braised oxtails are excellent for pregnant women, Lentini.

quote:

Originally posted by irwin:
braised oxtails are excellent for pregnant women, Lentini.

And non-pregnant attorneys too, irwin!!

PH

Or would that be brazen ox tails??

Upon advice from the Dillons, I propose substituting a 2001 for the 1998 Ch. LTHB; likewise I have moved away from (at least the 99) Hanna Bismark, and am thinking a Flora Springs 2002 Trilogy. Comments?

quote:

it's shaping up to be a good one.

It sounds GREAT to me. Are we short anything?

Jace

Man, I blew it - I opened a wine last night that would have been PERFECT for this offline.

It was a 1998 Montevetrano Colli di Salerno. I thought it was a primarily Aglianico blend, with Cab Sauv and Merlot.

I was expecting big, burly, raw... but it was anything but.

To be honest, it tasted like a really nice Bordeaux from the 1980s, believe it or not. It was super tasty. I looked it up today, and the blend turned out to be 60% Cab, 30% merlot and 10% aglianico.

I think the aglianico added just enough flavor to almost make the wine taste older than it is. Maybe.

So anyway... I think you all would have loved it and it would have been lots of fun to compare head to head with some bordeaux. Darnit. It was the only bottle I had.

Any room left at the table for a newbie?

Festiva? Can we squeeze a newb in? These offlines get any bigger and we're going to need to start doing magnums!!

PH

Or get more of them pregnant!

Picturestory: Newbie, Schmewbie! You like wine, right? Well, we're happy to have you. Just declare your wine, friend!

Now that we're approaching 15 people, I'd probably ask that you bring a white wine to pair with the first course, or a champagne to help us kick the night off with.

You also may want to send me an email and I'll shoot you location/directions/etc. My address is jeffbanyas @ yahoo.com.

Newsguy, did you declare your vino, yet?

BTW... I got an email from Mark asking about glassware. I would strongly suggest everyone bring a decanter, as the restaurant doesn't have enough.

We also need to come up with our wine flights, so Mark can plan on how much stemware to have. I'm out of town until Sat morning and don't have the time to deal with this. Here are the wines so far:


Purple Haze:
NV Billecart Salmon Brut Rose
1998 Chateau Canon La-Gaffeliere

CometSpider:
1995 Calon Segur
2002 Arietta Hudson (Hooeey, I'm lookin' forward to this one! )

Gentleman Farmer:
1999 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon
1998 Château Haut-Maillet

Jace:
2001 Ch. La Tour Haut Brion
2002 Flora Springs Trilogy

Lentini:
2003 Poggio al Tesoro Sondraia
2001 Chateau d'Arche Sauternes

Festiva:
1997 Merryvale Profile
1995 Chateau Lynch Bages

Mike & Tony (Friends of Festiva):
1995 Ch. Clos du Marquis
1998 Ch. Grand Corbin Despagne

Newsguy:
Pending (Perhaps a bubbly or two? A white to kick us off?)

Picturestory: A white? Another Sauternes to duke it out with the 01 d'Arche?


Would someone please take a stab at how we'll organize the flights for this ever-growing soiree? Please let me know so Mark can make arrangements for stemware!

quote:

Originally postted by Lentini
Question: Since the theme is more Cali bordx blend vs Bordeaux, anyone think I should swap out the Italian Sondraia for a Cali Pride Mountain Cabernet Franc?

I would lean more to the Cali, although doing Super Tusc sometime would be fun

quote:

Originally posted by Festiva
Would someone please take a stab at how we'll organize the flights for this ever-growing soiree? Please let me know so Mark can make arrangements for stemware!

How about.....(just a stab)

One bubbly (or more) – NV Billecart Salmon Brut Rose

1995 Calon Segur*
1995 Ch. Clos du Marquis*
1995 Chateau Lynch Bages*
2001-replaced by 1995 Ch. La Tour Haut Brion*

Arietta Hudson
Merryvalle Profile
(I would put the Cali in here)

1998 Ch. Grand Corbin Despagne
1998 Château Haut-Maillet
1998 Chateau Canon La-Gaffeliere

1999 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Flora Springs Trilogy
2003 Poggio al Tesoro Sondraia

2001 Chateau d'Arche Sauternes

Note: Upon pressing the Dillons even harder I got:

quote:

Originally posted by Laetitia Dubos (dubos@haut-brion,com)
We checked about the 1995 vintage for Château La Tour Haut-Brion and apparently, it shouldn’t be closed at the moment (I had 'local' advice it was). Therefore, you could open it this week-end. We recommend you to do a decanting of this wine one hour before serving it.*

We stay at your entire disposal for any further information that you might require.

*I would suggest we open the 95's upon arrival and decant, or perhaps pop then at 6 (before we come)? Input???

