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An Atherton Paulée: From 1900 Madeira to Coche-Dury Blind

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There are carefully planned wine dinners, where every bottle has its place in the sequence and everything proceeds in a sensible order. And then there are evenings when all plans eventually give way to glorious chaos. This one began with a private recital in Atherton, followed by an extraordinary evening of wine among a group of serious wine lovers. There was no formal tasting lineup. Bottles were simply opened and shared, initially with something resembling a logical progression and later with increasingly little regard for appellation, vintage or conventional serving order. It gradually turned into something resembling a miniature Paulée . Champagne gave way to white Burgundy, then mature Burgundy, Rhône and California. But eventually bottles simply started materializing. A La Turque suddenly appeared. Then more Burgundy. Champagne returned. A 1900 Madeira entered the picture. An 1868 Armagnac followed. And just when the evening surely had to be over, the host produced a mystery whit...
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Domaine du Chevsky Goes on the Road - Dinner at Rob’s

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Last Sunday, Domaine du Chevsky went on the road. For once, our regular gathering moved out of my place and across the Bay to Rob’s in San Francisco. Different kitchen, same basic idea: a table full of friends, everyone contributing something, a progression of food that gets increasingly ambitious, and enough interesting bottles to make the afternoon stretch very happily into the evening. This one was particularly good. We started extravagantly: four dozen oysters, four different kinds , tasted side by side in a deliberate progression. First were Earthquakes from Tomales Bay , plump and meaty, slightly sweet with a mild briny finish. Then Dukes from the Atlantic Coast , much more saline, with a buttery, briny opening and an almost scallop-like sweetness on the finish. Back to Tomales Bay for the Sweetwaters , distinctly marine and salty up front, followed by clean sweetness and a subtly smoky, mineral finish. Finally, Highwaters from Humboldt Bay , lighter in brine, with seaweed-l...
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