We decided to act our age (or younger) and attended the "Sensational 2009s" wine tasting at Vino on Thursday evening. We normally don't even consider going out for dinner on weeknights (acting twice our age) especially if a workday follows said event. However Thursday's tasting included several great Old World wines and we had to try Vino's "Wild Mushroom Night" which alternates every other Thursday with "Vintage Steak Night". Plus I had a bottle of 1996 Bruno Giacosa Gallina di Neive Barbaresco (4.5/5 tar, licorice, old & new leather and a touch of rose petals with mineral on the nose with a nice acid backbone and semi-dried cherry on the palate and a long finish) that was beggin' to be uncorked (and perfect with wild mushrooms)!
The wines sampled looked like this (my comments follow Chuck's comments):
2009 Furst Muller Thurgau
an incredibly pure, completely finesseful white wine
(4.5/5) Stone & mineral with light stone fruit & citrus rind on the nose. Great intensity on the palate with a seamless palate flow and long finish
2009 Kunstler Riesling Dry “Stielweg-Old Vines”
a standout, fabulous, DRY German Riesling—a real thoroughbred(4/5) Slate & fresh citrus with hints of petrol & moss. Very concentrated & intense on the palate with good acid and a very long finish
2009 Cherisey Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru “Chalumeaux”
a profound, benchmark, Old Vine French Chardonnay(4.25/5) Stone fruit with a touch of vanilla curd & citrus rind then a hit of minerality. Rich & concentrated on the palate with loads of mineral and a very long finish
2009 Foillard Morgon “Corcelette”
a sensational Old Vine Gamay Noir—as pure, au naturale & delicious as it gets one of the hardest French red wines for us to get!(4.5/5) Smoky schist & semi-dried red fruit surround by a pleasing earthiness. Medium body on the palate but with a lot of finesse with fruit, acid & earth balanced by a seamless palate flow and a long finish
Mushroom Galore
We sampled all 3 mushroom specials though my camera was about as focused as my eyesight (especially after all those glorious wines). We started with the Hamakua Mushroom-Pancetta Carbonara with Hon-Shimeji, Alii & Shiitake mushrooms:
Then sampled the Grilled Portobello Mushroom on Creamy Kahuku Corn Polenta and Gorgonzola Dolce Latte Cream:
And concluded with the Baby Squash Blossoms stuffed with Hamakua Mushrooms & Homemade Ricotta Cheese and a Wild Mushroom Sauce:
While that concluded the mushroom courses, we also sampled Roasted Chicken
Spicy Ahi
And the Mrs even managed to squeeze in dessert
Of course, man (and woman) can't live by food alone (or just Barbaresco) so we also sampled a bottle of 2001 Leon Barral Valiniere (4.5/5 with tar, dark red fruit and mineral on the nose with ripe and concentrated fruit on the palate with a very long finish).
Along with a 2009 Monferrato Rosso
And a Carte Turquoise Baumard Cremant de Loire sparkler
I'm glad I attended the tasting and am even happier that I survived a full workday today (despite only a couple of hours of sleep and dehydration). But I'd do it all again...
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