Jace

Jace is good at this!

I'll add in the food rearranged a touch... Some foodie edit me when you get a chance! There are some issues with this, so suggest fixes, please. I figure we could pop wine in between serving courses... So people can pair the wine with the course before and/or after, and we're not trying to pour while they are serving. (I haven't done this at a restaurant before.)


---NV Billecart Salmon Brut Rose
---(Another bubbly from PictureStory?)

Sea scallops, roasted, served over a salad of celeri root and truffle

---1995 Calon Segur (a third growth, left bank)
---1995 Ch. Clos du Marquis (second wine of second growth Leoville Las Cases, left bank)
---1995 Chateau Lynch Bages (a fifth growth, left bank)
---1995 Ch. La Tour Haut Brion (second wine of first growth Haut Brion, left bank)

Braised Oxtails with Pomme Puree

---2002 Arietta Hudson (a 60/40 blend of Cab Franc and Merlot)
---1997 Merryvalle Profile (mostly Cabernet, with Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot)

Free range chicken in a fricassee of onions confit

---1998 Ch. Grand Corbin Despagne (a St. Emilion grand cru classe, right bank)
---1998 Château Haut-Maillet (unclassed (I think) Pomerol, right bank)
---1998 Chateau Canon La-Gaffeliere (a St. Emilion grand cru classe, right bank)

Lamb, served with curried vegetables, and curry sauce

---1999 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon (mostly Cabernet, with Merlot, Cab Franc, and maybe Petit Verdot)
---2002 Flora Springs Trilogy (Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec)
---2003 Poggio al Tesoro Sondraia (65% Cabernet, 25% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc)

Chocolate cake of dark chocolate
(HERE OR LAST??? - Maybe with a wine from Picturestory??)

---2001 Chateau d'Arche Sauternes (Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle)

a cow's milk cheese called Comte as well as a blue-veined cheese of Mark's choosing


(I added notes on the wines for curious people not familiar with them.)

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

Being new at this (and my collection very limited) I will gladly take recommendations. Just let me know what gaps you all want to try to fill in...

Picturestory - Why don't you bring a california sparkler to match up with the billecart rose or the chocolate cake? Mmmmm chocolate cake.

We need champagne. One bottle ain't going to get it done with 14 people.

I think the groupings are fine, but are we really pairing red Bordeaux with scallops?

PH

Alright I have two Sauternes to choose from or I would gladly bring both. They are:

1997 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes
1997 Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau Sauternes (2x375)

If the pairings dicate something else, just point me in the right direction.

I just realized most are bringing two bottles, so should I bring a bubbly too? Might need some help with that selection though. My only experience is with Veuve and some Mumm.

Heck, don't worry about multiple bottles. If you bring one of the Sauternes we'll be happy. If you're compelled to bring another bottle of something, you won't find anyone trying to talk you out of it. A bottle of Duval Leroy NV is a great QPR and wouldn't break the bank.

Newsguy? You out there???

PH

That chocolate cake is calling out for a 20 YO Tawny Port!!

PH

Some of us are bringing two bottles because we're bringing somebody with us. The offline norm seems to me to be a bottle a body - Since drinking a bottle each is about how much most people can handle in one sitting. A couple of people are just being very generous. Usually a couple of people end up bringing an extra because it sounds fun with the theme. And some people, *hiccup*, are simply gluttonous with their wine consumption. (Being about 200 pounds helps.)

I think especially with a couple of pregnant attendees we'll have plenty of wine if you bring a single bottle.

But PH is right - a second bubbly would help us get through the scallops. I don't know one off-hand, but if you hit a store like Arrowine or even Total Wine, you could get a recommendation for a cali bubbly. I even think there's a Virginia bubbly that would be interesting... (*straining* to think of the name)...

Oasis is the name. People will tease you for bringing a Virginia wine... But I think that would be worthy.

Bring a VA sparkler to your first offline, and Lentini drinks Two Buck Chuck for the rest of the year!!!

PH

In all seriousness, the Duval Leroy NV at $30 is a no brainer. Great stuff.

PH

Lentini said:

quote:

Oasis is the name

I have a bottle of 1983 Chelois from Oasis I might be able to bring, but I'd have to ask the one who left it in my trust.

I'm starting to resonate to the call for a straight-up (e.g., no bubbles) white, for the scallops. I suggest one bottle of bubbly to even the palates and get through introductions, maybe two bottles of a petit chablis or Sonoma chard mit scallops, and then we could start drinking dinner.

Jace

BTW PH, thanks for the cmplmt; looking forward to meeting this cru, as I have noticed interesting cepages in previous threads (e.g., OS and that Superbowl tasting is kinda special)...

I say the Carlisle on the buying page...please remind me to compare prices with my Sonoma source for it.

Jace