Originally posted 5/29/02
After discovering that Caf Panache, which I had heard nothing but rave reviews about on the various wine boards, was just ten minutes down the road from my office in beautiful and historical Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, I figured I should gather a few folks from work and check it out. Little did I know that I was the only one in the group who had never been there before and didnt realize that its considered to be one of New Jerseys best restaurants. No, thats not the start of a joke. Best of all, its BYO!
So, with some trepidation, I made the left on Franklin Turnpike and headed to Main Street in Ramsey.
Its an understated, yet classy little spot. The food was excellent and the service impeccable. The only thing one could complain about was the cheese dish we ordered after our main course. Perhaps Im a bit spoiled by all the fantastic cheese shops in NYC and by the effort many of the better restaurants in the city are putting into their cheese courses, but it seemed like the cheeses we were served were pulled off the shelves of the local Stop & Shop.
Other than that, it was a very enjoyable meal. For the price of a usual offline dinner at a solid restaurant in the city, we were able to enjoy top notch food and service. The only drawback to a dinner out in the boonies is that one has to get back into a car. That dramatically curtailed the number of wines present and intake, but certainly did not dampen the evening in the slightest. Sometimes less is more.
In any event, it was a great evening and I plan on being a repeat customer.
Brad
1994 Marie-Louise Parisot- Chablis, Valmur
Smelled and tasted like there was a little bit of oak to the wine. Hazelnut and pineapple flavors and aromas. Tart with a touch of caramel on the finish. Made my face contort. C.
1983 Inglenook- Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Light ruby in color. The nose is a bit vegetal, though theres underlying red cherry sweetness to it. While theres a touch of cherry on the palate, the wine was dried up and dead. C-.
1978 Napa Cellars- Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Still a youthful ruby color. The nose doesnt offer up much, but with deep inhalation one can detect a little cherry and menthol. Light and ephemeral on the palate. One can tell that at one time this may have been a pretty impressive wine as theres an overall pleasant sweetness to it around a faded core of cherry fruit. However, the wine really is a bit too old. Earth and light herb flavors round things out. B-.
1978 Niebaum-Coppola- Rubicon
This first vintage of Rubicon is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot. This wine also shows a youthful ruby color. Lots of sweet plummy fruit aromas on the nose. On entry, the wine has that softened, aged feel, but it turns a little hard on the finish. Theres plenty of ripe plums to be found with a dusty earthiness, light herb and an iodine note. While showing aged characteristics, it has not picked up anything that I think resembles complexity. At least not in the sense of what I would find in a Bordeaux of similar age as the wine still retained an almost candied fruit presence. Of course, thats part of the standard line about California Cabernets. That is, they age, but dont really become complex. I think this is a case in point. That said, this is an enjoyable wine and an excellent example of an aged Cal Cab. A-/B+.
1985 Domaine de la Charbonnire- Chteauneuf du Pape
Im told that at this time, the Domaine was only producing this one CDP rather than the few cuves it now makes. To be honest, I didnt pay too much attention to this wine as I was eyeing the lineup that was to come. It was mature with pleasant cherry, earth, olive and spice flavors and aromas, though more at the tertiary end of the spectrum. Didnt make much of an impression, but was enjoyable enough. Low B.
1994 J. L. Chave- Hermitage
Showing much better than at the Chave vertical I recently attended, though quite different than the last good bottle that I had. Immediately upon decanting and for the next several hours the wine was dominated by olive, garrigue and earth flavors and aromas. There was none of the animal or cherry fruit that I had previously experienced. However, after having been aired out for three or so hours, the sweet red cherries did start to emerge. The structure is still pretty formidable at the moment, so Im leaving my remaining bottles alone for a while. I should mention that this wine, with its strong olive character was a fabulous match with the rack of lamb I had for dinner as the lamb had a crust that incorporated minced olives in it. Solid A-.
