My second wine dinner this week was in Arlington's Liberty Tavern, where I had not been before. The upstairs dining room was heaving as I arrived with tables set with tons of glasses and six boutique Oregon winemakers chatting with all the guests. I heard about the dinner through Jim Prosser, winemaker and owner of J.K. Carriere whom we met close to two decades ago in a garage on a hazelnut farm, where he was bottling his first JK Carriere Pinot Noir release(1999, which incidentally sold out and received a 93 from Wine Spectator!). It was great to see Jim again whose winery flourishes and now houses a gorgeous tasting room on a mountaintop at the east end of the Willamette Valley!
On arrival we tasted a yummy bright crisp Haden Fig Pinot Gris Rose 2018 and I knew this was going to be a fun dinner with some great rarities. We sat down to Brick House Cascadia Chardonnay 2015 and I liked it much more than some of their previous releases and the pairing with a Maryland Crab Cake with celery root puree, green apple and mango was sublime (sorry I missed some FB photos of the food). The wines went crazier as Evesham Wood Ke Puits Sec 2016 Pinot Noir was poured and we all marveled at the first of five pinot noirs we were to be treated to. Skuna Bay Salmon arrived with braised morels and sugar snap peas and the fish was indeed such a rich salmon it needed a red wine like this full of body and superb fruit forwardness.
the Dry Aged Rohan Duck Breast arrived with a Foie Gras Cromesquis & Dandelion and I kept asking what a cromesquis was until I bit into the ping pong ball sized croquette and a virtually liquified foie gras came oozing out into my mouth. WOW what a superb idea and treat! Here the wine paired was easily the evening's winner, JK Carriere St. Dolores Estate 2015, which was the first time I have tasted this specific vineyard and was blown away by the hugeness of this amazing wine. Alas the $65-70 price tag means it is purchased in small amounts for the most special occasions! Portions were not small, so halfway through the course I started asking for doggie bags and ended up with three from each of the meat courses; what a smart idea! Next came Slow cooked Berkshire Pork Cheeks with fennel, ramps and strawberry. While I was not a fan of the strawberries, the meat was unreal and melted in my mouth and the ramps were divine as they just arrived at farmer's markets here in DC this past week and I made a pesto of it for Sam that very night! Walter Scott Le Combe Vert 2017 Pinot Noir was a great pairing, but as the meat heaviness grew, I was worried about the Pinots growing as well. The final course(there was no dessert) was a Smoked Prime Beef Striploin sliced and cooked rare with pommes Robuchon, white asparagus and charred spring onion jus that was a powerful dish and accompanied by two Pinots. The Patricia Green 2017 Estate was way too light for sure, but the Goodfellow Whistling Ridge 2016 did great service and ended up on my shopping list for the night.
These boutique winemakers all belong to a slightly larger group in Oregon called Rootstock, hence the name of the wine dinner and I have to say, if they get back to town again, this is an evening not to be missed!
