Monday Night Meatloaf, Part II!

This past Monday evening, 7 "Burgheads" found their way to Apiary, Scott Bryan's new haunt on the Lower East Side of Manhattan (well, just south of Union Square to be exact). A few notes on the restaurant. The food is excellent. My second time there, and the pork chop is off the hook. This time, I started with scallops and we all did a half portion of risotto. All excellent. Mondays offer free corkage. We all paid $80, which seemed to include a very healthy gratuity. Negatives on this night was the service. Glassware was hard to come by, and water service was slow. Still, I would go back to the restaurant. I would almost prefer to pay corkage on another evening, as long as a dozen wines are not being opened.

Onto the wines...

1) 1990 Henriot Cuvee Enchanteleurs (Magnum): KA must find it difficult to go without bubbles, so he brought this one. I liked it a lot. Very crisp and extremely youthful, I would like to see this evolve for another decade...or two.

2) 2000 Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc: This was served blind and compliments of David. I find this wine painfully young. Lots of acid. Needed more air time.

3) 2002 Leflaive Batard Montrachet: Not a good sign when your WOTN comes so early, but this wine was outstanding! I cannot really say much more than, WOW! Bill, you da man! Or, as Robert Kenney once said of Jay S. Miller, "You're my boy, blue!"

4) Louis Jadot Chassagne Montrachet Abbaye Morgeot: Others said this was too young. I am not a buyer. I am generally a fan of Jadot wines, but this wine is a pass for me. The fruit was just out of balance with the acid. Never came around.

5) 1988 Ponsot Clos St Denis: Thank you, David. This wine was very good. Probably the best nose of the evening. I would not age it any longer, as my best sips were my first sips. Still, quite impressive given the vintage.

6) 1990 Jacky Truchot Charmes Chambertin: Someone referred to this as "cheesy." I wanted to like this wine, but although it got better as the night carried on, it was just never all that enjoyable. KA brought it, as he really wants to become a wine geek. Looks like he will have to wait to be inducted into that hall of fame. I think he hated more than anyone at the table.

7) 1990 Louis Jadot Ruchottes Chambertin: Ian brought a winner as well. This was quite a nice wine. When I heard the price it is selling for, I may not be a buyer, but still a nice drink.

8) 1996 Louis Remy Chambertin: The wine was flat and ininteresting. Lifeless would give it too much credit. If you own this, sorry.

9) 1996 Robert Arnoux Romanee St. Vivant: It was not talked about much, but I quite liked this wine. Pretty juicy on the palate. It showed pretty well.

10) 1995 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot: No shock that Leo brought Jadot. Does he own anything else? As the night went on, this wine got better and better and better. I decided the order and put this towards the back of the pack, as I thought it might need time. Good wine, in a difficult vintage.

11) 1996 Dujac Bonnes Mares. My contribution, dbl decanted by a member of my staff. Upon opening at arrival at the restaurant, I announced (shamefully) that the wine was corked. A couple of the others disagreed. So we poured it out. We poured it a couple of hours later and KA said it was corked. Doh!

12) I could not go without contributing a red wine, so I ordered a 2001 Gaja Sperss, and got it decanted as quickly as possible. I really enjoyed this wine. Clearly not an "elegant" Nebbiolo, but it sure was tasty. Most at the table really liked it and I was "saved."

Good food, good wine, and a fun group of people (except for Leo). Looking forward to the next dinner!