by Julian Schultz
julian@oxfordwineroom.com
Perfection…plus!
Could it have been when I beheld Wendy, the fair, the pure, the lovely lily maid of wondrous wines of Mass. Liquors, as she glided angelically to the tables with a bottle each of red and white wine in hands, generously pouring, sweetly smiling, her eyelids seductively fluttering?
Or could it have been the Trentadue wines that were so magnificent and below-value priced; so much so that they influenced me to order 14 bottles from Wendy? In my octogenarian years, now in yellow sere, I don’t need any more wines in my cellar to accompany me on my journey to that undiscovered country from whose destination no traveler returns.
Or could it have been PepperCorns’ superb food that unanimously had the 23 of us extolling its presentation, its flavors, its tenderness and the imagination in its preparation?
When I addressed these three questions to tablemates, Dr. Steven Mellor and charming wife Pam, Pam immediately answered, “All three, of course!”
Of course, indeed! I heard throughout the dinner from tablemates and guests from adjacent tables that this was the best wine dinner ever at PepperCorns! Some gourmets asked pleased owner Tom Oliveri if the tuna sashimi and the veal shank are on his daily menu, and if they weren’t -- would he please add them?
C. Bighamton Cheepleigh rushed into the room, flustered and flushed, fuming, after most of us had finished the appetizer. He addressed the darling damsel of his delightful daydreams and manager of his favorite wine shop, Wendy Leo of Mass. Liquors, on Chandler St., opposite the Post Office:
“I’m totally confused by the three Trentadue wine dinners on five evenings of this week: tonight here at PepperCorns, tomorrow at the International Wine & Food Society in Sturbridge, Saturday evening at a wine dinner, again in Sturbridge, that is open to the public. Too complicated for my mentality of funds-focused frugality to fathom! I didn’t know in which direction I was supposed to go…Wow! These wines must be some kind of wonderful!”
He asked me if I had tasted them before tonight. I said that I hadn’t, although I had read glowing reports -- about some of them having won gold medals or best of class laurels in taste-offs.
Binghamton pulled a chair up to our table, which included winemaker Miro Tcholakov. Addressing Miro: “With that name you must be a Russian. Are you a communist?”
Miro laughed: “I was formerly from Bulgaria, never a communist, now a capitalist. I obtained a degree in oenology in California and worked up from cellar rat to winemaker.”
He called over John Geagea, President of Central Distributing Company in Sturbridge, and distributor of Trentadue wines: “John, is my distributor, and he is from Lebanon, in the Middle East.”
Cheepleigh looked at Geagea, his eyes and mouth wide open: “Wow! In Lebanon they are always shooting rockets overhead. I own three different vintages of the superb Chateau Musar from the Bakka Valley over there. It’s a wonder the vines are not frightened out of their roots and the grapes out of their skins with all those rockets whooshing and screeching over them.”
Cheepleigh asked Miro to tell him something about his wines. Milo said that he was about to speak to the group about them and that Cheepleigh should pay attention.
Milo is quite witty when speaking to an audience, but deadly serious about winemaking. He said that his triumphs at winemaking competitions had spurred him to apply his talents to making hands-on boutique wines, and that he bottled them in small quantities. Becoming immediately popular, these wines cleared wine shop shelves as soon as they were stocked, he said.
Underlying his quips, he spoke of earnestly about the expansion of his business: “I am amazed at the growth and recognition my wines have received in so relatively short a time. All of a sudden Trentadue wines are a hot commodity. The large number of medals they have received and the demand for them influenced us to go public nationwide.”
Then he proudly read from a telegram what a “noted, respected, wine critic” had said about his Trentadue wines: “Simply the best wines made in the world today, all of world class caliber.”
With deadpan expression and consummate timing, he added, “Signed, Tashina Tcholakov.” (Wife.) The room rocked with laughter.
He
introduced the first two wines that we sipped with the appetizer of black sesame
encrusted tuna sashimi, sliced and presented around a most delicious jicama root
(tropical Spanish/Mexican edible tuberous root) “dry” vegetable slaw. The
partially cooked, partially raw tuna was glazed with a citrus plum sauce and
capped with a crisp bird’s nest of leeks. It was my first experience with this
style salad…and definitely won’t be my last.
The wines: Trentadue Sauvignon Blanc 2002, $9.59 (after generous discounts on all wines poured at the dinner). My notes: “loaded with aromas and flavors of luscious citrus, sweet grass; dry but not austerely dry; crisp, clean; slight oakiness; finishes full, round, not overly heavy, nicely balanced.” Price value: 125/100.
Trentadue Old Patch Red 2002, $12.79, a palate seductive blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Sangiovese; the blend of these four grapes deliver complexity, surprising in so young a wine; soft tannin, fruit acids, smooth texture, soothing swallow, long aftertaste – all nicely balanced, the 14.5 percent alcohol notwithstanding. If I paid twice the price, I would consider it a sure-fire bargain. Price value: 150/100.
Three enthusiastic words cover the quality of the appetizer: Exceptional! Magnificent! Sensational!
Salad: Resting in a crib of Boston bib lettuce were frisée, radicchio and green leaf lettuce, accompanied by dried cranberries and Granny Smith apples. Pita crouton, dressed with toasted walnut and fig dressing, topped the salad…eliciting murmurs of delight from tablemates. In another three words? Exceptional! Magnificent! Sensational!
