Dégustation de vins de Trimbach au restaurant Chinois on Main Santa Monica Californie vendredi, 5 mai 2006

Je me rends au restaurant Chinois on Main de Santa Monica pour un des événements marathon de Bipin Desai, dont le thème est celui des vins de la maison Trimbach. Les vins seront présentés par Jean Trimbach à une quarantaine d’amateurs, du cercle proche de Bipin. Nous sommes répartis en tables de huit dans une salle exiguë, où les neuf vins de chaque service auront bien du mal à se loger sur table. Le service des vins fut impeccable. Près de 1500 verres ont été utilisés, tous étiquetés au pied avec le nom du vin à déguster. Le menu fut particulièrement délicat avec cette subtilité inhérente à la belle cuisine chinoise, qui sied bien aux vins d’ Alsace de ce calibre.

Le menu : trio of foie gras, mousse tart with Kumquat chutney, pastrami on Rye crisp, sautéed with rhubarb / sorbet break / toro tataki with micro peppercress abd Shiso Miso vinaigrette / Shangai loster with curry sauce and crispy spinach / duo of Korabuta pork, crisp belly and roasted loin with sweet and sour tamarind glaze / laquered carpenter ranch squab breast and leg with spicy shrimp poststickers / citrus pudding cake with vanilla ice cream and blackberry sauce. La profusion des goûts aurait pu indisposer mais en fait, cette cuisine légère a bien suivi la magie des vins.

Pour mes dîners, mon plaisir est de choisir les vins, leur pondération dans ce qui doit être un dîner unique. L’art de Bipin Desai est de déterminer les séquences de ce que nous buvons. Je vais indiquer les séries de vins et mes préférences. Les commentaires précis figurent à la suite.

CSH veut dire Clos Sainte Hune, le fabuleux Riesling de Trimbach, l’un des plus légendaires. La Cuvée Frédéric Emile (CFE) est son petit frère qui a montré ce soir de belles dispositions.

Première série : CSH vendanges tardives 1989 et CSH vendanges tardives 1989 « Hors choix ». Préférence pour le premier (Bipin préfère le second).

Deuxième série : CFE 1994, 1993, 1992, 1988 – CSH 1994, 1993, 1992, 1988. Mon choix : CFE 1988, CSH 1988, CSH 1993, CSH 1994.

Troisième série : CFE 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997 – CSH 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997. Mon choix : CSH 2000, CFE 1997, CSH 1997. Ces classements montrent que la Cuvée Frédéric Emile est loin de rester en retrait par rapport au prestigieux Sainte Hune.

Quatrième série : CFE 1996, 1995, 1985, 1979 – CSH 1996, 1995, 1985, 1979, 1975. Mon choix : CSH 1975, CSH 1985, CSH 1996, CSH 1995.

Cinquième série : CFE 1990, 1989, 1983, 1976, 1971 – CSH 1990, 1983, 1976, 1971. Mon choix : CSH 1976, CSH 1971, CSH 1983, CSH 1990.

Une soirée agréable où j’ai retrouvé des amateurs américains que je connaissais. J’étais assis près de Jean-Michel Cazes, propriétaire de Lynch-Bages dont je parlerai dans le compte-rendu de la dégustation de nombreux millésimes de ce vin allant jusqu’à 1929 et de James Suckling, journaliste du Wine Spectator, connu pour ses opinions tranchées sur le vin. En retrouvant ma chambre sur l’océan Pacifique, je savais que j’avais participé à la dégustation très rare d’un des plus grands vignobles alsaciens. Ce fut une grande soirée.

Les notes qui suivent sont de simples commentaires instantanés et pas des vraies notes de dégustation. Il faut dire que l’intérêt pour moi était beaucoup plus dans les discussions passionnantes avec ces personnages importants du monde du vin.

Une remarque importante. Je me suis astreint à boire les vins très vite après leur mise sur table. Il y a donc une homogénéité d’approche. Car j’ai constaté que lorsque le vin s’installe dans le verre, comme on le laisserait faire en un « vrai » dîner gastronomique, il devient beaucoup plus chaleureux et séduisant. Des vins discrets dans mes notes sont apparus peu après beaucoup plus chaleureux, aimables et civilisés. Mais l’exercice était plus à essayer de dégager des tendances par millésimes.

Première série :

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1989  VT : nez expressif joyeux, précis, magnifiquement fait. J’ai tendance à préférer le "normal".

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1989  VT "Hors Choix" : nez expressif. Le "hors choix" est beaucoup plus sucré. Le plus "sec" est plus long. Bipin préfère le "hors choix".

