I'm back

I’d like to apologize for being away for so long.

A combination of a lot of travel for work and some for pleasure which meant lots of work when I got back has kept me from updating.

I’ll be around for a while and will keep the blog updated regularly for the next couple of months.

So, I was in London, Paris and New York recently.

Met Peter Liem in London to go see the Arsenal sweep Birmingham aside 3 – 1 at the Emirites. It was a fantastically good time. We had a very mediocre dinner with some mediocre wines, but it was not enough to even put a dent in my pleasant mood. (If you haven’t already sign up for his excellent guide to Champagne at ChampagneGuide.net, worth every cent.)

I was in Paris for work, and managed to find a stomach bug which sidelined me for three eating days.

The best meal I had was a long lunch at Le Comptoir at the Relais St. Germain. Great food and a short but excellent wine list. The standout wine was 2008 Lapierre Morgon was fragrant, luscious yet focused and complex. Really stunningly delicious wine that I could drown in happily. We also had a great bottle of 2007 Descombes Brouilly Vieilles Vignes.

On the prodding of Peter and Sharon, I also picked up a bottle each of Vouette et Sorbée Saignée de Sorbée and Blanc d’Argile. They were € 54 and € 46. Those are fairly expensive wines when you are spending dollars. I was disappointed in the Saignée de Sorbée. I found the wine to be very lose, with a sort of muddled nose and unstructured palate. The Blanc d’Argile was better with sharper delineation and better structure. These are very expensive in my market (the Blanc d’Argile is ~$90). Peter thinks that I would like a different vintage (this was most likely the 2005), but at those prices, I doubt I’ll be trying them again unless at a tasting or if someone else is buying. I liked a Drappier Brut Nature Sans Soufre a lot more than either, however. It was bright and lively with plenty of focus and flavor. I’ve had the Brut Nature before, but never the Sans Soufre.

NY was a blast. 2 days of Louis-Dressner tasting with old friends and evenings at the Ten Bells.

Had the Platonic form of the chicken wing at Ippudo. Great Hakata style ramen as well, of course.

Also attended the Amphora dinner at Convivio, but I’ll save that for a separate post. It was nice to finally meet Mike Steinberger. I recently read his book Au Revoir to All That. I really enjoyed it and can highly recommend it.

New content coming soon.