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March 2006
Life is too short and wine is too spiritual to deny oneself a first class meal every first day of spring or so. Nevertheless, I would like to thank Mimi for allowing me to host Clos Mimi's first ever "dîner-dégustation" at one of the finest restaurants in New York City if not the United States. I would like to thank my guests, Richard Blau, Bill Rhodes, Lyle Fass, David Smydo, Mark Rudner, Dan Collins, Guy Des Rosiers, Gary Allweiss and Cindy Allweiss for their very special company. And finally I would like to thank Natalie Cox, Andre Mack, Chris Lhommedieu, Sebastien Rouxel, Craig Murascewski, Paolo Novello and everyone at Per Se who made the evening a success. I decided to organize such an event at Thomas Keller's Per Se for a couple of reasons. In March 2005 Mimi and I experienced Per Se for the first time. I thought it was appropriate to have dinner at a restaurant that carried a complete vertical of Clos Mimi's single vineyard Syrahs on its wine list. Bill Rhodes, one of Per Se' sommeliers at the time, was instrumental in adding our wines to the list. After our dinner in 2005 Paul Roberts was kind enough to order a complete vertical of Clos Mimi for French Laundry. Once upon a time Laura Cunningham, Thomas Keller's general manager, ordered the 1996 Clos Mimi Shell Creek Vineyard at French Laundry, which was a tremendous honor for me personally. For the record I have dined at French Laundry once with Mimi and once with Mark Estrin and Carroll Kemp. When Mimi and I ate at French Laundry Maggie and Tristan were not even twinkles in my eye. When Red Car invited me to dinner at French Laundry it was very difficult to pass up as Mark and Thomas were very good friends. I remember counting 22 courses coming to our table along with wines from a private cellar inside French Laundry. I will never forget sitting next to Mark and listening to his nirvana-like sighs of gustatory meditation. I have eaten at the original Bouchon in Yountville several times. This has been a great place to take family and open a bottle of Clos Mimi or "petite rousse." In my opinion Bouchon also has the best oyster bar and cocktail bar in the Napa Valley. I would bet a lot of local winemakers stop here after working in the cellar or in the vineyard all day. I love "la cuisine française" and service that leaves one speechless. I have been fortunate enough to dine at Pic, La Beaugravière, Chez L'Ami Louis, Château Cordeillan Bages, Le Beau Rivage and other 1 and 2 star restaurants in France. For me dining at Per Se, French Laundry and Bouchon all take me back to France. Therefore, what better place than Per Se to conduct my first winemaker dinner! Before I describe the meal at Per Se I would like to credit Bouchon Bakery and French Roast for helping me fast most of the day leading up to the 7:00pm reservation. I arrived at JFK at 10:30pm March 19th and still on California time and avoiding airline fare, I convinced Bill Rhodes to have a midnight supper not too far from his apartment on the upper west side. Bill chose French Roast, a Bouchon-like French bistro open 24 hours on 85th and Broadway. Outside the weather was cold (33F) but inside it was toasty and alive with music. I quickly ordered the "steak frites" while Bill ordered a bottle of 1996 Château Cantenac Brown. Little did my friend know that I lodged at Cantenac Brown during the first three months of my "stage" at Lynch-Bages 15 years ago this month? We shared the warm chocolate cake while Bill finished a Diet Pepsi and I relaxed with a very Parisian bowl of "café au lait." The next morning I headed to 10 Columbus Circle already dressed in my best Hugo Boss black suit wearing my Thomas Pink very pink (think "petite rousse" here) tie. I bought a pair of dress socks from the Hugo Boss store inside to replace ones that had been well worn from previous trips to Manhattan. Then I headed up to the third floor to soak up Thomas' newest location of Bouchon Bakery, which had only opened 7 days earlier. Pure heaven! I went to Bouchon Bakery March 8th during a Napa Valley sales trip and realized for the first time that Bouchon Bakery is my perfect stop for a "millefeuille" and cappuccino. I figured I needed a little sugar to keep my body from passing out before dinner. This time I ordered a single chocolate "bouchon" (Bouchon