Eating and Drinking in Miami!

I always say, "It is a tough job, but somebody has to do with it." It is with that credo, that I embarked on my trip to Miami, last week. I enjoy planning trips around New York Jets away games, and nothing beats a Monday night Jets/Dolphins game, except when the Jets lose, which they did, in thrilling, last second fashion. But, as a Jet fan, we have come to expect such devastation!

Onto the meals...

First lunch was Monday...went to a local Italian trattoria that my client frequents. I brought just one wine to this one.

2006 Domaine Barroche Chateauneuf du Pape Pure: One of the new stars emerging in CDP, this old vine, 100% Grenache is made by Julien Barroche, a truly gifted young man. This wine was a baby, but absolutely stunning. Big, bruising and powerful, I may not touch another bottle for a few years. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it.

For Tuesday's lunch, I was at the Ritz in Coconut Grove. This time, the client was insistent on bringing the juice, and how could I argue. The guys loves old Alsatian stuff.

1989 Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Emile VT: 20 years old and you would have never guessed. Cuvee Emile is a bargain in the marketplace. Still a little acid to maintain the freshness and balance out the sweetness, but I could drink this everyday of my life.

Tuesday's dinner was at Chop's Lobster Bar in Boca Raton. Your kinda typical BIG steakhouse, the food was excellent. Seafood was fresh, steaks were very good and their 'signature' side was mashed corn. Never had it before, but it was delicious. I would love to get the recipe.

1998 Schramsberg J Schram Rose: This was really good. Close your eyes, and this is a delicious food pairing wine, beyond your typical bubbly pairings. This was soft and full bodied. The richness is what I really enjoyed. Not sure about aging potential, but very tasty now.

1996 Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Hengst: I was supposed to bring this to lunch, but my wine case had not arrived at the hotel yet, so I pushed it back for dinner. A fun wine. Olivier is a great winemaker. The table seemed to enjoy this more than me, which always makes me happy, as customers will buy it. Nevertheless, I did like it. Not something I would hold pass another 18 months, but a great pair for the oysters, clams and shrimp we enjoyed.

1996 Chave Hermitage: I was not sure what to expect of this wine, but, as usual Jean Louis delivered. Good QPR? Maybe not. But for an "off"vintage, this wine showed very well. Still lots of fruit, cherry flavors, and probably good for another few years.

2005 Roy Estate Red: I hate to say it, but this wine put the Chave to shame, for me. Shirley and Charles Roy hired Philippe Melka to make their wine, and they picked a winner. These wines get better and better every year. It has no yet achieved cult status to many (although they have a huge fan in Robert Parker), and that is a shame, as these wines are absolutely stunning Cabernet blends from Napa. I would put it up against others two and three times the price. Go out and get some of this stuff!

Lunch on Wednesday was in Downtown Miami at Fratelli Lyon. While the food was pretty good, the service was absolutely atrocious. I felt like they were understaffed. In addition, the A/C was barely on. Nothing worse than seeing your waiter sweating up a storm over your food.

2007 Forman Chardonnay: I prefer Rick's Chardonnay over his Cabernet, in recent releases. This wine was absolutely delicious. A touch oak and acid leads me to believe this one is good for a few years, but I popped and poured, and it was that good. Rich, ripe, Chardonnay grape. This btl was finished off in a hurry.

1995 Petrolo Galatrona: I though this was an off btl, so I corked it. One of my clients thought it was okay, so she took it home with her.

1998 Fontodi Flaccianello: Fratelli Lyon had a pretty cool wine list and this looked very appealing (@ $120) so I ordered it. Decanted and stunning. Fontodi makes very long lived wines. This will go another 10 years, I suspect. Rich, deep, sweet fruit, this seemed to be in a perfect drinking window. While I think it will hold for another decade, with a quick decant, no reason to.

Dinner on Wednesday night was back in Miami, at Michael's Genuine. A funky menu that has 4 levels of food sizes...small, medium, large and xl. 5 of us for dinner, we all order 2 things on our own (I did 2 mediums) and we were told to get one XL, a whole roasted chicken that takes an hour to cook. My prawns were excellent, as was my pork belly. Chicken was good, although you had to make sure to get a little au jus with it, as it was a little dry for me. Not too dry, but just a little. The brussel sprouts and potato sides were great as well. Service was excellent. I highly recommend this joint.

And the wines...

1996 Henriot: The irony is that I am pretty sure that I enjoyed the Schramsberg more the previous evening. This was good, and painfully young to be consumed. Very crisp and clean, I would like to revisit this in 5 years.

2004 Christian Moreau Chablis Vaudesir: This showed very well. Not my favorite vineyard from Moreau (Clos des Hospices and Valmur are generally off the hook), this wine was still pretty darn tasty.

2003 Vatican Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Sixtine: Upon release, this was my favorite 2003 CDP, and I was curious to revisit it. The wine was good, still lots of fruit, I think it had lost a little of that stuffing that I remember it having.

2001 La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Banale: This consumed the table for me. Tough to go back to the CDP, with this in my glass. Wow, what delicious aromas. Decanted for about an hour, and this wine was delicious.

2002 Donnhoff Riesling Auslese Neiderhauser Hermanshuhle: It is really hard to find flaws in wines such as this. No wonder the critics give them all great scores. This one was outstanding. The nice thing was that it really was not a dessert wine, per se, so it was a nice compliment to dessert. A half btl for 5 adults was just what the doctor ordered!