Trogdor the Chefinator

Just the nicest email I have received in a long time.

"Senor Chef-

This weekend I had back-to-back wine extravaganzas:

- Saturday night four friends and I drank five bottles over six hours. I
cooked dinner and brought the five bottles (all radically different), thinking
we’d pick two varietals, but predictably we just kept on drinking until 3 a.m.
The Diablo Carmenere and the Custodian were both extremely well-received, and
the smash hit of the evening was a 2000 Barolo (“lo Zoccolaio”). Given the price
differential, this was not surprising. But the Barolo also beat out two other
heavy-weight contenders: Another bottle of the 1996 Dorrien cab (the one I gave
y’all; need to guard the few remaining bottles…); and a 2004 Paul Hobbs Russian
River Valley Pinot Noir (which was tasted slightly fizzy, like it was a blend of
95% pinot and 5% soda pop; I guess it was too young but a couple weeks ago an
identical bottle was sublime, so who knows?...). Needless to say, these were
very special friends—it was one hell of a going away party for one of them, who
moved to Virginia yesterday.

- Then last night (Sunday), I had a long
dinner evening with another couple whom I hang with a lot. We had an all-South
America night: I brought two different Carmeneres, plus a Malbec blend and a
1997 Santa Rita “Floresta” (Syrah/Cab/Carmenere), which was tops. I have had
that one in my cellar (er, bedroom closet) for several years, so it had the
advantage of age.

The reason I go into all this detail is that half of
these wines wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t been for you, and the variety
made it much more interesting than if we had stuck to all cabs or other basics.
I have enjoyed and appreciated the wine conversations on your blog, and I look
forward to many more. I also look forward to dining with you and Trouble (in any
town any time) and sharing some more good wine, food, and conversation.

I am particularly excited about finding some inexpensive South American
wines that are capable of aging well. I have to look up the name of the
excellent $10 Carmenere we had last night (alongside the Diablo). You would
enjoy it as well.

With warm regards and appreciation,
Wright"

Well Wright it was truly a pleasure enjoying dinner with you that night. And it is always my pleasure to be able to expand people's wine knowledge. It truly does bring joy to my heart that you have found and enjoyed items based on my recommendation!

BTW: That f*cking '96 Dorien cab was AWESOME! When you gave it to me I thought you had grabbed the wrong bottle (honestly) but I was not going to turn it away. Trouble and I enjoyed it a great deal the other night.

"I also look forward to dining with you and Trouble (in any town any time) and
sharing some more good wine, food, and conversation."

As to that, the lady and myself will be in the Keys for a week in july if you have to opportunity to drop down then we will most definitely enjoy some more food, wine and conversation. If you come, I shall cook. That way we don't have to worry about the local cuisine gumming up that chat!

posted by Chef @ 5/31/2006 03:00:00 PM