(in re Fat Duck) Riesling question

OK, the good news- the Maximer Grunhaus/Von Schubert estate does a very good job from Qba to Spatlesen (not sure I've had an Auslese or above).

the bad news- I'm not a huge fan of '99 MSRs.

more good news- WS gave this a 91:

4443&dept%5Fid=1&mscssid9713

more bad news- the Fat Duck price is outrageous, this seems to be available several places in US for less than $30.

"DaleW" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

Hi Dale, thanks. I paid US $19.99 here in Pennsylvania, when I saw the Fat Duck price, I almost fainted! Riesling continues to be a closed book to me, I just haven't had that special bottle yet... I'll probably try it this weekend, and perhaps pick up another bottle for my friend from Germany when he comes to visit...

Cheers! d.

enoavidh wrote on Wed, 14 Dec 2005 21:47:01 +0000 (UTC):

??>> OK, the good news- the Maximer Grunhaus/Von Schubert ??>> estate does a very good job from Qba to Spatlesen (not ??>> sure I've had an Auslese or above). ??>>

??>> the bad news- I'm not a huge fan of '99 MSRs. ??>>

??>> more good news- WS gave this a 91: ??>>

4 ??>> 443&dept%5Fid=1&mscssid9713 ??>>

??>> more bad news- the Fat Duck price is outrageous, this ??>> seems to be available several places in US for less than ??>> $30. ??>>

e> Hi Dale, thanks. I paid US $19.99 here in Pennsylvania, e> when I saw the Fat Duck price, I almost fainted! e> Riesling continues to be a closed book to me, I just haven't e> had that special bottle yet... e> I'll probably try it this weekend, and perhaps pick up e> another bottle for my friend from Germany when he comes to e> visit...

Perhaps fortunately (or possibly sour grapes), I cannot consider eating at the Fat Duck for health reasons even if, truthfully, I am on the other side of the Atlantic and could not afford the place very often. One thing I am also not willing to do is keep dialing to make a reservation though I gather there is a phone that will do it automatically and flash a light when it finally connects. Is the rest of the wine list priced so obscenely?

James Silverton.

"James Silverton" wrote in news:AsadnXHf75WwBz3enZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Well...I still have a couple bottles of Malescot-St Exupery 98 (Fat Duck GBP 100.00) that I bought for USD 23.99 each, a couple of years ago...here in Pennsylvania...

There were just not very many others available here that I could compare...hmm. Weinbach Tokay Pinot Gris Cuvee Laurence 01 GBP 85.00, I could get my hands on a bottle here for USD 47.99, which would be GBP

27.25, which would be a 3x markup at the Fat Duck? I don't recollect the formula for calcualting wine prices at restaurants...and I expect it's different UK vs.US...

Still, I'm not used to seeing wine that I actually own in such a place! Or any place! Cool!

(And I think I may have to try my hand at bacon & eggs ice cream ;) ) d ;)

That may be the best thing I've heard about El Bulli so far.

This, however, is unforgivable. How can a restaurant that aspires to be the best in the world ignore such an important aspect of fine dining? Do they reject the idea that wine is an integral part of the meal or just put less effort into the wine than they should?

Mark Lipton (not likely to dine at either establishment, so perhaps it's all academic -- but then so am I ;-))

Mark

A chef-genius should be coherent, if he decides to serve 3 dozen dishes with wild swings in flavour and balance instead of 3, then some thought should go into the accompanying drink. At El Bulli the sommelier is certainly competent and polite and helpful, but clearly he has no clue either, and so lets the customer choose. Most people tahat evening were drinking fancy tannic reds with a high price tag (most El Bulli-goers now are that kind, label drinkers we call them) that were incompatible with most of the dishes (too acid, too bitter, too fatty, too gooey).

cheers

Mike

Mike Tommasi wrote in news:40dkj4F19u1p8U1 @individual.net:

Hi,

While the wine list at El Bulli is not so outrageously priced as the examples mentioned about The Fat Duck, we should point out that it is way above the average mark-up of the good restaurants in Spain. Service is great, with Riedel Sommelier glasses, proper decanting and, probably, the best wine service I have ever had.

I was also shocked about the pulls being corked out of young tannic reds when, IMHO, not a single dish from our menu was suitable for that kind of wine. In our party of 4, we had a bottle of Pierre Gimmonet & Fils "Fleuron" 1996 priced at 50 euros (plus VAT), an excellent Domaine de la Sansonniere "La Lune" 2002 at about 45 euros and, when asking the sommelier for a third wine, he suggested a bottle of a 1997 white Burgundy (I do not remember the name). While it was about twice the price of the two previous wines we had ordered (something in the range of 70 or

75 euros if memory serves), we agreed and the sommelier proceed. Unfortunately, it was the worst wine of the night, not that it was a bad wine, but we found it quite shut-down and reduced. When we pointed out that to the sommelier he just commented: "this bottle is a bit strange" and left. This very small detail was the only bad point of our party, even if we did not let it ruin a great dinner.

Best,

S.