La Fille du Regiment

The entrance to the Metropolitan Opera

Juan Diego Florez created a stir in the opera world by performing an encore during the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera's La Fille du Regiment. The event caught the attention of the New York Times and other media outlets around the world. Mr. Florez has performed encores in other venues in recent years, but no singer since Pavaratti in 1994 had done so at the Met. Opera fans tuned into the Met's Saturday matinee radio broadcast on April 26th hoping to hear a repeat of this encore. Despite a very enthusiastic ovation from the sold out crowd, Mr. Florez did not repeat the tour de force aria "Ah! Mes Ami." The audience sounded like a deflating balloon as the orchestra began to play the next piece. I attended the third showing of this opera on May 2nd anticipating that maybe I would get lucky.

Juan Diego Florez in the current production of La Fille du Regiment

(Sarah Krulwich/The New York Times)

The theater was once again sold out for this Saturday evening performance, and all around me people were discussing the possibility of an encore. Mr. Florez hit the 9 high Cs that make this aria so difficult and the crowd errupted. I clapped and yelled "Bravo!" for at least 3 minutes, which is actually kind of embarrassing. The applause faded and the orchestra began to play the first notes of the next piece. Without hesitation, I let out a long "boooooo". An older French opera connoisseur seated to my right turned to give me a glare that reflected pure disgust.

A week later, I picked up the Opera News magazine which had been resting on the kitchen table and noticed a large piece on Juan Diego Florez. The article focused on his role in La Fille du Regiment and discussed in great detail the reasoning behind an encore. Mr. Florez explained that he only performs an encore when the audience gives him an extraordinary response. At one performance in Europe, he had received a five minute ovation after singing "Ah! Mes Ami." As I read the article, I began to appreciate how special an encore was to this particular singer. If he were to always repeat an aria, Mr. Florez reasoned, the act would be trivialized. A sense of remorse slowly crept though my spine. After some very expensive therapy, I can now admit that I was wrong to 'boo' at the May 2nd performance. Great singers are like great wines. They have bad nights, good nights and great nights. Diversity of performance is what makes the great bottles of wine and the great nights at the opera so special.

Schiefer, Blaufrankisch, Eisenberg, "Reihberg", 2004

The Schiefer, Blaufranksich, "Reihberg", 2004 is the most expensive bottle of red wine I have tasted from Austria. It is also the best. Uwe Schiefer, a former sommelier from Vienna, ticked off several local growers in Austria's Sudbergenland when he swooped in and bought a big chunk of the best parcel in the region, the Eisenberg vineyard. A true perfectionist, Schiefer separately bottles a cuvee from the top lieu dit within this famed vineyard. The sub-plot is called 'Reilberg.' Most of the wines I have tasted made from the Blaufrankisch grape are deep, dark and very fruity, but the wines made by Schiefer are different animals. The basic Eisenberg bottling is full of black fruits, but it is also very elegant in the mouth. The more sophisticated Reilberg cuvee shows piercing minerality on the finish, as though it was squeezed from the slate that dominates this piece of land. While the flavors in this wine are not overly complex, they are very long and persistent. I would probably not buy this bottle at the suggested retail price of $70, but it would be tempting.

The Kaiser takes on Bobo

Have you ever wondered what wine sales reps. do all day? Below is a series of e-mails between some very busy employees of a distinguished New York distributor.

Little John:

I have been infatuated with the 2001 Suduiraut ever since I had a bottle a year ago. It is undoubtedly one of the greatest wines I have ever had. I have searched out this wine, but have not been comfortable paying $75+/$130+ for the wine plus expensive shipping, considering I have no idea about provenance.

I have found the "Holy Grail." A store near my house has the 2001 Suduiraut for $55/375ml, $100/750ml. Suprisingly reasonable considering 98WA + 98WS, and from a hall-of-fame vintage. I am breaking a serious buying freeze to get on this. Although I am no master, I have had a couple vintages of d'Yquem, and some other good Sauternes, and this blows them all away. Not even close. I can't believe that wine can get much better then this. If anybody wants some, I can buy it for you and bring it the to the following sales meeting.

