The Good Juice Report

I’ve been drinking some good wine this month, or “good juice” as a friend of mine likes to say. Of course I’m doing this purely so I have a nice variety of wine notes to share with you, my readers. <smile>

One nice discovery happened during a prospect dinner at Capital Grille Tysons Corner. The service as usual was polished and professional, and I asked our server for a recommendation between two Tempranillos. He recommended the Roda Rioja Reserva 2003, which was excellent.  There were many flavors going on with this wine, but in a very harmonious way. It was smooth, with a medium body and a hint of spiciness on the finish. I also tasted some smokiness and a slight mineral quality. Purists might say that the wine isn’t big enough for a steak, but I enjoyed it greatly as did a member of our party having fish.

If you’ve ever had Condado de Haza, this wine is similar but to me is a nice step up. I have not found it being sold locally but based on online review should retail in the high $30s. If you find it, give it a try.

Gabriele and I had dinner recently with another couple at Evo Bistro, which I reviewed back in 2008.  You can’t go to Evo without trying some different wines, and we did just that, assisted by our old friend Wendy and Manik Rath. In addition to being one of the area’s leading attorneys in the government contracting space, Manik is a big oenophile. Having recently had the Roda, I ordered a bottle of Bordegas Lan Rioja 2004 Reserva.

It was no Roda, but it was good. The color was deep purple, with black cherry dominating with some chocolate as well. We also tasted some dust, and a touch of leather. Manik detected a good “mouth feel,” a viscosity that coated the palate nicely. Manik also felt the wine could have benefited from more years in the bottle. Retails for a little under $20.

Of course, one bottle doesn’t last long for a table of four. Next up Manik ordered the 2008 Graham Beck Gamekeeper’s Reserve Cabernet. From South Africa, the wine had a big bouquet and assertive fruit, very Californian tasting to me. It was a smooth wine with a slight creaminess to the finish, almost Merlot-ish in that way. It’s very straight-forward and enjoyable, and retails for around $15.

Then it was time to explore by the glass. Gabriele went for a glass of the Stag’s Leap 2006 Petite Syrah.First off, I need to say that we found the wine very different than what you’ll read via the link in the previous sentence. We found the wine soft and mild, with a lot of strawberry fruit. It had a very light body and Gabriele really enjoyed it. Nice wine, but IMO the retail cost of low $30s reflects the strength of the Stags Leap brand.

For my glass I went to Provence, in the form of a Domaine Paul Autard 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape. It began with a deep, full bouquet full of fruit, herbs and floral elements. The inky black wine fruit was dominated by blackberry, with a taste of black tea. Its finish was tart and alcoholic, with a sharp pucker of tannins. It’s a big, bold C-du-P. This wine was good but could definitely improve with being put down for a few more years. Looks to retail for around $40.

Finally, I attended an event for a very worthwhile charity last week. St. Luke’s House provides services to mentally disabled individuals in Montgomery County, looking to help them integrate into society as opposed to being marginalized. My partner Marc Hausman and his wife Hilary joined Gabriele and me at a fundraiser held inside the showroom of Chevy Chase Cars in Bethesda. Hopefully a lot of money was raised for an important cause.

Me, Gabriele and Hilary at St. Lukes event

As part of the draw for the event St. Luke’s had wine expert Mark Phillips give a talk on wine. Mark is a nationally known wine guy who hosts a popular show on PBS, “Enjoying Wine with Mark Phillips.” None of the wines being poured were very interesting, but that’s OK this was for charity. But I had a chance to introduce myself to Mark and ask him about the one thing he’d like people to know about wine.

His reply was “listen to the address I’m about to give,” so clearly the guy knows how to market himself. The message was  drink what you like, and don’t let others tell you what’s good. Simple and crowd pleasing yes, but also right on the money. His comparisons were effective — most of us are confident about what we like to eat, what clothes we like to wear, what music we like to hear. Why should wine be any different?

Why indeed? So in that spirit if you don’t like any of the reviews above, as always please let me know.

Cork — Worthy of the Buzz

When Gabriele and I eat out we almost always order wine. But except for a very fun evening at Evo Bistro back in April, we haven’t checked out any of the wine bars popping up around the DC area. So when the October Washingtonian magazine gave Cork its highest “four glass” rating (along with Evo and Grapeseed), we decided to check it out: http://www.corkdc.com/about.html

We were there on a very busy Saturday night, and the evening didn’t start off smoothly. The Cork web site suggests you call them about 30 minutes prior to arrival so they can add you to the waiting list. We did this, and the woman on the other end said “see you soon.” But when we arrived, our name was not written down. I told the hostess what happened, but apparently she has never read this blog and it was end of the list for us. Kind of frustrating, since the place was packed and clearly there would be a substantial wait.

