Willamette Wine Tasters Holiday Dinner
December 13, 2008
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C A R L Y L E
With the forecast calling for snow on the Willamette floor on the day of the event, it was agreed that we would all make it to CARLYLE, snow or not, to celebrate another year of friendship. As luck would have it, the snow made an appearance the following day - the "snow Gods" obviously care about our need to share exceptional food and wine.
Greg Bunnell was able to secure the Barnwood Table at CARLYLE for this year's dinner. When Greg first met with Michael Mickon, the General Manager at CARLYLE, he told Greg that there were two private dining options. Michael showed him a nicely appointed private dining room in the front of the house and then suggested he follow him the "the kitchen" to take a look at the Barnwood Table. For Greg, the decision was easy and reservations in the back of the house were sealed with a swipe of a card.
After trading countless e-mails the group, Greg obtained all of the necessary commitments from the wine cellars of each member and, as usual, all members came through with spectacular wine. Now, it was up to Chef Martin, with the able assistance of his staff and wife, to marry the wine with his culinary vision. Chef Martin, one of Portland's up and coming chefs, was recently promoted at CARLYLE and has made an immediate impact. Shortly after this promotion, CARLYLE was named one of Portland's Top 10 restaurants. And, after our holiday dinner, we can see why.
After arriving at CARLYLE, we were all escorted by Michael to the Barnwood Table. Most members had never been to CARLYLE, and none had ever entered the hallowed area behind the swinging door that is also home to the restaurant's kitchen. Originally, the location that is now home to CARLYLE, which opened in 2003, was used as the residence of the catering company for Bruce Goldberg, CARLYLE's owner.
This year's wine offerings, as it turned out, followed a common theme for each course. Sometimes things just have a way of working themselves out and this year was no exception. For the first course, we all mingled in and about the kitchen and tasted five wines, starting with two lovley Champagnes. Before embarking on the evening's journey of wine and food, Paul Bonar gracefully blessed those present with a thoughtful prayer.
Bill Kimmer and his wife, Pat, had traveled to France this summer and toured several Champagne houses. As it turned out, Domaine Ruinart, Champagne's oldest house, turned out to be their favorite. He told wild tales about how a wonderful NV Brut Rose. He hoped it was as good, here and now, as it was across the Atlantic - it was. With the Ruinart, we also had the good fortune, thanks to Howard Johnson, to share a classic, a 1990 Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill. Howard was concerned that it would not get any better and he could not think of anyone else he'd like to share it with - this is, without question, a recurring theme with our group. And, as it turned out, Greg had decided to keep his second pour sharing it with Howard at least two hours into the dinner - it had a gorgeous nose and its longevity still holds great promise. We all hope Howard is able to locate another bottle or two.
Chef Martin, and his able staff, had prepared four wonderful preludes to go with the Champagne and three German Riesling's - details about this below. The appetizers included Marinated Heirloom Beets in Belgian Endive, Beef Tenderloin Tartare, Pate de Champagne on Brioche with Apple Salad and Chilled Oysters with Cucumber and Caviar.
Clockwise from the spoon - beef tartare, heirloom beets, oysters and pate.
After the Champagne, we were all treated to three German Riesling's, two from the Lower Mosel and one from the Middle Mosel. We started with a 2001 Selbach-Oster Zetlinger Schlossberg Spatlese, followed by the same producer's 2003 Auslese and then a 2005 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Spatlese, the last courtesy of Brant Blodgett. All Riesling's were very typical of the varietal, but absent the petrol nose that is too often present.
It was now time to take a seat at the Barnwood Table and pay tribute to one of Oregon's top
winemakers - Ken Wright. We decided to try three single vineyard samplings from the 2002 vintage, a highly touted vintage in the Willamette Valley. The pinot noir was sourced from the Guadalupe, Canary Hill and Shea Vineyards. Most agreed that the Guadalupe, courtesy of Bill Kimmer, showed the best of the flight. And, interestingly, all were very different in taste and texture - remember, it's all about terroir. Chef Martin prepared a wonderful Brown Butter Sunchoke soup with a Marrow Croquette. The taste and texture of the soup was simply a perfect match for these pinot noir's from Ken Wright - there is no doubt Chef Martin's wife, a wine merchant, had something to do with this pairing.
Most of us now had seven glasses of beautiful fruit in front of us while Chef Martin prepped the main entree, Cascade Beef in Two Preparations: Smoked New York Strip and Barolo Braised Shortrib. This was due to the fact none of us wanted to pour out the last few ounces of the pinot noir. Alicia, our terrific and understanding somm/waitress, was pouring four more reds for this course. At this point, everyone had settled in and you could hear the joy and laughter shared amongst friends and loved ones.
To compliment the strip and shortrib, we sampled two Old World Nebbiolo's and two Syrah's. From the well-hyped 1997 vintage, we had the pleasure of tasting a Renato Ratti Marcenasco Rocche and a Ceretto Brocco Rocche Prapo, courtesty of Brad Courtney and Mike Webb. And next to these stunning Barolo's we poured two Northern Rhone Syrah's, a 1997 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage la Chapelle and a 1999 Chateau de Saint Cosme Cote Rotie, courtesty of Greg Bunnell and Howard Johnson. At first, the Barolo's were tight and tannic, but after time they softened. The '97 la Chapelle had a "funky" nose that was present in both bottles - it blew off after some time and smelled and tasted more like an Amarone than a Rhone. All wine, especially the Renato Ratti and the Cote Rotie, and thankfully the la Chapelle, all were better with the beef. Only one "complaint" for this course - we love and need more beef.
Cascade Beef Two Ways with Barolo and Syrah (and Pinot Noir in the background).
As in year's past, we followed the entree with a frommage course. Given his background and passion for cheese, Chef Martin was agreeable to meet with a local cheese monger to find the perfect match for our next hommage to wine - Chateau Gloria from the commune of St. Julien on Bordeaux's left bank. It's a crowd favorite for most of us, but none more than Neal Bell. Neal was gracious enough to bring his last bottle from the 1966 vintage from his cellar. To round out the celebration of a wine certainly deserving of classification status, we poured a 1998 and a 2002 from the cellars of Paul Bonar and Loren Bunnell. Chef Martin plated three small slices of Sheeps' Milk Cheese, two from Pyrenees, France, a pasteurized Abbaye de Belloc and a raw Chantal Plasse Bamalou Massipou, along with a raw Neal's Yard Berkswell from the UK. As it turned out, our favorite was the Neal's Yard that went especially well with the 1966 Gloria from Neal's cellar - just accidental, we suppose.
After what seemed like several hundred glasses were removed from the table, we waited in anticipation for the dessert, our final course, a Toasted Almond Panna Cotta in a Tawny Reduction that was paired with a NV Penfolds "Grandfather" Tawny Port and a 1997 Kopke Vintage Port. A sliced poached pear was nicely nuzzled against the Panna Cotta.
Panna Cotta with two "shots" of port.
We give special thanks to Chef Martin, Michael Mickon, Alicia, and all those that worked in anonymitity at CARLYLE that worked so diligently,and effortlessly to make this truly one of our best dinner events in recent memory.
Chef Martin in a moment of pause between courses.
Alicia at the beginning of the dinner service.
Cami and Greg Bunnell Brant and Karen Blodgett
Kathleen and Howard Johnson Brad and Diana Courtney
Kristin and Mike Webb Paul and Vicki Bonar
Neal and Val Bell Loren and Sheila Bunnell with Pat Kimmer
Bill Kimmer and Kristin Webb
The Barnwood Table adorned with a toast to good friends and really good wine.