Taking a break from doing my civic duty of reviewing 70 pre- and post-doctoral fellowship proposals for the NIH in Bethesda, I took the Metro into DC proper for an evening of jollity with the gathered DC Disorderlies (those that could make it, natch). The evening got off to a rocky start when my hotel couldn't produce a wine opener in a timely fashion, thus preventing me from double-decanting my Barolo prior to taking it on the train. Adding insult to injury, I ended up getting spattered by a hurled cup of Starbucks coffee while en route on the Red Line, though it should be noted that the guy standing next to me got the worst of it by far. My pre-jeeb ordeal concluded when I discovered that the Yellow Line was truncated and wouldn't get me to my desired station, resulting in a final jaunt in a cab in the rain to get myself to my destination.
Shaken and late, but otherwise basically unfazed, I entered Dino's Grotto to find Michael Lewis, Jonathan Loesberg and his wife Gail already assembled at the table and a daunting assembly of wines set before us. With four people and six opened bottles on the table, I was persuaded to open only one of my contributions. After some discussion, we settled on going red and ordered our food accordingly. While these delicate negotiations proceeded, we sipped Michael's contribution of 1992 Peter Lauer Saar Riesling Sekt Reserve which was lightly toasty but crisp, fresh, citrusy and dry on the palate and a total delight. The sense of freshness to the wine was its most memorable quality, especially in light of its age. At this point, none other than Ian Fitzsimmons appears on the scene, having dragged himself out of his sickbed and driven into the city from his Virginia digs. Again, negotiations ensue about which wine from the half-case he brought he should open.
As a group we ordered a quartet of starters for sharing (Ian stuck to soup). My papardelle with black trumpet mushrooms was delicious, but Michael's wild boar papardelle eclipsed my dish in its sheer yumminess. Gail's carbonara was also most tasty, as were Jonathan's Brussel sprouts. With this tasty assortment of dishes, we sipped upon the reds, starting -- at Jonathan's insistence -- with his contribution of 1995 Chateau Pontet-Canet, a wonderfully nostalgic claret with a nose of pencil lead and dark fruit and a finely balanced, mid-weight palate of tobacco and plum. This wine is still youthful, showing little tertiary character, but a delight to drink as we rhapsodized about our claret-drinking days of years gone by. Also sampled at this time was Michael's other contribution, 2007 Simon Bize Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Fournaux, which was silky and totally open for business. Red fruited with a delightful undercurrent of earth, it seemed completely ready to me (unlike my '07 CdB SLBs which are still hard as rocks).
By this time, our main courses had arrived. Jonathan, Gail and I had all opted for the veal and were rewarded with a deliciously sauced veal joint accompanied by some very salty kale leaves. Michael instead got the lamb, about which I can say little except that it looked nice. I also beat away the server, refusing to yield my plate of pastas, so we dug in. The next wine up was my contribution of 2001 Oddero Barolo Vigna Ronda which, despite my lack of double-decanting earlier, turned out quite well with a nose of pencil lead and leather, with some medicinal character and a smooth palate impression (though with ample acidity). As good as it was with our main courses, it was even finer with the wild boar and mushroom pastas. The final red on the table was the beautiful 1999 Domaine Mourre du Tendre Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Showing all signs of its vintage, it was beautifully balanced with typically meaty-cherryish Grenache fruit with enough structure to keep it totally food-friendly. Rustic in a good way, it was less Bretty than many of my preferred CdPs, but a total joy to drink.
We finished the evening with Ian's contribution, the 1996 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese. This was offered up as dessert, but belied Ian's intentions by having sufficient acidity to be nearly dry in perceived sweetness. Regardless, we drank it without any objection. There was some botrytis evident in the intense nose of apricot and bergamot and on the palate it was racy and citrusy with plenty of stone fruit character on top it.
Over the course of the evening, the conversation flowed almost as much as the wine and food. Remarkably, I felt that every wine that evening showed beautifully and provided great contrasts with the others. Thanks to everyone for coming out on a rainy evening to amuse a wayward scientist and to Dino's Grotto as well for a wonderful evening of food and wine.
Your intrepid reporter,
Mark Lipton
Shaken and late, but otherwise basically unfazed, I entered Dino's Grotto to find Michael Lewis, Jonathan Loesberg and his wife Gail already assembled at the table and a daunting assembly of wines set before us. With four people and six opened bottles on the table, I was persuaded to open only one of my contributions. After some discussion, we settled on going red and ordered our food accordingly. While these delicate negotiations proceeded, we sipped Michael's contribution of 1992 Peter Lauer Saar Riesling Sekt Reserve which was lightly toasty but crisp, fresh, citrusy and dry on the palate and a total delight. The sense of freshness to the wine was its most memorable quality, especially in light of its age. At this point, none other than Ian Fitzsimmons appears on the scene, having dragged himself out of his sickbed and driven into the city from his Virginia digs. Again, negotiations ensue about which wine from the half-case he brought he should open.
As a group we ordered a quartet of starters for sharing (Ian stuck to soup). My papardelle with black trumpet mushrooms was delicious, but Michael's wild boar papardelle eclipsed my dish in its sheer yumminess. Gail's carbonara was also most tasty, as were Jonathan's Brussel sprouts. With this tasty assortment of dishes, we sipped upon the reds, starting -- at Jonathan's insistence -- with his contribution of 1995 Chateau Pontet-Canet, a wonderfully nostalgic claret with a nose of pencil lead and dark fruit and a finely balanced, mid-weight palate of tobacco and plum. This wine is still youthful, showing little tertiary character, but a delight to drink as we rhapsodized about our claret-drinking days of years gone by. Also sampled at this time was Michael's other contribution, 2007 Simon Bize Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Fournaux, which was silky and totally open for business. Red fruited with a delightful undercurrent of earth, it seemed completely ready to me (unlike my '07 CdB SLBs which are still hard as rocks).
By this time, our main courses had arrived. Jonathan, Gail and I had all opted for the veal and were rewarded with a deliciously sauced veal joint accompanied by some very salty kale leaves. Michael instead got the lamb, about which I can say little except that it looked nice. I also beat away the server, refusing to yield my plate of pastas, so we dug in. The next wine up was my contribution of 2001 Oddero Barolo Vigna Ronda which, despite my lack of double-decanting earlier, turned out quite well with a nose of pencil lead and leather, with some medicinal character and a smooth palate impression (though with ample acidity). As good as it was with our main courses, it was even finer with the wild boar and mushroom pastas. The final red on the table was the beautiful 1999 Domaine Mourre du Tendre Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Showing all signs of its vintage, it was beautifully balanced with typically meaty-cherryish Grenache fruit with enough structure to keep it totally food-friendly. Rustic in a good way, it was less Bretty than many of my preferred CdPs, but a total joy to drink.
We finished the evening with Ian's contribution, the 1996 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese. This was offered up as dessert, but belied Ian's intentions by having sufficient acidity to be nearly dry in perceived sweetness. Regardless, we drank it without any objection. There was some botrytis evident in the intense nose of apricot and bergamot and on the palate it was racy and citrusy with plenty of stone fruit character on top it.
Over the course of the evening, the conversation flowed almost as much as the wine and food. Remarkably, I felt that every wine that evening showed beautifully and provided great contrasts with the others. Thanks to everyone for coming out on a rainy evening to amuse a wayward scientist and to Dino's Grotto as well for a wonderful evening of food and wine.
Your intrepid reporter,
Mark Lipton