TN: Rouge Tomate (Jan 3, 2017)

[Jeff Grossman]

attendees: Kirk, Oswaldo+Marcia+Olivia+Andre, Jeff

My first visit to the new Rouge Tomate. Everybody else is an old hand. (Including, especially, Sharon, who was supposed to attend but ended up at a hospital instead???)

I concur that the space is quite lovely and there is a lot of it: spread out over two floors, several dining rooms on each, and two kitchens.

The menu has many small plates and a few large ones. We order a spread of things plus we had a few more granted us by the kitchen. The guinea hen terrine was chunky and earthy, Marcia made short work of raw oysters, the kale dip and mackeral rillettes were simple and flavorful. For the mains, I think most people ordered either the chicken or the venison. I was surprised that the chicken came as a sausage.

The wine list, of course, is totally amazing. We bought two bottles and, at Pascaline's request, Oswaldo brought two bottles:

Jochen Beurer 2013 Stettener Riesling "Gipskeuper" -- dry, saline, light-to-medium body, just as gluggable as we were hoping it would be

Ludovic Chanson 2010 Montlouis-sur-Loire "Les Cabotines" -- Pascaline's recommendation for an under-the-radar QPR wine: chenin with an initially strong bitter finish but a few minutes air gives this greater grace, moving to melon and strawberry but still taut, excellent

Both of the following unicorn wines were hand-carried by Oswaldo from Portugal so that Pascaline could try them:

La Perdida (Nacho Gonzalez) 2014 "Proscrito" -- who needs godello and mencia when you *can* make a wine from 95% palomino with 5% garnacha tintorera (presumably, for color); this dark-pink juicy wine reminds Kirk of poulsard but this is more flowery/fruity so I am reminded of the Corsican grape sciaccarellu (...though it isn’t quite as OTT as that one); there is also a spoonful of earth and maybe grape-skins; online sources say there were a whole 290 bottles made

Bod. Fedellos do Couto 2014 Ribeira Sacra "Lomba dos Ares" -- mostly mencia, made in steel and raised in older barrels, this is so normal compared to the previous wine; fairly delicate and suave, works very well with the medium-weight food preps

It was nice to see everyone and to have a chance to talk about topics other than wine!

Picture by Marcia.

 

[kirk wallace]

it was lovely to catch up. and Pasca is a treasure. the chicken sausage was inedible -- or maybe to be more accurate, gave no reason to bother eating.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

Thank you, Jeff.

Kirk, from a casual conversation with Marcia yesterday, I understand an apology is in order for my clouded insensitivity to your attempts to select a good dessert wine.

A minor correction is also in order: when I realized that the most excellent Pascaline is a fan of La Perdida, yet had not tasted Proscrito, I merely took advantage of the sensory vacuum. It is perhaps misleading to call them gifts when we drank almost all the contents.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

Spanish Galicia is less torrid than most of Spain, so it is promising hunting ground for wines with less correction. Luckily, it is close to where we live, so it is where we intend to focus most of our investigative efforts.

Nacho Gonzalez, who runs La Perdida, is one of its most respected names. We were knocked out recently by the above-mentioned Proscrito, which is 95% Palomino (a grape not often found outside of Sherry) and 5% Garnacha Tintorera (different from regular Garnacha). It is pale, light, exotic, savory. And different. So we, of course, tried some of the others this week.

2015 La Perdida O Trancado 12.5%
Bottle 522/664. 70 year old vines, mostly Garnacha Tintorera, with Mencía. Fermented by ambient yeasts in 400 liter clay vessels, aged in used 300 liter French oak barrels. No SO2 added; no fining or filtration. Exotic mix of blueberry and patchouli. Astringent mix of acidity and tannins. Bitter finish. Body seems to decay rapidly. Becomes balanced and softer with food, but needs time to round the edges.

2015 La Perdida A Mallada 13.0%
Bottle 543/570. Granite soils. Field blend from three parcels, dominated by Sumoll and Garnacha Tintorera. Fermented by ambient yeasts in 400 liter clay vessels, aged in used 300 liter French oak barrels. No SO2 added; no fining or filtration. Very dark. Attractive raspberry and spice notes. Quite tannic, but in no way dense or concentrated. Again, body seems to decay rapidly. Seems rough around the edges, will be interesting to see how it ages.

While neither were as attractive to drink as they were to smell, both were swell as far as (lack of) concentration and wood, though the short-to-medium finish left to be desired. I surmise that these brothers appear gruff and rough because of the high percentage of Garnacha Tintorera (Nacho also makes a varietal which I tasted recently and it was like licking sandpaper). So, it was interesting to taste natural winemaking, which I most often encounter applied to softer varieties, at the service of something fierce. In contrast to the Proscrito, which is an altogether different kettle of fish.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

Thanks for these notes, Oswaldo. I was very curious what the rest of Nacho's output tasted like... now I know a little.

 

[kirk wallace]

No apologies needed at all. My dessert wine proposal was merely a genuine inquiry. My suspicion was that you and Marcia were not so inclined, especially given your departure the next day. There will be plenty of more, and more comfortable, opportunities.