Fond

A couple of old friends (both ex-coworkers of mine) and I finally managed to get together a few nights ago. Given our disparate labor schedules, not to mention other requirements in life, such meetings have become far too few and distant between. When the stars finally do align, though, you can pretty much count on both wine and food being involved. One can also depend on all of us bringing along a bottle or four that we want to share with each other, often something that we suspect the others may not have had in a while, maybe even something that holds a little in the way of sentimental value. On most such occasions, contributions are pretty evenhanded; on this night, though, I took all but total control of the wine corner, as I was in the mood not just to drink some cool stuff but, more importantly, to turn my buds on to some wines I was pretty sure they'd never had the chance to experience.

An aperitif started things rolling right, a glass for each of us of the second oldest wine yet "newest" vintage of the night, the 2000 Rioja Gran Reserva Rosado "Viña Tondonia" from R. Lopez de Heredia. I'd actually tasted the '98 rosado with one of my cohorts a few months earlier but, as fate would have it, it wasn't a stellar bottle. This one I really wanted to be right and it was, really lovely stuff, oxidative at first whiff but still very young, full of potpourri, wood spice and coconut oil aromas and an overall impression of warm, sun-baked sands.

The scene of the crime, by the way, was Fond, a BYOB spot in the burgeoning, cultural polyglot of a neighborhood that is South Philly's East Passyunk Avenue corridor. I'd eaten at Fond once before with satisfying enough results but on this night chef Lee Styer and crew were cooking at another level.

To a man, we started with Fond's veal sweetbreads, fried to a fine balance between external crispiness and internal creaminess, seasoned just one stop short of the end of the line, and very nicely appointed with the sweetness of wilted onions and rich simplicity of a sunny-up egg. Radikon's 2002 Venezia-Giulia Ribolla Gialla, poured from its signature thin-necked 500 ml bottle, proved not only surprisingly primary, predictably golden and snappily tannic, but also a more than admirable match with our salty, savory plates of ris de veau. Proof aplenty that orange wine really isn't just for uni.

My dining companions both opted for the squab, the chef's special for the day. A killer choice, I must add — one of my buddies, an alum of Le Bec Fin, where squab was a signature dish for many a year, proclaimed it the best he'd ever had. I, however, couldn't pass up on the hangar steak, which was cooked pretty much to perfection and finished with a damn tasty sauce Bordelaise.

Here, I "let" the guys slide in a sentimental choice, a bottle of 1999 Valtellina Superiore Sassella from La Castellina della Fondazione Fojanini. This is a wine we all once sold and that, I believe, its owner had hoped to share with a recently departed friend. It was richer than I remember but otherwise as expected, just barely softening and inching toward some signs of bottle development, a great-value example of how age-worthy, not to mention compelling, the wines of Nebbiolo-based wines of Valtellina can be.

I think we were all in agreement, though, that the youngster in the bunch turned out to be the wine of the night. Bernard Baudry's 2007 Chinon "La Croix Boissée" was drinking beautifully. Disgracefully young as it was, the Baudrys' wine, like the food that night, was firing on all cylinders, showing richness aligned with grace and displaying all the classic traits of Chinon grown in Cravant les Coteaux — floral, herbal and grassy, full of cassis and blueberry fruit, all seasoned with a liberal sprinkling of mineral extract. Ten more years should do this one much, much good. No matter, though. It provided a long overdue introduction to Baudry for a certain member of the Chevaliers de Chezelet, paired wonderfully with my steak, and made for a great way to wrap up and savor an evening among friends.


Fond
1617 East Passyunk Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19148
(215) 551-5000

Intro only...

Wine With Bill, VolumeTwo

It helps to keep a wine blog fed with good material when you have some good pals who share your interests and who don’t shy away from opening two (or four or five) bottles at a session. One of my most steadfast tasting partners in that context is my comrade Bill. When first I chronicled one of our tastings, my write-up of the evening spawned some rather prickly feedback, much of it off-line, from several quarters. This time around, I’ll see if I can stay out of trouble. In any event, here are some quick tasting notes from our most recent dinner and tasting venture.