Bobo:

I have also had the 2001 Suduiraut and it is truly a great wine. Excluding the best vintages of d'Yquem and Climens, the '01's from Suduiraut and Rieussec might be the two most profound Sauternes produced in the last 40 years. This wine is worth buying for anyone who wants to see what Sauternes is all about.

The Kaiser:

Frankly, Sauternes is flamboyantly oaked, high in alcohol, and twice the price of a great Auslese. I'm tired of putting more money into the landscaping budget of multimillionaires' estates in Bordeaux.

Bobo:

Kaiser, your point on pricing is not correct. The 2005 Rieussec is available in 375's at Morrell for $40.95. This same store is also selling Weil's Kiedricher, Grafenberg, Auslese in 375's for $74.95. Rieussec and Weil are both regarded as top producers in their respective regions. '

Secondly, outside of d'Yquem, most producers in Sauternes are struggling to survive. Some estates do supplement thier production by making a dry white and a second label from late harvest, but 80-90% of their income is derived from a single late harvest bottling. It is not easy to make a living solely on this type of product.

Lastly, a mature bottle of a good Sauternes does not show any noticeable signs of oak. In the name of self education, you should buy a bottle of the Suduiraut.

Town Crier:

WINE FIGHT! WINE FIGHT!

Spartacus:

You think they might show some skin?

Little John:

Screw our basketball game. Let's make The Kaiser and Bobo wrestle it out in a kiddie pool full of Sauternes. Then you will get your skin, my friend.

The Kaiser:

Oh, sorry for the slow response. I was busy...umm...WORKING at my JOB.

Yeah, Sauternes is hard to make. It's still expensive, oaked and 13% alc minimum by law, no matter how you slice it. It's one sip and "that's nice, what else is there?" for this career alcoholic.

And don't come crying poverty to me. The guys live in castles in France and all they ever talk about eating is foie gras on toast points. I had steamtable Chinese for lunch and a hard slap in the face from Bertha. Ouch! Whatever dude. Drink what you like. Spartacus is getting too hot and bothered for us to have this conversation publicly.

Bobo:

Yeah, I should start selling wine, but this is too important. I fear that I am alone in defending the honor of France. You are right regarding Spartacus. We should really stop teasing him, but first I have to resond to your description of Sauternes taste.

When young, a typical Sauternes tastes sweet and shows some new oak, but these flavors mellow with time. A mature (15-20 years after the vintage) example is only off-dry and does not show any signs of oak. What is wrong with 13% alcohol? I can not recall ever tasting a Sauternes that showed its alcohol on the palate.

I find most BA and TBA wines to be too sweet when young and hard to drink. I know that these wines also become dried with time, but they will always be sweeter than a Sauternes of the same age. Do not get me wrong, I like these wines, but I feel that they are best served by themselves in small doses. Part of the charm of Sauternes is that they are food wines. A mature Sauternes is a great partner for cheese. I feel that you would not be so critical of Sauternes if you to were to taste an older example.

Sir Lancelot:

I just want to say that this is my favorite email thread since joining the company. For the record the amount of great BA's and TBA's I've tasted outweigh the amount of great Sauternes. Of course my sales people never brought me samples to taste when I was a buyer. I say drink what you dig. Also, I'm sure the Germans with the top estates aren't begging in the street. Anyway, who am I kidding, I don't have the coin to drink all this rotten wine anyway. Peace.

The Fair Maiden:

I don't understand why you guys love all these moldy wines. So they're sweet. La ti da. Mold is only good for antibiotics, otherwise it should be attacked with a good dose of Tilex or something.

Gimme a nice beautiful Shiraz anyday. That's all the sweet that I need.

Sales Manager:

I have to give a shout out to the Tokaji we sell since sweet wines are on the table. Please get this wine out of the warehouse now and stop e-mailing.

The Kaiser:

Yes, yes, drink what you like. Always. Perhaps that's my point. I've spent so many years scratching my head over ink spilled by wine scribes who take it as gospel that white Burgundy and Sauternes are the be-all and end-all of the white wine experience, when in fact, ya know what? They're just not. Not for everyone anyway, and my life and career have forthwith been spent trying to subvert the dominant paradigm. Truth is, I can drink Meursault with about four foods: chicken, chicken, chicken, and salmon. And I'd still rather have something else, like a Vouvray or good Sancerre. It's Chardonnay, people: get over it. Sauternes? Yes, it goes with Roquefort and foie gras. Have you ever, EVER seen seen any wine writer try to pair it with anything else? Perhaps they can....they don't. Tradition weighs heavy on the backs of those who praise wine. They lack imagination, or fear to use it.

