Unauthorized

Two of my favorite television shows are HBO’s The Wire and The Sopranos. From a script writing perspective, I don’t think I have ever seen a tighter script than David Simon’s and Edward Burn’s The Wire, which is, of course, filmed in Baltimore and deals with the drug-plagued, collapsing city school system, and the corruption in the high echelons of Baltimore’s city government and police force. While a work of fiction, it is remarkable how much of the show mirrors real life events in a city that despite a recent renaissance (our glorious Inner Harbor, for example), still has some major issues that make some areas of the city as dangerous as Baghdad (the soaring murder rate attests to the hellacious gang problem). David Simon and some of the cast members have been trying to arrange a dinner with me for some time, and we finally found a date that worked for everyone. Thanks to the catalyst for the evening (and apparently one of my biggest fans) Dominic West, who plays a free-living, sexually aggressive, hard-nosed Baltimore detective of Irish descent (he somehow mastered the famous Baltimore accent even though he was born in Sheffield, England). The notes from a stunning meal we shared at the finest restaurant in the Baltimore suburbs, the Oregon Grille, follow.

We enjoyed sensational Oysters Avery, lobster, and the restaurant’s signature dish, steak à poive, a peppery steak with a brown sauce that is a perfect match for southern Rhône wines. After an exquisite magnum of Taittinger’s 1995 Comtes de Champagne, we moved to a beautiful array of California Chardonnays. The 2005 Aubert Chardonnay Quarry Vineyardwas so laced with crushed rock and white flower characteristics it could have been a top-notch Burgundian Chevalier-Montrachet. That was followed by another magnificent wine, the 2003 Marcassin Chardonnay Three Sisters, a fabulous Burgundian-styled Chardonnay with superb richness, minerality, and acidity. Both of these offerings somewhat overshadowed another brilliant Chardonnay, the floral, honeysuckle, exotic 2004 Kistler Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard.

Magnums of Châteauneuf du Pape seemed appropriate for this group of free-living, heavy-drinking hedonists from The Wire. I mistakenly pulled a 2005 Clos des Papes thinking it was the 2003, but it was too late once the cork was pulled and the sommelier told me it was the 2005. I was surprised by how well it performed because the last bottle I had was relatively closed. However, the 2005 was drinking beautifully, displaying a dense ruby/purple color along with its signature black raspberry, cherry, garrigue, and pepper characteristics. It does not possess the weight, depth of flavor, and expansiveness of the 2003, but it offers more structure and delineation, and is probably a candidate for longer aging. Following that was the finest performances I have yet seen by two highly touted wines. The 2003 St.-Préfert Cuvée Charles Giraud Châteauneuf du Pape was remarkable. Classic sweet black cherry notes intermixed with garrigue, lavender, spice box, and incense emerged from this full-bodied, incredibly elegant, pure wine. Just as distinctive, but a completely different animal was the 2003 Clos St.-Jean Combe des Fous. This inky/ruby/purple-colored effort revealed fabulous notes of blueberries, tree bark, black truffles, licorice, and a touch of graphite. It is a distinctive wine boasting a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, and alcohol. Both the St.-Préfert and Clos St.-Jean are drinkable now, but will benefit from another 5-6 years of cellaring. They should last for 15 or more years.

A wine that can be pure perfection seemed slightly less than sublime at this dinner. The 2000 Pégaü Cuvée da Capo Châteauneuf du Pape is a beauty, and the last few regular size bottles I have drunk were perfect, but this magnum displayed more garrigue, pepper, and roasted Provençal herb characteristics, but not quite the elixir level of fruit and concentration. Nevertheless, it was a fabulous wine, and to my surprise, having rated the two previous wines higher at the end of the night, the first bottle of Châteauneuf du Pape to be emptied was the 2000 Cuvée da Capo.

All in all it was an incredibly fun night with a very lively cast from The Wire. If you haven’t seen this show, I highly recommend it.