Cornmeal crusted oysters, horseradish cream.
This is one of Ariane's signature dishes. Pristinely fresh oysters are fried to perfection and served on a bed of fresh horseradish cream. I’m not sure if the tears they bring to my eyes come from the heat of the horseradish or the party they hold in my mouth.
Foie Gras, caramelized pears, hazelnuts, brioche toast.
One word, SPECTACULAR!
With both of these courses we drank 2012 Albert Boxler Grand Cru Sommeberg Dudenstein Riesling from the Haut Rhine area of the Alsace region in France. The wine drank beautifully, possessing a light yellow hue, slightly viscous palate marked by vibrant fruit and good acidity. The finish was lengthy and delicious. From 65 year old vines, the grapes are picked by hand and bottled without fining. It was a runner up to WOTN.
Boxler is a small vineyard in France that works traditionally using techniques and finesse passed down across multiple generations. Owner/wine maker Jean vinifies most of his wines parcel by parcel, not necessarily together. This technique preserves the most rigorous specificity of each region.
Soft scrambled eggs with shaved white Italian truffles.
This dish is my favorite way to enjoy white truffles. Ariane’s touch of perfectly salted homemade potato chips, which served as the platform for the truffles was a wonderful touch. This was my first truffle of the season and it was great. My understanding is that both quality and quantity are high this year.
2008 Alfred Merkelbach Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett #9 #10. From the Mosel Saar Ruwer region of Germany, this is one of my favorite Reisling wines. The wine was wonderfully balanced with a feminine elegance on the palate, and a superb finish. Each parcel is vinified separately. Because of their tiny cellar, their wines will never be a blend of any more than 2 parcels together, indicated by the numbers on the label’s AP code.
Importer Terry Theise says the Merkelbachs are one of the stars of his portfolio. “The clearest imaginable look into pure Mosel. Vivid, toe-curling clarity of fruit and terroir make this my most beloved Mosel agency. These are just some of the keenest, spiciest, most helplessly beautiful wines you can ever drink. The iciest blade of electric, splashing acidity supports a fruit so clear, so sharply rendered that the entire experience is so vivid it makes your toenails laugh!”
Porcini dusted pan roasted cod, forest mushrooms, potato zucchini pancake, mushroom syrup.
A culinary work of art combing textures and technique...and oh that pancake.
1994 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling. Also from the Mosel Saar Ruwer region of Germany, Prum has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest Riesling producers in Germany. Their wines age beautifully and should not be approached for at least 5 years. The 55 acre estate consists of about 90% ungrafted, old vines and are planted 100% Riesling. Average annual production is 15,000 cases. The harvest at J.J. Prüm is always extremely late allowing the grapes in the cool Middle Mosel climate to be picked at ideal ripening conditions, the basis to produce wines of superb quality.
WOTN for me, it possessed a gorgeous yellow hue with an zesty bouquet and lengthy, viscous palate that finished with great length. A wow of a wine!
Stuffed chicken breast, Mediterranean fonio pinenut stuffing, spaghetti squash, chicken jus.
A superb, moist chicken dish that the under-the-skin stuffing kicks up a couple of notches.
I had selected a 1976 Weingut Josef Fries Honingberg Riesling Auslese to pair with the dish. A prodigious wine that I have enjoyed on previous occasions that unfortunately was corked tonight.
Fortunately I had a 2008 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #10 as a back up. This small 4 hectares estate has an annual production of less than 3,000 cases and is considered by many to be the Ne Plus Ultra of Mosel wine, and as such they have attracted an almost religious following. While tonight’s wine performed well, displaying a light yellow hue with a crisp, soft and balanced palate and vibrant acidity, the fruit was hanging in the background.
We were on our own for dessert. For me it the Warm apple butter cake with spiced apple compote and vanilla bean ice cream filled the bill beautifully.
I went to the Finger Lakes region of New York State for a 2008 Wiemer Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling to enjoy with dessert. Hermann J. Wiemer is regarded as one of the pioneers of viticulture and winemaking in the Finger Lakes. As a native of Bernkastel, Germany who emigrated to the Finger Lakes in the 1960s, he was uniquely qualified to help establish and create a wine region now known for its Riesling identity.
The estate’s winemaking processes pays homage to the ancient winemaking tradition and winemaking history of Hermann’s ancestry while incorporating the best of modern practices. The wines are crafted in very small lots to focus on subtle differences between site blocks within vineyards and even clones within varieties. They utilize up to 25 different fermentation tanks within the winery to isolate vineyard sections and pickings dates to best showcase the varietal’s characteristics. The small lot production allows for more control of the final product and is extremely labor intensive.
Long fermentation on indigenous yeast is made possible by the ecologically balanced viticultural methods in the vineyards. The estate seeks lower and balanced yields per vine, ensuring healthy vines that reflect the character of the soils in which they are deeply rooted.
Tonight’s wine had a gorgeous translucent Amber hue with an intoxicating bouquet. It possessed a fantastic mouth feel of botrytis affected grapes, with a palate of tropical fruits and caramel. A fantastic wine and also a runner up to WOTN.
My thanks to Ariane and Michael for making the evening a great success.
Saluté
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