Dinner at Clos Pepe

Saturday, June 23, 2007

I have been waiting for this dinner since I attended the one in 2006. I was really stoked about getting one of the 18 seats available to the "common folk". There were 79 people in attendance. Should have been 80 but David Chan didn't make it. So I guess this year there will be no pictures of the dinner posted to his blog.

When I arrived about half of the people were there already. Three tables were set up in the courtyard area. One for each of the winemakers to show their 2006 barrel samples of Pinot Noir, all sourced from Clos Pepe. Brian Loring of Loring Wine Company, http://www.loringwinecompany.com/, Andrew Vingiello of A.P. Vin wines, http://www.apvin.com/, and Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe, http://www.clospepe.com/. There was also a new wine sitting there a Pinot sourced from Clos Pepe. Roessler was the name. http://www.roesslercellars.com/, Roger Roessler was there. He is from Sonoma . This is a new one for me. (but then again almost every week I hear about a new winery - they are like rabbits ). Clos Pepe has an outstanding reputation for the quality of their grapes. They sell most of their grapes off to other winemakers and just bottle a small amount themselves. Their allocation list is closed but you can get on the list to get onto the allocation list.

Gourmet pizzas were served as an appetizer. They have a wood burning pizza over built into the wall in the courtyard. We had "Albino King Salmon with Mascarpone & Basil", "Venison Sausage with Pear & Brie" and "Carmelized Onions,Duck Prosciutto with Blue Cheese & Arugula". It's hard to pick a favorite. They were all great.

We cleansed our palates with a "Miniature Pomegrante Popsicle". Beautiful deep ruby red color and fantastic taste.

When it was time to seated at the dining tables inside the house, I again sat at Brian Lorings table. Which proved that my luck was still holding. (more on my luck at the end).

First Course: Tower of lump crabmeat w/avocado, papaya & lemon, along with a Kumamoto oyster and Clos Pepe olive oil - this was served with the 05 Roessler Chardonnay and the 05 Clos Pepe Estate Chardonnay. Beautiful pairing and the dish was right on.

Second Course: Crisp confit of duckling w/savory red cabbage & wild boar bacon - paired with 05 A.P. Vin Clos Pepe Vineyards Pinot Noir - doesn't get much better than this.

Third Course: Pinot braised beef short ribs with pearl onions & marrow bone - paired with 05 Loring Wine Company Clos Pepe Vineyards, Pinot Noir. My father and I used to fight to see who got the bones with the marrow in it when I was growing up. Needless to say, I was one happy camper.

Fourth Course: Epoisses & Robiolina ( very soft cheeses) with aged fig vincotto & pea shoot salad - paired with 05 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir . They could have kept the pea shoots but I suppose I do have to have something green. ( I have to set an example for Barbara). The fig vincotto (sauce/puree) was really wonderful with the cheeses.

Dessert: Tart of roasted pear & fourme d'ambert (cheese) with honey butter - paired with 01 Clos Pepe Sweet Farewell (chardonnay). Again a really great pairing.

I hope I get invited to next years dinner. This could get to be a fantastic habit. Now for "My Luck Holding Out".

Last year there was a gentleman and his wife sitting at the table I was at and after dinner he produced 2 bottles of Y'Quem Sauterne for whom ever was left at the table to drink. This year as my good luck was, we again sat at the same table. Just like last year, after dinner and most of the guests had departed, he again brought out from under the table several bottles of wine to share with the "chosen few". I have never tasted a 100 point wine before, but tonight I had a golden opportunity. A 1995 Cuvee Madame Monbazillac. It looked like a 500ml bottle. This was the 100 pointer. He also put on the table a 1970 Chateau Filmot and a 1989 Y'quem. These were both 750ml bottles as was the Maderia. Wes Hagen added a 1922 D'Olveiras Boal Maderia and Brian Loring came back with 2004 Jorge Ordonez #1, & # 2 Moscatel. At that point there was close to a $1,000 in wine sitting in front of me. Now is my luck still with me ? I think so.

Some of the other diners that hadn't left yet came to join us. Among them was the "Pinot Report" author/editor/publisher along with Kimberly Loring, Brians sister and his mother also. Wes Hagen and his wife Chandra had departed to go to bed along with Steve and Cathy Pepe. There were about 12 or so sitting there tasting these incredible wines. It just doesn't get any better than this. Kimberly started laughing and said if it was her house we wouldn't be sitting there after our hosts had retired for the night. If it was my house, we wouldn't be there also. The Hagens and the Pepe's were the ultimate hosts and I sure hope we didn't disturb them. Of course the house is so huge I doubt if they could hear any noise from the other side.

A fabulous dinner, great wines and good company. A perfect end to a day that did not start well. The gods were looking after me again. Why can't other restaurants (ie: Park Avenue) produce food and wine pairings reasonably close to dinners of this type. There was only $20 difference in price and look what I got.

I will be back up at Clos Pepe in August when they host their "futures" get together in the afternoon and then I will be attending the "Stolpman Dinner in The Vineyard" in the evening.