wine list assistance time!
We will be at The Carter House this weekend for the first time and the list is legendary, formidable and not for the financially faint-of-heart - though a cursory perusal revealed some solid landing spots.
Recommendations for $100 white/red? $250 white/red? $400-500 aged red? I am not balla enough to go DRC or 61 Lafite on this WS Grand Award winning list for the past 10+ years.
Point of info, proprietor of The Carter House in fact owns Carter Cellars in Calistoga.
I’ll play. Not much guidance to go on, but if it were me dining in your place tonight, here’s how I would spread your stated budget: 2010 Guigal Condrieu ($100); 1998 Arietta Merlot ($130); and 1989 Lynch Bages ($400), or maybe a '92 or '96 Henschke Hill of Grace ($425-$450). That comes in enough under budget to leave room for a 375 of 1997 Maculan Acininobili, a killer (albeit unrequested) dessert wine, at $145 – enjoy!
Jonathan
Glenn - I noticed the list is dated 9/4/2013.
Some good deals on the Leflaive, I would need to to some research on the vintages.
The Napa prices seem crazy to me.
Somewhat off-topic, but we stopped here for a drink on our honeymoon while driving from Portland to San Francisco. Silly me, I didn’t even realize the stellarness of the list at the time. I recall we had a very nice flight at their very nice bar, and then we headed across town to Brick and Fire Bistro for one of the best meals of the trip. Wood-fired pizzas, oysters, cauliflower and caesar salad. Some nice guy even bought us a round.
So that’s exactly zero help, but I did enjoy looking over the list and reliving my one night in Eureka. (Pricelined a $60 Red Lion if I recall correctly–it’s a wonder my wife stuck with me.)
Looking forward to the report back!
To really do it justice would require more time but I would have a hard time passing on the mag of 1994 Forman Chard for $150.
'92 Sauzet Batard Montrachet? I’m not a white burg guy but wondered about that. I know, no DRC, but relatively decent prices on a few DRC GE (1996?)
We are going to Brick and Fire too Dave, best restaurant in Humboldt Co.
God I used to drink Hill of Grace for such reasonable prices.
They used to have a wine shop in the hotel, but we were there in 1996 so I don’t know if it still exists. I’ve met Mark a couple of times and really like him. You might want to reach out to him for suggestions.
Since it’s not my money…
Slightly above budget, I’d look at some pre-premox white burgs, BM, BBM…Leflaive, Sauzet.
Best part is that you can send it back if pox’d!
92 batard sauzet is smoking- if not oxidised,89 Montrose is great ( if no brett ),70 Vega is above your budget ,but fabulous and about 100-200 over auction .01 DRC Echezeaux is auction pricing and above your budget- but excellent.Good luck
Amazing list.
My bet would be Ridge Monte Bello 1975. Exquisite, and for a restaurant about right, especially now, when the price of old Ridge has skyrocketed. Burgundy offering is incomplete and is the only major weakness on the list (perhaps a few old Zins would be nice). However it does boast a lot of DRC trophies, and the Grands Echezeaux 1989 is very fairly priced.
I would blow my budget and do a vertical of 1982, 1985, 1986, and 1987 Laurel Glen, even if I was dining alone. Nothing else gets me nearly as giddy as those wines at those prices, and it would be criminal not to have at least 1 bottle of 1980s Laurel Glen. The 1991 Diamond Creek is intriguing as well.
On the Bordeaux side, the 1995 Pichon Lalande isn’t outrageous.
I’d like to recommend a Briceland SB, made by our very own Andrew Morris. But I haven’t opened my BD purchase yet because I want to try it next to our very own Jim Cowan’s in a Lake County SB showdown and haven’t gotten around to it yet. Not a competition, but a comparative tasting to see if I can get a sense of what Lake County SB terroir is like.
There seems to be no rhyme or reason to some of the pricing. Old Montelena, Beringer, and Togni are ridiculously priced, while Diamond Creek, Etude, and Laurel Glen are comparative bargains.
But I can’t emphasize it enough, get old Laurel Glen.
In my dream, I see Nathan dining there and I send him a 187ml bottle of Zardetto Prosecco.
It looks like there are some really nice buys on the list. The 1994 Musar @ $125 is less than you can get it for retail. (A) Get this wine. (B) Call ahead and see if they can decant it before you arrive. I agree with Mike that those Diamond Creek Cabs are mighty tempting. He also recommends Briceland. I’ve drank a fair amount of Andrew’s wines (disclaimer: I consider Andrew a friend) but would bypass the SB in favor of the 2007 Syrah or the Blanc De Noir - R.D. If I remember the story correctly, this is a wine where a label fell off of a box and it accidentally aged for 11 years on the lees. So if you like older bubbles it’s worth a flyer.
I’ll let Andrew know this thread is up and perhaps he can jump in.
Hi Glenn, I hope you have a nice visit to Humboldt. How long are you going to be here?
Mike E. & Corey N. - Thanks for the mention and heads up.
What Corey said is right about the Blanc De Noir - Although it is labeled NV, it is from 1995. It aged on lees until 2007, so a bit over 11 years.
It is interesting to look at the list. I need to get over there more often. It looks like our locals have drunk through all of the older PN’s they have carried. The 11 from Phelps is pretty nice though.
Another restaurant that is worth checking out is 511. I don’t see a website, but here is yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/five-eleven-eureka
A tempting strategy. A few that could be interesting, particularly if the place will stand behind a premoxed bottle:
94 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet $245
88 Martray Corton Charlemagne $225
If you like Gewurztraminer, the 2001 Trimbach Ribeaupierre is absolutely stellar. In fact, I’d buy bottles from them to take home at that price if they’d let me.
At the red $250 level, you can’t go wrong with 2001 Cos d’Estournel.
Another notch up is a stellar bottle, if it’s clean: 1989 Montrose $350
Hi Glenn,
For the $100 white, I’d take a chance on the '91 Jaboulet Chevalier de Sterimberg. And for the $250 white, I’d take another chance on the '88 BdM CC, like Alan mentioned. Both of those could be outstanding.
For a $250 red, I’d go for the '94 Montebello. The '89 Palmer could be my choice for the $500 red, although, it’s hard to justify much at that price. I did have it when it was first released, and thought it was amazing.
Can’t speak to Burgandy, but Dunn HM (marginal premium over Napa bottling), Formans, Diamond Creeks and Laurel Glens all reasonably priced. We opened a 78 Jordan CS not too long ago that was lights out. Also definitely agree on the '75 Ridge MB.
I thought this was going to be “just the tip”.
It’s funny but everyone of these made my initial list. If 70 Vega was $550 there would be no thread, $700-750 maybe I could talk myself into it but I have no business spending $900 on a bottle.
89 DRC GE same kind of thing.