Dinner last night with Dan Donahue and his wife Dawn. We ate at a very interesting place called Saffron Bistro in Rockford, Illinois. They do French & Moroccan cuisine, and do it rather well.
On to the important part - the wines.
We started with a Burgundy, the 1998 Domaine Jadot Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques which was rather a bit grumpy and unyielding for a while, but after an hour or so (plus about 90 minutes of being open before that) it began to take on a more expansive and evolved perfume, though it never really became friendly. Overall a wine of much promise but in need of a lot more time.
That was followed by the 2003 Alesia Syrah which while distinctly ripe and rich was not at all over the top. It was meaty and fruity, and quite enjoyable with the braised beef portion of my couscous.
We finished off with a thunderstorm that had me thinking of Kansas, flying witches, yellow brick roads and of course, Donnhoff. The 1999 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese is just barely peaking through the door of its adolescence. There's a touch of creaminess, but as with the Jadot there is a lot of promise of things to come.
The rain let up, and we headed out. Later on that night a tree was struck by lightning adjacent to my hotel.
