Meditranian Event at Kellari Taverna, Trial 2/24/2011

March 8, 2011 Event of the IW&FS will be held at Kellari Taverna at 1700 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC.


On February 24, 2011, the Dinner Committee attended a trial tasting dinner at this restaurant.

Passed hors d’oeuvres- Grilled Garlic Shrimps, Smoked Salmon Pizza, Mini Crab Cakes and Ground Lamb Rolled in Phyllo Dough

The presentation was very good. The size of the hors d'oeuvres were generally right (for one bite), except for the Lamb Phyllo; it was a bit too big, the committee requested the chef to reduce the size for the actual event.





Wines paired were: Compte Leloup Muscat 2007-
Eiswein1971-Schloss Schönborn - Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Auslese 1971
The Muscat was well chilled and was the best marriage with all the three items. The eiswein had a clear gold color, the nose still had some fruits, on the palate, this wine was outstanding with notes of honey. This wine was brought in by Steve Greenwald and not commercially available! The committee selected the Compte Leloup for the reception hour.





Scallop Tartare
Fine herbs, capers, pickled cucumbers, and fingerling chips
The presentation of this dish was terrific and inviting. The flavors of cucumbers, capers and the yogurt base sauce worked very well with the scallops. We tried the muscat, the chardonnay and the fume blanc, and none quite married well with this dish. Then we asked the somellier what the restaurant usually serves with this dish, and he recommended their Sancerre. It was right on. The Sancerre worked elegantly with the citrus flavors, the yogurt flavors and enhanced the scallop flavors.


2009 Sancerre La Reine Blanche-


Grilled Bream
Wild greens extra virgin olive oil and herbs-
The presentation was okay. The fish was very well prepared, the spinach did not add anything to the dish, visually nor flavor wise. We requested the chef to remove the wedge of lemon and replace the spinach with beans puree. The fume blanc worked very well with the bream. Both Chardonnays overpowered the fish.


Grgich Hills Estate Fume Blanc Napa Valley 2008


Butter Poached Maine Lobster over Truffle risotto
Another beautifully presented dish, the aroma of truffles filled the table as the dishes were brought to the table. The lobster was cooked to perfection and the truffle risotto enhanced the lobster flavors. The Ferrari over powered the dish and the St. Jean was not quiet the best marriage. It was decided the white Burgundy from the cellar would marry this dish well.


2008 St. Jean Sonoma Chardonnay & 2007 Ferrari Carano Chardonnay Reserve



Seared Foie Gras, Fig jam, micros arugula, Parmesan, aged balsamic
One taste of this dish and it begged for a sip of the Sauternes. What a great classic paring. We had saved some of the eiswein for this course, however, the Sauternes would blow it away.


Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes 2001 & Weingut J J Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese *** 2005



Palate Cleanse
A beautifully presented peach sorbet to transition from seafood/game to the meat course. The sweetness and flavors of the peach lingered too long. For the actual event, the committee decided on a passion fruit sorbet instead.


Slow Roasted Rack of Lamb over Root vegetable puree, Brussels sprouts and Bordolaise sauce.
For the tasting dinner the lamb was substituted by beef. For the actual event, the chef will be serving rack of lamb.
Well presented dish, the plate temperature was right on, hope the wait staff can replicate on the event day for 30+ attendees. The beef was cooked perfectly, the vegetable puree was full of flavors and the sauce was intense. We were lucky to have our dinner chairman, Steven Snider, bringing two great 1982 Bordeaux for this course. Both wines worked well with this dish. The Cos d'Estournel was my choice since it had more body than the La Lagun. For the actual event, we'll be serving a 1996 Chateau Clerc Milon from the Society's cellar.


1982 Chateau La Lagun Haut Medoc & 1982 Château Cos d'Estournel Saint Estephe



Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake with Hazelnut brittle and blood orange sorbet
Overall a good dessert, but not extraordinary. The committee decided on removing the dessert course.


2009 Brachetto d'Acquie-


Selection of Artisan Cheeses
This course was the reason on the committee's decision to remove the dessert course. The assortment of cheeses were exciting and diverse in flavors and intensity. We all agreed that this would be the way to conclude this fabulous dinner. Job very well done by the chef, the sommelier and the wait staff.


1983 Quinta do Noval Vintage Porto-
Rich clear red color, currant and cherry aromas swirl in the glass and a hint of vanilla essence adds to the complexity. Rich and dense flavors led by sweet cherry and jammy strawberry. Classic pairing with the cheese course.

Committee: Steven Snider – Chairman

Ed Sands – Wine Committee

Karim Iman

Richard Sugarman

Steven Greenwald – ex officio

Chef du Cusine- Anthony Bourdain

Valentine's Day Dinner at the House- 2/14/2011

It has become a tradition in the family to have the Valentine's Day dinner at the house instead of going out and fighting traffic and long waits at restaurants. This year, Chef à la maison, Alinda Iman, put together a fabulous dinner menu. Attendees were Consuelo Durand, Alinda, Sina, Arman and Karim Iman.


First Course-
Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Granny Smith Apples-
These lovely duck liver fat patties were seared for 30 seconds on each side on a hot skillet and were served with caramelized Granny Smith apple slices. The classic pairing for this dish is my favorite late harvest wine from Sauternes region south east of Bordeaux France, the 2007 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau.

I purchased a case of this wine about 2 years ago and my intentions were to cellar for 10 years, but ever since the case was delivered, I have been looking for an excuse to try a bottle!

Beautiful golden clear color, the first nose, honey, the second nose, saffron, roasted vanilla, on the palate, medium body with just the right amount of acidity and sweetness. Perfect marriage with the Foie Gras.


