Ciao famiglia,

Well, last Saturday night was Cassoulet Night at bistro99, so I hopped in the BGM (over 200K miles now) and went straight from work in Bear, DE up I-95 to Fishtown, the home of larry99. Also attending were Larry's wife Sue, his sister Jean, Ed and Mo Becker, and "Madame Fromage" (Tenaya Darlington) and her man, Todd. Here is a link to Madame's blog, covering the big event.

http://madamefromageblog.com/2014/cassoulet-night-2014/

Madame Fromage covers the menu and the cheeses in detail so I will mention the vini Italiani we had. I must add that it was not the great chef himself, larry99, that made the cassoulet, but the even greater chef, Jean, his sister smile .

The cassoulet was made primarily from duck confit, sausage and beans, and slow cooked for many hours. It was magnificent, and what better dish could there be to show off a great Italian red?

There were some starter wines, including that Moore Brothers Lambrusco which is so good but whose producer I did not write down. Red and dry, and frizzante, perfect with the appetizer of goat cheese with jam on great bread brought by Madame. Two beautiful white Burgs, including an unoaked St. Veran which was wonderful. There was a CdP whose producer I did not write down either. But when the main course hit, we were slurping down the ...

... 1996 Giuseppe Cortese, Barbaresco, "Rabaja", brought up from the "Dave bin" in Larry99's subterranean caves and decanted several hours before dinner by larry per my instructions. A beautiful Barbaresco, the color is a shimmering, vibrant cherry red/orange, healthy but shouting "I am ready to be consumed", and it was. A nose of spicy cherry/light raspberry fruit, some incense, some red licorice, in excellent condition, old school wine. On the palate it drinks medium bodied, restrained, elegant, aristocratic, not a blockbuster (13.5% alcohol) but so well balanced, it seduces you rather than grabs you by the throat, lightly tannic in the finish, good acidity, and of course the cassoulet brings out all the fruit and smooths out the tannins to produce a gorgeous wine/food marriage, Just a lovely combination. Grade: easy A.

I was really anxious to try the 2004 Allegrini "La Poja" Ed and Mo brought, especially after having the 1991 vintage of this wine recently. (TN here at http://www.westcoastwine.net/ubbthreads/...true#Post379823)

Wow, the La Poja is awesome! Big (14.5% alcohol), rich, deep black/purple/violet color, young. Huge nose of spicy amarena cherry, a touch perhaps of vanilla, earth, black licorice, explodes on the tongue with flavor and has depth and length. A fantastic bottle of wine, I am guessing that it is just about halfway to it's peak. Ed got this from the PA State Store when it was on Chairman's Selection for about $30! Smart move, Ed and boy am I dumb for passing it up. frown Grade: A- now, easy A or more for sure in 5-10 years.

Needless to say, two hard acts to follow. For dessert we had a sour cherry tart made by Mo from cherries from a tree in her yard. Yes! amazingly delicious, and to go with it the Gancia, Moscato Rose. Gancia is a venerable old winery from Canneli in Piemonte and their Prosecco is one of the best I have ever tasted (recent TN here at http://www.westcoastwine.net/ubbthreads/...true#Post381260)

The Moscato Rose was a joy to drink, it was just barely sweet (7% alcohol), but had the pear of the Moscato grape and a slight red cherry/strawberry note from whatever red wine they blended in to give it it's color. Fresh, crisp, frizzante, a gorgeous dessert wine from Piemonte that totally threw me for a loop, way better and more interesting than I could have hoped for. $13.99 retail in my store. Grade: solid A.

Finally, I will mention that we had the 2010 Maculan Dindarella, a dessert wine from Veneto the PA state Store system was recently dumping for $10 a bottle (375 ml). I snagged six and brought this one to the dinner. Wonderful wine, here is my previous TN that pretty well describes it.

http://www.westcoastwine.net/ubbthreads/...true#Post373442

Grade: A-.


Wanted to mention that larry brought out an excellent red Maury, a "Vin Doux Natural" from the south of France, that was luscious, much like a fine Recioto from Veneto.

Ciao brothers and sisters in vino,

DC.


Edited by Dave Cuneo (02-25-2014 18:10:21)
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