Charlie Palmer with Williams Selyem Wines

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Bit the price bullet and signed up for this dinner a few weeks ago. Williams Selyem wines at Charle Palmer at Bloomingdales in Costa Mesa (South Coast Plaza)  www.charliepalmer.com.   A 75 minute drive from work.  Reception was at 6:00. When I walked in a large crowd was all ready there. Bob Cabral the winemaker was hobnobbing with the "beautiful" people. Got my glass of 2008 Williams Selyem Blanc de Blanc Sparkling and found Terry seated already. I will say they were generous in repeat pours and they were pouring from Magnums. This wine is not sold to the lower tier allocation members. Only long term, high volume users are allowed to buy. I think they said 52 cases were made. It was a very nice sparkling, well balanced, good taste. A nice surprise.

We started out with a Kumamoto Oyster Shooter with Ponzu Crumble. Good, clean flavor, Kumamoto is one of the smallest oysters but has a very delicate, light brine taste. I could have done a dozen of these.

First course was a Wild King Salmon Sashima with Crispy Heirloom Tomato, Brown Butter Cream Cheese, Lemon caper Vinaigrette. The salmon was excellent, the brown butter cream cheese also. The tomatoes were non discript, they were so crisp I thought they were kernals of corn. Paired with a 2010 Williams Selyem Drake Estate Chardonnay. Good pairing. Chardonnay was clean with a very slight oak taste to it but paired very well with the salmon.

Second course was served. Slow Cooked Kurobata Pork Tenderloin with Spinach, Clamshell Mushrooms, Green Tea Pork Consomme.  Good flavor, my pork had some connective tissue that was a little hard to cut through. The consomme had excellent flavor. I will take the same pork tenderloin I had at Delius last week over this dish. Wine was a 2012 Williams Selyem Westside Road Pinot Noir. When I saw the year 2012 I wondered why they were pouring such a young wine. After I tasted it I knew why. Very weak, light weight wine. Do not think this wine will age more than a couple of years. Their tasting notes disagree with me and they are the experts but they also have a product they need to sell.

Third course on the menu was a Smoked Liberty Farms Duck Breast with Maple Syrup, Coriander, Garlic Chive, Quinoa Cake, Pinot Noir Beurre Rouge.  The piece of duck was at least 2 inches thick with a crispy skin. It was hard to cut and I feel it lost a lot flavor by being so thick and also was not that moist. It was ok but close to being dry.  The Quinoa Cake was dry. Again I will take Delius's  duck breast any day over this. They paired this with a 2006 Williams Selyem Allen Pinot Noir. This wine was good and it showed the age.

Fourth course up was a Balsamic Marinated Prime Skirt Steak with Horseradish Parsnip Puree, Summer Squash, Red Wine Jus.  Steak was really good. and very tender. Had great flavor and the puree was just the right touch. As for the squash I am not too sure one very small, about 4 inches, baby squash counts as a vegetable. Paired with a 2012 Williams Seylem Bacigalupi Zinfandel. Very good pairing, the wine was excellent and made a perfect pairing.

Dessert was a White Peach Mousse Cake, Lychee Gelee, Mint, Coconut Lime Sponge Cake. Very light. Perfect end to a dinner.  Served with a 2011 Williams Seylem Vista Verde, Late Harvest, Gerwurztraminer. Not overly sweet. decent wine.

I will say they were very generous in their pours and they came around and poured again if you wanted more. Part of the dinner were very good and part left a lot to be desired. Room was noisy and we had to ask them to turn down the music several times. Dinner was in the main dining area next to the bar and lounge so we had that to contend with also. Not an intimate setting.

I was very disappointed that Bob Cabral, the winemaker did not come around to the tables a at least say hello to people. This dinner was over $172 with  automatic tip and I felt it should have lived up to the price. May be "beautiful" people don't have the expectations that I do. I think that paying $50 for the Prix Fixe dinner at Delius, www.deliusrestaurant.com,  and ordering wine off the wine list would be a better deal. 4 to 5 people and 4 wines would still be cheaper, much better food and more intimate setting.