Hiatus Over! - Some great wines and great food from a relaxing evening in Brooklyn

On Saturday night I dined in Brooklyn with some friends and it was an incredible meal. Great wines but I think the food was better. Intricate preparations, high-end ingredients and just wonderful instincts from the people in the kitchen. It was a home-cooked meal but I felt like I was dining in a high end restaurant. Thanks Ben and Joanne. Now on to the nitty gritty.

Started of with a watermelon soup in one of those fancy amuse shot glass deals with some feta cheese. Nothing like the taste of pure watermelon. This was matched with a 2006 Gysler Weinheimer Riesling Kabinett which was awfully rich for its pradikat. But this had the proper balancing acidity along with rich apricot fruit. Nice simple drinkable Riesling.

Moved onto the 2000 Rollin Pere et Fils Corton Charlemagne. A producer I have always loved and they are known for wines that are not shy on the acid tip. This actually was surprisingly soft for Rollin but was drinking beautifully and complemented the next two dishes perfectly. It was perfectly prepared soft shell crabs...the preparation escapes me at this moment but these were juicy and perfect and my plate was clean. The Rollin had a nose of hazelnuts (oh yeah there were hazelnuts in the soft shell crab!), iodine, honey, apples and loads of minerals. The palate had tremendous richness and layers. Fruit was classic CC with apples, bosc pear and some hints of melon. Finish was long and echoey. Great wine and drinking very well at the moment. Took around thirty minutes to really get going but once it did I was said it was gone. The last 1/2 glass or so did complement the salad of endive, beets, blue cheese and orange juice reduction.

The first red of the night was the 2005 Phillipe Pacalet Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru - According to David Schild-nizzle in the latest Wine Advocate (so glad he is doing Burgundy there now) this is a blend of Feusselottes-Chatelots-Gruenchers which proves to be a tasty combo. Great nose of cinnamon spice, cardamon clove, roses, licorice, sous-bois and a healthy dose of minerality. Kept expanding and changing throughout the night. Had that 2005 powerful fruit on the palate with dynamite acidity, pure deep vivid red/black fruit. Enormously concentrated wine with fine grained tannins. Fruit became sweet with aeration. Easily the best Pacalet wine I have had. This has the depth to go 20-25 years. Stunning. This was paired with perfectly seasoned grilled quail. Fantastic. Served over some sort of salad if I remember correctly.

The next wine was the 2001 Roumier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru "Clos de la Bussiere." An interesting wine that proved to be a little green, acidic and tannic for my taste. Although I am sure I did not let it breath long enough as it really started to come around during the last glass. The nose was very mushroomy, green peppery with some suggestions of red fruit. Definetly on the rustic and wild side. The palate had pretty tart fruit that started to develop sweetnes later on. Good stuff but I think needs time. Still a startlingly aromatic wine at this point. Went great with the filet dish that was accompanied by all types of fresh mushrooms. Chanterelles, morels and others.

The final wine was a 2004 Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle Musigny which was very good for an 2004. This vintage may be turning around slightly. The Fourrier Gevery I had a couple weeks ago was drinking great too. This was utterly classic Chambolle. Super floral on the nose with a delicate, lacey, elegant and ethereal palate. Red fruit and no hint of greeness. I had to much to drink at this point so could not track its development but I bet it got really nice. Another nice 2004.

At this point I got a car service and took the long journey back to Manhattan. Great night.