It was wonderful to be invited by Alfredo to the Billington/ Catena Wine Dinner on May 22nd, 2001 to unveil the " new " Nicolas 1997 CATENA " Zapata ". I could not miss this dinner at the Gabriel restaurant ( 2121 P Street NW Washington D.C. 20037 202-956-6690 ) where Gregory Hill is the chef. I have known Gregory since his days at the New Heights restaurant and I was really excited to try the new Zapata with Gregory's food.
Helping him this evening in the kitchen according to the menu were Edward Renarde and John Caudle.
This may have been the second vintage? I forget now. I think it was ; the first being so small that there was virtually none available for sale. Of course it could have been this vintage. We at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) got very few bottles to sell and were of course happy to have them. I had already heard some buzz about it and this was just too good of an opportunity to miss.
I was happy to have been invited by Alfredo himself. That meant a lot to me personally as we have known each other for what seems now like forever. I knew he would be there and I expected that his son Alex would also be there. Ohterwise I had no idea how big or small this event would be.
When I arrived I had just parked after driving around for awhile looking for parking. I was a bit late and so I was out of breath! I was able to sit next to or really close to winemaker Jose Galante who's wife Beatris sat next to him. It was with them that I actually enjoyed this meal.
The tables were put into a block where people were seated with a square space in front of them and yet able to see everyone seated around this configuration. It made for more space than is intimate and easy to converse in and yet it did make it easy to at least see everyone. I was thrilled to be there so close to Jose and his wife Beatris. This was as close to heaven as it gets for me and I was thrilled! I had to practice my rusty Spanish and to speak slowly and yet we all three managed to talk some and have a nice time around all the more formal elements that of course Jose was a big part of.
I think Gregory Hill the chef came out at one point and we spoke briefly. That part is a bit vague. Alfredo and Alex sat across from me with Steve Shatman ( the wine-buyer at Rodman's ) and Tom McKnew the wine-buyer of Calvert Woodley sat to my right. There were others of course, but it was not a huge crowd, maybe twenty or so of us in total and that was just fine for me.
We started with the Catena Alta 1997 Chardonnay ( estate-bottled ) that was served with a seared sea bass with pineapple jam, valencian rice w/ grilled spinach & golden raisin jus. I know this because I have a copy of the menu! No, my memory is not that good!
We next went with the Catena 1999 Malbec ( estate-bottled ) served with seared duck breast & braised duck tostada ( w/ applewood bacon & ancho-cherry glaze ).
I was paying so much attention to all the details and to the event unfurling around me that though the food and the wines were wonderful I was more caught-up in the excitement caused in " the moment ". I was enjoying myself immensely and thrilled to have been there. It was a rare treat and I was sorry not to have had a camera to record the events unfolding now. This bothered me so much that towards the end I excused myself to rush off and buy a disposable camera somewhere, which I did and immediately began to take pictures. I was as I said truly wrapped-up in the magic of the moment!
We were all waiting for the main attraction to be served and that was the 1997 Catena " Zapata "! It finally was poured with ceremony and care and served along with Argentine beef tenderloin ( wood grilled w/ cabrales potatoes, greens and herb morcilla sauce. Wow! It was a big wine with flavors that immediately took up full residence in the center of my palate! It was a wonderful block of Cabernet flavors that was still very young and definitely still needing lots of time to grow in experience and maturity. It was almost a shame for me to drink it so young but that's the only way to see what you have and what you can expect later with more time. Impressive. I was intrigued and my mind and palate were in a bit of overdrive just now to figure out exactly what they were dealing with? Wait ?, enjoy now ?, decant ?, serve with cheeses and hearty meals? Many questions all running together.
I enjoyed the taste of the wine but it was more than the taste of the wine that I enjoyed. As I said, my senses were in overdrive and diverted repeatedly to all that was happening and going on around me in this private dining space at Gabriel.
We finished with some Spanish artesianal cheeses and I tried to savor the Zapata and it's youthful flavors the best that I could. My effort was valiant and yet only partially accomplished as our attention was diverted to Alfredo and to Jose who both spoke. Others spoke, too. There was a flurry of activity there at the end.
