We had a little fun last night at SAAM in BAZAAR at the Los Angeles SLS. On the heels of winning his new J. Beard award, Jose Andres' eponymous restaurant, BAZAAR is quite the culinary exploration and visual circus. SAAM is the private tasting only venue in BAZAAR. It was here that 20 something of us met last night for a night of food, wine and camaraderie. For my group of 10, it was night of stunning wines, terrific food, superb company and a 5 hour extravaganza. It was great to see some those at the other tables whom I knew. Thanks to each of you for your contributions last night and to SC for his wonderful orchestration.
First, a brief comment on the food, which I thought was excellent though not amazing. There were several amazing dishes like the starter of 3 different types of Spanish cured jamon, Jose's Combination-Iberico and caviar, Pastrami Saul-sous vide cured pastrami rolled up with a quail yolk inside, Peas and Lemon in a pea puree was everything spring represents, Pork belly was amazing but the potato on the plate was not. I also loved the chicken, mustard and dates dish. All the plates are one to several bites. We had about 19 courses. There were some nice cheeses and a few desserts at the end. I was then rolled out to my car completely stuffed to the gills. No room for even a wafer thin mint.
The wines my group assembled were awesome. From Wow to OMFG! Here's a brief recount with some quick notes.
We started with a few bubbles and a white:
2009 Jorge Ordonez Botani - Moscatel from Malaga. Brought to specifically go with the jamon-nice aromatics, floral, lacking cut and precision.
2002 Jean Milan "Terres de Noel" - Tasty, sharp, clean, low dosage, lovely.
Tarlant Cuvee Louis - Off bottle, but only slightly as you could still get a bit of fruit, ultimately moved on.
The next set of wines were served with the beginning courses.
1988 Krug - Holy mother of God-this will just stop you in your tracks and bring tears streaming down. I kept a fair amount in the glass and at the end of the night. The aromatics were beyond words.
1999 Bonneau du Martray CC - Showing quite well. Started out tight but opened nicely after an hour. Oak is unobtrusive, pure flavors, great aromas, excellent length. A pure joy and drinking perfectly though should evolve more complexity. Nary a sign of premox
2001 Trimbach Riesling CFE - Quite young but gorgeous aromatics and yes it was flawed by petrol. A terrific wine that should last years and years in a good cellar.
1988 Hugel Riesling "Hugel" VT - golden, crazy aromas of crushed flowers, nuts, stone fruit. Very long and full on the initial and mid palate. Loved this wine.
1983 Trimbach "Clos St. Hume" VT - OMFG, this took a while but after an hour or so it was ethereal. Smokey, stone fruit, petrol aromas and flavors with incredible precision and elegance. It was just mesmerizing.
1996 Henri Perrot-Minot Charmes - Well developed, nice fruit if slightly on the ripe side, but balanced acidity made this a wonderful wine. Best '96 rouge to date.
2001 Rousseau Clos de la Roche - Slightly darker than the P-M, was very tight at first. Once it opened it showed great palate presence, was quite full and long, with wonderful pure tart red fruit. Aromatically it was little shy hinting at what it really holds. This was a very young wine but already developing nicely on the palate. With more time, it should have a stunning nose.
2001 Drouhin Clos Vougeot - Very light color. This was clearly young and tight but showed some nice aromatics initially. With air, this wine seemed to close up. The palate was somewhat thin with tart raspberry and slightly out of balance acidity. Hold for 2-3 yrs.
1989 Beaucastel - We had this one along for the ride and it was a good bottle. Make that a great bottle. Explosive aromatics. Olives, clove, spice, lavender. Beautifully proportioned fruit. Just an outstanding CdP. Paired with some hard Spanish cheeses.
On to the sweet stuff.
1994 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen VT - Incredible wine with gobs of luscious fruit , complex, rich yet light on its feet. Just a real pleasure
1994 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg SGN - This was just killer. Extraordinary depth and length. A good amount of stone fruit and botrytis. Acidity was fresh and lively.
First, a brief comment on the food, which I thought was excellent though not amazing. There were several amazing dishes like the starter of 3 different types of Spanish cured jamon, Jose's Combination-Iberico and caviar, Pastrami Saul-sous vide cured pastrami rolled up with a quail yolk inside, Peas and Lemon in a pea puree was everything spring represents, Pork belly was amazing but the potato on the plate was not. I also loved the chicken, mustard and dates dish. All the plates are one to several bites. We had about 19 courses. There were some nice cheeses and a few desserts at the end. I was then rolled out to my car completely stuffed to the gills. No room for even a wafer thin mint.
The wines my group assembled were awesome. From Wow to OMFG! Here's a brief recount with some quick notes.
We started with a few bubbles and a white:
2009 Jorge Ordonez Botani - Moscatel from Malaga. Brought to specifically go with the jamon-nice aromatics, floral, lacking cut and precision.
2002 Jean Milan "Terres de Noel" - Tasty, sharp, clean, low dosage, lovely.
Tarlant Cuvee Louis - Off bottle, but only slightly as you could still get a bit of fruit, ultimately moved on.
The next set of wines were served with the beginning courses.
1988 Krug - Holy mother of God-this will just stop you in your tracks and bring tears streaming down. I kept a fair amount in the glass and at the end of the night. The aromatics were beyond words.
1999 Bonneau du Martray CC - Showing quite well. Started out tight but opened nicely after an hour. Oak is unobtrusive, pure flavors, great aromas, excellent length. A pure joy and drinking perfectly though should evolve more complexity. Nary a sign of premox
2001 Trimbach Riesling CFE - Quite young but gorgeous aromatics and yes it was flawed by petrol. A terrific wine that should last years and years in a good cellar.
1988 Hugel Riesling "Hugel" VT - golden, crazy aromas of crushed flowers, nuts, stone fruit. Very long and full on the initial and mid palate. Loved this wine.
1983 Trimbach "Clos St. Hume" VT - OMFG, this took a while but after an hour or so it was ethereal. Smokey, stone fruit, petrol aromas and flavors with incredible precision and elegance. It was just mesmerizing.
1996 Henri Perrot-Minot Charmes - Well developed, nice fruit if slightly on the ripe side, but balanced acidity made this a wonderful wine. Best '96 rouge to date.
2001 Rousseau Clos de la Roche - Slightly darker than the P-M, was very tight at first. Once it opened it showed great palate presence, was quite full and long, with wonderful pure tart red fruit. Aromatically it was little shy hinting at what it really holds. This was a very young wine but already developing nicely on the palate. With more time, it should have a stunning nose.
2001 Drouhin Clos Vougeot - Very light color. This was clearly young and tight but showed some nice aromatics initially. With air, this wine seemed to close up. The palate was somewhat thin with tart raspberry and slightly out of balance acidity. Hold for 2-3 yrs.
1989 Beaucastel - We had this one along for the ride and it was a good bottle. Make that a great bottle. Explosive aromatics. Olives, clove, spice, lavender. Beautifully proportioned fruit. Just an outstanding CdP. Paired with some hard Spanish cheeses.
On to the sweet stuff.
1994 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen VT - Incredible wine with gobs of luscious fruit , complex, rich yet light on its feet. Just a real pleasure
1994 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg SGN - This was just killer. Extraordinary depth and length. A good amount of stone fruit and botrytis. Acidity was fresh and lively.