Deuxième série :

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1993   : forte acidité, très strict et fermé.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1994   : plus fruité, rond.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1992   : pétrole, rugueux mais très viril, magnifiquement fait.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1994   : plus de matière.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1992   : magnifique, beau, bien structuré, élégant. Classé 4ème de la 2ème série.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1988   : très beau, quelle générosité!  C’est rond. Classé 1er de la 2ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1993   : excellent, magnifique. Classé 3ème de la 2ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1988   : servi après les autres et ajouté. Vin très grand, très complexe. Classé 2ème de la 2ème série.

Troisième série :

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 2000   : un peu fermé, coloré, profond mais rêche.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1999   : très riche, très concentré, limité.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1998   : pas assez structuré.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1997   : nez de pétrole, ouvert, j’adore. Classé 2ème de la 3ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 2000   : magnifique de promesses. Classé 1er de la 3ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1999   : un peu fermé.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1998   : pas assez ouvert, puis il se découvre.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1997   : promet beaucoup. Quand il s’ouvre, il est magnifique. Classé 3ème de la 3ème série.

Quatrième série

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1996   : nez fruité, belle bouche.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1995   : plus amer. Léger goût de bouchon.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1985   : joli, un peu serré mais expressif. Long en bouche.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1979   : moins coloré. C’est un vin de gastronomie qui appelle une viande.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1996   : exceptionnel, prometteur, une attaque et une puissance remarquable. Classé 3ème de la 4ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1995   : plus racé, plus acide, plus fort. Classé 4ème de la 4ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1985   : magie pure. Intégration remarquable. C’est un très grand vin. Classé 2ème de la 4ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1979   : Il est plus fatigué. Le côté fermé apparait.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1975   : Très joli. Un peu entre deux âges. Devient grand quand il s’ouvre. Classé 1er de la 4ème série.

Cinquième série :

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1990   : Bon vin, mais un peu serré.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1989   : Pas mal. Assez fruité, mais paradoxalement aussi assez sec.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1983   : un peu fatigué.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1976   : bouchonné. Quel dommage de ne pas le comparer au Clos Sainte Hune.

Cuvée Frédéric Emile Trimbach 1971   : très joli, bien arrondi.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1990   : vin magnifique. Très beau. Classé 4ème de la 5ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1983   : Très rond. Grand vin. Classé 3ème de la 5ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1976   : Magnifique. Absolument parfait. Conforme à ce que j’ai déjà bu. Classé 1er de la 5ème série.

Clos Sainte Hune Trimbach 1971   : Très beau. Agé sans doute, mais beau. Magnifique maintenant. Classé 2ème de la 5ème série.

Comme prévu, c’est le Clos Sante Hune Trimbach 1976 qui a été la star de la soirée, vin que j’ai bu plusieurs fois avec un immense plaisir, représentant la perfection du Riesling actuel. Ces soirées ont l’avantage de donner l’occasion de mieux connaître un domaine. J’ai eu la confirmation de la perfection du Clos Sainte Hune, qui gagne avec l’âge délicieusement. La Cuvée Frédéric Emile s’est montrée sous un jour très favorable. Jean Trimbach a parlé avec passion de son domaine dont il représente, je crois, la treizième génération. De telles expériences montrent, une fois de plus, à quel point les vins d’Alsace méritent une attention plus marquée de la part des amateurs de grands vins.

dinner in L.A. with Pétrus 1959 and rather old Californian wines jeudi, 4 mai 2006

Here is my report on this very friendly event.
It is sure that it is not from me that you will learn a lot on Californian wines. It is more a text of my impressions on a very interesting discovery.

I arrive by air in Los Angeles airport. The sky is cloudy. It is colder than in San Francisco. The hotel Shutters on the beach in Santa Monica is very well situated. From my room I see a crowd of people on rollers, on bikes, on various machines helping to slide rather than walking. Looking at the large beach and the sea, I try to see some Pamela Anderson that I would save from dangerous waves, but the sea is desperately calm and no Pamela’s are in the horizon. After a necessary sleep, the breakfast that I take in front of the sea is the image of Californian luxury. Surfers arrive to learn how to surf on a completely calm sea. In front of my eyes I see a pelican flying. I had no wine last dinner, so it must be a real one.
Ron had convinced me to accept his invitation and he takes me in the hotel and drives me to see the hills of Hollywood, and to try to find the best views on this immense territory.

We stop by Pinot Bistro, nicely welcomed by a charming and intelligent waitress. Ron had two wines. A Chardonnay Konsgaard Napa Valley 2002. It is highly alcoholic, and the word which comes to my mind is : intelligent. It means that there is a good balance between all its components: fruit, alcohol, length, and so on. The Cabernet Sauvignon Dunn Vineyard 1982 is very pleasant. The alcohol is strong too, and the black fruits are insistent. But age has helped this wine to get elegance. I eat mussels and a white fish. The waitress appreciates our wines. Everything was sympathetic. Ron is a wine lover. He does not like old wines, which is quite normal, and is an aficionado of Parker’s notations. He is a hundred points’ hunter. What I say concerning old wines will never influence him, but he welcomed my words with the genuine welcoming attitude of American people.

