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FRIDAY EVENING: We arrived at Newark International at 6:45 PM, where Chris Gross, aka Moe Vedre, met us. From there, it was a 20 minute drive to our hotel, where we checked in and freshened up. Half an hour later, Aris himself arrived in a large rented van, collected us and drove back to Casa Francisco. We barely had time to meet the other "family" members before we loaded back on the van and headed to Chez Latour, in nearby Ridgewood.
Aris describes Chez Latour as his 2nd home, and it was not hard to see why. The atmosphere is dark and romantic, and the service impeccable, with the staff in formal dress and opera playing on the sound system. And of course, owner/chef Michael Latour’s cuisine is (to borrow a phrase from Canadian Zinfan) brilliant.
In attendance were Jean, Aris and his brother Armel, Russell (Bacchus) Bevan and Victoria DeCrescenzo, Tom (in DC) and Gail Wheltle, Mindy and Al Goldsborough, Eric and Janet Slusser, Ken Seibold, Joe Czerwinski, Pat De Marko, Mike DiSalvo, Moe and these Gangsters. The evening’s wine theme was Syrah from around the world, our 2nd such tasting in a month. The wines were brought by all the participants and tasted with eyes open, in a free form manner.1992 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet: Our aperitif, this medium straw-pale gold was Russell’s favorite wine of the night, and only the ’77 Grange did more for this taster. It shows an abundance of sweet oak vanilla in that unique Burgundian style, along with flavors and aromas of pear/canned peas/smoke/wet stone/hint of matchstick. It has just enough acidity to keep it refreshing and lively, and a long finish that lingers deliciously. A BIG hit!
1995 Araujo Napa Valley Syrah Eisele Vineyard: The first wine from this producer that Kim and I have tasted, this seemed to be a dark garnet, but the light was dim, so colors were hard to define precisely. It shows a huge sweet oak chocolate/cinnamon/ raspberry/blueberry bouquet that follows through on the palate. Tom noted a "plummy olive thing," adding in a rather understated manner that there is "a little tannin." Eric commented that the "oak dominates," and said this was a bit hot. Russell agreed with regard to the oak, but said "the fruit soaks it up." I felt that the tannin and heat were there, but not to the point of distraction. Strangely, this was at its best right from the bottle; with a few hours of air, it took on a wet dog fur note and seemed to lose something. 1997 Clarendon Hills Liandra Shiraz: Probably dark garnet, this shows plenty of sweet American oak, with darker, plummier fruit than the Araujo, hints of smoke and olives, and some aquarium on the nose. Aris mentioned some black cherry as well, and both he and Mindy likened this to the ’94 Thackrey Orion for it’s spicy qualities. A very well made Aussie Shiraz. 1995 Jim Barry The Armaugh: This one is deep and dark, with sweet oak/meaty game/jammy plum/black raspberry/cinnamon and plenty of tannins. Somehow, Moe was reminded of Dove soap! Most mentioned this in their top four wines of the night.
1996 Andrew Murray Santa Barbara Syrah Hillside Reserve: This is totally different than the previous three, with toasty oak/plum/ aquarium characteristics. Mindy said, "It smells like it should be a fruit bomb, but it’s not." It finished a little short for most tastes. A nice Syrah and no doubt, but not quite up to the previous three.
1995 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle: Most thought that drinking this was pure infanticide. Mindy described this as "almost painful; really tight." Eric described a "canned sweet corn note." I was surprised at how approachable it was however, especially for not having the benefit of breathing in a decanter for at least four hours. I found plum/prune/herb/hints of game, along with the requisite big tannins and good acidity. Certainly a different animal than the preceding selections; try it on its 10th birthday and beyond. 1988 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle: Now this is more like it! There’s enough maturity here to please an old Rhone-y like me. A ruby garnet, this shows BIG olives, along with Provencal herb/prune/underbrush/forest floor. Some thought it too young, but to paraphrase Larry Bird, I liked it real good! 1977 Grange Hermitage Bin 95: Another first for Madame and me, this was one of the big hits of the weekend, and many, if not most, called this the best wine of the evening. My first impression was "Wow! Brasso!!!" Tom described "creosote; way beyond black tar." Besides brass cleaner, this exhibits rich spicy plum/sweet oak/sea air. Armel added, "wet logs," and Mindy commented that it seemed "amazingly young for its age." Eric opined that this could easily go for another 5-10 years, and he’s probably right. This is an amazing wine, and was an excellent match for my T-bone lamb chops. 1995 Rosemount McLaren Vale Syrah Balmoral: Though Moe described this as having "the most profuse nose so far," it may have suffered somewhat at having been tasted right after the Grange. Still, it showed sweet oak/jammy plum with a hint of matchstick, in the signature Rosemount style. A solid Syrah. 1996 Milagro Napa Valley Syrah: Talk about a different animal! This struck me as tasting more like Grenache than Syrah. Kim got gobs of pepper from it, while I found strawberry/rhubarb/ earth and a slightly green note that didn’t really detract. I found it to be quite intriguing, and liked it a bunch. Someone mentioned that this comes from the top of Spring Mountain, right across from Pride. 1997 Glen Fiona Syrah Walla Walla: This Washington State red shows a pretty perfumed spicy plum/red currant bouquet that follows through in the solid flavors, with good tannins and acidity. Perhaps a little out of its league here.
1996 Swanson Napa Valley Syrah: Another one that was out of its league, this shows good sweet oak/plum/red currant flavors and aromas. Mike said it’s "not bad, but $40???" I agreed. As we waited for dessert, Russell polled the group for the four favorite wines of the night. Most named the Grange to no ones surprise; the Armaugh and Liandra were mentioned prominently. My top four were the Grange (by a good margin), the Armaugh, the ’88 La Chapelle and the Liandra. However, as stated previously, the white Burg was just killer! The staff began to wheel out various desserts, which I declined, but when Russell began to pour a certain dessert wine, I held out my glass with no reservations whatsoever. 1989 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes: Yet another first for Kim and me, this is all we’d heard it was and more. Medium gold, with decadent apricot/big oak/spice/brown sugar along with very subtle notes of Windex and Purina Dog Chow, but in a GOOD way! This is rich and concentrated, yet so light on its feet; so silky and refined on the palate, it’s not at all syrup-y. I could only smile and agree with Moe when he enthused, "Just fantastic!" The whole evening was "just fantastic," actually. A wonderful time was had by all and T-Rex (Victoria’s pet name for Russell) was on his best behavior, with nary a Rodney Dangerfield twitch. As things were winding down, we gushed superlatives upon Aris, marveling at how the weekend had gotten off to such a terrific start. He replied, "This is my enjoyment time. Tomorrow, I’ll be all over the place." |
