TN: Dinner at Arte (Jul 13, 2009)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
Dinner at Arte, in Cerritos, CA.

We're a big group -- Dale, Linh, Julian, Terrie, Jeff, (Mrs. Jeff), Kriss, Mike, Jay, Bruce, Pete, Doug, Jeff, Jim -- but those first few folks are long-time friends with the chef. So, when we arrive we have a big table in the middle of the restaurant, a custom menu, no corkage, time to chat with everyone, and so on.

With oysters
Pierre Gimonnet 2002 Champagne Brut "Fleuron" 1er - medium yeasty, good finishing acidity, bit of chalkiness, good balance, I enjoyed this

Gosset NV Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, Cuvee Extra Brut "Celebris" - 4.5g rs, very well balanced, nothing sticks out... but not good either

Milan NV Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, Sec "Tendresse" - slight bottle stink?, not particularly sweet, a little flabby, not inspiring

With foie gras
Balbach 1986 Niersteiner Klostergarten Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese - 4 382 022 01 87, orange marmalade, shapely acidity, wow bottle

With the fish course
J J Prum 2002 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese - 2 576 511 30 03, very sulfury, way sulfury, light, limey, crisp, nice

Schloss Schonborn 1983 Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Riesling Spatlese - 31 052 031 84, bad cardboard smell, but richly honeyed in the mouth

Passing time
Alesia 2006 Pinot Noir, Green Valley - light, charming texture, still too much cola for me

F.lli Agnes di Giovanni 1999 Bonarda, Oltrepo Pavese "Milennium" - whiff of banana or pear but that goes away; interesting, meaty, silky, tannins furry but friendly, nice

With the duck course
Bize 2002 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er "Les Fournaux" - complex, citrusy, pretty good

Drouhin 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin - simple

Fourrier 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combe Aux Moines" - complex, transparent, wow Burgundy

With the beef course
Cappellano 1994 Barolo "Gabutti" - beautiful, great nose, roses and licorice root, wow

Ch. La Lagune 1983 Haut-Medoc - very licorice candy and shoe polish, acidity is a bit tired

Cabot 2006 Syrah "Kimberly's" - one barrel made; good flavors of pork, plum, and smoke, but texture is a bit silty

A lovely evening.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
No, for those making assumptions I didn't bring the Drouhin,
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From Jeff's description of the wine I would have thought that you'd brought the Schloss Schonborn (but it wasn't a magnum). (I'd insert emoticon here if it were allowed)

I like the Bonarda a lot but it really needs food for its inherent rusticity to work against. Cool labels on the Illi lineup though.

-Eden (Cerritos is not really known as a hotbed of diverse wine interests such as was apparent that evening)
 
originally posted by Steve Guattery:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Bize 2002 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er "Les Fournaux" - complex, citrusy, pretty good
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Any thoughts on the drinking window for this? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Going out on a limb here: drink and hold.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Steve Guattery:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Bize 2002 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er "Les Fournaux" - complex, citrusy, pretty good
Click to expand...

Any thoughts on the drinking window for this? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Going out on a limb here: drink and hold.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...
Yeah. Bize's wines, and Savignys in general, have amazing aging capacity, but they also taste so good young.
 
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:
originally posted by Jay Miller:
No, for those making assumptions I didn't bring the Drouhin,
Click to expand...

From Jeff's description of the wine I would have thought that you'd brought the Schloss Schonborn (but it wasn't a magnum). (I'd insert emoticon here if it were allowed)

I like the Bonarda a lot but it really needs food for its inherent rusticity to work against. Cool labels on the Illi lineup though.

-Eden (Cerritos is not really known as a hotbed of diverse wine interests such as was apparent that evening)
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah. It's been a bad run.

The Bonarda was very good. As you almost certainly guessed I bought it on Robert's (Wine Expo) recommendation. Much better than the sparkling Bonarda he also recommended.
 
Two dinners in three nights at Arte, not a bad way to go. I am glad I got to see you and Jay again after so long, and enjoyed the meals, wine and company. The Balbach, Cappellano & Fourrier were the wines of the night for me. I will be a more reliably regular dining companion for Dale and Linh now, as well. Just a hop up the 405. Thanks for the notes.
 
Glad to see a good note on the '94 Cappellano. I've had mixed experiences, but when it's on it's really, really pretty.
 
originally posted by slaton:
Glad to see a good note on the '94 Cappellano. I've had mixed experiences, but when it's on it's really, really pretty.
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When Jeff said he was bringing a 1994 Barolo I was a bit skeptical. But that was as you say, a very pretty wine.

One of my favorite reds that night.

That TBA was also spectacular.

and it was great to see Kriss again after all these years.
 
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