Ron drives me to Bel Air, by the house of Jeff, the man who will organise the dinner of tonight.

Jeff has a wonderfully decorated house, with very modern paintings that I appreciate a lot. There is style, modernism, and sense of beauty. In his garden behind a group of trees behind the pool, three plastic cows are looking at us. I love that.

The cellar at home is only a part of his collection, but consists nearly uniquely of immense wines.

My English is desperately bad. I ask Jeff : shall we have the dinner by your home? He answers yes. So I open the Pétrus 1959 that I have brought. I see Jeff double decanting young wines and he puts corks on them. I ask him why ? And he answers to me : it is better to have corks if we drive to the restaurant. So, I had truly bad English spoken as I was obliged to recork my wine for the travel.

Jeff drives his speedy car with a very masculine way, so I grab my bottle with nervousness, reacting by every curve or stone on the road, handling carefully my wine.

We arrive by “the wine merchant” in Beverly Hills where Alfred Tesseron of Pontet-Canet presents his recent wines. I knew him as we talked together on a Pontet-Canet 1870 that I had adored. I talked to the owner of the store, who has exposed a double magnum of Mouton 1929 for the tiny price of 500,000 dollars. I look at the prices of the Petrus which are shown, just to imagine what represents the Petrus 1959 for the rich customers of this store who live in such a surrounding.

We arrive by restaurant La Terza in a very convenient separate room where many bottles are already opened. I see many recent years, and I realise that Jeff has taken the same idea as what happened by the dinner in San Francisco. It is my fault to not have asked any question. But as the wines were truly interesting, I am very happy with what happened.

The Italian restaurant made a very convenient cook, very adapted to the wines. The service of the wines was absolutely excellent, the man in charge understanding immediately how to behave.

The menu : pizza fritta with tomato and mozarella, grilled orange rosemary shrimp / lobster with string beans and bottarga / risotto with parmegiano-reggiano and fava beans / garganelli pasta with mixed mushrooms / yukon gold potato ravioli with beef ragout / rotisserie duck with seared snow peas and brandied dried figs / pan seared veal rack with fresh sauteed mixed vegetables / sliced rib eye steak with spinach / assorted Italian cheeses with chestnut honey and walnut bread / brown butter pistachio cake with blackberry compote and chef’s choice ice cream.

The Ridge Riesling 1969 is highly maderised. So, as Jeff does not understand why people would care for old wines, he has the evidence of his opinion immediately with the first wine. With the shrimps, the wine becomes largely better, even if of no real interest.

The Marcassin Chardonnay 2001 is a nice example of an elegant and successful Chardonnay. I like this style. The Chardonnay Aubert Reuling 2004 pleases more to the American attendance than to me.

The Petrus 1959 comes as the first of all reds. The wine is incredibly complex, direct, noble. Since the first sip, it is a very comfortable greatness, more easily to understand than many other Petrus. I love this great Bordeaux with multiple levels of pleasure, charming, expressive, passionate. It is more sensual than the Petrus 1947 that I had drunk some days before.

Pétrus et Harlan, deux stars réunies pour un soir

We have then different flights.

The Harlan Estate 1999 pleases me enormously. As we are with young wines, I am friend to this one. Its fruit is natural. Others please me less, Bryant Family 1999, Foley Claret 1999 which is agreeable, and Colgin 1999.

On a delicious ravioli, we have had according to my ranking : Schrader RBS 2001 acceptable, the Shafer Hillside Select 2001 possible and the Abreu 2001 and Araujo 2001 which are too hard to understand for me.

In the next flight, the Peter Michael les Pavots 2002 was convenient, but the Colgin IX Estate 2002 does not belong to my taste.

Then, some older ones are coming. I have appreciated the Araujo 1995. The Heitz Martha’s 1985 is corked, the Ridge Montebello 1984 is interesting.

In the next group, the Mayacamas 1974 immediately pleases me as the best. The Montelena Estate 1978 was second, but when the course was served, I have changed the ranking. I did not like Clos du Val 1978 and Jordan 1978. The famous Stags Leap Cask 23 of 1974 put on the list did not come, which is sad.

The Heitz 1966 is magnificent and first of its group, followed by Inglenook 1966 very good and Beaulieu BV Reserve 1966. The Charles Krug 1966 is more uncertain.

