Un Americain a Paris - multi-course wine dinner

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
Multi-course wine dinner!

RECEPTION:

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth 2000 -- Deep salmon color, sweet nose, roses, strawberries and other red fruits, vast and complex, seductive style, full body. [E]

Served with passed hors d'oeuvres (no photo).

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DINNER:

Argyle Brut Extended Tirage Willamette Valley Oregon '00 -- Delicious/clean/fresh, apples, some citrus, some toastiness, forward acidity that's smooth. [VG - E]

Moet et Chandon Cuvee Dom Perignon Reims '92 (En Magnum) -- Golden, nice mousse and bubbles, fine fruit, robust profile with some secondary/mature characteristics, balanced, honey and pear notes, nutty complexity, citrus. [E]

Served with Foie Gras French Toast Foie Gras Ice Cream Foie Gras Bon Bon...

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Flowers Cuvee Andreen Gale Chardonnay Sonoma '06 -- Golden yellow, tropical fruits, melons, light to medium body, nice freshness, balanced, light oak, youthful. [VG - E]

Jean-Noel Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet Cote de Beaune Boudriotte 1er Cru '05 -- Green apples, sweet pears, minerals, clove, unobtrusive oak, elegant, good concentration. [E]

Served with Pan Seared Scallop with Braised Oxtail Crab Tempura, Sauce Bearnaise...

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Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc Rhone '00 (En Magnum) -- Pale yellow, floral notes, citrus tones, no edges, good balance, oily texture, minerals, mid-palate could be firmer, hints of flintiness. [E - O]

Served with Sauteed Sea Bass Saffron Truffle Fruits de Mer...

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Littorai Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma '01 (En Magnum) -- Beautiful red, wonderful black cherries, deep earth, flowers, nice complexity, velvety silkiness, ample acidity buffered by berry fruits (blueberries?), Burgundian earthiness. [E]

Domaine Trapet Chambertin Cote de Nuits Grand Cru '00 -- Medium red, voluptuous bouquet, raspberries, cherries, rich and velvety, soft tannins, wonderful structure, nice earth, impressive balance/texture/finesse, near perfect precision. [E]

Served with Duck Confit Crisp with Micro Salade Egg Poche En Croute...

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Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Napa '94 -- Medium red/violet, cedar, earth, tannins evolving, dusty dark fruits, well endowed, complex herbs/vanilla/cassis/dark cherries & currants, youthful, questionable balance. [VG - E]

Chateau Margaux Haut Medoc '90 -- Deep cherries and currants, full cedar, suave silky tannins, quite opulent, red and black fruits, plums, stunning. [E - O]

Served with Truffle Sous Vide Lamb Loin Morel Mushrooms White Asparagus Maltaise Sabayon Jerusalem Artichoke Crisp...

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Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou Saint Julien '02 -- Medium ruby, honey and floral notes, black fruits, hints of cinnamon and spice, some red fruits, tannins and acids in balance, fresh herbs, earth, excellent precision. [E]

Served with Fromages...

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Far Niente Dolce Napa '99 -- Golden amber, sweet apricots, smooth and rich, honey notes, some floral nuances, exquisite texture and mouth feel, well balanced, not cloying, ample acidity. [E]

Chateau d'Yquem '90 -- Brilliant still youthful yellow golden, complex tropical fruits and flowers, honey, viscous, unending dimensions, mellow acidity, bright and fresh, magical proportions, incredible balance. [O]

Warre's Vintage Port Douro Portugal '77 -- Medium garnet, sweet cherries, layered profile, spices, tobacco, elegant softness, some chocolate and nuttiness, maybe some mintiness. [E]

Served with Bitter Chocolate Almond Creme Brulee Cinnamon Ice Cream Fresh Fruit Herb Melange Cherry Coulis...

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Sugar Sculpture and Petit Fours.

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Thumbnail photos can be clicked for enlargements.





. . . . . . Pete
 
It is a pretty impressive sculpture, to be sure.

