Since Dave has been banned by Squires, here are the notes from the evening courtesy of Richard.
http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=128689Thanks to J.R. and Renee Young for hosting a most enjoyable OL at their San Jose home. And universal applause and admiration for J.R.’s cooking skills, and not only pulling off a flawless five-course dinner, but for perfectly producing three things he claims he’d never cooked before: phyllo stuffed morrells, foie gras, and crème brulee. All in all, the food was amazing and the company delicious. The wines weren’t too shabby either.
After some wonderful cheeses as the gang arrived, we sat for our first course: morell mushrooms with goat cheese in phyllo dough. (The morrells, like the elk in a later course, were harvested from where J.R.’s father lives in Washington.) The following wines went beautifully with this dish, especially the first two Chards.
First Flight
1999 Kistler "Les Noisetiers" - medium gold color; rich vanilla oak and lanolin nose; tasty, solid, creamy Chardonnay palate, restrained tropical flavors and good acid; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.
2003 Peter Michael "La Carriere" – bright canary yellow color; lemon chiffon and sweet lemon nose; solid, rich lemon mousse palate with good acidity, lemon rind toward medium-plus, slightly hot finish 92 pts. (15.2 % alcohol)
1994 Cronin Chardonnay Napa (from magnum) – bright golden yellow color; strong briney nose, suggesting mussell shells; solid, mature but tangy, with good acid, mineral and briney notes; tangy medium finish 91 pts.
1976 Dom. de Marcilly Chassagne-Montrachet – brownish brick red color; sweet strawberry and mushroom nose; very tasty, elegant, ripe strawberry; medium finish 92 pts.
Our second course was seared foie gras and apple roulade with balsamic reduction. At first it looked like the foie gras wasn’t going to happen because the oven fan wouldn’t come on. Eventually it did, though, and J.R., Joe and Renee produced perfectly seared Sonoma foie gras. The fact that this was the first time J.R. had cooked it still amazes me. The man has guts.
Foie Gras Flight
1995 d’Yquem – restrained botrytis nose; tasty, creamy, solid, not overly sweet, with notes of coconut and almond; long finish 93+ pts.
1998 Robert Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc Botrytis – rich, super sugary coconut, vanilla, tropical nose; super sweet apricot palate with a note of crystallized ginger; long finish 91 pts.
Our third course was lentil soup, with red and green lentils, topped with duck.
Flight Three
1998 Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle-Musigny – light medium red color; rich, tart cherry and mushroom nose; tasty, tart cherry, red fruit, roses with great acidity; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.
1998 Archery Summit Premier Cuvee Pinot Noir – black pink red color; TCA on the nose, mingled with vanilla and cherry; tart cherry palate affected by TCA
2001 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Blewitt Springs Vineyard – rich red color; fresh cut hay and cherry nose; rich roses and cherry palate with good grip and horseradish note toward medium-plus finish 93 pts.
2004 Dain Wines Pinot Noir American Beauty Amber Ridge (Darien Vineyard) – focused rich blackberry, brown surgar, prune and framboise nose; rich, concentrated, mouthcoating palate of raspberries, blackberries, brown sugar; hot medium-plus finish 93+ pts.
As we prepared our wines for the last red flight, J.R. and Renee served a palate cleanser of lemon ice, that was very flavorful, with a long finish.
Our next course consisted of a huge hunk of elk meatloaf, mashed potatoes and sautéed greens. The meatloaf was flavorful, with perfect consistency. Our wines stood up to its subtle gamey flavors well.
Flight Four
1987 Domaine Les Goubert Gigondas “Cuvee Florence” – tea, leather, smoky truffle and sous bois nose; smoky tart cherry palate with notes of leather and sous bois; medium-plus finish 94 pts.
1988 Chateau Musar – gorgeous, sexy nose of violet, roses, lavender, leather and truffle; gorgeous, silky kirsch and tart cherry palate, like a ’90 Rayas, with sous bois, and horseradish note toward long finish 98 pts. (a particularly good match for the elk meatloaf)
2004 Big Basin Vineyards Syrah Rattlesnake Rock (Santa Cruz Mountains) – raspberry, vanilla, floral, boysenberry nose; concentrated, tasty smoky palate of blackberry, blueberry, tar, caramel; long finish 94+ pts.
1994 La Jota Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain – iron, meaty and herbaceous nose; tasty, concentrated palate of meat, iron, and olive; medium finish 93+ pts.
2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil Syrah – rich red violet color; sweet blackberry, raspberry, caramel and prune nose; concentrated, raspberry coulis, kirsch and licorice palate, with some reduction; medium-plus finish 93+ pts. (a flawed bottle, probably heat damaged; Jonathan and David noticed the seepage, and the palate showed some reduction)
For dessert, J.R. pulled off perfect lavender crème brulee, on his very first try.
Sweet Flight
1999 Dobogó Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttanyos – medium orange amber color; big fraboise, almond nose; rich, orange blossom and orange peel, Long Island ice tea tanginess; long finish 93+ pts.
2004 Ojai Late Harvest Viognier Roll Ranch Vineyard – honeysuckle Viognier nose; super sweet, concentrated sugar, orange blossom honey; long finish 92 pts.
Thanks again to our amazing hosts, the Youngs, and to everyone for their great wine and company.
"The biggest fault of this wine was that it had more wood put to it than Jenna Jameson" ~ CT review note