The dessert wine, a Sine Qua Non Strawman 2002 is much too sugared for me.

There had been a discussion before the dinner about putting the younger wines before or after the older. I am rather happy to have finished by very interesting old wines, which have proved, once again, that they can age elegantly.

I was a little sad that my Petrus was alone in its type of taste, because I would have liked to compare it. But I am happy to have experienced some nice “old” wines of California.

I have ranked :

Petrus 1959 as first, then Montelena Estate 1978, the Mayacamas 1974, the Harlan Estate 1999 for the intelligence of its youth, and the Araujo 1995 that I found very good.

This tasting was like a blind tasting for me as the names of the wines have no weight in my knowledge. So I have probably misjudged some great wines. Do not blame me on that.

Jeff has a natural authority, knows how to organise nice events. His friends are very knowledgeable when wine is concerned. They talked about subjects on which my attention was not always easy.
This immersion in the world of Jeff was convincing.

la misère est moins triste au soleil jeudi, 4 mai 2006

Venice, plage fabuleuse de la côte californienne. Tous les asociaux s’y montrent. Le personnage central de cette photo, c’est l’oignon. Apparemment, l’homme s’est affalé (on voit la bouteille vide) avant même d’avoir pu trancher l’oignon dans sa poêle.

Le rapport avec le vin ?

Lointain…

dinner in S.F. with Cristal 49, Lafite 53, Pichon Comtesse 45, Yquem 35 … mardi, 2 mai 2006

After the dinner by Jack Falstaff, an American breakfast is a way to come back to life. I walk to see the Golden Gate. In its grey colour, it shows a different aspect which has a great interest too. The sun is shining, so, at the midday break, every piece of grass is taken by people who eat their lunch. Is it a lunch? All these paper bags that everyone has in hand, all these huge sandwiches which collapse as soon as you bite in it, this is a very remarkable aspect of working America.

Now, we are going to enter in my personal dreams. I wanted to meet some solid collectors. I have found one, and we share fantastic wines. In Paris, we had shared Petrus 1947, Lafite 1865 and my oldest Chateau Chalon, a 1864. And, to-night, we will do the same, but in San Francisco.

My friend J. takes me in my hotel and we arrive by Hotel Mandarin Oriental at 4 pm to open the bottles. My friend S., the collector, is already there, and his bottles are standing, plus extra bottles “in case”. I tell him with a smile : “I am sure that all our bottles are bad, so we will obliged to open the security bottles”. Alas, it was not necessary. The liquorous are perfect, the Olivier white 1947 is more a problem. It appears so maderised that I expect bad things. But we do not condemn it. It is the first time in my life that I open a bottle of Mouton with the label drawn by Carlu. I have some in my cellar, and whenever I see them, I admire them. But I had not yet opened one. Now it is made, we will see if the wine will be at the level of the beauty of the Carlu label.

When it is done, J. and me, we go to the Italian quarter, so active when the sun is glorious, and we sit at a terrace. He wants that I try a Syrah Renard ‘Arroyo Vineyard’ 2002 by the glass. The best description that I will give about this wine is that we have left, each of us, three quarters of our glass not drunk. This is, for me, a caricatural wine, probably in a bad shape for this bottle (I hope for the vineyard).

S. was waiting for us in Mandarin Oriental and leads us to the 38th floor, in a huge “suite”, where the view on San Francisco is impressive, with a big terrace in full air (and wind). We will have our aperitif there, and immediately I notice a familiar champagne in magnum installed in some ice. I have a look : magnum Cristal Roederer 1966. The colour is the one of a yellow fruit burnt by the sun, the nose is intense, and in mouth, a large taste which will become more and more complex as the champagne will open in our glasses and in the bottle.

The chef, Joel Huff, is a promising young chef who is probably going to be celebrated in one of the next issues of the Wine Spectator. Immediately, I see that he is not concerned by wine. Some great chefs are like him : Marc Veyrat and Pierre Gagnaire play in the same field. Wine does not belong to their strategy. But this young chef, who thinks he ameliorates his look by wearing a sport cap turned on the opposite side as rappers do, did not make a cook for the wines but to show his dexterity. The profusion of amuse-bouche of the highest level was not adapted : the blinis of the caviar were too tasty, my lips were bitten by the intensity of the spices, too much pepper in the scallops, the oysters losing their taste in a too marked sauce. But what struck me was the generosity of all that. And the Cristal 1966 was magnificent. Certainly the greatest Cristal for me, up to now.

We go down into the library where our table is installed. We are seven people in this huge room, but the atmosphere is very comfortable. One good point, the chef will come very often to see how things are going. He is serious.