Another little bump in the road happened when I ordered some wine while we waited. The glasses were $2 more than the menu stated. I pointed this out, and the waitress produced another menu that had the higher price. I didn’t really care about quibbling over $4, but the prices should be standardized. Not the best start to the evening to say the least, but we shook it off and enjoyed the fun, urban DC vibe of the place.

The glasses were Bodegas Berton, Lorinon Rioja Crianza 2003, a mixture of grapes with Tempranillo dominating. It had strong fruit, lots of tannins and a sharp bite that lingered on the palate.

We were seated after about an hour, and that’s when things started to soar. Everything we ordered was excellent, with the exception of a flight of three Barbera wines that were being featured. But to be fair our waiter didn’t highly recommend the flight, we ordered anyway since we usually like Barbera. But the Vietti Barbera d’ Asti Tre Vigne 2006 and the Marchesi di Gresy Barbera d’ Asti 2005 were very mediocre, not horrible but not good. Only the Renzo Seghesio, Barbera d’Alba 2006 was good, with a deeper, rich aroma, more body and a smoother texture.

The food was well done, and its arrival was timed very well. We started with the lemon and pepper dusted calamari with caper remoulade. Even factoring in how hungry we were by the time we sat, it was some of the best we’ve had in the area. We also had the flat iron steak with roasted brussel sprouts and pancetta, the hearts of romaine salad, kale with pecorino and garlic, mushrooms with madeira and marjoram and chicken with olives, prunes, lemon and tarragon jus. Not a flat note in the bunch. Portions were on the small side, except for the calamari.

We had two glasses of Vajra, Lange Rosso 2006 at our server’s recommendation, an Italian from the Piedmont region. It was a tasty combination of grapes including Niebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, with nice fruit and a smooth finish. An easy drinking wine that was food friendly. After dinner we had a nicely presented cheese platter and a glass of Domaine de la Rectorie, Banyuls 2005. It was a French Grenache Noir, a dessert wine. It had a huge nose and port-like fruit, but without some of the heaviness of port.

It was extremely noisy at Cork, which may be a factor for some. And of course the tab can add up quickly, especially when some of the small plates have entree-like prices. But if you like interesting pairings of good wine with well prepared foods and an “it place” vibe, you have to check this place out. Just get the name of the person you talk to when you call ahead for the wait list.

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Excellent Evening at Evo Bistro

Saturday night Gabriele and I had a very enjoyable experience at Evo Bistro in Mclean. It describes itself as a “tapas and wine tasting bar” and was recommended by a friend. Here’s the Post’s take from last November:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/21/AR2007112100830.html

It was clear something was up as soon as we arrived. There was an air of conviviality about the place, and there was not a table to be had at 9:30. It’s not a big place, but being busy at that hour is a good sign for a suburban restaurant.

After a few minutes we were seated, and every plate we ordered was well done. The prices are a little higher than usual for a tapas place, but the plates are also a bit larger. Before I get to the wine, let me mention the excellent Evo crepe — a spinach crepe stuffed with lump crabmeat. The Charcuterie was also very good.

Evo offers a broad selection of wines, many by the glass. That’s what we decided to do this evening (without the debit card method offered by the restaurant). We started with a 2005 Clos Pegase, Mitzuko Vineyard Pinot that had very good structure, strong but restrained fruit and a nice clean finish. After that we tried the 2005 Turkey Flat Butcher Block Shiraz, which was predictably rounder, fuller and more fruit forward with a lingering finish. Both wines went well with the various plates we ordered.

What really made the evening however was the result of total chance. Driss Zahidi, the head chef was seated right next to us entertaining a table of friends. The tables were not very far apart, and at one point he asked us how we were enjoying our evening. We said very much, and I told him we like wine, and were curious what he was having with his meal.  Before I had time to decline, he poured us a taste of the 2004 Merryvale Profile they were having with their beef and lamb. It was an impressive example of a big and powerful Californian cabernet, with a lot of body and a long finish. His generosity was striking, and even more so when he sent over a couple of glasses of Muscat for our dessert. Our creme brulee was clearly freshly made and deliciously eggy.

Suffice to say, we felt welcomed into the family by the time we left. Evo offers a unique “debit card” approach to wine tasting that we’ll try next time we’re there. If you enjoy wine, highly recommend you pay Evo Bistro a visit. 

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