Eleven Madison Park

11 Madison Ave,

New York,

NY 10010

Tel: (212) 889-0905

My wife and I returned to Eleven Madison Park for a second night of fabulous food and wine, this time in the company of dear friends from North Carolina. Once again, everything we ate and drank was superb.

We stared with a bottle of André Clouet’s NV Brut Un Jour de 1911, a bottle I had been first introduced to by Eleven Madison’s Wine Director John Ragan a few months prior. Ever since then, I have done my best to deplete the restaurant’s inventory. The wine was once again simply brilliant. A blend of 1995, 1996 and 1997 Pinot Noir from Bouzy, the Un Jour de 1911 soared from the glass with silky layers of perfumed fruit. This exuberant, boisterous Champagne got the evening off to a rousing start. I am generally not a big fan of foams, cappuccinos and other excessively whimsical preparations, but how could I not love the sea urchin cappuccino? It was utterly divine and full of intense yet delicate flavors.

At a time when the age worthiness of so many white Burgundies is being questioned, Bonneau de Martray’s 1999 Corton-Charlemagne reminded us of the reasons we cellar these wines in the first place. Sweet, nuanced and intensely mineral, the Corton-Charlemagne continued to develop in the glass, gradually revealing subtle fruit on a large-scaled, expansive frame. This was a great bottle, and the wine paired beautifully with a rich preparation of poached egg, mushrooms and frogs legs.

We were treated to an extraordinary bottle of Roumier’s 2002 Bonnes Mares, another wine that was utterly mesmerizing. Yes, it was far too young, but that didn’t diminish our enjoyment at all. Sweet, ripe and generous, the wine flowed from the glass with an endless array of mineral-infused dark fruits, showing remarkable clarity, inner perfume and transparency. Readers fortunate enough to own this wine should be giddy with joy. The 2002 Bonnes Mares worked surprisingly well with the hare, a modern, re-invented version of a classic dish that in Humm’s hands reached an unprecedented level of finesse.

Bruno Giacosa’s 1986 Barolo Riserva Falletto was superb, even if it didn’t quite make up for the heartache of a corked 1989 Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda. The wine showed the classic notes of Serralunga; iron, tar, licorice, menthol and dark fruit, all of which were wrapped around a powerful, masculine frame. The 1986 Barolo Riserva Falletto remains one of Giacosa’s greatest under-the-radar achievements. The bone-marrow crusted Black Angus beef was more than up to the challenge, in fact it was magnificent! 

Food:

Sea Urchin Cappuccino with Peekytoe Crab

Knoll Krest Farm Egg, Slow Poached with Matsutake Mushrooms and Everglades’ Frogs Legs

Wild Hare Braised in Red Wine; Foie Gras, Black Truffles, Potato Mousseline

Black Angus Beef; Bone Marrow Crusted with Saffron Soubise and Braised Shallots

Selection of Artisan Cheeses 

Wine:

NV	André Clouet Brut Un Jour de 1911	94
1999	Domaine Bonneau de Martray Corton-Charlemagne	94
2002	Domaine Georges Roumier Bonnes Mares	96
1989	Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda	?
1986	Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto	96

--Antonio Galloni