While we are standing, S. gives me a glass of champagne and he asks me : “is this one older ?”. The taste is so similar to the Cristal 66 that I imagine a trick : it could be the same. But, tasting more seriously, I see that the structure of this one is more deep and elegant. It is Cristal Roederer 1949. Amazing. More noble than the 1966, it is quite unreal. It is probably one of my best ever champagnes.

Here is the menu : Santa Cruz baby abalone ceviche , yellowfin sashimi ponzu truffle vinaigrette, feta foam / pan seared foie gras, pineapple rhubarb, mountain berrey tea reduction, kohlrabi soup with mustard emulsion / ocean trout, preserved lemon and bone marrow risotto, edamame puree, sauce bordelaise / cedar wrapped squab, parsnip gnocchi, young grapes, king trumpet, liquorice and squab au jus / Colorado lamb rack, date puree, ramp injected loin / « Snake river » Kobe beef, braised beef ribs, smoked potatoe puree / Harmony blue cheese, Cresci Iowa / chocolate truffles, petifores, delights.

Needless to say that the chef did not choose the simplest way, but it was brilliant, even if not completely adapted to the wines. During the meal, all that was highly enjoyable.

The Vouvray le Haut Lieu, Huet 1959 has an architecture of the most precise definition. It is the well drawn wine, without any shadow, which is brilliant with no complication. The length is great, the personality is sympathetic, and the sweetness is well measured. After that wine, a nice soup was very clever to prepare us to other directions of tastes.

The Chateau Olivier white 1947 had a truly spectacular transformation with the oxygen it got. A wine that I was afraid of finding maderised was a strong young adult in its strength. I have seen many recoveries. This one was spectacular. Great white as Bordeaux can produce, with a subtle complexity.

I am served in first with the Lafite Rothschild 1953, and I am surprised to notice all the table making so great compliments to the wine when I think that the wine is tired. I ask the sommelier to pour for me some drops from the middle of the bottle, and then, I understand why my friends were so happy. I had had the same reaction with the Petrus 1947 when I had the very first drops. So, my Lafite was now brilliant. This wine is extremely elegant. It is a very true Lafite, with all its charm. A great one. By comparison, the Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1945 that I had brought was very masculine, military, square. A great wine too, but I prefer the charm of the Lafite.

Then, with the Mouton-Rothschild 1926, we climb tens of stairs. This wine will belong certainly to the first circle of my Pantheon. Everything in it is great. The nose is highly expressive, the attack has an enormous charm, announcing the pleasure to come. In the middle of the mouth, the wine is completely convincing, and the final is long as a poem. This wine is perfect. This one belongs to my best ever Mouton, under 1900 but certainly above 1870. It belongs to a group of 1926 that I have adored : Haut-Brion, Montrose, Pichon Comtesse, Pétrus, Mission.

I had been asked to check if the blue cheese was pertinent at 5 pm and I had refused some. But the blue of Iowa pleased me above all. And with the Château Coutet Barsac 1949, it is perfect. A golden colour, an intensity in nose, this wine is the pure joy of life.

It was good that we left the table to go back to the 38th floor, as the break was good to enjoy properly the Yquem 1935 which I had brought. The colour is lighter that the one of Coutet. There is less power, but the signature of Yquem is so magisterial that I am in love with the Yquem, despite the great performance of Coutet. But I must say that I accept probably more than others lighter Yquem.

My friend had opened a Banyuls 1947 for the chocolates and the cigars. I was so tired that I did not put my lips on this 16.5° wine.

I tried later to make a ranking. It could be different but here it is : 1- Mouton 1926, 2- Cristal 1949, 3- Yquem 1935, 4- Lafite 1953.

I was happy that my friend has adopted a plan for the dinner which was very similar to what I do. He is so generous, so happy when he sees my smile or my astonishment that we have created an atmosphere of pure mutual trust.

So, I imagine already all the mad dinners that we will make, and I wonder already which treasures I will open with him.

The next day, J. had ordered a limousine to drive me to the airport to go to L.A.

This brilliant dinner will belong to my best souvenirs.

70 Californian wines drunk with passionate members of a forum lundi, 1 mai 2006

My trip to USA has been organised in a much unexpected way. Bipin Desai organises two meals with wines of two producers, Trimbach and Lynch Bages. I would not necessarily fly 6,000 miles to taste these two wines that I can easily drink if I visit the properties, but as Bipin had been kind enough to invite me for the huge tastings of 38 years of Montrose and 22 years of Pichon Comtesse, I decided to say yes. I announced on the forum of Robert Parker that I would come to California, and immediately I received several proposals for dinners. So, seeing how enthusiast and generous people that I know only on my screen would be, people building very consistent programs, I decided to say yes to some, the only refusals being for my health, as this week will see me drinking a lot of wines.

