What a grand Harvest Dinner last night, for members of the International Wine & Food Society! Held in the stately Georgian Room of Seattle's Fairmont Olympic Hotel, it featured 8 exquisite courses, 8 superb wines, including a stunning Bordeaux from Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande. Not just any old bottle, mind you, but a rare 1979 impériale donated by Seattle branch president Michael de Maar.
Sommelier Joseph Linder begins by cutting the capsule on the impériale, which holds the equivalent of 8 bottles of wine. The cork is almost two inches across, and everyone is relieved when it emerges from the neck in one piece.
Now comes another crucial step: decanting. [By the way, the New York Times had an article about opening an impériale of Château Lafite-Rothschild in Wednesday's paper. Worth looking at!] Toward the end, Joseph decants over a candle, so he can be sure none of the wine's sediment gets into the carafe. Now we're good to go.
Back in the kitchen, executive sous-chef Patrick Doré, a Canadian veteran of hotel kitchens, and Georgian Room sous-chef Brian Doherty are ready to start sending out artfully composed plates.
Here they come: a truffle-crusted terrine of duck liver, accompanied by a Beaumes-de-Venise. A tuna tartare topped with seared foie gras, accompanied by a Chablis Grand Cru. A tartelet of morel mushrooms accompanied by a Beaune Clos des Mouches from Drouhin, a combination that would have been the evening's high point ... except that the Bordeaux was still ahead.
Time has come for the Pièce de Résistance, the Main Event, the Big Kahuna: grilled tenderloin of veal with crisp morels ... and, of course, the 1979 Pichon-Lalande.
There's more: a cheese course, two desserts ... two more wines and a final glass of champagne in the bar. What a wonderful evening, what a privilege to enjoy the work of such talented chefs and dedicated dining room staff. Our thanks to them all.
What's such a great wine like, 25 years after harvest? The color, first of all, is remarkable, clear and bright garnet; the bouquet is earthy [mushrooms, a touch of cigar-box]. In the mouth, it's silky-smooth, with subtle hints of violets. It's undeniably French, unmistakably Bordeaux, typically Pauillac, and uniquely Pichon.
The taste of the Pichon lingers for hours. How humbling to recognize, once again, that the fruits of a vineyard in France can produce such pleasure for three dozen people, a quarter century later, halfway around the world.
The International Kitchen
Cooking school vacations in Italy, France & Spain.
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