Unauthorized

Chef Julian Serrano is still one of the purist of all the great chefs working in America. Resisting the temptation to expand or to brand his cooking throughout the country, he stays chained to his extraordinary kitchen at Picasso in Las Vegas, guaranteeing that he is nearly always doing the cooking. I remember enjoying some fabulous meals at his San Francisco restaurant, Masa, and he remains one of the finest culinary geniuses in the United States. Every one of our innovative courses was busting with flavor, and was perfectly served and executed. My favorites include the terrine of foie gras (called torchon), the blue fin tuna tartare, an extraordinary confit of fingerling potatoes, the fricasée of Half Moon Bay small peas and ruby red shrimp, and the duck and Wagyu beef.

The wines were chosen by our host and the staff to complement the cooking. They did an extraordinary job. We started with a magnum of a young, promising Jacquesson 1996 Champagne that tasted like it was 3 to 4 years old. The 2004 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese from Robert Weil exhibited lots of steely, apple, apricot, and peach notes, and was a perfect foil for the foie gras.

The Dr. Bürlin-Wolf 1998 Hohenmorgen Deidesheim Riesling Spätlese Trocken was dry and austere. It played second fiddle to a brilliant Grüner Veltliner from Austria, the 2002 Emmerich Knoll Loibner Smaragd Ried Loibenberg, a full-bodied, powerful, steely wine exhibiting loads of citrus oil and crushed rock characteristics.We then moved to a full-bodied, opulent, honeysuckle and quince-laced, youthful 2001 white Hermitage from the great master, Jean-Louis Chave, – in magnum no less! The 2002 Chambolle-Musigny Borniques from Magnien (another magnum) was young and promising. Its deep ruby/purple-tinged color was followed by an austere wine with outstanding weight, purity, and richness. Another 5-8 years of bottle age will be beneficial.

The red wine star of the day was the 1996 Château Latour, which, surprisingly, was more evolved than the just emerging, but promising debut vintage of La Mondotte, the 1996. I’ll take the 1996 Latour over the 1990 and 1995 any day, any place. It’s a great, great example of Latour, displaying classic notes of black walnuts and crème de cassis in its full-bodied personality. The tannins are noticeable (as is the case with some of the finest northern Médocs of this vintage), but are silky and sweet. This beauty is a compelling example of Château Latour. The 1996 Château La Mondotte, which was concentrated and impressive but also woody early in life, has absorbed all of its new oak. It offers notes of crème brülée, espresso roast, plums, blackberries, and cassis in a full-bodied style that is just beginning to emerge from its youthful stage. This wine seems younger than Latour, which does not make any sense given the fact that La Mondotte is mostly Merlot with a healthy portion of Cabernet Franc included.

We finished with a perfect wine, the 1993 Château Pajzos Esszencia from Hungary. It looked like motor oil, but the wine possessed such great acidity that everything was fresh, vibrant, and well-balanced. Marmalade, a liqueur of nuts, fruitcake, plum, and caramelized tropical fruit characteristics are all present in this deep amber-colored wine. Incredibly intoxicating from an aromatic point of view, this vibrant, well-focused, amazing wine proves the greatness of the finest wines of Tokaji.