I will describe my trip more like a diary than like wine tasting notes, but as wine is the main theme, wine will be largely concerned. To determine the wines that I would bring has not been so easy, as I wanted to adapt my wines to the general level of what would be brought, not under, not too above. I took the following wines in my cellar : Grands Echézeaux Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1974, that I wanted to taste with Californian wines of the same age, Pétrus 1959 will be brought for a dinner on which I know nothing, but organised by a man who is known to make great dinners, Potensac 1955 will be a birthday present for a friend born 51 years ago, Yquem 1953, Pichon Comtesse 1945, Yquem 1935 for some dinners. The last wine is a Canarian wine of 1828, is to make a surprise to Bipin, to thank him. I had wanted to bring for friends a Cyprus wine 1845, but due to moves from my cellar to my home, the wax had broken and there was a linkage which obliged me to keep it home. It will no be lost. French amateurs exist.

The direct trip is an eleven hours flight. I am sitting next to a man compared to whom George Foreman would be a feather weight. It makes the trip even longer. A film of Harry Potter shows the evidence that there is no limit to stupidity in using wonderful techniques for primitive emotions. To take a plane is a school for serenity. You spend your time in queues, you wait for an improbable progress in your queue, you are considered as if you were the most dangerous gangster on earth, and I must say that Hitchcock is a small kid pretending to create suspense, compared to the unparalleled stress when the rolling luggage provider stops its move when everyone has got his bag except me. The staff in charge of luggage is largely better than Mary Higgins Clark or every other best seller’s authors.

A limousine is waiting for me, which is a sign of civilisation. The Campton Place hotel is nice. This time, no queue on the registration desk. I will sleep with many stops for 16 hours, not knowing at any moment on which time table I am programmed. After a solid XXL breakfast, I go walking in town. On May 1st, in USA, people work, when in France every pretext is good to stop working. But this day is a day of demonstration about the acceptance of illegal immigration. Some groups are formed, with the obvious pleasure to be together, smiling, singing, dancing sometimes, and delivering messages written in a way that at a small distance you cannot read any. I was in the middle of this small crowd, policemen had closed some streets. When I read the next days what was said about the importance of the demonstration, I was very astonished, because all what I had seen was extremely light when compared to what newspapers mentioned. What amazes me is the variety of faces, of people, of poverty in the streets of American cities. Paris was known for its “clochards”. I have seen today many more than in one year in Paris. One young thirty years white broke was scratching his leg of a very gray colour which has certainly never been in contact with water for the last decade. I find a café in a pedestrian street where I eat on a table outside. A woman indefinitely lifted comes with a dark dog with pink ribbons around the ears. She is exactly how American women of an indeterminated age are caricatured. The man who plays accordion goes from the Beatles to the Third Man, and from Edith Piaf to Freddy Mercury with the same constructed smile.

Ken comes to take me to Jack Falstaff, a restaurant with an external decoration of a building made of concrete after the Armageddon attack. We are not far from the Giants Stadium, and as our room is in open air inside the building, the noise of traffic could be disturbing. But in fact, passionate as we were, we will listen to nothing. I begin to open some bottles by 4 pm, as many have already been brought. I open some of them and I receive a major help by Mark, who will open a lot of them. We put all the bottles in a row, with the corks and capsules associated to them. Very frightened, I see many people coming with more than twice as many bottles as we are. Many of them bring their Riedels.

Ken is so happy with this event that he opens a half Krug Grande Cuvée, very agreeable as we work so hard to open all the bottles. Everybody is there and by 7 pm precisely, Christine, who organised everything so well declare that the tasting is opened. I say a few words to thank everyone for their generosity and I give advice on the way to approach old wines which are not familiar with many members of our group. I sit at my place, and Paul will make a very long speech to present his fabulous bottle, the Martin Ray 1953 from Saratoga, Cabernet Sauvignon. Then, when his speech is over, the glasses in front of me are poured by an army of friends wanting that I try this and that. And I think that I will never be able to remember all what is poured to me. But I am not the only one to be so generously provided with wines. All around me everyone exchanges their wines with the others. The atmosphere is highly friendly. I say to Christine that I am afraid that so many wines are drunk when the dinner has not yet begun. And I am right, as a soup will help a lot the wines, mainly the whites, to become greater. So many wines are poured in my glasses that I am unable to say which one it is and when someone asks me : “did you like it”, I say yes, not knowing which one it was. But of course, I remember some of them.

Some whites have aged very differently. A Chardonnay 1977 Stony Hill Napa Valley pleases me a lot, with a nice Burgundy smell, sweeter in mouth than Burgundy.

