A second on the gazpacho! And a definite second on a bubbly. If no one decides to bring one, count on a bottle from PH.

Sorry to hear that Mrs klymkev isn't coming.

PH

Motion for gazpacho has been carried and I will bring a bottle or two of champagne to be determined and posted.

Garlicky Gazpacho is probably the only thing that will make up for Mrs. Klymkev's absence. Looking forward to it!

I'll probably make 2 batches. I don't want the non-garlic lovers to be left out.

Champagne is nowhere near my specialty, but here is what I am thinking:

1996 Lanson Brut Gold Label
nv Jacquesson Champagne Brut

quote:

Originally posted by klymkev:
I'll probably make 2 batches. I don't want the non-garlic lovers to be left out.

Champagne is nowhere near my specialty, but here is what I am thinking:

1996 Lanson Brut Gold Label
nv Jacquesson Champagne Brut

Is there such a thing as a non-garlic lover?

Alrighty, wine lovers. Two days to Syrah (and bubbly (and port)) madness, and all is too quiet. We need the last declarations of food and wine!

Let's start at 6:30pm, if that works for everyone.

Email me if you need directions/phone number or have questions (rlentiniatcoxdotnet).

Just a note: We have a 1 year old who will go to bed at 7pm and sleeps like a champ. Unfortunately, we also have a 2.5 year old who hates going to bed. So I apologize in advance for background crying and host/hostess absences while we try to get him settled.


Lentini+1: Grilled angus beef tenderloin with a port wine sauce
1997 Jean-Michel Gerin Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places
1995 M. Chapoutier St.-Joseph Les Granits
1983 Cockburn Vintage Port

Festiva+1: Appetizer TBD
1983 Delas Frères Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette
1995 Rene Rostaing La Landonne

sarbuze+1: Side dish TBD
undeclared
undeclared

PurpleHaze: La Bete Noir (flourless dark chocolate cake)
2000 E. Guigal Hermitage

klymkev: Spanish Family Gazpacho
1996 Lanson Brut Champagne Gold Label
NV Jacquesson Champagne Brut ("Perfection" bottling?)

sibster: Side dish TBD
1999 Domaine de Monteillet Côte-Rôtie Fortis

dinwiddie: Salad (and a stinky cheese to also try with the port)
1998 E.Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde

I'm declaring that we're still undeclared! We're still in so more to come

Wasn't this your theme, too, messiur? I'd of thought you'd be the first to declare!

Of course, if you've been drinking a lot of N. Rhone recently, you probably have more to consider than those of us who haven't and are just rolling the dice.

Methinks sarbuze is working on a horizontal of 1985 Guigal La Las for us! Rock on, sarbuze!

PH

quote:

Methinks sarbuze is working on a horizontal of 1985 Guigal La Las for us! Rock on, sarbuze!

Thanks, Sarbuze! Mighty generous of you. Looking forward to the La Turque!

If I win the megamillions tonight I'll host the next tasting with a vertical of La La's going back to 1980.

Otherwise, I'll be bringing...you'll find out tomorrow

Nothing spectacular, just a couple I think the crowd may not have had and will enjoy!

Oh, and we're working on sides. With kitchen in renovation mode, expect a few simple things, plus marinated veggies for the grill.

How am I supposed to research to find out how much I should like the wine????

Marinated veggies sounds good.

See ya tomorrow

seven oh three 765 zero six zero nine if you need to reach our house, anyone.

Feel free to park in the driveway.

Ok, I think I finally settled on what dish to bring. It will be some sort of Orzo with Asiago Cheese, garlic, mushrooms, and basil type thing. Never made it, so cross your fingers (hahaha). See y'all later today.

Cake is baked. Hermitage will be double decanted this afternoon. Address in the GPS. Ready to rumble!

Lentini - How are you set for stems??

PH

quote:

Originally posted by PurpleHaze:


Lentini - How are you set for stems??

PH

I was going to ask the same thing.

Sounds great, Sibster.

Red Stems:

I have nine (9) Riedel Vinum Bordeax glasses. I plan to use 3, Ms. Lentini 3, and 3 are available for grabs.

I have twelve (12) Atlantis crystal red wine glasses, but they're fairly small bowls.

I have two additional random red wine glasses of decent size, and a bunch of small wine glasses. So no one will go thirsty, even if they don't get nice big bowls.

Champagne flutes:

I think I'm set on champagne flutes for everyone.

Port:

Not sure what to serve the port in, but perhaps the smaller wine glasses.

Bottom Line: Bring red bowls if you have them and carrying isn't a burden. If you come without, we'll find something. If you're picky about what glasses you taste with, bring some.

Decanters: I have two half bottle decanters and three full bottle decanters.

See y'all soon!

I shall BYOS. Thanks for the heads up, Lentini.

