Above: The 2000 Chateau Musar white (Sémillon) was FANTASTIC at Lebanese/Armenian restaurant Marouch in Los Angeles last night. At 10 years out, this wine is just coming into its own: oxidative and richly aromatic, with gorgeous nutty and stone fruit flavors.
Strained diplomatic relations between the two countries and the delicate nature of my mission as cultural attaché do not allow me to reveal the names of the persons with whom I dined last night. Let it suffice to say that they were all ethnic-Russian Jews who — at some point in their lives — have harbored sympathy for the Communist Party and/or own or have at one time owned a copy of Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book.”
Above: Not to be missed at Marouch, the fried sardines. Serge, a wonderfully convivial host who came to this country more than 30 years ago, allows corkage in his fine establishment, which I cannot recommend enough.
Owner Serge Brady blew our communist party away with his superb cooking. I can’t believe I’ve almost reached 43 years of age without knowing about his restaurant. Amazing… While I was waiting for my friends, I sipped the Musar and noshed on turnips pickled in vinegar and red wine and cured olives. Perfection… simple and utterly undeniable and inconfutable perfection…
Above: My decoder ring was embedded in the Fattouch (Lebanese Salad).
Among other bottles opened last night, it was the Pascal Janvier 2009 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Rosier,” made from Pineau d’Aunis, that captivated our senses more than any other. Some of my companions preferred it chilled, but espionage, my friends, is a dish best served température ambiante. Lip-smacking delicious wine. [PHOTO UNAVAILABLE FOR SECURITY REASONS!]
Above: Secret messages where imprinted in the Bastourma (Armenian Salami), which melted in your mouth after the for-your-tongue-only information was decoded.
But as if to prove the axiom that the signifier precedes the signified, it was another bottle brought by Comrade H, its contents now defunct, that contained the logogriphic dispatch with our orders.
Need I say more?
Get to Marouch AS QUICK AS YOU CAN!
In other news…
Readers of Do Bianchi have asked for it and here it is. A short video of The Grapes debut performance last week by the lovely Gross sisters (with whom I attended La Jolla High School). Enjoy!
Do Bianchi 
Musar blanc kills me because it’s not always the best ambassador for Lebanese wine…I’ve turned just as many people off as I have on with it. They can be stunning though, I had a bottle of the 2000 in Beirut last December and it was gorgeous after an hour in the decanter. It’s a wine that needs patience and understanding for sure. I’d love to see Merwah and Obaideh from someone like Sebastian Khoury at Domaine de Baal; a fresh, mineral version of those varieties would be great a great thing for Lebanese wine.
Jesse I agree with you in terms of as “many” people like as “many” don’t.
But don’t you think that’s good, there’s not enough to go around so more for us who love it.
Wine in most cases needs patience all these guys are doing it for the love (Gravner, Damijan, how about the Juras, Movia, Clos Saron, some matured Assyrtikos from Santorini and Tondonia whites
Though I would love to get to taste Khoury’s wine and I’m only 30 minutes from Lebanon
Xinomavro, like the Santorini you mentioned, I just meant the fresh, high-acid, mineral character of _young_ Assyrtiko (the way most people drink it) is a great ambassador for all Greek wines and I’d love to see Merwah produced this way so the world could know Lebanon and not just Musar. I love and drink all the oxidative wines you listed but Musar is really peculiar. Jeremy–Marouch looks awesome BTW. I will check it out.