1995 Vieux Tlgraph- Chteauneuf du Pape, LHippolyte
A rather rare wine as this was an experiment by the estate and not released commercially. I was told that only a few barrels of this wine were made with the difference from the regular bottling being that they were aged in smaller barrique, thus imprinting more of an oak character to the wine. Thank goodness they were just fooling around in the shop.
The wine is fairly similar to the regular bottling on the nose. Theres lots of ripe black and red fruit, garrigue, but theres more of spicy wood aroma present here. Its on the palate that I found the differences to be extreme. This is not what I look for at all in Chteauneuf. While theres a terrific core of rich fruit, spice and earth, the oak dominates the wine entirely too much and gives it a liquid clove impression. Not for me, but the regular bottling is wonderful. B/B-.
1985 Haut-Brion- Pessac-Lognan
Mmmmm Smell that wet Graves earth mixed with tar, tobacco, leather, herb and ripe black fruit! While a full wine, its not all encompassing. Tannins have softened, though theres still a kick on the finish, along with a touch of dryness. Integrated, like flavors as aromas. Its this profile and consistent excellence that makes Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion amongst my short list of favorite Bordeaux estates. Lovely stuff. A/A-.
1990 L'Anglus- St. Emilion
As with the 89 I tried a couple of months ago, this wine is also showing a more pronounced herbal component than it did a couple of years ago, although the ultra-rich, decadent black fruit remains the primary characteristic, with a touch of espresso. It is starting to take on some secondary characteristics as theres a more pronounced and entirely enjoyable mineral streak running through the wine. Nicely balanced, though certainly more opulent than the equally stellar, though more elegant 89. While thoroughly enjoyable, the wine seems to be in an awkward phase, so Id hold onto it a little while longer so it can sort itself out a little more. A/A- with solid A potential.
1997 Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon, "L'Anclai"
Uh, oh. Here we go again. The is it corked, or is it that wet wool Chenin Blanc characteristic routine? I came in on the side that said it wasnt corked, but it was showing oddly as it had a bit of a plastic thing going on in it and it was much shorter on the palate than usual. Cest dommage. NR.
After discovering that Caf Panache, which I had heard nothing but rave reviews about on the various wine boards, was just ten minutes down the road from my office in beautiful and historical Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, I figured I should gather a few folks from work and check it out. Little did I know that I was the only one in the group who had never been there before and didnt realize that its considered to be one of New Jerseys best restaurants. No, thats not the start of a joke. Best of all, its BYO!
So, with some trepidation, I made the left on Franklin Turnpike and headed to Main Street in Ramsey.
Its an understated, yet classy little spot. The food was excellent and the service impeccable. The only thing one could complain about was the cheese dish we ordered after our main course. Perhaps Im a bit spoiled by all the fantastic cheese shops in NYC and by the effort many of the better restaurants in the city are putting into their cheese courses, but it seemed like the cheeses we were served were pulled off the shelves of the local Stop & Shop.
Other than that, it was a very enjoyable meal. For the price of a usual offline dinner at a solid restaurant in the city, we were able to enjoy top notch food and service. The only drawback to a dinner out in the boonies is that one has to get back into a car. That dramatically curtailed the number of wines present and intake, but certainly did not dampen the evening in the slightest. Sometimes less is more.
In any event, it was a great evening and I plan on being a repeat customer.
Brad
1994 Marie-Louise Parisot- Chablis, Valmur
Smelled and tasted like there was a little bit of oak to the wine. Hazelnut and pineapple flavors and aromas. Tart with a touch of caramel on the finish. Made my face contort. C.
1983 Inglenook- Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Light ruby in color. The nose is a bit vegetal, though theres underlying red cherry sweetness to it. While theres a touch of cherry on the palate, the wine was dried up and dead. C-.
1978 Napa Cellars- Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Still a youthful ruby color. The nose doesnt offer up much, but with deep inhalation one can detect a little cherry and menthol. Light and ephemeral on the palate. One can tell that at one time this may have been a pretty impressive wine as theres an overall pleasant sweetness to it around a faded core of cherry fruit. However, the wine really is a bit too old. Earth and light herb flavors round things out. B-.
