Closing out the cycle

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There hasn't been an official MNSC dinner in over 11 months. I had tried to close out our current cycle - which began in the middle of 2022 - unsuccessfully several times earlier in the year. But busy travel schedules and force majeur made it impossible to get at least 5 of the boys together for a scheduled meal. Seeing that we were reaching the end of 2024, I reached out to the boys for one last try to host a dinner. Much to my surprise, EVERYONE raised their hands and we ended up with a full house tonight!

Since I had to cancel the original dinner scheduled at Andō earlier this year, I figured it was only right that I host the dinner there. Most of the boys have, in fact, never been to the restaurant, so it was a good opportunity to introduce them to Goldfinger. I asked for a custom menu to match the lineup of reds I was bringing, and worked out the opening/decanting schedule to Carlito Gorgor to try to catch the optimum windows of the wines.

Roasted piquillos, onion, sardines, caviar tart - this was nice, and the sardine didn't feel too heavy with the combination.

Wagyu tartare, fermented chili nasturtium bocado - this was OK.

Pulpo, white beans, chimichurri foam - this was kinda spicy.

Mint and lemongrass tea

Someone who shall remain nameless couldn't stop eating this sunflower seed sourdough...

While this butter with shaved bottarga was very interesting...

...our bread-muncher was more taken with the olive oil from Carmen del Poaig, continuously dipping the bread in the little plate of oil.

Argentinian pork and morcilla filled yunnan morel mushroom with sliced mushroom - the sauce made with mushroom purée and dashi was pretty nice.

I love morcilla, and having it stuffed inside the morel with pork was just very satisfying for me.

Liza a la plancha, daikon, shimeji mushrooms, mint / shiso sauce, black olives oil - the local threadfin was well-executed, and the sauce with shimeji (しめじ) and razor clams came with a nice acidity to offset the richness.

Braised beef cheeks Argentinian empanadas - I love empanadas and there just aren't enough places in town to get it. I'm so glad Goldfinger put this on our menu.

How could it not be tasty when you've got beef cheeks inside?! A couple of bites to go with our big reds.

Entre Todos Angus beef, roasted onion puree, braised shallots, sansho, crispy white kombu amontillado Sherry sauce - this was, unfortunately, the one dish that underperformed. Not because of the ingredient or the execution, but it was a matter of timing. No doubt the kitchen was trying to anticipate when they should serve each dish based on our progress with the wines, and in this case they fired the dish up a little too early so that the beef was tepid when it was finally served. Oh well...

Sin Lola - a special version with duck confit. Very nice.

Chocolate crumble, buttermilk ice cream, Cognac gelee, smoked chocolate foam, tuile - a nice finish to our meal with all the chocolate and Cognac. Oh and I finally got some gold foil with dessert...

This was not the first time my friends and I have brought a lot of wine to the restaurant, but it was the first time I'd done a blind-tasting dinner here. When I first walked in to the restaurant I immediately saw the lineup of wine glasses on one of the tables, and knew we'd be in Carlito Gor Gor's good hands.

2013 Emmanuel Brochet Selected, dégorgée Novembre 2022 - a big and powerful wine. Very salty, even on the nose, like aged Comté or salty lemon.

First flight: served without decanting 2 hours and 10 minutes after opening.

2000 Dugat-Py Charmes-Chambertin - more depth and concentration on the palate. Much bigger and more open nose, lovely and fragrant. 95 points.

2000 Dugat-Py Mazis-Chambertin - some leather notes on the nose, plummy. Still got some tannins on the palate. Better with the second pour and more open after 20 minutes in glass. Initially the nose showed more oxidation but improved with the second pour. 94 points.

Second flight:

2000 Andréas - served without decanting almost 3 hours after opening. Nose was a little subdued but showed mint and anise notes. More than 3 hours after opening this started to show a little savory notes on the nose, like tea leaves. 92 points.

2000 Ducru-Beaucaillou - corked.

2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante - decanted 2 hours after opening and served another 2 hours later. This was sooo rich, sooo sweet on the nose. After 45 minutes in glass the wine showed some burnt rubber. Second pour nearly 5 hours after opening, this was sooo jammy and I love it. 97 points.

Third flight:

1976 Mouton-Rothschild - served without decanting 2 hours after opening. Really nice nose of smoke and cigar, loads of cedar and wood. This was really lovely for a while but suddenly the nose became muted. 94 points.

1988 Mouton-Rothschild - served without decanting 2 hours after opening. This was really showing beautifully with so much smoke and tobacco on the nose, along with cedar and woodsy notes, as well as a bit of coffee and a hint of sweet grass. A second pour half-hour later showed the wine continuing to open and spread its wings like a beautiful butterfly. 96 points.

2000 Mouton-Rothschild - decanted 1 hour after opening, and served another 3 hours later. This wine was clearly much more concentrated, more minty. A powerful and well-made wine, although admittedly not full-blown open yet some 5 hours after opening. 97 points.

This was a very fun evening, and it had been such a long, long time since the 8 of us last sat around a table for a meal. Certainly pre-pandemic and likely pre-2018, too. Happy to see that everyone is well, and look forward to our 25th year of sharing wines together.

I'm also grateful to Goldfinger and the team for helping me to put this dinner together, especially Carlito Gor Gor for the impeccable wine service. Hope it was at least somewhat interesting for him to watch a bunch of idiots who still can't figure out what they're drinking. Unfortunately for me, I fell short of the outcome I wished to achieve tonight. Oh well... there's always next year.