Gang of Pour - Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here - Bree's Take on the Menu and Wine

Getting back together with the Gang was cause for celebration. It had been six years since geo, Kim, Kerr, Larry and I had tasted together.

I wanted to create a summer menu that would complement the wines I had brought and hoped to include a dish from dinners past as well as a few new ideas.

I had been holding out this horizontal of 99 Rochioli Pinot in anticipation of a special dinner – none could be more special than this, and I love the notion of “Ten Years After” themed stories.

The Food:

Cucumber Shooter with Kafir Lime, Mint and Crème Fraiche Crispy Housemade Pork Belly with Michigan Cherries and Cherry Gastrique Poached Wild Salmon on Fava Bean Puree with Tarragon Beurre Blanc and Herb Salad

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Pan Roasted Lamb Medallions with Wild Rice, Melted Leeks and Lamb Reduction Mushroom Consommé with Chanterelle Crostini Apple Fig Tarte with Creme Fraiche

This dinner was as much Kim’s as it was mine – she helped every step of the way and was responsible for many of the fine ingredients.

Kim had been raving about a Cucumber Martini she recently had that was enormously refreshing, so I tried to create an amuse bouche by infusing cucumber with aromatics and adding a bit of vodka to lower the freezing temperature. While not as successful as I had hoped, it was refreshing and a fine starter.

Kim’s fine Confit of Pork Belly was a great starting point for the second amuse and her very special cherry vinegar was the perfect match. The fruit was a great match for the pork, and the acidity was the ideal foil for the fatty pork belly. Delish!!

The Poached Salmon and Fava Bean Puree is a dish I’ve prepared for the Gang on several occasions, and offered a good pairing for the “lighter” Rochiolis. Unfortunately, the sauce broke, but Chef Kerr forgave me (I think.)

The Mushroom Consommé has become a signature dish for me. I love its simplicity, elegance and depth of flavor and texture. Pinot Noir is the only wine to serve with it, I believe.

The pan roasted Lamb Tenderloin is my favorite lamb preparation (along with the grilled butterflied leg of lamb we served at MoCool). It is flavorful and wonderfully tender, lending itself to pairing with more substantial Pinot. This dish and the ten year old East Block were a sublime match.

The apple tart was the perfect ending and I made it a point to eat more than my share.

Thanks, Kim – great job all around.

The Wines:

The Gang has great affection for the wines from Rochioli and while lots of vertical tastings are reported upon, I couldn’t recall ever seeing all the Pinot from a single vintage tasted at one sitting.

I was unable to take detailed notes because I was cooking, but I came away with a few impressions:

The ‘six year rule’ for California Pinot simply no longer works. At ten years of age, none of these were tired, old or over the hill.

I think the Estate bottling is under-rated. Most are consumed before they reach peak and they develop surprising complexity with bottle age.

The West Block is the cheerleader of the lineup. Exuberant and forward, it seems to invariably show the ripe and bright side of this variety and always makes me smile.

For me, the East Block was the star of the show. Tasting this wine was like driving to San Francisco from the north – you drive down through the Waldo Tunnel, then a spectacular vista is laid out before you. Just amazing. This wine, along with the Three Corner and Little Hill can easily go another five years, probably longer.

I suspect the wines were bottle shocked from the flight to Day Twah, and might have been even more impressive if they had had a couple of weeks to rest. Nevertheless, this was a splendid tasting and illustrated the longevity of these wines in good vintages.