A festive night in SF

[William P]

Last night, David G, Ed, Lisa and myself together with two of David’s convention friends had dinner at Delfina in SF. It was a beautiful SF day and great night of food, wine and conversation.

Around six, I showed up at David’s hotel. We enjoy a few glasses of vino. I brought 2006 Lagrange because I wanted try it out the 2006s since my price check at K&L indicated the 06 prices are reasonable. David brought a Sine Qua Non Grenache. We sat overlooking Union Square and had a very enjoyable introductory discussion. David is a true gentleman with a great intellect.

The SQN was, as expected, a big wine. Round, fruit driven, dark purple. It was about 15.3% alcohol and a little hot on the nose. The wine was well balanced considering the low acidity. It was delicious and perfect for that pre-dinner warmup. This was a wine my wife would love.

The Ch. Lagrange was then popped and poured. The most notable impression was the overwhelming scent of sandalwood on nose. The wood was also very noticeable on the palate. If you are adverse to wood – warning, warning, Will Robinson. The wine was tight and bore no resemblance to the 2000 or 2005. It reminded me of the 1999 with a little more fruit and concentration. I still have a 1/3 of a bottle and I will be interested in seeing how it developed. A sip many hours latter showed good depth and the wood was dissipating. There were interesting tar and cassis notes starting to develop. It is not round or voluptuous like hotter years but a tasty medium bodied wine with tannins that are not harsh. I will post a follow up report later.

At Delfina the wines appeared quickly on the table. I kept no notes and hopefully David or Ed will fill-in the blanks.

First up was a wonderful Salon. No idea about vintage. This was a killer champagne, a wonderful ethereal body, delicate yeasty flavor and so lite and flavorful. Wow, what a beauty. Every time I taste Salon, I am impressed.

Next a 1998 Corton Charlemagne, Bonneau du Martray. I brought this and Ed passed it to me for the initial sip. Oh no, tastes like sherry. I’ve had three bottles of this; two of which were pristine, this was not. Recorked and put away.

Next was a 2000 Potel, Charmes Chambertin. This was my back up bottle and a real beauty. Medium weight, silky texture, and oh so balanced. This was a wine that is just entering its primetime. Good concentration for this vineyard. Great purity and length, it was a worthy replacement for the CC.

Next was Beaucastel. This was David’s contribution beside the SQN. I believe it was 1998 but I could be wrong. My reintroduction to Beaucastel was a great success. The nose reminded me of a French cheese, stinky but so intriguing. Some might not like the nose, but I found it wonderfully unique. Taste of Beaucastel is also unique. It was perfect with my duck. A superb wine and a pleasure to just sit and sip.

Ed then open a 70 something, Vieux Telegraphe. CORKED. The nose was ghastly but the taste was only slightly tarnished but tarnished it was. Another down the drain.

Last was a Herni Bonneau, CNdP. Don’t remember the vintage maybe David does. At this point I believe I had reach my limit, so no impression other than it was perfectly balance with a long finish.

We thanked Ed and Lisa for the tasty and wonderfully priced dinner and headed to our hotels. A most enjoyable evening.

[AlexR]

Having enjoyed a meal with Ed, Lisa, and James Grandison at Delfina's, I can imagine the atmosphere.

The wines sounded excellent.
As for the white Burgundy, this sad the name of the game.

All the best,
Alex R.

[SF Ed]

I can add a bit of color to Bill's post...

The excellent Salon was a 1995. Very ripe and ready to drink although will likely hold. Not nearly as evolved/oxydized as I am used to in the Salon style, full and tasty.

The Beaucastel was a 1998. This was about as clean as Beaucastel gets. Pure red fruit but not close to being mature. I have an unopened case and I plan on leaving it untouched until at least 2012.

The corked Vieux Telegraphe was a 1981. A real shame as it usually is a very good wine.

The Bonneau was the regular 2000 CdP. Completely mature and very long. I love Bonneau, especially at the "low" end (tasting all the way up to Celestines and Speciale, I like the Marie Beurrier best).

I used to love SQN. David was extremely generous to bring it (the 2006 Raven, I think). But this was like pancake syrup. Really good pancake syrup. But it doesn't taste like wine to me. Purely a cocktail/dessert beverage to me.

As always, great seeing BWEers.

SF Ed

[DavidG]

It was a pleasure to meet Bill and get to know one another, catching up on stories of some of the rest of the SF contingent (it's been too long since I've seen most of them) while sitting in the hotel looking out over the city as the sun went down, getting a little head start on a couple of the wines.

I'm pretty much in agreement with Ed's notes, except that by the end of the evening the Beaucastel was starting to show pretty well. It definitely had some earthiness on the nose, but no brettiness at all. I'll open the next one in about 5 years, but wont be surprised if it continues to improve for 10 years.

I liked the SQN a lot more than Ed, but agree that it is not a dinner wine. Bill and I had a glass or two before heading to the restaurant, and it was a delicious, layered, lush, wine with very ripe, sweet fruit in that setting. Pretty out of place at table but we managed to finish it.

It was great to see Ed and Lisa again - they took great care of us in selecting some absolutely great dishes. The calamari, the squid ink pasta, and the duck were all just outstanding. Delfina's was great.