Cincinnati Offline 3/29/08
After a side trip through Youngstown, OH, I finally arrived at the hotel in Covington, KY at about 4:30PM, where Bob Henrick and I shared a room for the night. I met up with JuliaB, MikeH, his wife Cindy and Bob, who had all just left the Cincinnati Wine Festival. While I was changing my clothes and freshening up, Bob opened a bottle of 2006 Ch. De Lancyre Pic Saint Loup, Languedoc, a lightly colored, dry Rose. Hint of dusty strawberries, fresh with nice acidity and medium long finish. I also pulled the cork on a bottle of my 2006 Un-Oaked Chardonnay before we headed off to the Nectar Restaurant. However, Julia, who was fighting a bad flu bug, declined to join us (hope you’re over it by now). When we arrived at Nectar, we were met by Jens Rosenkrantz. Our table was waiting and we started things off with Gruet, Blanc de Noir, New Mexico, N.V. This was my first time trying this bubbly. Very nice, with lots of froth and an almost grapefruit citrus character. It was here that I realized I forgot my reading glasses, so I had to have Bob read the menu and wine labels for me, so if I don’t have things exact here, that’s because I couldn’t take notes. As the appetizers arrived, we elected for another bubbly off the wine list; Langlois Chateau Cremant de Loire N.V. Another nice bubbly! Brut, lots of bubbles, with hints of lemon. My appetizer was an excellent plate of sautéed shrimp. Our excellent chef (I forgot her name) then sent each of us a complementary serving of another of their signature appetizers, crispy sweetbreads with frisee, bacon, capers, sherry vinegar brown butter. With this we were served 2001 Louis Latour Montrachet, which Mike and Cindy brought. I couldn’t detect any oak, but the nose had a complexity that Chardonnay develops over time, with hints of apple, good acid balance and a very long finish. While squinting to read the menu, I decided to be adventurous and order the grilled duck breast, which I’d never had. What a treat! A mild, beef-like flavor with the texture of a chicken breast, medium rare. With our entrees, we started with two Pinot Noirs, the first was 2001 Louis Latour Mercurey, brought by Mike and Cindy. Deep ruby color, generous bouquet, with leather, cherries and a very long finish. My contribution to the dinner was 2005 Warm Lake Estate Pinot Noir. Clear ruby color (lighter than the Mercurey), a generous aroma of shoe polish, cigar box and cherries. Long, well balanced finish - juicy acidity and oak tannins. We then switched over to Syrah (Shiraz) at about the same Jens’ wife, Polly arrived. The first was 2003 Edmond St. John Bassetti Syrah, the Bob brought along. This wine is powerful, deeply colored and very tannic. Could use a lot more time in the cellar, but shows lots of promise. Jens gifted us with the next two wines superb wines, neither of which I had ever heard of. The 2004 John Duval Plexus was made by the fellow who used to make Penfolds Grange and after Googling, discovered it’s a blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Mourvedre. Deeply colored, with hints of purple, intense, complex, fruity nose of berries and earth. A long finish that hit the whole mouth in a well balanced manner. Superb! This was followed by 2004 Clio. Deeply colored (almost opaque), lots of oak, fruit, berries, with leather and earthy mushrooms. Full, long finish that just went on and on. WOW!
From Left to Right: Bob, Me, Polly, Jens, Cindy and Mike.
For dessert, I had coffee (French press) and a Pineapple Napolean. Now, to me, a Napolean is a pastry I buy at my favorite local bakery, consisting of layers of flaky crust, with Bavarian cream and chocolate. This, however, was something quite different. The dish was assembled on the plate. The crust was very crisp, with a cream sauce and fresh pineapple. On the side was a delicious sherbet with unusual flavors. We asked our chef and found out it was lemon-basil! What an interesting combination. This was accompanied by Muscat, Domaine de la Peyrade, N.V., from the restaurant’s wine list. A great meal, superb wines and wonderful company. Back at the hotel room, Bob and I had a few more glasses of wine and stayed up to the wee-small hours. The next morning, after a breakfast at the local Waffle House, Bob and I parted company. I set the cruise control for 77 and made it home in 6-½ hours, very tired.
