<a target="_blank" href="http://noblesrestaurant.com/">Noble's Restaurant</a>

3 Morrocroft Centre
at SouthPark Morrison Boulevard at Cameron Valley,

6801 Morrison
Boulevard,

Charlotte, NC 28211

Tel:+1 (704) 367-9463

May 2008

This incredible dinner was organized by Wine Advocate
subscriber Kelly Walker as part of Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend, a bi-annual
event that raises money for several local charities. Having spent much of my
childhood in this part of US, it was great to get a dose of old-fashioned
southern hospitality. The contrast with the hustle and bustle of New York could
not have been more different. We arrived between 8:00 and 8:30, yet things were
already winding down in the restaurant! We started with an assortment of
appetizers served family style. The crispy fried calamari and pan-seared jumbo
lump crabcakes were particularly of note, yet I also loved the tuna tartare and
the wood-oven roasted Prince Edward Island mussels. We washed our appetizers
down with a gorgeous bottle of Billecart
Salmon’s 1996 Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon. The wine’s aromatics alone were
captivating. This delicate, elegant Champagne opened in the glass with pretty
notes of pomegranate, dried roses and sweet spices. We then moved into Raveneau’s 2002 Chablis Butteaux, which
also showed beautifully. In general I have left my 2002 Chablis to age in the
cellar as most of the top bottlings are painfully young, but this wine was
surprisingly open. Lime peel, minerals and smoke flowed onto the palate with
seamless length and generosity.

My grilled veal tenderloin was exceptional. Readers visiting
Noble’s will need to bring a healthy appetite as the portions are definitely
southern-style, which means large. Special thanks to Kelly Walker for bringing
a magnum of one of the finest wines I have ever had the privilege of drinking, Beaucastel’s 1989 Châteaneuf du Pape
Hommage a Jacques Perrin. This youthful, deeply-colored Châteaneuf was
simply breathtaking. It revealed profound delineation in its aromatics and
flavors, with waves of black cherry fruit that caressed the palate with
extraordinary finesse and depth. It was a memorable wine, and every bit as
phenomenal as my score suggests. Chave’s
1995 Hermitage was youthful and firm, but it too was terrific. The wine
offered up an exciting array of cracked black pepper, mint, wild herbs and dark
fruit with terrific vibrancy and freshness buffered by firm tannins. Guigal’s 1991 Côte Rôtie La Mouline
presented a contrast to the previous wines, most notably for its super-ripe
fruit and soft-textured personality. Gorgeous aromas melded into notes of dark
raspberries, leather, smoke, toasted oak and spices. The wine’s liqueur-like
inner sweetness was framed by silky, finessed tannins and lingered on the
palate with amazing length. This was a great bottle. Sadly, Jean Gros’s 1985 Richebourg was not in
great shape. There was some debate at the table, but it seemed pretty clear
that the wine’s structural elements had outlasted the fruit. Ultimately the
wine did not offer much pleasure. An early morning of tastings awaited so we
had to wrap it up early, but this highly enjoyable dinner provided a delicious
taste of the south.

Food:

Assorted appetizers

Grilled Veal Tenderloin; Three Cheese and Mushroom Ravioli,
Roasted Vegetables and Veal Glace

Wine:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 1996
 </td>
 <td>
 Billecart Salmon Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2002
 </td>
 <td>
 Raveneau Chablis Butteaux
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1989
 </td>
 <td>
 Beaucastel Châteaneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin
 (magnum)
 </td>
 <td>
 99
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 Chave Ermitage
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1991
 </td>
 <td>
 Guigal Côte Rôtie La Mouline
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1985
 </td>
 <td>
 Jean Gros Richebourg
 </td>
 <td>
 89</td></tr></tbody></table>

--Antonio Galloni

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