In Nice last month my daughter thought the macarons were beautiful so I went in to a shop to buy her some. I cavalierly picked out a half dozen or so and found myself out ten euro. For cookies? But they are pretty to look at and more than a little tasty.

Nice meal! I think Warre's is underrated sometimes, I have had good luck with several ports from their range - plus it's often possible to track down older bottles at good prices.
 
In Nice last month my daughter thought the macarons were beautiful so I went in to a shop to buy her some. I cavalierly picked out a half dozen or so and found myself out ten euro. For cookies?
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That sounds cheap. You'd certainly pay more in the better Paris shops.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
In Nice last month my daughter thought the macarons were beautiful so I went in to a shop to buy her some. I cavalierly picked out a half dozen or so and found myself out ten euro. For cookies?
Click to expand...

That sounds cheap. You'd certainly pay more in the better Paris shops.
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Well, maybe it was more. I just remember being surprised.

They were good though. We bought them from several stores and there was surprisingly high variation between them - a sweet treat with a lot of qualitative complexity.
 
Yes, huge variation. I'd much rather have a good-but-not-great croissant or baguette than a good-but-not-great macaron. The glory really only comes through if they're melt-in-the-mouth delicate. Otherwise, they're just sweet.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Yes, huge variation. I'd much rather have a good-but-not-great croissant or baguette than a good-but-not-great macaron. The glory really only comes through if they're melt-in-the-mouth delicate. Otherwise, they're just sweet.
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Waaah! You've reminded me again that Bouley Bakery is closed. My main justification for the long weekend in Paris I'd planned before my back acted up was to eat some good macarons.

originally posted by Steven Spielmann:


Nice meal! I think Warre's is underrated sometimes, I have had good luck with several ports from their range - plus it's often possible to track down older bottles at good prices.
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Stylistically they are my favorite port house. I've preferred others on occasion (especially Dow) but tthere's just something about Warre's...
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by Jay Miller:

Waaah! You've reminded me again that Bouley Bakery is closed.
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Again?

You turn your back for a minute...
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I don't count the cramped new place. It doesn't serve macarons.

Unless that's changed?
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dude, they still have superlative baguettes. That is job1, as the commercials used to say.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
they still have superlative baguettes. That is job1, as the commercials used to say.
Click to expand...
Maybe you're right. There is something about an amazing baguette... In my personal experience it is such a rarity. No question you are right in Paris, and maybe throughout Metropolitan France. New York, too? Maybe. At least you're paying attention. Here in Toronto? We'll see.
 
Amazing baguette is a rarity. But what I love about French cities is that good-but-not-amazing baguette is almost always readily available. Not every bakery, but at least one of the ones within a few blocks, most of the time.

I actually make excellent baguette - living as I do in the US I have little recourse - but they are too dense to be truly great, although my daughter likes them. Probably some of you would even eat them if you were starving.

Warre's ports have a sort of a 'classic' profile in my book. As that winedoctor guy puts it, "Overall Warre's do not produce such opulent wines as can be found elsewhere in the Symington stable, but they can often have great elegance and perfume." They are actually about as rich as I can stand wine to be, since I'm a pleasure-hating anti-hedonist.
 
Yes, another thing I fondly miss from my time in France...good baguettes. You go down to the corner in the morning, chat up the baker, get a loaf, go somewhere else to pick up some cheese, and you have the perfect lunch. And, no matter where you are in Paris, you can get good, at worst, decent bread, within a five minute walk.

Now, trying to get a decent baguette in DC (without having to go to a restaurant), that doesn't have the consistency of leftover paste. You'll have better luck finding a bagel that doesn't taste like a danish. Fuggedaboutit.
 
Yes, but you'll have a much shorter walk to pick up a refreshing kabinett. Or a plate of nachos. Whichever you prefer. Life is tradeoffs.
 
I would probably opt for the kabinett. Unless the nachos has chili cheez wiz on it with a large wild cherry slurpie on the side. Then I would be torn.
 
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