Bakery's signature mouth sized brownie) with my cappuccino. I sensed Thomas' genius (both culinary and business) from people watching here for a couple hours. Around 6:00pm I made my way up the escalator to Per Se. The entrance had changed since my last time here. More plants. Chairs outside the signature blue doors (which do not open by the way). Menus printed March 20th describing the seven-course option, the nine course tasting of vegetables and the nine-course chef's tasting. Once inside the salon I spotted my attorney and one of Clos Mimi's closest customers, Richard Blau, who made the trip from Tampa. Seated next to Richard was David Smydo, COO for D. Sokolin Wine, who made the trip from Bridgehampton. Richard invited David at the last minute when I realized none of the wine media would attend the dinner. I said hello to Andre, Per Se' head sommelier, and checked out the private east room before the rest of my guests would arrive. Back home I had typed up some notes on the wines from Clos Mimi's library and placed them at everyone's seat. The wines were lined up on a table just outside our room. The room itself overlooked Columbus Circle and Central Park to the east and the main dining room to the north. Andre introduced me to our captain, Craig Murascewski, and his team of sommeliers who would be working the dinner. There was a lot of excitement in the air as I walked back to the salon. As Gary and Cindy Allweiss entered the restaurant I asked Andre to pour everyone a glass of Champagne. Pumped from a Joe Dressner tasting at his store, Lyle Fass arrived next. Then arriving from Cellar 72 was my dear friend, Bill Rhodes. As the Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blancs went around the salon Mark Rudner, Guy Des Rosiers and Dan Collins quickly arrived. Cindy, Gary, Mark, Guy and Dan were invited via Mark Squires' Wine Bulletin Board at www.erobertparker.com and a thread I had started January 8th under the offline planner section. I always try to meet one or two people from "ebob" when I come to New York. Gary, Guy and Mark said they were attorneys while Dan said he was a television producer. Cindy said she was in medical sales and Per Se was her favorite restaurant. Meanwhile Guy, Mark and Dan had never dined at Per Se and was each waiting for the right opportunity to experience Thomas' perfection.
At 7:00pm Craig led our group thru the main dining area into the private dining room. The sun was beginning to set. I tried to take in the beauty of the white linens, dark walls, glass windows and sterling service wear before sitting down. Thinking about feng shui and the potential prosperity of my first business dinner, I decided to face west at the 10-person table. Based on my birth year (1967) and my corresponding male "kua number" in Chinese I will be successful when facing west. Here I am at one of the most expensive restaurants in the world hosting my first winemaker dinner with wines as old as 1996 and I need all the luck I can harness. Thus, I sat between Gary and Richard directly across from Bill trusting the ex-sommelier could handle one side of the table. Bill was seated next to Lyle and Dan. Cindy flanked Guy and David and Dan flanked Lyle while Mark. Once everyone was seated Andre began to pour the 2000 Jean Milan "Terres de Noël" Blanc de Blancs. I love blanc de blancs myself and found this Champagne to have nutty, caramel-like notes of pastry dough and lemon tart. It was a great vintage to accompany one of Thomas' signature dishes, "oysters and pearls," which is blend made in heaven of warm tapioca pearls, two tiny Island Creek oysters and cold Russian sevruga caviar served in a small white bowl with a caviar spoon. I was busy talking and remember being the last one at the table to finish the first course. Did I mention the tiny butter cone of salmon tartare and "crème fraiche" that arrived as an "amuse bouche" before the "oysters and pearls?" This is just a teaser of what's to follow. At this point of the meal I was selfishly taking notes on everything. Soon I decided to be a more social host and put away the pen and paper. Arguably one of the best courses of the night was "white truffle oil-infused custard" served in a hollowed eggshell along with a russet potato chip with a chive tip inside. I remembered this rich dish from dinner at French Laundry. Wow! Imagine