In all the wines that we have drunk, I do not see a real difference of aging between French and Californian wines. The proportion seems to be the same of tired wines. The Gamay 1970 Joseph Swan has surprised everyone as it was extremely young and expressive. I did not notice corked wines, and the ones who were slightly corked did not show it in mouth.

The wines that I have particularly appreciated are : Heitz cellar 1968, Ridge Montebello 1970, Beaulieu 1966, Inglenook 1965.

I have found my Grands Echézeaux Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1974 to be rather tired after the travel and the heat in different steps of the trip. But its cork was largely tired when I found unusually young the cork of the “old” Californian wines, nearly not wet with wine, just a small circle being highly invaded by an heavy sediment of a black colour.

I have loved the Yquem 1953, a very nice, subtle and elegant Yquem (I saw that many friends having not the same perspective on Yquem did not probably approach it as I did), and I saw that my American friends are real kids. While I was sipping with pleasure the Yquem, served at last, to be the last perfume of the night, I saw many of them coming back to the reds!!!!

Within the group, I saw a man whose face was known to me. He had attended already two of my dinners !

Everyone has been aware that Californian wines can age and that the slow oxygenation helped a lot the wines to perform precisely.

For me the two stars of the night are the two oldest, which will not surprise anyone : the Martin Ray 1953 was for me the most impressive red of the dinner, and the Yquem 1953 is a Yquem which is in the direct line of what Yquem should be.

The food has been extremely adequate; the service of the staff of Falstaff was highly efficient. I have really enjoyed being the excuse for this meeting and to help to see that Californian wines age well when one is prepared to drink them as they are.

And when I see their potential to age, I would really think that it is probably not necessary to push the young wines to their limits in taste, as there is a certainty that they will age wonderfully, keeping a significant harmony and subtlety.

Thanks to all for their generosity, thanks to Christine to have so well managed the event, and thanks to all the friends for their so passionate attitude towards nice wines.

Great tasting of old Californian wines in San Francisco lundi, 1 mai 2006

After sixteen hours of restful sleep, it’s time to revisit San Francisco. On the first of May, in the USA, we work, but we also manifest. It is a day of parades for the regularization of illegal immigration. Here, it is gentle, folkloric. Small groups are formed of the same tendency of skin, behind placards illegible to five meters. The important thing is to show up. The policemen barred the streets to let those meager groups express themselves with smiles. Being very close to this agitation since the epicenter is at Market Street and Union Square where I am wandering, I will have an impression contrary to what I will read the next day in the newspapers, where one evokes the most important parades since the Protest against the war in Vietnam. Who is right ? The passing tourist? The journalist ? Probably the newspaper, since it is written.

I am pleased when strolling through the American streets, which are living galleries of portraits. All that one can imagine more typified, marked, even deformed, walks. The socially excluded are shown. A young alcohol-eating white boy scratches his gray legs that have not seen water for ten years. A policeman on duty took up his position to read his newspaper on a firemen post by engulfing a huge sandwich. At the lunch break young executives go into tiny stalls hideously decorated, nibbling obese foods. Conversely, ladies with multiple lifted faces walk dogs wrapped in rose clothes in the places where it is necessary to be seen. I would dream of having a concealed camera to capture these incredible faces of creative beauty. One cannot frankly say of this multicolored crowd that it is « fashion addict » as it is multiforme. I go shopping, I notice that the « cable car » that I had used more than forty years ago has not changed, I exhausted myself to instinctively seek Lombard Street, that serpentine street that I have already trampled from bottom to top and from top to bottom. A pleasant outdoor restaurant in a pedestrian street tempts me. I lunch in this little bistro to the sound of an accordionist who passes from the Beatles to the Third Man and from Freddy Mercury to Edith Piaf with the same forced smile.

Ken picks me up at my hotel and we go to Jack Falsatff, a restaurant that has decided to show up as a bunker or an abandoned building after the Armageddon invasion. In this place not far from the Giants Stadium that has match tonight (they will lose), we will be outdoors. The sirens, the rumbling trucks will enhance our dinner without disturbing it. I come to open the bottles at 4 pm, and many guests are there to see « the Audouze method » for opening and oxygenation. According to a well-American tradition, the 28 we have brought nearly 70 different wines. The particularity is that these are wines that are hardly found in these tastings: Californian wines before 1980. When this group had invited me to join them, I was asked to propose a theme. I chose the ancient Californian wines, without assuming that the prohibition broke a chain of continuity. There is practically no old wine from before 1960.

The oldest wine of this evening will be a Martin Ray 1953 from Saratoga, Cabernet Sauvignon, a real relic long presented by Paul who brought it and broods it as his child. This delicious wine, with the flavors reminiscent of the rather complex burgundy, pleased me enormously.

