Red Burgundy Dinner in Raleigh

[wondersofwine]

Tomorrow night is the Beaujolais Nouveau dinner at Saint Jacques. Menu looks fabulous. Beaujolais Nouveau with goat cheese and caramelized onions and Fleurie, Moulin a Vent, Morgon and Kir Royal made with reduction of Regnie with other courses (quiche of bacon and Swiss cheese with mixed greens, seabass and mushroom en croute, pork and pancetta with bechamel sauce and shredded potato galette, and dessert of fruit crepe with whipped cream). All for $65 plus tax and tip.

Last Thursday was the Red Burgundy dinner at Enoteca Vin. Veterans' Day was a Federal Holiday so I stayed overnight in Raleigh and enjoyed a good lunch at Zely and Ritz the next day. You had a choice of two appetizers, two entrees, a cheese course and choice of dessert with four red Burgundies. I chose tuna tartare over a lentil appetizer.

Ahi Tuna Tartare with finely chopped black olives, herb salad and aioli with 2001 Cote de Nuits-Villages "La Robignotte" from Gilles Jourdan. I really enjoyed the tuna with olives. I have purchased two vintages of the "La Robignotte." The 2001 is priced at $24.99 and the 2002 and 2003 both sell for $29.99. 13% alcohol Pale red color with clarity. Lots of fragrance--cherries, rosehips. More cherry and fruit here than earth. (Not as much substance as the Jayer-Gilles CdN-Villages but quite elegant and smooth. I would be happy drinking either of these). Very nice with the tuna tartare.

For the entree I chose the braised beef shortribs with celery root puree and braised red cabbage over the roasted chicken with sweet potato entree. The chef, Ashley Christensen, really has a great touch with the shortribs. They were probably braised in red wine and were incredibly tender. I developed a love for celery root (in salads) and red cabbage while living in Germany so the side dishes were perfect. I ate almost every bite of the entree. Diners had a chance to compare two lieu-dits red Burgundies side-by-side with the entree course.
2002 Frederic Magnien Morey St. Denis "Herbuottes" and 2002 Domaine Michel Magnien et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin "Les Seuvrees" Vielles Vignes (old vines)
The M-S-D was labeled 11-14% alcohol and the Gevrey-Chambertin was labeled 13%. The Morey-St-Denis was a crimson color, just a bit more opaque than the "Robignotte." Cherry/berry, possibly raspberry nose. So nice that I invited the couple at the next table to sniff it. (They were not having the special dinner and were curious about these bottles being brought to the table so that I could make notes from the labels. They were from Apex, NC and newcomers to Vin Restaurant so I suggested they get on the mailing list for future events and they were eager to do so after enjoying their first meal there.) The Morey-St-Denis had pretty good length on the palate with a high note that made it seem two dimensional. It was leggy on the glass. I would describe it as a "feminine" Burgundy and delightful. Both the Morey wine and the Gevrey are priced at $29.99 at Carolina Wine Company.
The Gevrey-Chamberin "Les Seuvrees" V.V. was more masculine, a bit "heavier," less ethereal. It seemed to evoke dark fruits rather than cherries and red berries and a touch of earth or sod. It was, however, a better match to the shortribs than the M-S-D wine.
The final wine was a Grand Cru 1997 Edmond Cornu et Fils Corton-Bressandes at 13.5% alcohol. It is not listed on CWC Internet website but another 1996 Corton-Bressandes is priced at just under $100. 13.5% alcohol
Pale crimson color but nearly opaque. Red and blue fruit on the nose. Not tired. Fruit still prominent. Served with Berthaut Soumantrain cheese (a slightly riper cousin to Epoisses) with bread and raisins. Nice wine but I actually prefered the more humble Morey-St-Denis lieu-dit to the Grand Cru in this instance.
The couple next to me raved about their dessert of Turkish coffee mousse with mango and pistachio so I chose that but didn't finish either the cheese course or the dessert after filling up on the appetizer and entree.
Wonder meal once again. They plan to do these fixed price meals with wines on Tuesdays and Thursdays--different wine themes from week-to-week (or month-to-month or whatever). I hope to order a couple bottles of the Morey-St-Denis wine.