black truffles, eggs, cream, veal stock, salt and pepper reduced and concentrated to the size of an egg yolk and served warm with a tiny spoon. The "salad of Hawaiian hearts of peach palm" with Washington State rhubarb was served next. This was the most disappointing course of the evening. But to be fair I was still coming down from two extraordinary courses just prior to the salad course. After the salad Andre poured the third Champagne of the evening, the Egly Ouriet "Les Vignes de Vrigny" which was produced from 100% Pinot meunier. Lyle and Bill were huge fans of this particular wine. It was a wonderful contrast to the Milan and complimented the "pan roasted fillet of line caught striped bass" nicely. I was just grateful to have two flutes of Champagne in front of me as I savored this very tender piece of fish, which tasted more like white meat than seafood. Again I was the last one to finish this course as Craig and his team was waiting to clear all the plates. I could tell I needed more practice hosting dinners. I was so wrapped up in socializing and tasting the wines that I made very little time for eating. I lost track of time at this point. The only sense of time was the glow of lights out Per Se' window. No rain. No hail. No snow was falling. There was a strong wind earlier in the day as I headed out of the subway station at 59th and Columbus. The dinner was evolving into a marathon thanks to Chris and his hard working chefs in the kitchen. I eagerly awaited the first red wine from my cellar. I asked Andre to decant the 2004 "petite rousse" before service. Soon after the wine was poured from decanter the "sweet butter poached Nova Scotia lobster" graced the table. When is the last time you paired a Syrah with baby lobster? "Mais non!" The secret to this amazing dish was its "sauce hydromel" according to everyone at the table. "Hydromel" is French for mead (honey wine). Bill was very familiar with this sauce from his days working at Per Se. "Crêtes de coq" or cockscombs accompanied the lobster, the red, fleshy crests found on a rooster's head. Upon further research I discovered a recipe for "crêtes de coq" Demidoff where Escoffier cooks the combs with water, flour, salt and lemon juice. Then they are slit open, filled with a puree of foie gras and chopped truffles and coated with a thick truffle sauce. The "crêtes" are cooled, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and then deep-fried. I'm not sure if Chris used this classic technique from Escoffier, but I will say this course really showed off "petite rousse" and its "double strawberry" (Gary's comment here) nose. Lyle said the wine was closer to Crozes-Hermitage than Burgundy, which has been my feeling on the 2004 vintage since bottling. Rob Klafter who turned down his "ebob" invitation tasted the wine the next day at my distributor's spring tasting. Interestingly, Rob swore that "petite rousse" smelled like a wine made from 100% Grenache. Amazing! All I can say is Rob you must barrel sample my late harvest Grenache next time you're in Santa Maria. And Rob you missed a great time at Per Se!
Five courses down. Seven to go. Next up was the supplemental "foie gras" course. About a week before the dinner Natalie had asked me how many of my guests would be interested in a "whole roasted Hudson Valley Moulard duck 'foie gras'" added to the nine-course chef's tasting menu. While Cindy waived the foie, it's interesting that all the guys ordered the foie. Before everyone's course arrived Craig presented two whole foies from the kitchen on a glass plate to our table. Figuring my vegetarian wife and daughter would be embarrassed later, I didn't hesitate to take a picture. For the second red wine of the evening I asked Andre to pair the 2000 Clos Mimi "bunny slope vineyard" Syrah from magnum (double decanted) with this course. The duck liver was superb and I usually prefer imported foie myself. Very rich and may I say one too many pieces to keep up in the race. The first Clos Mimi of the evening was a little volatile on the nose. Jägermeister anyone? A little too much chocolaty new oak hid the wine's charming blueberry character. A couple years ago this Syrah would have stood up nicely to the foie. Let's just say this wine has lost its baby fat and all of my guests were anxious to taste the 1998 and 1996 Shell Creeks and the 1999 Chave.
