Just Cause- 10/23/2008

It is nice to just get together with friends for a gourmet food and wine dinner. This is exactly what we did on Thursday October 23, 2008! With Steve and Lynn Greenwald, David and Rebecca Burka, Augusto Durand, Sina, Reza, Arman, Karim and Alinda Iman.

Appetizer-

Smoked Trout with Traditional Horseradish Sauce on Gluten Free Rice Crackers-

This is a simple way of putting a quick appetizer together. The Ducktrap brand smoked trout fillet is flaky and stays firm on the brittle rice crackers pasted with the traditional horseradish sauce.

Taittinger NV Champagne-

A brilliant golden straw yellow. The bubbles are fine. The mousse is both discreet and persistent. On the nose, very expressive and open. It is both fruity and bready, exuding aromas of peach, white flowers (may blossom, acacia) and vanilla pod.On the palate, this lively fresh wine is at once in harmony. This is a delicate wine with flavours of fresh fruit and honey. In all a wine blessed with a well-developed aromatic potential. It is aged for three to four years in the cellars where it achieves perfect maturity.Grape Variety: 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, 40% Chardonnay.Background: Vinified from the first pressing of selected Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. Owing to its extensive vinified holdings, Taittinger is able to rely primarily on its own grapes. Taittinger Brut Réserve is a blend of Chardonnay wines (40%) and Pinot wines (60%) from 40 different vineyards and matured to perfection. Such a high proportion of Chardonnay is seldom found among the great Champagnes.

First Course-

Smoked Salmon over baby green salad with capers- This simple dish has a lot going, the baby greens have been laced with fusion of balsamic vinegar, Grey Poupon mustard, virgin olive oil, black pepper and sea salt. The short strips of smoked salmon are highlighted by medium capers. The dish works very well with the 2002 White Burgundy, which has a pale light yellow color, on the palate, this wine shows notes of pineapple and citrus.

2002 Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru-

Features a mineral nose with power, but it is relatively closed for now. In the mouth, the wine
is mineral without the same development. Score - (90-93). (Claude Kolm, The Fine Wine
Review, #101, 2004). "Aromatically demure, the soft, silky-textured. 2002 Puligny-Montrachet Referts is light to medium-bodied, supple, and appealing. While it lacks the depth and concentration of the Perrières, it boasts an impressively fruit pear and apple-flavoured character. Drink it over the next eight years." 88-90. Pierre-Antoine Rovani — The
Wine Advocate — February 27, 2004.

Main Course-
Magret de Canard, Haricots Verts aux Pommes de terre Rouge-

The duck breast was seared and cooked to perfection, tender with a lot of taste. The green string beans were seared just right with roasted garlic and the red potatoes made the whole ensemble work well together. The marriage of the duck breast was perfect both with the Pinot Noir and the Saint Emilion. It could not have been better!

1982 Chateau de Ferrand- Saint-Emilion Grand Cru-

I had this bottle sitting up right for the past 2-3 months. I carefully decanted the bottle just a few minutes before serving the wine. The color was clear medium red, the nose of this wine was your typical old Bordeaux, with wood, roasted vanilla and red wild fruits, on the palate, this wine was smooth, soft and elegant, it just went perfectly with the Duck breast. We thought that this wine would over whelm the Pinot Noir, but it was contrary, it just worked real well!

2005 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir- Russian River Valley, 25th Anniversary-

Steve's generous offering, this bottle was opened and poured. Unlike the Sonoma Coast, this wine shows a more ruby/garnet color (the Sonoma had a purple hue). On the nose, this shows some obvious cherry pie and cinnamon along with some very distinct forest floor/pine needle and dried herbs. Dry yet nicely fruited finish. 13.9% alc. Elegant example of Pinot Noir. Thanks Steve!

Dessert- Macadamia White Chocolate Moose-

The white chocolate moose was creamy and crunchy worked well with the powerful Muscat.

Yalumba Muscat Museum Reserve South Eastern Australia-

It is not only one of the finest dessert wines we've ever tasted, it's also one of the least expensive. You can pay $50 to $200 for a top current release Sauternes and as much as $1000 for a vintage Chateau d'Yquem. Or you could pay just $19 for a 375ml bottle of an equally delicious, if different, Aussie Muscat like this one.
You aren't fond of sweet wines? Well, don't be too sure. The Yalumba Muscat is perfectly balanced with rich complex flavors of roasted nuts, orange peel, coffee and dried fruits. And just the right amount of lemony brightness to offset the sweetness.
While the Yalumba Muscat is drinking wonderfully right now, you might want to lay a few bottles down for a few years. These wines age gracefully for decades under reasonable temperature control. Further aging will allow the already stunning aromatics to develop even more and the layered flavors to integrate and take on new characteristics.
Robert Parker liked it too. He awarded the Yalumba Muscat Museum Reserve 97 points.

After Dinner Drink and Cigar-

Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Porto-

An exceptionally fine old tawny blend, aged for 10 years in oak casks. Elegant and smooth, combining delicate wood notes and rich mellow fruit, it is bottled for immediate drinking. A superb dessert wine, particularly with dishes made with chocolate, coffee or almonds, Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny may also be served at the end of the meal in the same way as Vintage Port.

Cohiba 1966-2006 Reserva Cuban- Torpedo- Another offering by Steve, the 40th Anniversary Cohiba with maduro and natural wrapping. The oily wrapper is inviting, the cigar burns evenly and draws very well with creamy smoke plumes. Great way to wrap up this fabulous dinner.

Chef de Cuisine- Alinda Iman

Sommelier- Karim Iman