But German wine. Ah! The taste of freedom! Name your cuisine, I will give you a German wine to match it. Name your desired sweetness and I will pinpoint it with perfect percision. Name your goofy vineyard, and I will give you a goofier one! (Winkeler Hasensprung! I mean wacka wacka wacka, right?)

But I am not anti-French, as you know. Quite the opposite. I spread the gospel of any and all European wines wherever I travel in this great, sprawling, wine-starved country of ours. For Loire Chenin Blanc in all its shapes, sizes and colors, my praises know no bounds. The greatest dry white comeuppance of our generation? Muscadet. The sexiest red with the mouthfeel of your most fervent young lover? Cotes du Roussillon. The wine that strikes joy into my crusty, splintered , world-weary heart like no other. Beaujolais.

But Sauternes leaves me cold. And Bordeaux is too much money. And white Burgundy is a lovely, lovely way to intrigue my cerebrum - but leaves my lower extremities untouched. That's just me (I promise to still sell them).

And so I refer back to Sir Lancelot's humble email, which pleased me by its personal nature and lacked the didactic, scolding tone of Mr. Bobo's, who assumed I somehow had never tried a mature Sauternes in my 15+ years of service in this industry. To whom I say only that the perfectly stored jeroboam of 1990 d'Yquem that I tasted five or so years ago with naive, childlike anticipation left me so disappointed that I wiped my tears dry and I swore off that over-priced, over-reviewed, mega-monster of the wine world forever. Unless someone buys me a glass, in which case I will accept enthusiastically, and drink it with honest appreciation and gratitude. Because I know what it meant to them to part with it.

Bobo:

Little John, I think The Kaiser is in for two bottles of the Suduiraut.

The view from Le Charlemagne on the hill of Corton.

Bar Boulud - grace a Dieu!

Every year my wife and I attend two or three performances at the Metropolitan Opera, and every year I struggle to find a worthy place to have dinner prior to the performance. The dining options surrounding Lincoln Center have been rather poor, considering the large number of wealthy people who descend on the area each year. Sure, the three star restaurant Picholine is in walking distance, but it is hard to squeeze in a five course meal and be out the door by seven o'clock. Daniel Boulud was obviously thinking along the same lines and has come to the rescue. Bar Boulud is a sharp, upscale wine bar that offers a perfect combination of excellent French country cooking, a very good wine list, timely service and a lively atmosphere.

Daniel Johnnes, the Wine Director for Mr. Boulud's restaurant empire, has put together a compact selection consisting of excellent producers. I was, however, a little disappointed that the list was not larger. That said, I still found a beautiful bottle to drink, a 2005 Georges Roumier, Bourgogne, rouge. Judging by the silky texture of the wine, I would guess that the fruit for this cuvee came from Chambolle. I have had two bottles from Roumier in the past year. A 1999, Chambolle-Musigny was still young and a little rustic, but I loved its full body and depth. Despite being 17 years old at the time, a 1990 Chambolle-Musigny, Amoureuses, 1er Cru was very tight and firm. Until the last sip, that is. With one drop left in the glass, the wine suddenly softened and released a beautiful fragrance. Oh well. In contrast, the Bourgogne was delicious as soon as it was opened, full of ripe black raspberry fruit. I would have been really happy with this wine even if the lable had read 'Chambolle-Musigny'.

I started with a cold terrine of fois gras, sweetbreads and morels and my wife ordered one made with slow braised short rib. Both were excellent. The soft shell crab special entree tasted very bright and fresh. An order of blood saugage (Boudin Noir), was excellent, moist and full of dark juices (blood?). The two desserts we ordered were very good, but not as exciting as the previous dishes. Amazingly, I left the restaurant without feeling weighed down and ill, which is important when the next three hours are spent sitting in a dark, hot theater. Bar Boulud and its burg centric wine list is a very welcomed addition to the Lincoln Center area. Roumier and Verdi, music to my ears.

