A Birthday Extravaganza at the Clifton

On the occasion of my 23rd birthday we convened at the Clifton Inn Relais and Chateaux just east of town. The guests included (the usual suspects): Paul, Toby, Andrew (the Clifton's interim Sommelier), Stacy (who arrived late as usual), and of course, myself. We sat at the chef's table and enjoyed Dean Maupin's custom created menu (in collaboration with Andrew).

I originally dictated a black tie dress code, though I relaxed this to "look nice." I wore vintage cutaway tails and a bow tie...

Andrew, Toby and I arrived early to set things up, in other words, gawk at the bottles of wine we brought and lasciviously grope them as we waited for the remaining two dinner guests. Paul arrived shortly thereafter. We enjoyed the use of a private deck leading from the kitchen where we were to dine. It was a beautiful fall evening, one of the first cool nights of the season, and we had the pleasure of watching a spectacular sunset.

Eventually we seated ourselves and opened the first bottle of the night, Henriot 1996 Brut. We sipped this bubbly while waiting for Stacy to arrive. The Chef sent out plates of duck prosciutto with duck cracklings scattered on top to tide us over until the main even started. As the minutes ticked away with still no sign of Stacy (who called and used the end of Daylight Savings Time as her excuse, though we were still one week away from this clock changing event). The chef then sent out tempura fried shrimp with a soy sauce glaze that arrived near the end of the Henriot and as we began to pour the first flight of wines, 1996 Jacquesson Brut and 1995 Jacquesson Grand Cru Rosé Extra Brut. These Champagnes showed extraordinarily well, though were overshadowed a bit by the anticipation and nervous excitement of the wines to come. The 1996 displayed everything I love in a good Champagne: elegance, refinement, purity, and complexity. The rosé certainly wooed everyone with its power and ability to pair with nearly every dish that arrived during its tenure in the glass.

Our Amuse arrived after the shrimp: a fried cornichon with smoked salmon sandwiched between some sort of root vegetable chip. The salty/fried aspect of this plate coupled with both of these acid driven Champagnes paired nicely, although the 1996 Brut, in its subtlety, seemed slightly overwhelmed.

A bottle of 1996 Chateau Simone Palette Blanc and a 2002 Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris "Clos Windsbuhl" (both from Andrew's cellar) made up the next flight. I considered this to be the best flight of the night, not necessarily because they were the best bottles, but because of the singular personality of each. The Simone, with its texture and freshness despite its age, simply stunned me. I do not know if Robert Chadderdon still imports this wine, but it represents yet one more confirmation of his good taste. The Zind-Humbrecht, petulant, assertive, trying to dominate (and did) with its incredible aromatics paired deliciously with Quail warpped in prosciutto stuffed with fontina and sage, as did the Simone, but in a very different way. The Simone complemented the nuances of the dish, playing off of the sage and highlighting it. The Pinot Gris's texture and sweetness were a nice foil to the meat itself and the saltiness of the prosciutto.

The next flight also consisted of two wines: 1997 Cheval Blanc and 1985 Pichon Lalande Comtesse, neither of which I thought were stellar, though both were very good. I suppose I had high expectations. We should have decanted the Cheval much sooner (we opted for about a half hour before the main course). This wine has definitely lost its baby fat but is still in an awkward stage of development. Despite many a critic's assertion that this vintage in Bordeaux is forgettable, I have had many very good wines at quite reasonable prices from 1997. The Cheval Blanc is a great example that even in a purportedly poor vintage there can exist some ageworthy wines. At age ten this wine shows no sign of fading away and if anything has yet to reach its best. I'd give it another three to five years to hit its stride. The Pichon disappointed more than pleased, though many at the table thought it showed very well. Coming from a 1985 Leoville Barton on my previous birthday (and a 1975 Pichon about four months ago), the Comtesse surpised me with its very pronounced green bell pepper component that reminde me more of 2004 Burgundy rather than 1985 Bordeaux. The Chef sent out lamb with mushroom risotto (I just ate the risotto, which was terrific) as our main course.

With the cheese plate we opened a bottle of 1984 Cos D'Estournel (a birth year bottle) that showed very well considering the vintage and unknown provenance. Initially quite pleasant though after about three minutes in the glass it developed a rather maderized aromatic profile. Knowing this wine might be far past its best, I also brought a bottle of 1978 Talbot. This wine was all mushrooms. Both were quite drinkable and appropriate with the cheese.

For dessert we drank a bottle of 1966 Leacock's Bual Madeira. While interesting and tasty, I felt that, had I paid full price for it, I would have been disappointed. As it was a gift from Andrew though, I thought it lovely. To be honest, however, I had to reread my notes the following morning in order to remember how it tasted.


We did have a regal guest arrive sometime during the entrée (actually Ted made his appearance right around then also, if I remember correctly...he seems to show up at the most opportune moments) namely, a bottle of 2000 Haut Brion. A party of four in the main dining room ordered this First Growth Bordeaux from the wine list and, as the story goes, were presented the bottle (which they accepted), had it decanted and served. About ten minutes later the gentleman who had ordered the wine asked to see the bottle, proceeded to tell the server it was the wrong bottle (he wanted the 2001 Lafite, not the 2000 Haut Brion), demanded the Lafite and sent back the Haut Brion. Much to our delight, the dejected manager shared the bottle with us. This wine, at $780 on the wine list, probably represents the lowest quality to price ratio on the entire wine list. Dense, compact, and not giving up anything, one would need a considerable amount of patience for this wine to come around. At least twenty years. Drink 2025 through 2060. I kid you not.

Part Two soon with Tasting Notes...