The bottles are opened long in advance. Also, with a legitimate pride, Ken opens a half-bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée, very tasty, simple of message, promising of the great event that is being built. New guests arrive, bringing Riedel glasses and wines in their arms. At 7 pm we went to the table. I take the floor to thank the organizers of which Christine, the group’s effective leader, and I give some advice on the tasting of old wines, which will be as unknown for them as for me, because some wines do not come from the cellar of the participants. Quite often, they have done research to find these wines. As soon as we are seated, the glasses fill at a mad speed, for each wants to make others try his contributions. I’m a little worried that we drink so many wines while the meal is not started. I am right, because the soup greatly improves some red or white wines. It is a smiling but total disorder, for while drinking a wine, I am often unable to say which it is. When I am asked which one I prefer from a filling of the moment, I am quite incapable.

The menu is very nice : Maine lobster consumes, lobster ravioli / smoked quail stuffed with foie gras, roasted pear and wild aragula salad / Maine lobster Thermidor, catalan style spinach, lobster juice / baked Alaska , Chocolate ice cream, fruit compote.

I found that the whites aged differently, a Chardonnay 1977 Stony Hill Napa Valley pleasing me much, with the expressive nose of Burgundy, but more sweet on the palate. In the very large sample of wines we brought, I found the same proportion of tired wines and shiny wines as we would have found in France. A Gamay 1970 Joseph Swan marveled everyone because no one was expecting this grape at this level of youth. Many wines were splendid and appreciated as appropriate. There was no corky wine, some being weakly on the nose but not on the palate. All this allows me to declare this test conclusive, proof of the aging capacity of Californian wines, contrary to what many thought when coming to attend this rare meeting, since so many wines before 1980 have hardly ever been gathered to an evening. Many thank me for having been the pretext. They appreciate my statement on the aging ability of the wines of their country.

There were many vintages of Beaulieu Vineyards, Ridge Montebello, Heitz Cellar, Inglenook, names that count in the Californian landscape. I loved a Heitz cellar 1968, a Ridge Montebello 1970, a Beaulieu 1966, an Inglenook 1965. An American would cite the grape varieties by announcing these wines. I did not notice them. A wine that was classified in 1976 as the greatest wine in the world in front of all French wines (Paris 1976 judgment), the Stag’s Leap, which I drink from 1973, seems good to me. But from there to make it a champion is another story …

I brought a Grands Echézeaux Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1974 which was for many their first wine of the DRC. Tired by the transport and temperature variations, with the cork abnormally tired for this age, while Californians of the same vintage sported early ear corks, often weighted with heavy sediments, it is for me of a variable pleasure, when my neighbors « Is it for politeness? » – find it extremely pleasant. Its complexity is indeed greater than that of the wines of here. On the other hand, the Château d’Yquem 1953 of my cellar, at the perfect level, with a very healthy, orange-colored cork holds its promises. A magic wine of great pleasure. The Americans are great children, for while I savor the Yquem religiously, they start off again on the reds, erasing at once the trace so subtle of this sweet wine. In this disparate group animated by the same passion, a face is known to me, but where? When he said, « I have attended two of your dinners, » I look in vain. It was the boss of a group of companies who had in fact ordered me several dinners.

Everyone is delighted, convinced of having participated in a unique event, where the politically correct of « the Californian wine does not age » has just been severely dehorned. The palm goes tonight to the two wines of 1953, the Martin Ray taste so young and so fruity and Yquem, in his absolute glory. Great moment of friendship in an attentive, smiling, and joyfully disorderly atmosphere. The air of nothing, we have just made, without saying it, a session of the Academy of Ancient Wines on the Pacific Coast. And, why not say it, my method of opening has once again demonstrated its effectiveness.

some pictures of my promenade in SF

The Audouze method becomes a standard ! jeudi, 27 avril 2006

In an article on New York Times, April 25th, in the section Dining and wine, there is an article signed by Eric Asimov whose title is : « The pour ».

And he says in the middle of his article :  »

The 2001 Pontet-Canet surprised me the most. I was looking forward to this wine, which I had not tasted since last spring, when it finished at the top in a Wine Panel tasting of 2001’s from the Medoc.

It was not nearly as good as I had remembered it. The aroma was young and primary, with little complexity, and it seemed hollow in the middle. It sat in my glass until Dr. S pointed out how brilliantly this wine went with the watercress salad, and he was right. Maybe it was the acidity of the wine that matched the dressing, but it also went well with the potato gateau. Maybe it just needed more air, even though we had opened the bottles hours before, pouring a little out of each bottle in an alternative to decanting sometimes called the Audouze method.  »

Needless to say that I am proud ! (the method is explained in this blog).