Like a proud father I kept a glass of "petite rousse" and "bunny slope" in front of me as the next two wines were being served. As difficult as it would be with such a long menu, I still wanted to watch the first red wines open up over the remainder of the evening. The next course was our first meat course called "pan seared Libery Valley Pekin duck breast." Andre poured the 1998 Clos Mimi "shell creek vineyard" Syrah from magnum (also double decanted) in one glass and the 1999 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage rouge (750ml from the wine list) in a second glass. I must admit I am fond of the 1999 vintage in the Northern Rhone. Not only was 1999 a very ripe year for Hermitage and Côte Rotie, it was also the year our first child, Maggie, was born. I had never tasted the 1999 Chave before, but I wanted to throw in a French ringer from a very California-like vintage. Initially the Chave was supposed to be served with the cheese course, but at the last minute Bill brought a bottle of 1978 Jaboulet "Les Jumelles" from Côte Rotie and Andre recommended serving the Chave alongside the 1998 "shell creek." The duck was very good. The 1998 "shell creek" was better! The nose was full of pepper, espresso beans, coffee, and dark chocolate with a hint of roast beef. On the palate the 1998 "shell creek" is very young and very Bordelaise. This vintage macerated for 30 days on the skins and was pumped over "à la" Château Lynch-Bages in a closed stainless fermentor. 100% indigenous yeasts. Very little press wine went to barrel. Similar to the 1996 and 1997 "shell creek" wines the 1998 vintage was racked four times a year which, in my pagan school of winemaking, meant every equinox and solstice. Today I am only racking the single vineyard Syrahs on the summer solstice as my style becomes more influenced by Burgundy. Anyways, Andre was smart enough to offer a glass of each wine to the kitchen as the dinner progressed. What I would later discover during the kitchen tour is the fact that Chris was so enamored with the 1998 that he asked his team to prepare another duck course at the last minute. Two wines. Two duck courses. The "duck leg 'en crépinette'" blew away the entire table! I was still sniffing the 1999 Chave when Craig announced the chef had made a bonus course. I remember Bill explaining the "en crépinette" technique to everyone once he realized what had arrived at the table. One almost has to enroll in cooking school to fully absorb everything coming out of Thomas' magic kitchen. Gary commented on the 1998 "shell creek" as having a "Cabernet" finish. Over the course of the evening I sensed Gary's affection for Screaming Eagle as well as a very discerning palate. It's curious to note the 1998 "shell creek" was aged 22.5 months in Seguin Moreau barrels purchased directly from Château Margaux. The 1996 "grand vin du Château Margaux" spent 18 months in these barrels just prior to being loaded onto a container bound for Clos Mimi. Fwiw the same Margaux barrels were used on the 1999 "shell creek," the 2000 "bunny slope" and the 2003 "etiquette rose." Back to the 1999 Chave for a moment. I am normally easily impressed with French wines especially from the Rhone. I had a hard time finding a lot of "terroir" in this Hermitage. Hopefully the wine was entering a backwards phase as one often hears when speaking of the Hermitage blanc at such an age. One person made the comment that Chave tends to be rather oak driven in recent vintages. I didn't detect a lot of vanilla here. Parker described the 1999 Chave Hermitage upon bottling as having "tell-tale Hermitage fruit characteristics (blackberries, cassis), minerals and spice" and "the greatest vintage of Chave since 1990." From my perspective I wonder whether that's the influence of Marcel Guigal and Robert Parker on Jean-Louis. Speaking of Parker, Bob was the second person after Richard Blau I invited to tonight's dinner at Per Se. Last March I invited Bob to dine with Mimi and me at Per Se. With a little luck and with a few more Clos Mimi "La Las" under my belt, I will have the fortune of breaking bread with Bob like Jean-Louis and Gérard Chave do. So you're probably asking yourself what meat could follow a lobster course, a foie course and two duck courses? "Snake River Farm's beef sirloin" with "sauce Bordelaise" to be exact. What's not revealed on the menu is the fact that Chris added a single piece of Australian Wagyu beef to the plate next to the 3-4 pieces of sirloin. This course was a marathon in itself! Potatoes and mushrooms stood on end at the top of the plate. Forget the two cuts of beef, the