More Commuting Fun

Another interesting commute to work today. Traffic has been horrible ever since all the schools started up last week. Needless to say, tempers are flaring, and I saw a great example of that this morning. The driver of the car two cars in front of me opted not to take his chances with the red light camera ($1600 fine) and stopped rather than drive through the yellow light. The guy behind him and directly in front of me started honking and flashing his brights to show his displeasure with having to brake and now wait several minutes for the light to change. The first driver got out of his car and walked back to the car behind him while shouting, yelling, and shaking his finger at the other driver. The man in the second car proceeded to roll down his window and yell back. Quite entertaining.

Location:Majlis Al Taawon,Doha,Qatar

Wine with Dinner

When we ate at Joel Robuchon in Vegas two weeks ago, in addition to offering a vegetarian 16-course dinner (which made Heather very happy), we were pleasantly surprised to learn they also offer wine pairings. Since our only other real option was a bottle of white Burgundy (it does go really well with the tasting menu but is what we had during our last two dinners there), we of course chose the pairing. Unlike the disaster of a wine pairing we had at 2941 many years ago with Katy & Scott (the sommelier who poured us an $8 bottle of Horton Norton that night was fired not too long afterwards), this one was beyond incredible. And we didn't even opt for the top-end $995 per person pairing. Yes, that's a real option, and yes, another table had it while we were there, so we lucked out and some of their wines got shared with us. We were able to request a few wines that we really wanted (I asked for a really nice Burgundy and a really nice Bordeaux since we can't get either in Doha, Heather asked for d'Yquem for the dessert wine), and the rest were chosen by Ben, the wonderful sommelier. Many of them are limited production wines or otherwise very hard to get, and he did us right. Here's the list of the deliciousness...

Champagne, Veuve Cliguot Ponsardin, Brut Rose, France NV
- a decent rose to start the meal. We ordered this when we sat down, so I think the normal pairing probably would have been a little higher end. We didn't complain, though, because we knew we were getting three amazing wines later in the evening.

Riesling, Domaine Weinbach, Grand Cru "Schlossberg", Alsace, France 2006
- crisp, fresh, moderately sweet, with a long and smooth finish. One of the best Rieslings I've ever had.

Meursault, Domaine des Comtes Lafon "Clos de la Barre", Burgundy, France 2009
- this is our white Burgundy. Very tasty and dry, with a nice minerality to the finish. A lovely, elegant wine.

Domaine Antonin Guyon, Corton-Charlemagne, Burgundy, France, 2002
- this came from the pairing at another table and was a step up from ours. Powerful, well structured, with a long finish. A white Burgundy built like a red Bordeaux.

Pommard, Domaine Montille, 1er Cru "Les Pezerolles", Burgundy, France 1997
- Spicy, peppery, and still strong on the finish. Ben told us the owner is a "garagiste" that makes wines to age well, and he sure did with this one. The color had barely started to fade to brick.

Echezeaux, Domaine Jayer-Gilles, Burgundy, France 2003
- huge wine. Dark for a Burgundy, with solid tannins and a very long finish. I'd like to have another bottle of this in 2018. This was another treat we got to enjoy thanks to the pairings of the other tables in the restaurant.

Bordeaux, Château Brane-Cantenac Margaux, France 1986
- An unbelievable wine. The tannins had softened some, but the dark fruit and earthiness were still right there. Lush, elegant, and full bodied 27 years in. Wow!

Sauternes, Chateau d'Yquem, Bordeaux, France 1997
- As Heather says, this is liquid gold. I think it's more like unicorn pee. Words can't really describe how amazing this wine is, though this lady tries hard, even if she is a bit pretentious sounding.