PH

ALERT ALERT

Ms. Lentini says the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is closing today to open the new span... Delays could be 1.5 hrs...

Recommend coming through DC (down I395) or around the beltway the other way.


(Closing down to one lane, more specifically.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lentini,

Got the e-mail and saw the post, thanks everyone!

Our sides:

Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus (Grilled)
Roasted Potato Medley

Thanks to the Lentin's for a grand evening. I am sure our resident note taker sarbuze will post a thorough review of the wines.

I will leave all of the attendees with one thought so artfully crafted by the youngest of Lentini's "I want more pepper"

I think the quote was, "I NEED more pepper."

Thanks to all for trekking to the wilds of Virginia. Was nice to see you all and share wine and time.

Final menu/wines worked very well. I'll post the final lineup since I have all the empties sitting around.

We had the remainder of a 2005 Francois Blanchard "Violoncelite" Cab Franc from the Loire Valley as we waited on people to arrive. Started in on Dinwiddie's hard bread and stinky cheeses, too.

With the Klymkev family gazpacho, we opened an NV Jacquesson Brut Champagne Cuvee no 732 and a 1996 Lanson Gold Label Brut Champagne.

We moved to a strawberry/almond salad from Dinwiddie that paired beautifully with a 1996 Grans-Fassian Riesling Auslese Piesporter Goldtropfchen. Also opened a 2003 Christoffel Riesling Auslese ** Treppchen while we finished cooking the roast and veggies. The rieslings also paired well with crabcakes and (fantastic) sauce from Festiva.

As pancetta wrapped asparagus started coming off the grill, we enjoyed a 1983 Delas Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette. Unreal amount of sediment caked to the inside of the empty bottle. Wine was in perfect shape.

I believe we opened a 1995 Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Les Granits, a 1995 Rostaing Cote-Rotie La Landonne, and a 1997 Jean-Michel Gerin Cote-Rotie Les Grandes Places as we sat down to eat. In addition to the asparagus, we had a grilled beef loin in a shallot/shiitake port reduction sauce, mixed roast potatos, and sibster's delicious truffled orzo.

Next flight included a 1998 Guigal Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde, a 1999 Domaine du Monteillet Fortis Cote-Rotie, and a 2000 Ogier Cote-Rotie.

We finished off the Northern Rhones with a (sadly corked) 2000 Guigal Hermitage and a 2001 Domaine Belle Hermitage.

Stunning La Bete Noir from PurpleHaze with a raspberry sauce was very nice with a 1983 Cockburn Vintage Port, which also tasted nice with the stinky cheeses.

Lots of delicious wines and some fantastic noses. My stand-out wines were the 1997 Jean-Michel Gerin Cote-Rotie Les Grandes Places and the 1996 Grans-Fassian Riesling.

Pictures to follow from the official and unofficial photographers.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lentini,

Oh, by the way... Someone absconded with one of my new Riedel glasses. If your guilty conscience weighs too heavily on you... I mean, if you realize you accidentally packed an extra glass, please put it in your "return to Lentini when it's convenient" pile. Thanks!

It was a wonderful evening, great company, great food, and great wine. I want to thank the Maryland contingent for allowing a member of the VC DC Crü attend (and venture into that scary land of NVa). And thanks to PH for the ride. And a special thanks to the Lentinis for opening their home. Cute kids (and the Lentini children are pretty cute too.)

I felt old around you guys, but it is great to see such young people into such great wines. And the willingness to share them bodes well for us all. It was great to see some of you again and to meet some of you for the first time.

I think Lentini got the wines right, but the flights were somewhat different. I can't remember exactly, but the Brune et Blonde was in the first flight of the night. I can't say which was my favorite, probably the 1983 Delas Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette (it is such a joy to have a truly mature and perfectly stored wine) or the 1997 Jean-Michel Gerin Cote-Rotie Les Grandes Places.

I was also pleased that the Brune et Blonde showed so well, I just wish it hadn't been my last bottle as I'd love to try it again in 5 and 10 years.

Wow! Another kick a$$ evening with the gang.

Wines I liked: The 1996 Lanson was a very pleasant surprise. Just enough pie crust and lemon meringue thing going on to make it fun. The 1983 Delas Hermitage was absolutely wonderful, and still has the legs for many more years. The 2000 Ogier Cote-Rotie won my "nose of the night" award. Absolutely explosive. I had the opportunity to enjoy the 1998 Guigal Brune et Blonde with dinwiddie at Aquarelle in the Watergate a few years back. It was still as impressive as I remembered it, and as din says....has a long way to go. I might try to find some of this stuff. Only one dog in the group, my 2000 Guigal Hermitage. Pretty seriously corked.

I missed that last few pours of the evening, as I had a bit of driving ahead of me.

Many thanks to the Lentinis for opening their lovely home to us!

Some pictures of the evening can be viewed here!

PH