sauce alone was a match made in heaven for the wine, the 1996 "shell creek vineyard" (double decanted) poured from magnum! This dinner symbolizes the second time I've opened magnums of the 1996 and 1998 "shell creek." For me it was hard to say which vintage showed better at Per Se. Perhaps with Riedel Bordeaux sommelier stemware it would have been easier to differentiate the vintages. Perhaps with less food and Champagne to start the evening! Perhaps with less conversation between everyone as the dinner progressed. I was not complaining. The 1996 stood up beautifully to the beef. Both the 1996 and 1998 "shell creeks" were harvested late by California standards (eg. 27-28 October and 1 November respectively). The 1996 fermented dry at 14.1% alcohol while the 1998 fermented dry at 14.8% alcohol. The 1996 macerated for 21 days based on what I took away from Bordeaux as being a normal "cuvaison" for the best "châteaux." Once again 100% indigenous yeasts. Aged 25 months in 3-4 year old Seguin Moreau 225L barrels purchased from Far Niente (FN happens to sell the cleanest used Seguin Moreau barrels in Napa according to Seguin Moreau). The pH at bottling on this wine was 4.19 as I decided (with a little advice from Dave Ramey) never to acidulate my own wines. This was my first vintage of Clos Mimi. The wine is ten years old this year. Where does the time go? Parker gave this wine "10-12 years" in his original review of the 750ml format. The wine had remarkable freshness on the nose. Cinnamon, cherry, roasted coffee, a little chlorophyll, and a whiff of aged beef. On the palate the tannins were "pointu" as the French like to say and softening slowly with time. Lyle preferred the 1996 to the 1998. He went on to predict the 1996 will outlive the 1998. And what really made me proud was when he said the 1996 is a "30-40 year wine" from magnum easily! I have said it many times before… my goal for Clos Mimi is to produce a wine capable of aging 50 years in order for Maggie and Tristan to experience their Father's passion and hard work. It is also a question of setting goals for myself that reflect the traditions of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone. Bill made perhaps the most intelligent point of the evening during this course asking everyone what is the oldest California Syrah anyone has tasted. While I have tasted the 1974 Phelps Syrah and the 1988 Orion, most of the guests had not tasted anything older than the 1992 Sine Qua Non and the 1994 Araujo. Therefore, we really don't have the experience tasting California Syrahs as old as, let's say, the Tchelistcheff vintages of BV Cabernet. Needless to say, this was the moment I had been waiting for in terms of assessing Clos Mimi's ageworthiness. I think Lyle and Bill may have proposed a toast at the end of this course to the wine. I can't remember.
"Du fromage Monsieur?" Craig delivered a very handsome cheese course titled "Vermont Shephard" with "sauce Dijonnaise" to the table next. Bill and I decided to serve the 1978 Jaboulet Côte Rotie "Les Jumelles" without decanting with the cheese since it was the oldest wine of the evening. This was the only wine served in a Riedel Hermitage Sommelier glass. The "Les Jumelles" had tremendous secondary and tertiary aromas. Here's another wine I wish I took notes because I adore how older French wines lose their appellation on the nose and remind me of Bordeaux or Burgundy. This is a subject I discuss online with Gil Schwartz from Las Vegas in fact. Gary insisted the "Les Jumelles" was past its prime with lots of (volatile) acidity on the finish. I am very sensitive to volatile acidity (VA) and I don't recall this wine being noticeably volatile on the nose especially for a 28 year old Côte Rotie. Bill thought the wine was holding its own with the cheddar. I decided to pass on the course altogether as I had lost my stamina for Chris' VIP menu. Plus I needed more time to taste the previous 3 wines served. I could not find Parker's review on the 1978 "Les Jumelles," but this is what he said about the 1961 vintage in Wines of the Rhone Valley (1997) fwiw: "Lamentably, Jaboulet does not make Cote Rotie such as this anymore. This spectacular wine exhibited a huge Syrah nose of hickory smoke, berries, coffee, and meat. The wine is splendidly concentrated, vividly well focused, and amazingly long and refreshing. This is a textbook Cote Rotie that could easily evolve, perhaps even improve, for another 10-15 years. Astonishing! Last tasted 2/92." By passing on the cheese course I was able to attempt the sorbet course. Chris created an out of this world "banana