Second Course-
Seared Duck Breast with Potato Gratin and Haricots Verts-
One does not want to over cook these duck breasts, as these were cooked to perfection.

1970 Chateau Talbot, Saint Julien-

What inspired me to open this old bottle of wine was a tasting dinner that we attended about a week earlier where the owner of Chateau Talbot was in town and Calvert Woodley, my favorite Saturday afternoon hangout wine shop, arranged a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House in DC. At the end of this dinner, Talbot was selling their recently bottled 1970 and 1994 vintage wine in Magnum format. Since I had heard a lot of accolades about this vintage, I purchased some. Since I had one 750 ml bottle in my cellar, I thought it would be a good idea to try it. It is always a challenge to try uncorking a 40+ year old bottle of wine. It is almost like a ritual. One has to bring the bottle from the cellar a week prior opening and stand it up allowing all sediments settle on the bottom of the bottle. Removing the foil, examine the cork condition, in this case, the first 1 mm of the cork was completely rotted:

If the bottle has not been re-corked, the case here, then one has to slowly insert a cork screw avoid pushing the cork in. Then slowly pull the cork out. In this case, the cork came out 3/4 way and then broke off.

After carefully removing the last piece of cork, I decanted the bottle and served immediately.

Clear light red/copperish color, the first nose, musty red fruits, the second nose, roasted oak, china ink, on the palate, medium body and smooth. Perfect marriage with the duck!


Dessert Course-
Chocolate Mousse with Crème Anglaise and walnut brittle-

This dessert was one of the best that Alinda has ever made. What was different was the addition of the roasted nuts with caramelized brittle that gave the mousse an added dimension.

A glass of Cognac and a cigar in the patio were the only sensible thing to do after this dinner!

Talbot Dinner at Ruth's Chris 2/2/11

The Calvert Woodley Fine Wine store on Connecticut Ave, in DC is a well know wine shop in this area. They have a great selection of French and American wines at very competitive prices. The owner of the store, Ed Sands, organizes several wine dinners throughout the year. The recent one that caught my attention in my inbox was the Chateau Talbot Wine event at the Ruth's Chris Steak House 1801 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C.

The evening started with reception at the bar. Passed hors d'ouerves were demi tasse of crab meat and smoked salmon canape. The wine that was served was the 2007 Chateau Talbot Caillou Blanc. Light yellow clear color, on the nose aromas of vanilla and jasmine, on the palate, round, smooth with a hint of sweetness, overall a very pleasant wine.

We were ushered to the dining room that was facing the street. The representative from Calvert Woodley, Ben Giliberti, CW Director of Wine Education, introduced the owner of Chateau Talbot, Mr. Jean-Paul Bignon who gave an introduction to the vineyard and the history of Chateau Talbot.

First Course-
Roasted Breast of Quail Jus Reduction served with Caramelized Onions & Mashed Potatoes-

2005 Connetable de Talbot-
Medium red clear color, on the palate medium body with excellent complexity along with black fruit, dark chocolate and notes of strawberry.

Main Course-
Broiled Lamb Chop Served With Caramelized Spinach au Gratain

2003 Chateau Talbot & 2000 Chateau Talbot

The 2003 is deep in color and has a bouquet that shows aromas of plum, leather, prunes, cedar, and black cherry. It's terroir driven and does show some barnyard and earthy tones as well. On the palate flavors of black cherry, plum skin, prune juice, tomato, and cedar touch down on the palate in a ripe but dry fashion. There is a touch of green and soil that is present but is secondary to the fruit, which adds to the complexity. It's an elegant style wine with good fruit to earth balance and a dry medium length finish. The tannin is still young and firm and the wine will improve with bottle age. Overall a serious and streamlined effort that deserves 90 points.

The 2000 exhibits wonderful aromas of black currants and spices follow through to a full-bodied palate, with masses of velvety tannins and a long, classy finish. Almost classic. Score range: 92-94 Wine Spectator
This wine is sexy, seductive, and undeniably difficult to resist, even at such a young age. The deep ruby/purple color is followed by a wine with low acidity, sweet tannin. Rated 90-92 —Robert Parker.

Cheese Course-
Artisinal Cheese Selection-

1996 Chateau Talbot-
Color is deep red color, the nose has barrel-loads of fruit, herbs and cigar-smoke. On the palate it has more fruit and a smoky character. Well balanced. Intense red wine.

Dessert Course-
Due of Cheesecake and Chocolate Pecan-

2003 Quinta de Noval LBV Port-
An impressive port; displaying inky, opaque magenta from core to rim. Accents of licorice, herbs, spirit and ripe blackberries provide pleasure and kept my nose planted in the glass. Rich, sweet cassis and blackberry syrup roll over the tongue gently, as the acidity keeps things focused, and the grip is firm yet not astringent.

Espresso-
Thick oily espresso, just the way it should be!

Prior our departure, it was announced that the winery had the 1970 and the 1994 vintages of the Chateau Talbot in barrels and that magnum format of each vintage recently bottled was being offered. I placed an order for a magnum 1970 and a magnum 1994. Tasting reports to follow!

August 30, 2012- Opened the 1970 Talbot for my sister's 60th birthday celebration. The cork came out in tact with no issues, no surprise here since this wine was recently bottled.  The color was medium red, not too intense.  The nose was typical grand cru Bordeaux, On the palate, this wine was silky smooth and medium body.  It went well with the grilled vegetables, chicken and meats.

December 25, 2014- Opened the 1990 Talbot for the Christmas dinner at the house.  The color was deep red, the nose was intense fruits and china ink, on the palate, this wine was full body with tremendous amount of vanilla, red fruits and a long finish.  This wine was served with rib roast, french string beans and potato gratin.