Last night Betsy and I were invited to a 50th birthday party of a
friend. Party was held in a common space in his Tribeca Building. Nice
terrace with view of the city, a game room with pool/pingpong/foosball,
and a main room for the food and drink (and a big screen showing
Nureyev's "Don Quixote").

As an apertif, I had the 2004 Cairnbrae "Stones" Sauvignon Blanc. I'd
had this recently, and it showed much the same- rather intense
gooseberry/tropical fruit with a floral edge. I didn't get any jalapeno
this time, but there is that bracing acidity. Juicy fruit but plenty of
zip, aaahhhh. B+

Oswaldo is Brazilian, and had laid on quite a Brazilian feast. My
Brazilian food experiences had been limited to a second-rate
churrascaria place and a Portugese/Brazilian seafood restaurant. I have
to say my first experience with feijoada (which is the "Brazilian
national dish") was an eyeopener. Absolutely delicious, kind of
cassoulet meets soul food. Tender pork, sausage, beans. Served with a
shredded collards, orange, a tasty pepper sauce,and manioc flour baked
with butter. Everything was great. He also had pitchers of caipirinhas,
but I stuck to the wine:

1998 Guigal Brune & Blonde C=F4te-R=F4tie
This is the second time I've been surprised how open and ready this
wine is. I'm unsure how long this had been in decanter, but it was open
and smooth. There's a peppery note that matches very well with the
pepper sauce on the feijaoda, and for that matter the bacon-fat and
smoke of the wine complement the dish's meat. Nice blackberry Syrah
fruit, somr mocha and a little rosepetal. A-

1995 Calon-Segur
Oswaldo had opened 3 bottles of this, put two in a magnum decanter,
kept the other in a separate decanter, as he felt it smelled a bit off.
The two bottles in the big decanter were clearly in good shape- big
cassis and blackberry fruit, aromas of coffee, licorice, and cedar.
Tannins were still sticking out a bit, a brawny wine that still needs
time. B+/A-
The other bottle of '95 Calon-Segur was clearly off. The fruit was
muted compared to the other, and had a bit of a porty/roasted edge. A
bit pruney on the nose. I would have confidently declared cooked, but
it came from same case as the good bottles. C+

The birthday cake was in the form of a bottle of 1955 DRC
Romanee-Conti, a bit more affordable than the wine version. Really fun
night, with a nice space, great food, fine wines, and nice people. The
best part of the evening was however the chance to spend a special day
with someone of grace, urbanity, charm, and warmth. Another good friend
that wine led me to.

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.

In ups.com,
DaleW > typed:

> Oswaldo is Brazilian, and had laid on quite a Brazilian feast.
> My
> Brazilian food experiences had been limited to a second-rate
> churrascaria place and a Portugese/Brazilian seafood
> restaurant. I
> have to say my first experience with feijoada (which is the
> "Brazilian
> national dish") was an eyeopener. Absolutely delicious, kind of
> cassoulet meets soul food. Tender pork, sausage, beans. Served
> with a
> shredded collards, orange, a tasty pepper sauce,and manioc
> flour baked
> with butter. Everything was great. He also had pitchers of
> caipirinhas, but I stuck to the wine:


I'm with you! I've had feijoada in Rio de Janeiro and it was
wonderful. I've also had it in a couple of restaurants in NY, but
it was a pale imitation of what I had in Rio. If your friend is
Brazilian and did it himself, it was probably much better than
the NY restaurants.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

DaleW wrote:

> Last night Betsy and I were invited to a 50th birthday party of a
> friend. Party was held in a common space in his Tribeca Building. Nice
> terrace with view of the city, a game room with pool/pingpong/foosball,
> and a main room for the food and drink (and a big screen showing
> Nureyev's "Don Quixote").

On a less-than-totally related note, Edith Grossman's recent translation
of "Don Quixote" into English is superb and a great read. It gives the
Anglophone some clue as to why it's often been referred to as the "first
modern novel."

> Oswaldo is Brazilian, and had laid on quite a Brazilian feast. My
> Brazilian food experiences had been limited to a second-rate
> churrascaria place and a Portugese/Brazilian seafood restaurant. I have
> to say my first experience with feijoada (which is the "Brazilian
> national dish") was an eyeopener. Absolutely delicious, kind of
> cassoulet meets soul food. Tender pork, sausage, beans. Served with a
> shredded collards, orange, a tasty pepper sauce,and manioc flour baked
> with butter. Everything was great. He also had pitchers of caipirinhas,
> but I stuck to the wine:

Mmmm... Feijoada. I'm jealous, Dale.


> 1998 Guigal Brune & Blonde Côte-Rôtie
> This is the second time I've been surprised how open and ready this
> wine is. I'm unsure how long this had been in decanter, but it was open
> and smooth. There's a peppery note that matches very well with the
> pepper sauce on the feijaoda, and for that matter the bacon-fat and
> smoke of the wine complement the dish's meat. Nice blackberry Syrah
> fruit, somr mocha and a little rosepetal. A-

It's been years since I've had a Guigal B&B. Would say that it was
recognizably a Cote-Rotie? I'm not sure that I could say that about the
ones I had from the '80s.

> The other bottle of '95 Calon-Segur was clearly off. The fruit was
> muted compared to the other, and had a bit of a porty/roasted edge. A
> bit pruney on the nose. I would have confidently declared cooked, but
> it came from same case as the good bottles. C+

Sounds like a poorly sealed cork to me.

Mark Lipton

"DaleW" > wrote:

> The other bottle of '95 Calon-Segur was clearly off. The fruit
> was muted compared to the other, and had a bit of a
> porty/roasted edge. A bit pruney on the nose. I would have
> confidently declared cooked, but it came from same case as the
> good bottles.

Clear case of random oxidation from a defective cork.

M.

"your friend is
Brazilian and did it himself, it was probably much better than
the NY restaurants. "

He is Brazilian, and hired a Brazilian woman who caters to homesick
Brazilians to do the cooking. Good stuff!

"It's been years since I've had a Guigal B&B. Would say that it was
recognizably a Cote-Rotie? I'm not sure that I could say that about
the
ones I had from the '80s"
Well, bacon and smoke seem Cote-Rotish to me.

Despite glowing WS scores, Guigal's Hermitage and CdP don't usually
sing to me. But the regular Cote-Rotie seems to be decent and
well-priced for C-R. Probably more typical than the La Las, actually.