sorbet" with caramel "génoise," milk jam and vanilla custard! For all that the salad course lacked this dish had in spades! In my experience with "prix fixe" menus it's the sorbet course which is often disappointing or plain boring. Call me a banana whore, but this little "glace" was incredible! I would call this a dessert teaser more than a traditional sorbet. Very sweet on the palate. Very creamy. The dish reminded me of a story about Clos Mimi's distributor in Pennsylvania, Ronnie Sanders, who hosted a private dinner at Le Bec Fin three years ago. Ronnie paired a magnum of the 1998 "shell creek" with a magnum of the 1998 Sine Qua Non "E-Raised" during one of the courses. Instantly Ronnie found a very banana-like quality to my wine and joked with the whole table that I must use bananas to fine my wines! I digested Ronnie's sarcasm with diplomacy that evening. But it's funny to have a sorbet course at Per Se remind me of a great dinner in 2003. Mark Estrin who passed away last year at 57 years old from a long battle with brain cancer was at the same dinner representing Red Car. Mark was "trop jeune" as I like to say, but I did hear from a good friend of mine, Mel Damski, that Mark was able to dine at Per Se before his condition worsened. Life is too short… The only sense of time at this point was Cindy's cell phone ringing. It was her limo driver calling to see how much longer he should wait downstairs. And Gary telling me how certain drivers won't stick around for their clients. I sensed Gary and Cindy might miss their ride back home. Ironically Mimi was worried weeks before the dinner that my flight would be delayed into JFK when the east coast was dealing with massive snowstorms. And hence I would not make my own winemaker dinner. Well just as my plane had landed 15 minutes early from the faster than normal jet stream tailwinds between Phoenix and Long Island, the Allweiss' driver waited the extra 30 minutes for the dinner to finish. Oh! I almost forgot about the tiny "crème brulée" that landed on the table after the sorbet course. They were carefully placed near the wine glasses between settings as if to share with another guest. I remember slowly scooping one of these. Nevertheless, from the "millefeuille" at Bouchon Bakery to the "oysters and pearls" to the "white truffle oil-infused custard" to the Peter Rabbit sized "crème brulée," I think Thomas has an impeccable touch when it comes to custard.
The twelfth course of the evening was dessert. Thomas' pastry chef, Sebastien Rouxel, created a "deconstructed" (Craig's word here) "snickers bar" with milk chocolate "crémeux," chocolate "sacher" and salted caramel "gelée" with Spanish peanut "nougatine" and nougat ice cream. My apologies for not taking out the digital camera, as the presentation on the plate was sensational! A couple days earlier I asked Andre to serve the 2002 Clos Mimi "étiquette blanche" late harvest Syrah (not decanted) with dessert. Sebastien obviously tasted the wine before creating this chocolate and caramel based dessert for our table. Again I didn't have the French/Euro stamina to finish the entire plate. This was the type of course that Mimi can truly savor and appreciate. I was more concerned about hearing everyone's comments on the wine. The "étiquette blanche" contains 19.9% alcohol and 22 g/L residual sugar for those not familiar with this wine. The wine smells a lot like "grand cru" dark chocolate to me. Perhaps a 72% Guanaja Valrhona! The palate pushes the envelope for California Syrah for sure. The ripe tannins are completely hidden by the wine's alcohol and sweetness. The heat was not very noticeable thanks to the multiple courses of meat that proceeded dessert. Cindy commented that this was a wine to sip. Personally I would hesitate recommending this wine with dessert since there is so much going on in the glass. Think of it as a great vintage of Château d'Yquem if you will. Sure Yquem pairs lovely with foie gras and certain desserts. But great Yquem is a dessert in itself and should be savored with good company at the end of a great meal in my opinion. Guy loved the wine. It was the most animated Guy had been all night. Bill emphatically stated the 2002 "étiquette blanche" reminded him of a Banyuls, Maury or Rivesaltes. Bill also reminded everyone it is nearly impossible to find an unfortified table wine with this level of alcohol. The alcohol is well concealed on the nose thanks to the indigenous yeasts conducting the fermentation and the miniscule 0.3-ton per acre yield in the vineyard. I will say this is the most serious "vendange tardive" Clos Mimi has