I can turn into an apologist when it comes to Burgundy, especially when I'm the one paying for it. I'll look intensely for any redeeming qualities. Leave it alone, come back and hope it has evolved. Hold it in my mouth longer, blame the food, question if I just "get it." Burgundy more than any other place asks for a bit of intellect. But sooner or later when a wine just isn't very appealing you have to have to say it. Especially frustrating when almost everything under the "Pinot Noir" side of the list would have been a better value.
Alex Gambal is an American who owns Maison Alex Gambal in Beaune. Alex and his wife moved to Burgundy on a sabbatical in 1991 and it became their life's calling to be in the wine business. Alex writes,
" I left the export business in September 1996 and enrolled in the adult wine school in Beaune, a division of the Lycée Viticole. I finished the program in June 1997 and as part of my study developed a plan for a French negociant (literally wine merchant) company which we started in July 1997. In addition to several small vineyards on which I grow grapes with partners, the major part of our activities involve buying grapes, grape must (mout), conduct its elevage (literally raising) in barrel (12-22 months) and then bottle...We make all our wines in an artisanal manner in small lots by hand, manipulate the wines without pumps, bottle by gravity without finning or filtering our reds and only lightly fining our whites. We make approximately 60% red and 40% white.
I have enjoyed a number of Alex's wines in the past and he is undoubtedly an up and comer to watch for. I even ran into him at a restaurant in Boston a few months ago. The 1999 Vosne Romanee was very thin with almost no real fruit to speak of. There was a tough tannic almost vegetal finish. Didn't offer up much on the nose. For the $85 I paid at Flame in Springfield, MO it was probably one of the worst selections on the list.
The food at Flame was very good. The food is simple American fare. Dry aged steaks, shellfish, Fries Lyonnaise style, Onion rings, Lobster Mac and Cheese....I had a 12oz. strip that was dry aged for at least 14 days. It was served on a small plate, cooked perfectly medium rare, with a small dab of butter. They come with a nice crust on the outside and very juicy on the inside. One of the better steaks I've had at Flame. They also have a small raw bar that has very good Blue Points and nice shrimp. Kelly and I shared the shrimp cocktail which can be pretty boring especially in the Midwest but it was tasty.
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