Sunday, May 18, 2003
Last night along with a friend I had the opportunity to dine at Restaurant 808, which is rapidly becoming my favorite cozy spot for a relaxing friendly dinner.
Dining at 808 is like being in a fine restaurant in France, without the pretentiousness of a three star. It's more like an over performing two star, where the food and service is as good as a three, but where the atmosphere and prices keep you from having to break the bank.
For last night's dinner we were joined by a local wine rep who brought along the 1998 Swanson Alexis, a proprietary red blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The much maligned 98 vintage is something I'll never quite get. Many consumers thumbed their noses at 98 wines from California, due largely to the fact that 1997 was so good and made to age, while 1998 was a smaller crop, not as good of a growing season, but the wines that were made were surely a boon for restaurants and collectors who like to drink, not age wines. The Alexis was a nice, vibrant wine with blackcherry, blueberry, raspberry and coffee notes.
I pulled an all time favorite, the 1993 Domaine Gauby Cotes du Roussillion Village Vieille Vignes. This is really a sensational, almost timeless wine from one of the Roussillion's top producers. Not a speck of aging to this wine, which is considered by some to be Gerard Gauby's finest ever performance. Made from a blend of grapes that come from century old vines from the hills outside Perpignan, the wine is clearly enhanced by the Mourvedre and Carignan that added a bit of sauvage to the Syrah and Grenache Noir. This wine took time to evolve since I first purchased it in 1995 from importer Kermit Lynch, and while I have enjoyed a good quantity of these over the past few years, none ever demonstrated the power, grace and elegance that it did last night. First the aroma was so seductive. It was almost like a Provence Syrah, where the aromatics are more herbal, than spicy. But on the palate was where you just got floored. The wine starts out very soft, before ending with a powerful blast of blueberry, black raspberry and a hint of menthol. I was amazed and am glad I have at least one more of these in the cellar....WOW!
I'm off to Springtime In the Vineyards at Orfila Winery today at noon...hope to see some WinePals there who want to help KPBS raise some money!
Andy Abramson
Dining at 808 is like being in a fine restaurant in France, without the pretentiousness of a three star. It's more like an over performing two star, where the food and service is as good as a three, but where the atmosphere and prices keep you from having to break the bank.
For last night's dinner we were joined by a local wine rep who brought along the 1998 Swanson Alexis, a proprietary red blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The much maligned 98 vintage is something I'll never quite get. Many consumers thumbed their noses at 98 wines from California, due largely to the fact that 1997 was so good and made to age, while 1998 was a smaller crop, not as good of a growing season, but the wines that were made were surely a boon for restaurants and collectors who like to drink, not age wines. The Alexis was a nice, vibrant wine with blackcherry, blueberry, raspberry and coffee notes.
I pulled an all time favorite, the 1993 Domaine Gauby Cotes du Roussillion Village Vieille Vignes. This is really a sensational, almost timeless wine from one of the Roussillion's top producers. Not a speck of aging to this wine, which is considered by some to be Gerard Gauby's finest ever performance. Made from a blend of grapes that come from century old vines from the hills outside Perpignan, the wine is clearly enhanced by the Mourvedre and Carignan that added a bit of sauvage to the Syrah and Grenache Noir. This wine took time to evolve since I first purchased it in 1995 from importer Kermit Lynch, and while I have enjoyed a good quantity of these over the past few years, none ever demonstrated the power, grace and elegance that it did last night. First the aroma was so seductive. It was almost like a Provence Syrah, where the aromatics are more herbal, than spicy. But on the palate was where you just got floored. The wine starts out very soft, before ending with a powerful blast of blueberry, black raspberry and a hint of menthol. I was amazed and am glad I have at least one more of these in the cellar....WOW!
I'm off to Springtime In the Vineyards at Orfila Winery today at noon...hope to see some WinePals there who want to help KPBS raise some money!
Andy Abramson
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