The HANY Charity Dinner

Daniel

60 East 65th St.

New York, NY 10065

Tel 212.288.0033

Fax 212.396.9014

November 2007

This annual BYOB dinner held to benefit the New York Hemophilia Association has to be one world’s premier food and wine events. We enjoyed breathtaking array of the world’s greatest wines, many of them from large formats. Chef Daniel Boulud and his staff prepared an extraordinary meal, especially considering they were cooking for 120 guests. The kitchen was on as every dish was phenomenal. The black truffle risotto and milk-fed veal were particularly of note, although it was hard to single out favorites on this menu.

Our first three wines were a bit of a mixed bag. The 1961 Charles Heidsieck Dry Monopole (disgorged 1989) revealed a full array of smoke, caramel and roasted nut flavors, with notes of oxidation that suggested this wine is on the downward slope of its aging curve. Philipponnat’s 1989 Réserve Spéciale (magnum) was awkward. Some tasters suggested oxidation was the culprit; others thought poor storage may have been the issue. Regardless, this was a disappointing bottle. The 1982 Dom Pérignon Rosé was pretty and delicate, but had probably seen better days. Even with a heartbreaking, corked bottle of the 1989 Philipponnat Clos de Goisses, this was a monumental flight of 1989 Champagnes. The 1989 Krug was explosive on the nose and full-bodied on the palate where it offered a racy, almost wild expression of sweet, ripe fruit. The 1989 Krug Clos du Mesnil was a decidedly more feminine wine, with a layered, nuanced personality and a perfumed, silky-textured quality that was remarkable. This was a monumental bottle. The 1989 Roederer Cristal was the most understated of these three wines. It showed incredible clarity and depth, with superbly well-delineated, floral notes intertwined with ripe fruit. It was hauntingly beautiful and a reminder that Cristal is a wine that blossoms with bottle age. Bollinger’s 1989 Vielles Vignes Françaises was somewhat controversial. A group of tasters loved the richness and weight of the Pinot fruit, but I was among those who found it lacking a touch of elegance, especially when compared to the previous wines, which may have been an impossible standard to match. I also found is the most advanced of these 1989 Champagnes. Nevertheless, it was a privilege to taste this rare wine.

Two beautiful white Burgundies bridged the gap to the reds. Niellon’s 1988 Bâtard-Montrachet revealed notable complexity in its smoke, earthiness and ripe, generous fruit while Lafon’s 1992 Meursault Perrières came across as more delicate and understated. I loved Camille Giroud’s Vosne-Romanée for its vibrant, ripe fruit and superb density. It still showed remarkable depth of color, and was an absolutely delicious wine. The 1972 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche offered pretty aromatics with fully resolved tannins and a medium-bodied, feminine personality. This La Tâche was quite enjoyable even if it wasn’t the knockout that top vintages so often are.

The 1961 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino was good but not great. At its best the 1961 can be a superb Monfortino but this bottle was more advanced than I had hoped for. It was still a pretty wine, but not a profound wine. “What is this?” was the common reaction as tasters sampled Emidio Pepe’s 1967 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. This bottle was absolutely beautiful even if it was impossible to say how representative it was of the vintage based on its deep color and massive amounts of fruit. A flight of 1970s that followed (all from magnums) was special, to say the least. The 1970 Chateau Latour was incredibly fresh in its generous expression of fruit, with a full-bodied, intense personality. I thought this bottle was very slightly corked, but I was among the distinct minority in that opinion. The 1970 Vega Sicilia (magnum) was a stunner. It showed superb clarity and precision as it flowed onto the palate with endless layers of flavor. It too came across as quite youthful, yet its pedigree and potential were unmistakable. The 1970 Petrus (magnum) was sweet, generous and full-bodied if surprisingly simple considering its reputation.

I have had Gaja’s 1985 Barbaresco Costa Russi on a number of occasions, but this particular bottle was especially glorious. There are few Piedmont vintages that deliver as much pleasure today as the 1985s do, but provenance is key, as this bottle demonstrated. Bartolo Mascarello’s 1986 Barolo (magnum) also enjoyed a very strong showing. The old man himself acknowledged that his 1986, from a forgotten, insiders’ vintage, was superior to the1985 and on this night the wine was simply beautiful, fresh and full of life. The wine of that vintage is probably Bruno Giacosa’s 1986 Barolo Riserva Falletto and luckily I had a chance to sample it briefly before the bottle mysteriously disappeared. There must have been something in the air that night with Giacosa’s wines. I had a small taste of the 1990 Barolo Falletto Riserva (magnum) before the glass was literally taken from me by an enthusiastic guest. It was that kind of evening! Scavino’s 1978 Barolo Riserva Bric del Fiasc was a textbook example of the sturdy, firm wines of the vintage, although it came across as a little rustic compared to some of the other wines of the evening.

Three delicious Champagnes provided a wonderful bookend to the evening, and a satisfying palate cleanser for those who moved on to the next stop. Dom Pérignon’s 1993 Oenothèque was a very pretty, slender wine with attractive notes of smoke, yeast and roasted nuts. The 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé was a knock out. It showed terrific clarity in its perfumed, sweet fruit, roses and spices, with notable balance and superb classiness. Alain Robert’s 1990 Mesnil was remarkably pure, focused and taut. It came across as young and still holding back quite a bit of potential. This lean, powerful style of Champagne may not appeal to every palate, but it was the perfect wine to close the evening. For those who continued on, all I can say is I admire your stamina!

Food:

Red mullet terrine with grilled zucchini, tomato confit, basil pesto, black olive mosto

Lettuce wrapped monkfish with Maine lobster, butternut squash purée, sechuan pepper jus

Black truffle risotto with watercress, porcini, crispy shallot, squab breast

Trio of milk-fed veal: tenderloin with green apple mustard, cheeks with endive marmalade, sweetbreads with caramelized salsify

Chef’s selection of artisanal Cheeses: Pleasant Ridge, Fromage de Meaux & Fourme d’Ambert

Bittersweet chocolate-praline cremeux, amer cocoa biscuit and dark chocolate crème glacé

Chocolates, madeleines & petits fours

Wine:

1961	Charles Heidsieck Dry Monopole	90
1989	Philipponnat Réserve Spéciale (magnum)	?
1982	Dom Perignon Rosé	88
1989	Philipponnat Clos de Goisses	?
1989	Krug	96
1989	Krug Clos du Mesnil	99
1989	Louis Roederer Cristal	98
1989	Bollinger Vielles Vignes Françaises	93
1988	Niellon Bâtard-Montrachet	94
1992	Lafon Meursault Perrières	92
1990	Camille Giroud Vosne-Romanée	92
1972	Domaine de la Romanée - Conti La Tâche	90
1961	Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino	90
1967	Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo	93
1970	Chateau Latour (magnum)	94?
1970	Petrus (magnum)	92
1970	Vega Sicilia Unico (magnum)	96
1985	Gaja Barbaresco Costa Russi (magnum)	93
1986	Bartolo Mascarello Barolo (magnum)	94
1986	Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto	97
1990	Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto (magnum)	97
1978	Paolo Scavino Barolo Riserva Bric del Fiasc	92
1993	Dom Pérignon Oenothèque	92
1996	Dom Pérignon Rosé	96
1990	Alain Robert Mesnil	92

[Photo and credit Daniel, New York]

--Antonio Galloni