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Le Bernardin

An exquisite meal prepared by Chef Eric Ripert, who is a magician when it comes to seafood, was filled with fabulous courses. The dishes were remarkably light yet intensely flavored. One would think such food would not work with Châteauneuf du Pape, but because none of these wines exhibited any oak, the combination worked extraordinarily well.

The two Coche-Dury wines were brilliant, with the 1995 out of this world, and the 2000 slightly lighter. The three perfect Pégaü Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée da Capos are among the greatest wines I have ever tasted in my life. The 1998 was the most structured and defined, the 2000 the most exotic and opulent, and the 2003 one of the single greatest wines I have ever tasted. The Châteauneufs were all from magnums, and were decanted at least an hour in advance. The alcohol levels are in the 15-16 percent range. These old vine cuvées of primarily Grenache (90-95%), aged in neutral wood and tank, are exquisitely rich, full-flavored and intense, but velvety textured, with finishes that last for a minute or more. They have become possibly my favorite wines in the world, and all three strutted their stuff on this magical Monday in March.

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Petit Louis Bistro

From Gourmet

A lookalike, authentic French bistro, Petit Louis in Baltimore's Roland Park is the creation of restauranteurs par excellence Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman. You feel like you’ve walked into a bistro on the Left Bank of Paris when you enter Petit Louis. The food is classic bistro, and they do it well. All of the courses we had were flavorful, sometimes a trifle rustic, but delicious in their intensity. This was good comfort food prepared extremely well. The wines started with one of the major surprises for me over the last year, the 2006 sparking wine from Tony Soter in Oregon. I had this several times while I was out visiting Oregon, and I had always been impressed, but this is a 10-year-old sparking Rosé that is just sensational, and I’m talking world class—it’s that good. Something this good from France would cost at least two to three times as much, so kudos to Tony Soter. The 1995 Billaud-Simon Chablis Mont de Milieu was oxidized and undrinkable. The 1996 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos St. Urbain Rangen de Thann was sweet, and although it went well with the foie gras, it was just a little too unctuous and sweet a wine...

La Toque - Cheval Blanc Dinner

From Gourmet

This was a spectacular night of fabulous food at La Toque in Napa, California. Every course was right on target, and we had the joy of hosting Château Cheval Blanc’s administrator Pierre Lurton for this night with Wine Advocate subscribers.
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