1978 Niebaum-Coppola- Rubicon
This first vintage of Rubicon is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot. This wine also shows a youthful ruby color. Lots of sweet plummy fruit aromas on the nose. On entry, the wine has that softened, aged feel, but it turns a little hard on the finish. Theres plenty of ripe plums to be found with a dusty earthiness, light herb and an iodine note. While showing aged characteristics, it has not picked up anything that I think resembles complexity. At least not in the sense of what I would find in a Bordeaux of similar age as the wine still retained an almost candied fruit presence. Of course, thats part of the standard line about California Cabernets. That is, they age, but dont really become complex. I think this is a case in point. That said, this is an enjoyable wine and an excellent example of an aged Cal Cab. A-/B+.
1985 Domaine de la Charbonnire- Chteauneuf du Pape
Im told that at this time, the Domaine was only producing this one CDP rather than the few cuves it now makes. To be honest, I didnt pay too much attention to this wine as I was eyeing the lineup that was to come. It was mature with pleasant cherry, earth, olive and spice flavors and aromas, though more at the tertiary end of the spectrum. Didnt make much of an impression, but was enjoyable enough. Low B.
1994 J. L. Chave- Hermitage
Showing much better than at the Chave vertical I recently attended, though quite different than the last good bottle that I had. Immediately upon decanting and for the next several hours the wine was dominated by olive, garrigue and earth flavors and aromas. There was none of the animal or cherry fruit that I had previously experienced. However, after having been aired out for three or so hours, the sweet red cherries did start to emerge. The structure is still pretty formidable at the moment, so Im leaving my remaining bottles alone for a while. I should mention that this wine, with its strong olive character was a fabulous match with the rack of lamb I had for dinner as the lamb had a crust that incorporated minced olives in it. Solid A-.
1995 Vieux Tlgraph- Chteauneuf du Pape, LHippolyte
A rather rare wine as this was an experiment by the estate and not released commercially. I was told that only a few barrels of this wine were made with the difference from the regular bottling being that they were aged in smaller barrique, thus imprinting more of an oak character to the wine. Thank goodness they were just fooling around in the shop.
The wine is fairly similar to the regular bottling on the nose. Theres lots of ripe black and red fruit, garrigue, but theres more of spicy wood aroma present here. Its on the palate that I found the differences to be extreme. This is not what I look for at all in Chteauneuf. While theres a terrific core of rich fruit, spice and earth, the oak dominates the wine entirely too much and gives it a liquid clove impression. Not for me, but the regular bottling is wonderful. B/B-.
1985 Haut-Brion- Pessac-Lognan
Mmmmm Smell that wet Graves earth mixed with tar, tobacco, leather, herb and ripe black fruit! While a full wine, its not all encompassing. Tannins have softened, though theres still a kick on the finish, along with a touch of dryness. Integrated, like flavors as aromas. Its this profile and consistent excellence that makes Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion amongst my short list of favorite Bordeaux estates. Lovely stuff. A/A-.
1990 L'Anglus- St. Emilion
As with the 89 I tried a couple of months ago, this wine is also showing a more pronounced herbal component than it did a couple of years ago, although the ultra-rich, decadent black fruit remains the primary characteristic, with a touch of espresso. It is starting to take on some secondary characteristics as theres a more pronounced and entirely enjoyable mineral streak running through the wine. Nicely balanced, though certainly more opulent than the equally stellar, though more elegant 89. While thoroughly enjoyable, the wine seems to be in an awkward phase, so Id hold onto it a little while longer so it can sort itself out a little more. A/A- with solid A potential.
1997 Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon, "L'Anclai"
Uh, oh. Here we go again. The is it corked, or is it that wet wool Chenin Blanc characteristic routine? I came in on the side that said it wasnt corked, but it was showing oddly as it had a bit of a plastic thing going on in it and it was much shorter on the palate than usual. Cest dommage. NR.