Viré-Clessé “Quintaine,” Domaine Emilian Gillet (Jean Thevenet) 2002
Old school juice. Firm, tightly wired, green and giving a little wood tannin grip. Thevenet’s Viré-Clessé shows loads of acidity and wears its oak well, more in the context of its texture than its flavor and aroma. Though Thevenet apparently pushes for extreme ripeness levels and picks very late in the season, this ’02 hints at the expected outcome of such an approach only in its intense vinosity. It’s still showing young and fresh, with minerality, lemon rind, green apple and a savory vegetal tone on the palate. This is drinking well now but should continue to develop interest in the bottle for at least another five years. I’ve drunk way more than my share of Viré-Clessé over the years. Nearly all of it, though, has been from Domaine André Bonhomme, whose wines are an elegant and pure expression of peaches and cream. The Gillet is in stark but welcome contrast. Terry Hughes at Mondosapore makes some interesting comments about the intrinsic worth and comparative value of Thevenet’s Macon Blancs.

$Mid 20’s. 13.5%. Natural cork closure. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA.

Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale,” Château d’Epiré 2005
I’ve enjoyed many a Savennières from d’Epiré in the past and have always thought of them as falling soundly in the strong second tier of Angevin Chenin Blanc producers. Their 2005 came as a bit of a disappointment for me, I regret to say. The problem, I think, was one of runaway ripeness. The wine’s been finished to complete dryness and clocks in at 14% (not atypical). But it finishes with more than a little heat. There are some whiffs of typicity – quince, green gage and lavender. But both fruit and minerality seem a bit lacking. The wine may just need some time to integrate but, based on its awkwardness now, I’d proceed with caution before buying long.

$20. 14%. Natural cork closure. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA.

Pauillac, Château Mouton-Rothschild 1990
It’s not everyday that I get to taste a first growth Bordeaux. Lord knows I can’t afford to buy any. So it was with a little hiccup of excitement that I spied the bottle of ’90 Mouton among Bill’s possibilities for the evening. As it would turn out, the excitement was unwarranted. Though I suspect the bottle may not have been handled with kid gloves at every step of its journey, it was, no matter how you slice it, a dog – a dirty dog. Apparently the big critics agree to disagree, pointing out, if nothing else, a strong tendency toward bottle variation and questionable winemaking hygiene at Mouton in 1990. Though the wine showed some interesting traits in an academic sense and retained some hints of red currant typicity, my overwhelming sense was of a faulty, tired wine. Aromas of smoked meat, iron and clay dominated, followed up by a faint suggestion of clove. On the palate, the fruit seemed surprisingly dried out for a first growth from a theoretically great vintage. Fully mature, bordering on over it. While I’d love to taste an example with pristine provenance, I’m not sure how much of the disappointment with this bottle I’d chalk up to bad handling over the years versus bad handling at point of origin. The wine’s most redeeming factor? The 1990 Mouton label featured a painting by the abstract/figurative artist Francis Bacon, serving as an homage both to his art and to his memory: “En homage à Francis Bacon qui offrit à Mouton l’une de ses dernières oeuvres.” Bacon died in 1992, after the wine’s vintage but prior to its release.

$250 plus on current retail and auction market. 12.5%. Natural cork closure.

Valtellina Superiore Sassella, La Castellina Fondazione Fojanini 1998
Though I hate to give short shrift to the Gillet Viré-Clessé, this was hands down the wine of the evening. The high altitude, alpine slopes of the Valteline area of Lombardy can turn out some of the most haunting and surprisingly layered examples of Nebbiolo out there. Don’t think power or richness. Instead, imagine delicate color and seemingly, at least at first, sinewy texture. As this wine opened up though, layers of sweet fruit cascaded over the palate. Soft tannins and scintillating acidity gave framework to aromas and flavors of red licorice, violets, and warm spices. As the wine opened up, it reminded me of raspberry pastries – in the best possible sense. At nearly ten years old, it continued to evolve and improve over the entire course of the evening. It also proved an enjoyable match with a supper of roast venison loin, potato purée and sautéed greens.

$16 on release. 13%. Natural cork closure. Importer: currently unknown.

Vosne-Romanée, Domaine Forey Père et Fils 2004
Bill pulled this one out of the cellar as a vino da meditazione. By this point in the evening, relaxed and sated after a good meal, I must admit my note taking dropped off a bit. What I did note and do remember was a bright, high acid wine redolent of young red cherry fruit. A firm, lean mouthfeel delivered good balance but somewhat simple, straight forward fruit. Perhaps it’s just going through a dumb stage but I can’t help but wonder if this Vosne-Romanée will develop any more interest over time.

$45. 13%. Natural cork closure. Importer: Rosenthal Imports, New York, NY.

Intro only...