Plainfield's Mayur/Vintage Madeira by the Glass -Where Else?

[pgwerner]

I wanted to share one of my favorite spots on the West Coast, one that I'm surprised hasn't been discussed here yet. Its an upscale Indian restaurant in Portland, OR called Plainfield's Mayur. What makes it of particular interest to this forum is its absolutely impressive list of old (some very old) Vintage Madeiras, available by the glass in 1-ounce pours. As somebody who doesn't exactly have a lot of money to buy bottles of old Madeiras, Plainfield's has served as my introduction to the rare and rarefied world of Vintage Madeira.

Their list of old Ports and Madeiras can be found here:

http://www.plainfields.com/fortifiedwines.htm

I've been to Plainfield's twice and have tried three different Vintage Madeiras between these trips:

1834 Barbeito Malvasia
1900 D'Oliviera Moscatel
1901 Barbeito Malvasia

I'll state right off, that I'm not at the stage of wine appreciation where I take careful wine notes, nor do I have nearly enough experience or discrimination to be able to rate wines on a 70-100 scale. I'd put the above three on my personal scale as 98-100 points.

The 1901 Barbeito Malvasia - the very first Vintage Madeira I ever tried, this was my initiation into the glories of Vintage Madiera. Surprisingly fruity for such an old wine, I was reminded a bit of the concentrated berry flavor of Banyuls, a flavor I never pick up in the 10-year old Malmsies I typically drink. Wonderfully aromatic, with a beautiful, long finish. The only reason I give it a 99 rather than 100, is because I liked the next wine slightly better.

The 1900 D'Oliviera Moscatel was not only the best wine I've ever tasted, it was the best anything I've ever tasted. Treacly, with a nice long finish, and surprisingly lacking in "muscat" flavor. Absolutely delicious - call me an inexperienced dabbler in great wines, but I give it a personal 100.

The 1834 Barbeito Malvasia was wonderful, but lacked the frutiness of the 1901 Malvasia and didn't quite have the finish of the two younger wines. Proof that even Vintage Madeira can age beyond what I presume would have been its peak. Still a great wine - on my scale, 98 points.

I have yet to sample any of their Vintage Ports and I'm a bit unclear on how they manage to keep the bottles open (which they would have to do to sell them in one-ounce pours) and not compromise the quality of the wine over the long term.

I haven't even gotten to the food - the restaurant itself is excellent. Its the best Indian food I've ever had, though I'd qualify that by saying this isn't everyday Indian food, but rather the kind of Indian cuisine I would imagine colonial officers during the Raj must have eaten. The first time I was there, I had a lamb and mushroom tandoori with some of the most subtle delicate spicing that I've ever experienced in Indian food. I should note that I haven't ever before eaten at an Indian restaurant at that high of a scale, so I can't say how it compares to other restaurants in that class - all I can say was that my meal was truly wonderful.

On my second visit, I'd already had dinner and so came only for the Madeira. The waitress first asked me whether I was from the Oregon Liquor Control Board, since they're not licensed to sell alcohol without food. They nevertheless, let me have my Madeira and gave me a side of nuts to have with it. They even brought me down to show me their Madeira cellar, which was an impressive, climate controlled little unit downstairs from the main restaurant.

According to their website, on Monday nights they have "Monday Wine Madness" where they charge only 50% of the normal price for part of their wine list. Most of their Vintage Ports and Madeiras are not on this list, but a few Vintage Ports, Tokays, and Sauturnes are. The table wine list is impressive, in any event, with a large number of wines with quite a bit of age as table wines go.

Here's their Monday wine list and their full list:

http://www.plainfields.com/winelistmain.htm
http://www.plainfields.com/winepage.htm

Searching the Internet, I've found two other places that sell Vintage Madeiras and Ports by the glass, in both cases as part of an absolutely over-the-top winelist.

The first is a restaurant/resort in Woodinville, Washington (near Seattle) called The Herbfarm. (I'm surprised I'd never heard of this place, since I spent 4 years at University of Washington and thought I knew the Seattle area pretty well.) Their 150-page wine list, or rather wine library, can be found here (I recommend downloading this PDF, rather than attempting to view it on a browser - its big):

http://www.theherbfarm.com/WineListPDF/ ... st1105.PDF

Madeiras are listed on page 133, Vintage Ports on several pages before that. Madeiras are sold by the ounce, but Vintage Ports only by bottle or half-bottle.

The other restaurant is Bern's Steak House in Tampa, Florida. Their list of Vintage Madeiras, Ports, and other fortified and desert wines can be found here:

http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/bs_dessertwines.htm

This list is really impressive, with old Banylus and Moscatel de Setubal thrown in for good measure.

Both The Herbfarm and Bern's sound like 5-star restaurants, even growing much of their own produce, and in the case of Bern's, butchering and aging their own beef.

I'll plan on paying a visit to Plainfield's Mayur, and probably The Herbfarm as well, on my next trip up to Seattle. Florida is a corner of the country I never make it to, so I'm not sure when and even if I'll make it to Bern's.

Does anybody else know of places that serve Vintage Madeiras by the glass? I'd especially like to know about anywhere in or around the SF Bay Area.

Peter

[Roy Hersh]

Thank you so much for such an outstanding post!

I will have to try that restaurant when I next get back down to Portland. I live not far from Woodinville in Washington State and can shed some light on the Herbfarm. The original one burned down to the ground in 1997 and the owners built their new restaurant in Woodinville, to be closer to many of the local wineries' tasting rooms. I am not as familiar with the new place, but can say that the old one was so outstanding and popular that there was ALWAYS a nine-month+ waiting list for reservations. I have heard a story of a couple giving a pair of front row tickets to a local basketball playoff game in trade for rights to a reservation with another couple. They offered 5 hour, 9 course dinners back then for $129 probably more nowadays. There are lots of stories of people flying in from Japan and other countries just for their dinner and flying out the next day. Crazy stuff. I plan to take my wife there this year for our anniversary. I know the owner and he is a huge Madeira fan and sadly, lost some bottles in the fire. But he had MANY and still does apparently.