I had a great dinner last night at the Phoenix Garden and brought my Friuli white for WBW#41 but was in no shape after dinner to blog and you, my readers, are better off for it. Trust me. I had brought the 2002 Radikon Ribolla Gialla and it was maybe the best bottle of Radikon white wine I have ever had. Had a apricot skin color in the glass and celestial, I kid you not, celestial aromas of brown sugar, red-Pinot-like fruit, minerals and stone fruit skins. The palate has dazzling babbling brook-like minerality along with stellar concentration, great delineation and a long fruit-soaked finish. Exceptional wine that kept getting better and better as the night went on. Came in those very cute 500 ml bottles with the most adorable little cork. I will be buying some for the cellar for sure.
Another attendee of the dinner brought a fantastic bottle of the 2005 Zidarich "Prulke." This is a blend of Sauvignon, Malvasia and Vitovkska. A color of lemonade is followed by aromas of lemon, lime, grapefuit and minerals. Amazing purity and depth on the palate with a nice sappy fruit core and incredible depth. It is a touch closed right now on the palate but time will open all the wonderful facets of this wine. Expensive and some people would say it is not worth it but it is unique stuff for sure.
Love Phoenix Garden, my neighborhood go to BYO. What did you eat?
ReplyDeletesalt and pepper shrimp, pork, lots of fish, dumplings. It was suck, Let's go Chris C as the food is phenomenal.
ReplyDeleteLyle,
ReplyDeleteNice post.
And I agree, that '02 Radikon Ribolla totally kicks ass. Had a bottle recently here at Terroir in SF and I'll be going back to pick some up for the cellar. Wouldn't have thought to match it with Chinese, though. Good idea.
I enjoy your blog too, props.
- wolfgang
Wolfgang,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out. How is terroir? Sounds like a great place.
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ReplyDeleteWhoops, typing too fast. Anyway, Terroir is really, really great. Check it out next time you're in SF. Here's a write up I did:
ReplyDeletehttp://spume.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/naturals-not-in-it-or-in-search-of-clean-wine/
I'm sold - this is the third blog entry in two days I have read about Phoenix Garden. Clearly the next time I am in the city I need to go.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog.
Wow, I wish I was a that dinner!
ReplyDeleteWe had a bottle of Zidarich Vitovska recently, that was interesting, but not excellent, and not nearly as good as the Vodopivec.