released to date. If the 1996 "shell creek" can last 40 years in magnum then I am confident in predicting the 2002 "étiquette blanche" will age 50 years in its 750ml format. This is not a Syrah for everyone admittedly. Then again Mozart's 40th symphony was not completely appreciated in his lifetime. I would love to compare this wine with a magnum of the 1947 Cheval Blanc on my 50th birthday. One can dream after dinners like this! At the bottom of the menu one will find "mignardises" which comes from the old French noun, "mignard," meaning a small child. These small desserts are meant to be delicate, graceful and pretty. What I was expecting to be "petits fours" served on a tiered tray was actually artisan chocolates made in house. Melissa Termyna was the server. Melissa presented six different chocolates to each guest from a sterling tray. Forest mint. Macadamia nut. Peanut butter. Coconut truffle. Milk chocolate truffle. Dark chocolate truffle. One could order as many as one's heart desired. Again Sebastien was responsible for the chocolates. I remembered this chocolate service from my dinner with Mimi last year. It was very impressive to see the restaurant execute the service to a table of ten. I heard from someone at the table that Thomas custom designed the porcelain plates and matching sterling trays just for the chocolate course! Later while researching some of the evenings courses online, I discovered that Thomas designs the cappuccino cups and saucers for his signature "coffee and doughnuts" course. Mimi and I had this dessert course last year and I will say it is the ultimate way to finish a great meal if one loves espresso or really good coffee. Back to Melissa and her regal plates of chocolates. I chose peanut butter, milk chocolate truffle and dark chocolate truffle to be polite, but I knew I would end up taking them back to California in a small box for Mimi and the kids. It was all I could do just to photograph the last dish of the dinner.
After the chocolate service Craig escorted everyone to the kitchen to meet Chris and his team of sous chefs. Chris was very eager to meet us and answer questions and even pose for a photo with me. Thomas was in Yountville that evening and Jonathan Benno had the night off. Chris showed us the flat screen monitor on the north wall, which had a live feed from French Laundry's kitchen. Very New York! Chris can communicate with any chef he wishes in Yountville and vice-versa. At this point it was probably midnight and the chefs were relaxing with some Gatorade and their notebooks. The kitchen was spotless. As I put my arms around a couple of the guys I was thinking about the sacrifice each one of Thomas' chefs must make to enter the cooking world. Thanks Natalie! It was nice to get a behind the scenes look after the perfection at the table. As Craig discreetly brought out the checks I said good night to each of my guests. Clos Mimi donated the wine from its own cellar for this dinner. Richard offered to pay for his dinner and David's while I covered Bill and Lyle's dinner. Gary, Cindy, Guy, Dan and Mark had agreed earlier online to pay for their own dinner, a percentage of both the corkage and the wines ordered off the wine list. The final amount per person was extremely reasonable given all the water, the Champagnes, the Chave, the Jaboulet, the "amuse bouches," the extra meat courses, etc. plus having our own room for the entire evening. The service was so VIP that Richard and I decided to tip an extra 5% on top of the 20% already factored into the check. I walked Richard to the front door and thanked him for making the long trip. If it weren't for Richard's encouraging emails before the dinner this event might have never happened. Andre had left the restaurant a few hours earlier, but I thanked Craig for everything and said goodbye to a few of Andre's sommeliers still working. Bill and I were the last ones to leave Per Se. I looked at my watch for the first time since entering the salon. It was 12:30am! All I can say is thank goodness I was still on California time! All in all, Clos Mimi's first winemaker dinner was a six and a half hour adventure I will never forget. "Bon nuit." Tim PS. I realize that there are customers who like to criticize a 4 star restaurant like Per Se when the service is average or when the food is not up to their expectations or when the wines are marked up 300+% or when the corkage fee is higher than almost any other restaurant in the country. In my opinion Per Se "c'est parfait." http://www.frenchlaundry.com/perse/perse.htm
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