Wine Prose

the spirits drink well

Last night I ended with two bottles of Cote Rotie all laden with brett.  I wasn’t sure what to do with them so I left them in the wine cellar over night and checked them again today.  I dumped them into a big decanter this afternoon and by service I thought that most of the brett had blown off.  So I decided to offer it to a couple of people by the glass and see what the reaction was.  The first guest to try it I know and who has a decent palate.  I just poured him a small taste and held my breath.  He loved it!  Another table bought five glasses.  They loved it too!  The little bit that remained we gave away as comps.  I guess that the 2001 Bernard Bergaud Cote Rotie needs to be decanted over night.

During a private party tonight the red wine selected was a 2001 Bernard Bergaud Côte Rôtie.  After drinking four bottles of it the guests decided that they didn’t care for it.  I tried to get some specific information about what it was that they didn’t like and was told that it smelled like cough syrup.  I hadn’t previously checked any of their wines this evening and when I did take a whiff I realized that there was a lot of brett on the wine.  Brettanomyces, brett for short, is a yeast that grows on grapes and in wineries.  Small amounts of brett can add complexity to a wine while large amounts can ruin it. I got them a nice Napa cab blend in the same price range and they were happy.  The question then became what to charge them for.  I didn’t want to charge them for wine they didn’t enjoy, but they drank four bottles of it before letting me know.  In the end it turned out that a number of people actually did like it and finished the wine that was in their glasses.  So we went ahead and charged for the wine they consumed.  Unfortunately our super efficient staff had anticipated the guests’ needs and opened two additional bottles to have them ready for the entree course.  What do I do with two open bottles of brett-laden Côte Rôtie?  Should I hope it blows off and pour it for the staff?  Or should I take it to the tenderloin and trade it for crack?

A regular guest came in tonight that is always a pleasure to see.  She was with a girlfriend tonight, instead of with her husband, and that makes a difference as to what wine she will order.  Tonight she asked me to bring her a red burgundy between $200 and $300.  I brought her a 2004 Christophe Perrot-Minot Vosne-Romanée les Beaumonts.  Normally she likes a fuller bodied wine, but I decided to roll the dice on this one and it paid off.  She and her girlfriend loved the wine.  I splashed decanted it just to be on the safe side.  The wine smells of ripe cherry, raspberry, cranberry, cedar and cola.  It is medium bodied with medium-high to high acidity, and soft peppery tannins.  The finish changes from fruit to spice to tannin over the course of six to eight minutes.  Pretty tasty bottle of pinot noir.

I would like to let you all know that our own Chris has recently taken the distinguished job of Beverage Director at Aqua in San Francisco.  I have known and worked with Chris for close to five years now…and Chris you have come a long way baby!  Chris’ passion
for
wine and
food is contagiousChris’ passion for wine and food is contagious and enviable to a lot of people in the food and wine business and outside of it.  He thrives on working in the “trenches”.  Chris dispenses with a lot of the pomp and circumstance of being a sommelier and can make almost anyone feel comfortable with wine.  I think Chris’ motto for life is to get down and dirty and “Drink some serious wine and eat rich food”. Oh yes that is a direct quote from Chris.  Read the rest of this entry »