That's the best way for things to be and honestly the Zapata performed beautifully. It was an excellent match to the Argentine beef tenderloin. Too bad I could not have a doggy bag to take another of these steaks home with a half-open bottle of this 1997 Zapata. I think if I had been able to do this and enjoy both the next evening in the comfort of my home that I would have been able to get the true sense and feel of this tasty red beef and the darkly-colored, high-extraction-soft-tannin, athletic and muscular liquid red. That would have completed the circle for me.
As it is I got caught-up entirely in the moment. I wanted to remember and preserve it. I wanted to take some good pictures and I did. I still have them. I have three here that I am looking at now ofJose Galante by himself in one and Jose and his wife Beatris in the two others. The two bottles of red are framed in the latter one. Jose and Beatris are both exuding a warmth and a smile and a sense of accord and welcome that is real and appreciated.
The Zapata 1997 set the scene for me to forge these precious moments spent together with Jose and Beatris. That's the most real thing that I took from this evening. I loved all the rest but I brought close to me this sense of real contact and appreciation that I shared with Jose and Beatris that we had bonded more than just a bit. It went a bit beyond the business level. It was real and I think they felt it as I did. That's what wine can do best in my opinion : help relax and enthrall us as well as help us be receptive and bond better with one another on so many important levels. Fortunately for all of us, too that inexpensive wine also well-crafted can work, too. The Catena 1999 estate-bottled Malbec was a bit gutsy and in need of food but it was also a treat.
Thank you Alfredo, Alex, Jose and Beatris and everyone else there. This was a great moment for Nicolas Catena, too who's dreams are I feel sure for him being realized more and more as he continues in his dedication to produce some of Argentina's very finest wines ever. Congratulations Nicolas. Your vision and perserverence have paid-off admirably.I'm sorry that you was not there to share in the magic of this more intimate moment where a bit of real history was being enacted right there with us all a part in our own ways.
What did you think Tom, and you Steve? How did you find the wine? How special was this evening for you? What did you think Alfredo and Alex? Was this a near-perfect evening for you both? Did it accomplish your goal(s)? I believe it did and more. Our small sphere of influence will soon reach out to many more and enlarge greatly this small nucleus of a sphere - on and on and on - bigger and bigger and bigger.
It's thrilling to be in such an small, intimate group as we were. It was just a small number of us to have had this experience, a privilege in hind sight. It's one I cherish even more after the next year's extravaganza with Nicolas and Laura Catena and a whole Argentinean Embassy full of people for the next release of Zapata. There were two couples of professional tango dancers, too. They took my breath away, even with all the action and activity of life surrounding them as they took to the center of the room to dazzle and reduce us to rapt observers of their fluid movement to the live music background.
I have a bottle of the 1997 Zapata at our store that I took from this first smaller dinner at Gabriel. It is signed by both Jose and his wife Beatris. I will have to include what they both said on the bottle a bit later.
I also have a bottle of the next release of Zapata from the Argentinean Embassy that I had signed by both Nicolas and Laura Catena. These are both real special prizes that mark really important moments for the Catena family and for me, too.
Here is what both Jose and Beatris wrote for me in Spanish on the back of the menu from this special dinner at Gabriel :
" Ha pasado muy buenos momentos en este pais. Espero volver pronto y compartir con ustedes. Gracias ! " Beatris Galante. Beatris wrote this in neat block letters just I do most of the time these days : beautifully legible.
" Le deseo lo mejor a mi amigo Antonio - un gran abrajo . " Jose Galante 22-05-01 Jose wrote in script and it, too is beautiful and quite legible.
I hope that I spelled everything/ copied everything correctly. If not I am sorry. Let me know and I will correct it later.
For more technical information about Jose and Catena and their wines go to : Cochabamba s/n, Agrelo , Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza, Argentina. Tel : (54-261 ) 490-0214 galantefernando123@infovia.com.ar www.catenawines.com.
Alfredo, I took the pictures as I promised and gave you the camera to develop them and then give me copies. You did get me the copies, too. I will do my best now to digitize them and include them soon here on this blog. It's Monday evening at 11:54 PM on November 20 ( the official release day of France's Beaujolais Nouveau 2008 - I brought the Laboure Roi home to drink with my wife ) 2008. I seem to get some of my best work done these late evenings when everyone is already alseep in bed.
Thanks again Alfredo for including me. Gracias Jose & Beatris. Hasta luego. TONY
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