Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/601986
PhotograPhy by Jessica grenier/asPen snowmass (mccoy); c2 PhotograPhy/asPen snowmass (Zubrod, dish) A Night in the Red Light Lounge ExplorE the Nell's $5 million winE cEllar with mastEr sommEliEr CarltoN MCCoy. by amiee white beazley I met master sommelier Carlton McCoy in the dining room of The Little Nell hotel's Element 47 restaurant. It's here, in Aspen, among the peaks, the power, and all the beautiful people, that McCoy holds court, opening a bottle of the Nell's private label Champagne produced by Robert Moncuit. "You've had this before, right?" he asks in his signature almost-too-quick- to-understand cadence before handing me a glass. This is the Champagne McCoy had a hand in creating two years earlier—a dry Blanc de Blanc style, easy to drink, with notes of brioche and roasted apples. Aspen's peak season is when the highest rollers are in town, and every- one looks for an audience with the hotel's resident master. An anomaly in the highbrow, often snobbish industry of fne, high-end wine, McCoy is ap- proachable, sincere, and always ready with a story at hand—making him a beloved personality in the wine world. We pass through the dining room, and McCoy holds open a door leading us to two fights of concrete stairs, where we descend to The Little Nell's parking garage housing a collection of Audi, Range Rover, and Porsche SUVs. One more door and we're in the belly of the building, "Carlton's Cave," also known as the "Red Light Lounge"—so nicknamed for the room's artifcial lighting and the way, once inside, time seems to pass so rapidly. With Biggie blaring from the stereo, McCoy says from here he has access to 22,000 bottles from the adjacent Little Nell wine cellar—a collection worth an estimated $5 million, includ- ing some of the best wines from the best regions in the world, with a heavy emphasis on France. Once an offce space for previous Nell master sommelier Bobby Stuckey, the 10-by-12-foot long "cave" was turned into the ultimate wine tasting room by McCoy. Crystal decant- ers and hundreds of bottles line the shelves. A beetle-kill table sits center and the oak ceiling and walls are deco- rated with black Sharpie signatures of those fortunate enough to have found themselves here, such as celebrity chef José Andrés and winemaker Joel Gott. During the Food & Wine Classic— when the industry's big guns come to town for three days of excess— Carlton's cave becomes the most exclusive speakeasy in the land, with McCoy pulling, for starters, a 1993 Giuseppe Rinaldi "Brunate-Le Coste" Barolo ($597) and a 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage ($1,000). It's not uncommon for a guest to drop $100,000 in one night inside the Red Light Lounge, though access to McCoy's time, knowledge, and wine only requires a $500 minimum buy. "This is my haven, this is who I am," he says. "It's sort of a secret-wine-club, not a cookie-cutter cellar tasting room. It allows me to express more of my personality. We drink great Chablis and listen to hip-hop… What else could a man want?" thelittlenell.com/ dining/element-47 AP Road to the Summit Matt Zubrod takes the helm at mighty Little Nell. perhaps best known in town for heading Dish aspen and BB's, chef matt Zubrod is no stranger to the local dining scene. But now, having graduated to the zenith of high-mountain dining after posts all around the world (including with the ritz-carlton), the massachusetts-born and maine-bred Zubrod can see the roaring Fork Valley from a new per- spective. and he's wasting no time getting started. Aspen Peak caught up with the little nell's new execu- tive chef in the midst of his prepara- tions for the busy winter season. What Was the MaiN attraCtioN iN joiNiNg the little Nell? the team here is exceptional, professional, and they provide one of aspen's best hospitality experiences. plus, matt padilla is the chef de cuisine at Element 47—he is a very talented chef whom i want to mentor and support. Will the diNiNg experi- eNCe at eleMeNt 47 ChaNge uNder your leadership? aNy surprises? no, just simply great food! our goal is to make the nell the culinary hub it once was. take, for example, Element 47's new duck dish—duck with puréed and roasted parsnips, fresh frisée and pomegran- ate sauce, and seeds. we are focused on cooking quality ingredients, in creative combinations with modern and classic methods. News at th e Nel l Follow the red light to what Carlton McCoy calls his "cave"—and what we call his wine mecca—underneath Element 47. below: Says McCoy: "We drink great Chablis and listen to hip-hop... What else could a man want?" Executive Chef Matt Zubrod. inset: Scallops with Valrhona white chocolate. 130 aspenpeak-magazine.com taste Best eats