The paired wine: Trentadue Merlot 2001, $12.79. Fruit! Fruit! Fruit of blackberries, beautifully balanced with zesty fruit acid, firm tannin and velvety texture; full-bodied with loads of Merlot substance; has the personality of a more expensive wine. Just a superb wine with all the verve and zest of its brother, Cabernet Sauvignon. Price value: 150/100.
Cheepleigh was carried away as he sipped refills of the Merlot (and the two preceding wines) while chewing on crisp, chewy, warm bread: “Wendy, my adorable one, three Merlots for me and three of the Old Patch; one of the Sauvignon Blanc…and I assure you, I won’t rethink myself as usual to reduce the quantities!”
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways – no, I’m not intending to quote the favorite sonnet that my all-too-soon departed and dearly beloved Lillian would ask of me.
I am speaking of the entrée!
In all my years dining out of home I never tasted a veal shank or a lamb shank that I enjoyed more – perhaps even as much -- as I did the braised and simmered veal shank here at PepperCorns, at corner Park Ave. and Charlotte St., in Worcester.
The accompanying Lion’s Gate Old Vines Cuvée 2002, $7.99 – yes, that’s right; that’s the price – and Trentadue Cabernet Sauvignon $2000, $19.99, left me in prolonged speechlessness mouth gaping mute; I, Julian, who is never reticent to express an opinion about wine, much to the annoyance of table members. I rated the Lion’s Gate 200/100 and the cab 125/100.
But first to the entrée: A melt-in-mouth-tender braised and simmered veal shank rested on a bed of smoked plum and Asiago cheese risotto; so tender, I cut my huge portion – as was everyone’s -- with the side of my fork. Tahitian vanilla bean reduction and lemon zest with parsley accented the stunningly savory delectable veal.
Nor were the consorting wines anything less: The aforementioned Lion’s Gate Old Vines Cuvée, a blend of Carignane, Merlot, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon – the price is $7.99, remember? $7.99 – had some of us talking to ourselves. Not Cheepleigh. He shouted to Wendy: “A full case of the Lion’s Gate – yes, all 12 bottles – and I won’t – I swear, I won’t! -- rethink myself as you expect and reduce that amount.”
Some of us heard of thud and someone said they thought Wendy had fainted. No, she had dropped the empty bottle that she had been putting away when she heard Cheepleigh’s order for a full case and sworn statement of no reduction.
The aromas from the blended Lion’s Gate rose like a genie from my wine glass, like the storybook genie from the vase. I was too busy proclaiming to everyone within earshot that this had to be the bargain wine of the century -- or any century – so I had time only to record “plums, berries, black pepper, spice, balanced”; I called over to Wendy to lay in a heavy supply and not to forget my three bottles.
Milo did not solicit the applause he and his Lion’s Gate wine got from the wine lovers in attendance; he did, however, express his pleasure at our outburst. Then back to the humor he went:
“Maybe I will develop a new name for this wine. I could call it a Trentadue “Carmérpet” (Carignane, Merlot, Petite Sirah) and I think I will rename the Old Patch Red, Trentadue “Zíncarsán” (Zinfandel, Carignane, Sangiovese). They have rather catchy rings to the names, don’t you think?”
Cabernet Sauvignon 2000, $19.99, blended with Cabernet Franc and Merlot, completed the serious wines with the serious food. My euphorically scribbled notes about the cab: “blackberries, cherries; some cedar, tobacco, black pepper; subtlety of chocolate. Perhaps I imagined mint. Gangbusters wine! 125/100 price value.
Most everyone was waving forms for wine orders at Wendy as she was pouring Trentadue Petite Sirah Port 2001, $19.99 that was matched with the dessert of warmed chocolate heart soufflé in a delicate delicious sauce. The port of 18.5 percent alcohol was rich with balanced flavors of raspberries and blackberries, some raisins, and sweetness moderated with fruit acids. 125/100 price value.
I was surprised at my surprise over the port, my being a Vintage Port aficionado. I enjoyed it so much, that after savoring a small refill, I hurried after Wendy and asked that she add two of the port to my order – making a 14 bottles variety.
Excitement, camaraderie and the good fun that Milo engendered echoed throughout the room and continued until this grand, successful dinner had ended.
Kudos to Tom Oliveri, owner, who waited on tables with lovely, constantly smiling and helpful waitress Sheri Bastardo. Chef Timothy Vaillette and our charming hostess Wendy Leo were instrumental in the dinner’s success, as was winemaker Milo Tcholakov.
Milo sat opposite me and was easy to read: He’s a good guy without pretension; he is proud that he makes truly pleasing wines and prices them with compassion for the pocketbook.
Wine lovers, Trentadue wines are available at Mass. Liquors, 508-753-0250; Wine shops and restaurateurs, Central Distributing Company of Sturbridge, 508-347-7175, is the local distributor.
Wine Pick: Mondavi’s new, upscale, 750ml. bottles of Woodbridge GHOST OAK Chardonnay 2001, $10.99. Varietal blend of added Viognier, Malvasia and other aromatic varieties and oak fermentation and long barrel aging impart aromas and flavors of toasty vanilla and coconut in addition to traditional Chardonnay character. Try it and be pleasantly surprised!
Wine Pick: Dry Creek Fumé Blanc DCV3 2002, $18. No oak aging here delivers layered aromas and flavors of grapefruit, lemongrass, pineapple, pear and melon with hints of floral petals and tarragon. Beautifully balanced with fruit acids and velvety texture; bright crisp and clean, the fume lingers long after the smooth swallow. Seek, and ye shall find some of this limited production.
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julian@oxfordwineroom.com