Clos
de la Bourdriotte 1996 magnum. What a wonderful pairing! The wine was light
ruby with a hint of brick, and a meniscus graduating from brick to clear at
the very edge. The nose was damp earth, mushrooms, cherry, mint and a hint of
spice - cinnamon? On the palette, the mushrooms and cherry were still
noticeable, along with that spice. The mouth feel was pure silk. The finish
was quite long.

Our first course was a smoked duck tamale with Anaheim chile and raisins. This
was served with an E Guigal Côte-Rôtie, 1997. The Rhône red went well with the
duck and the chilies were barely noticeable. In the glass, the Guigal was
purple with a hint of a clear meniscus. On the nose, I found damp earth,
cherries, several spices and a hint of tar. The palette was spice, cherries,
and that tar. The mouth feel was a bit more course than the the Chassagne-
Montrachet, as the tannins were still firm, even with 45 minutes of decanter
time. The finish was a bit shorter than I had expected, but seemed to grow, as
did the mouth feel, with time in the glass.

The main course was sauteed beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce,
served with Dauphinois potatoes and sauteed petite green beans and baby
carrots..For this we did three Bordeaux - Saint-Juliens, all Chateau Saint-
Pierre, a Quatrièmes Cru:

2000 - decanted 1 hr before dinner. Dark purple in the glass with a tiny clear
meniscus, this was a wonderful, if young wine. The nose was black currents,
black berries, dark cherries and a touch of mineral. The palette was current
and black berries with still-firm tannis, that did not abate much even with
time in the glass. I know this was a young Bdx, but I wanted to try it,
especially since I just got my case. Maybe five to ten years in the cellar
will soften the tannins and blend the flavors a bit. The finish was medium-
long.

1996 - decanted 30 minutes before dinner. This wine was again dark purple with
a similar meniscus to that of the ‘00. The nose of current and black berries
was still there, but now the cherry was replaced with cedar. There was still
just a touch of mineral present. The same fruit came through on the palette
along with a hint of flint. The tannins were noticeable but quite smooth, and
the mouth feel was just as smooth. The finish was medium-long. RP gave this
wine a 90-94 in June ‘98. If I were giving points, I'd probably have backed
off a bit to 89-90 at the most.

1986 - decanted at dinner. There was a bit of brick in the purple now, and the
edge of the meniscus was amber. The nose was much more pronounced cedar,
though the dark fruits still came through. The mineral aspects seemed to have
evolved into a tough of earth, and were not as clear as the more minerally
aspects of the younger wines. This bottle was starting to fade a bit, I think,
but the mouth feel was still smooth. The finish was a bit longer than either
the ‘00, or the ‘96, but the fruit had begun to really fall back. The tannins
had smoothed out quite a bit. RP gave this one a 90 in October ‘92, and again,
I'd put it in the 87-88 range.

1978 - decanted at dinner. Now the brick was starting to show. Though the wine
was still purple, it was noticeably lighter than any of the others with a
light brown meniscus. Earth, cedar, some black berry fruit, and a bit of oak
(or was that just more cedar) were on the nose. The cedar, and earth, plus a
bit of leather, along with tiny intimations of fruit existed on the palette.
The mouth feel was much lighter, and the tannins were all but gone. RP awarded
this one 83 in October ‘92. I think that this rating was very close. While
smooth and enjoyable, there just wasn't enough left of it.

During the Bdx flight we cleared the table and did a four-cheese course.
Afterward, we added some Stilton and two different Blus and retired to the
upper deck for Taylor 20yr Tawny (there was a glass of 25 yr Macallan poured
for a non-Port drinker) and a few of the gentlemen partook of Cohiba Siglo
IV's from an undisclosed point of origin.

As winos must do, we made the best of a bad situation. Though Mark and family
were to be the "guests of honor," we raised a glass to their auto trip and
wished them well. We missed them, but tried to "carry on" as he wished. Maybe
we can get him here, when he returns from California.

Hunt

Thanks for the notes. Too bad re Mark & Jean, they'll kick themselves
when they read notes!

In article .com>,
says...
>
>Thanks for the notes. Too bad re Mark & Jean, they'll kick themselves
>when they read notes!

I only hope that the remainder of their trip was better than the part, where
they entered AZ - bummer.

Maybe I can get them to stop if they are driving back through.

Hunt

Hunt wrote:
> Well, it was supposed to be a welcome to Arizona party for Mark Lipton,
> however he and his family were unavoidably detained in Tucson, so we had to
> fill the places with some winos, who can be ready at the drop of a hat.

And I can assure you that no one was more unhappy at that turn of events
than I and my dear spouse. After reading your dinner notes, I am
suicidally despondent. For the record, the '98 Belle 'Cuveé Louis
Belle' Crozes-Hermitage that I had brought for the duck tamale course
proved to be lighter and more aytpical than I recalled, so perhaps I
avoided some embarassment by having my car break down on I-10 that
day... Your generosity and hospitality will not soon be forgotten,
however, nor will your most excellent restaurant recommendations, Hunt.

Mark Lipton

In article >, says
....
>
>Hunt wrote:
>> Well, it was supposed to be a welcome to Arizona party for Mark Lipton,
>> however he and his family were unavoidably detained in Tucson, so we had to
>> fill the places with some winos, who can be ready at the drop of a hat.
>
>And I can assure you that no one was more unhappy at that turn of events
>than I and my dear spouse. After reading your dinner notes, I am
>suicidally despondent. For the record, the '98 Belle 'Cuveé Louis
>Belle' Crozes-Hermitage that I had brought for the duck tamale course
>proved to be lighter and more aytpical than I recalled, so perhaps I
>avoided some embarassment by having my car break down on I-10 that
>day... Your generosity and hospitality will not soon be forgotten,
>however, nor will your most excellent restaurant recommendations, Hunt.
>
>Mark Lipton

Mark,

Do not fear. We will make this happen, hopefully sooner, rather than later. As
for the Crozes, I think it would have gone just as nicely, and, if not, there
are always backups. Besides, it was your (plural) presence that we were most
looking forward to. The food and wine were to be second on the list of
important matters. A safe trip was at the very top of that list.

It might have been a good thing that you had to miss the dinner, as one of the
guests is the VP of Philanthropy for a major hospital here, and would probably
have convinced you that her's was a more worthy institution to which you
should donate, than Purdue's!!!!!! :-} Anyway, we are so sorry that we missed
you on this occasion, and hope to be able to extend the invitation on your
return, or at another opportunity.

Good luck on the Internet connection,
Hunt