Partook in a birthday extravagance last night by attending a Chateau Palmer wine dinner at a local steakhouse that's known for it wine program.
This isn't the kind of wine I'd buy a bottle of so I figured this was the best way to experience for a moment how the other half wines and dines. Chateau Palmer is a 3rd growth wine from the Margaux appellation. If the 1855 Bordeaux classification were redrawn again today many feel Palmer would be a first growth and for sure a 2nd growth.
Kicked off with some Charles Orban champagne. That's right, no sparkling wine here. The real deal. I don't think this was a highly rated champagne but if this is what semi-decent champagne is like I'm going to now start trying more and more of this beverage. Crisp, refreshing and set the palate up nicely. I think all those New Years Eve flutes of swill kind of jaded me over the years.
After the amuse we launched into the first course - spectacular! I can almost say the same for the second course. Third course was OK but a letdown after how stellar the first two were. Dessert didn't sound very exciting but it blew me away. It was one of those desserts you might see on a menu yet bypass it to pick something with chocolate and never know what you missed out on.
Even with this great food the stars tonight were the wines! When I took a whiff of the first wine (Alter Ego) I literally almost giggled. Intoxicating. Very lush nose and palate and paired so well with the dish. Alter Ego is Palmers second wine and doesn't even get the best grapes from the vineyard. I was sitting next to Jean-Louis, Palmer's Director of the Americas and asked him "Can tonight's other wines really get better than this?" He was amused at my naïveté. I did warn him before the dinner that I'm a bit of a Bordeaux newbie
The second wine (2008 Palmer) had a nose that truly made you think Bordeaux. Tobacco, leather, forest floor, etc. Again it paired very well with 2nd course.
The 2005 and 1995 Palmer wines were both stunners and I preferred the 2005 by a nose. By this point I'm not sure I could even appreciate any fine nuances that I'd have liked to. Glasses were never empty and we had a Master Somm to orchestrate the entire wine service. She did a great job of decanting ahead of time and serving at perfect temperature. I was told at the end 9 bottles were opened for 9 guests. They have a private wine room with a large square table that was perfect (after I asked them to raise the temperature a bit).
This is not something I would do often but will definitely do again in a heartbeat. The Frenchies seem to have something special going on when it comes to wine. This was one of those rare occasions where the wine experience actually elicited emotion and wonderment. Cheers!
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Last edited by ServingAces; 05-11-2016 at 12:41 AM.