<a target="_blank" href="http://michaelmina.net/restaurants/locations/rn74.php">RN74</a>

301 Mission Street,

San Francisco,

CA 94105

Tel + 1 415 543-7474

March 2010

This amazing lunch kicked off an incredible weekend of food
and wine at La Paulée. RN 74 is part of Michael Mina's group of restaurants.
Don’t be fooled by the casual atmosphere. Food and wine are taken very
seriously here. Mina, and his team led Executive Chef Jason Berthold and Wine
Director Raj Parr offer guests a fabulous dining experience. Not surprisingly,
RN 74 was jam-packed on this Friday afternoon. I would happily order every dish
on this tasting menu again. I especially loved the sea urchin custard and the
Liberty Farm duck confit, both of which were spectacular. Everything about the
food was in perfect balance; nicely paced courses that paired beautifully with
the wines will never coming across as heavy or overpowering.

As good as the food was, most of our attention was centered
around a mind-boggling array of wines. Latour’s
1978 Corton-Charlemagne was truly fantastic. A rich, textured white, it
continued to develop positively in the glass over several hours, with seemingly
endless layers of truffles, smoke and spices that added complexity to the
exotic, tropical fruit. I was far less enamored with Boillot’s 2004
Corton-Charlemagne, a wine that frankly struggled to express its pedigree.

A flight of Richebourgs
from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was the centerpiece of the afternoon.
Sadly, the 1978 was corked. The 1979 Richebourg was soft and ethereal
in its dried flowers and sweet, candied fruit. This was a very pretty Burgundy,
although it faded pretty quickly in the glass. The 1980 Richebourg was quite a bit darker and firmer than the 1979. I
loved the 1980 for its rich, extroverted fruit and sheer depth. As delicious as
it was, the 1980 was another wine that showed its best early on. That wasn’t
the case with the 1990 Richebourg,
which dazzled from start to finish. At the outset it came across as a touch
over-ripe and flashy, but the wine found its inner balance in the glass. Tons
of candied, explosive fruit ran through to the long beautifully articulated
finish. It was a sexy, totally opulent Burgundy. The 1945 Richebourg, a last minute surprise, was breathtaking for the
integrity of its fruit and its superb overall purity. This was a flat-out great
bottle. What a wine!

Drouhin’s 1945
Chambertin was quite a bit more delicate in its soft, floral fruit and
ethereal, somewhat fleeting personality. Bouchard’s
1978 La Romanée was impressive for its dark color and structure, but it was
also not perfect. There was no question when it came to the 1959 Lafite, which was clearly corked.

In many ways the best was saved for last. A bottle of
Gianfranco Soldera’s 1998 Brunello di
Montalcino Riserva was off the charts. Where some of the Burgundies faded
quickly (to be fair, they were much older) the Soldera kept growing and growing
to the glass, to the point the wine eventually eclipsed most of what was
already on the table. Some of the Burgophiles weren’t too interested in the
Soldera, but it was obvious this Brunello was among the elite for its
weightless richness and depth. It was simply fantastic.

With that, it was time for a quick rest before an afternoon
and evening packed with tastings of fine Burgundies….

Food:&nbsp;

Sea Urchin Custard; Celery, Black Truffle 

Hamachi Sashimi; Hawaiian Hearts of Palm, Asian Pear, Pine
Nuts, Watercress

Grilled Loup de Mer; House-Made Chorizo, Sunchokes, Mustard
Greens

Liberty Farm Duck Confit; French Green Lentils, Leeks,
Pistachio 

Andante Diary Minuet and Variation 1; Della Fattoria Walnut
Bread

Wine:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 2004
 </td>
 <td>
 Henri Boillot
 Corton-Charlemagne
 </td>
 <td>
 88
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1978
 </td>
 <td>
 Maison Louis Latour
 Corton-Charlemagne
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1978
 </td>
 <td>
 Domaine de la
 Romanée-Conti Richebourg
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1979
 </td>
 <td>
 Domaine de la
 Romanée-Conti Richebourg
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1980
 </td>
 <td>
 Domaine de la
 Romanée-Conti Richebourg
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1990
 </td>
 <td>
 Domaine de la
 Romanée-Conti Richebourg
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1945
 </td>
 <td>
 Domaine de la
 Romanée-Conti Richebourg
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1945
 </td>
 <td>
 Maison Joseph Drouhin
 Chambertin
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1978
 </td>
 <td>
 Maison Bouchard Père et
 Fils La Romanée
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1998
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera – Case Basse
 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
 </td>
 <td>
 95+
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1959
 </td>
 <td>
 Chateau
 Lafite-Rothschild
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
</tbody></table>

[Photo and credit: RN74, San Francisco]--Antonio Galloni

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social