Pinot & Cubans

Invited for a cigar - perhaps some wine - maybe dinner - to the Grand Havana Room - used to be Top of the Sixes - 39 floors above 5th Avenue -

At the bar - Woodford Reserve as I smoked my Rocky Patel - 1992 Vintage - Perfecto - there are few things that relax one as much - or - as quickly as great whiskey and a great cigar - together - indoors -

My host arrived - we moved to the dining room - the evening's wines in-hand -

Server brought two large Bordeaux glasses - set-ups - quickly doubled to facilatate the A/B selections we would be drinking - side by side - yet two more glasses so that the club's GM could join us to sample -

Server also brought over two ash trays atop floor stands - for the "Cubans" at the table -

Scanned the menu as both bottles were decanted - wine was to be the evening's star - but supper definitely had a supporting role -

Lobster Risotto - delicious - large chunks of lobster meat instead of the usual finely diced "can they spare that much" lobster tid-bits - personal preference would have been for the Risotto to be slightly drier - but who's to complain - excess sauce was a treat -

Grilled Tuna - for the main - asked for rare - came perfect - seared on the outside - cool at the core - plus - the plating was very masculine - served in its entirety - i.e. - one piece - none of the usual fancy geometric food cuts - simple - excellent -

Salad and a Fillet Mignon for my host - ordered Black & Blue - leaving out the Blue -

Spotlight please - our two starring vinos -

Ketcham Estate - Russian River - CA - Pinot Noir - 2005 - moderate Burgundian style - made from Dijon and Pommard clones - old world construction - long finish - very tight - even with decanting - opened a bit - repeated swirling - slightly better - as the night progressed - from beginning of supper to the last morsel of tuna - it opened in the glass - allowing some complexity to show i.e. - needs age unless you can be very leisurely - club GM loved this one - √√√

W.H. Smith - Maritime - Sonoma Coast - CA - Pinot Noir - 2002 - blend of three vineyards - huge - fruit forward - shades of Pisoni without going south - you get it with the first inhale - dark - dark purple coloration - as I drank - kept writing big - Big - BIG - the next day - as I wrote these notes - realized  there was a significant absence of Cherry - not that it took away - the winemakers notes say - smoky pig fat, dark sweet ripe blackberries, plum and rhubarb with background notes of cedar and spice - got the berrys - didn't get the "pig fat" or the "cedar" - liked the touch of spice - continued to blossom anew from first taste to last sip - Maritime is definitely a keeper - √√√√

Oh yes - cigars - two with the evening - first - an "ordinary" - Montecristo - just magnificent - or maybe its because it lasted through supper - second cigar - made stateside - from 1959 Cuban leaf that has been sitting in a Florida warehouse for the past 40 years - the aroma was aged - the roll was perfect - the draw just right - the taste very fine - though my preference was the first - slightly more edge - both had torpedo tips - intensifying the enjoyment -

Great stuff -

HBH