Nothing to do with wine

Jack Chesbro (5'9", 180 Ibs.), New York Yankees, 1904

41-12 W-L / 1.82 ERA
55 G / 48 CG / 454.2 IP / 338 H / 88 BB / 239 SO / 6 SHO

Chesbro's 41 wins are the official record for a single season.

Executive Wine Seminars - 2005 White Burgundies: The 1er Crus

Tuesday evening (4/29) I attended the Executive Wine Seminar tasting of 2005 White Burgundy 1er Cru's. The event was held at the The Warwick Hotel in Manhattan and was presided over by Robert Millman and Howard Kaplan. This turned out to be a fun and very interesting tasting.

***The following wines were sampled blind, with the results revealed at the end of the tasting***

1- Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru, "Les Champs Gain", Ripe nose, round and rich on the palate. This wine has a lot of glycerin with its creamy texture, but still shows good minerality. A very elegant wine.

2- Vincent Girarden, Meursault, 1er Cru, "Genevrieres"
Subtle nose. Color is a little deeper. Rich on the palate, but with piercing minerality. The flavors are very long and the texture is elegant and smooth.

3- Jean-Philippe Fichet, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er Cru, "Les Referts"
Muted nose. Fat and rich. Showed very little mineral at first, but this became more present with air. Soft in the mouth and not as complex. Some sulfur on the nose. Turned out to be very good.

4- Remi Jobard, Meursault, 1er Cru, "Charmes"
First bottle was corked. Second bottle was off. Elegant in the mouth, but both bottles proved to be flawed. Only one person at the tasting enjoyed this wine.

5- Pierre Morey, Meursault, 1er Cru, "Perrieres"
Deep nose dominated by charred oak. Some sulfur at first. Very big and deep in the mouth with good minerality. Very intense in the mouth. A very good wine, but shows noticeable oak.

6- Bouchard Pere & Fils, Meursault, 1er Cru, "Perrieres"
Subtle nose. Very pretty and elegant in mouth. Very well balanced. Rich in glycerin, but finishes with excellent minerality. Outstanding.

7- Paul Pernot, Meursault, 1er Cru, "Les Pucelles"
Sulfur on the nose and on the palate. Deep color. Rich and warm in the mouth. Bacteria-like taste. Seemed flawed.

8- Patrick Javillier, Meursault, "Les Tillets"
Very pretty nose. Cool fruit flavors in the mouth. Very elegant. Lacks minerality and is short on the finish.

9- Henri Boillot, Meursault, 1er Cru, "Genevrieres"
Some sulfur on the nose. Tangerine fruit. Very full and rich, yet excellent minerality. Long flavors. Big wine, but not heavy. One of the best at this tasting.

10- Domaine Leflaive, Pulingy-Montrachet, 1er Cru, "Les Pucelles"
Typical Leflaive nose, which must be the type of oak which they use. The fruit is very concentrated on the center of the palate, but the wine is rather light. I would never guess this for being a Pucelles. Good, but very disappointing.

11- Jean Noel Gagnard, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru, "Les Caillerets"
Tight nose. Big, rich and mineral in the mouth. The flavors are long and this wine shows more fruit than most at this tasting, but it is one-dimensional. Very powerful.

12- Bernard Morey, Pulingy-Montrachet, 1er Cru, "La Truffiere"
A rich wine, but little minerality. This is a powerful wine, but it is also one-dimensional.

13- Yves Boyer-Martenot, Meursault, 1er Cru, "Genevrieres"
More fruit on the nose and palate. The texture is mouth coating, but some alcohol shows through on the palate. Almost fat, but finishes with excellent minerality. This wine has the most complexity of the group.

Conclusions:

- 2005 has produced many rich, full-bodied wines, but some felt too fat and one-dimensional. The best wines of the vintage combine the rich textures with strong minerality.

- Meursault appears to have shined in 2005, partically the Genevrieres vineyard. Perrieres is usually held in higher regard, but the Genevrieres in this tasting were just as good, if not better.

- 2005 is a very good vintage, but when tasted next to the same wines from 2006 (as I did in France this past July) most seem one-dimensional. The wines made from the top producers in Meursault appear to be the exception.