Hawaii's Share Your Table

Roy's Restaurants' wine team briefed Yamaguchi, Roy's Waikiki chef de cuisine Chris Kajioka and corporate sushi chef Mark Pomaski on the characteristics of each wine so they could draft a menu. “The wines come first,” said Yamaguchi. “The food is second...We want to make sure we don't overpower, change the flavor of the wine.” The menu went through a few iterations, but even the final menu was still open to adjustments on the fly. “As we open the wines for each course, we’ll also have a better idea of what we need to change if we need to change something last minute,” Yamaguchi said.
Kajioka, who worked at Thomas Keller’s Per Se, steered much of the menu’s direction, beginning with lighter flavors: from the mirugai ceviche on the sweeter side so as not to overpower the 1930 Verdelho Rutherford and Mills Madeira, to more robust courses like the Snake River Farm Wagyu Beef with Tongue and Ox Tail Crepinette to complement the complex 1990 La Tache Monopole. Kajioka brought techniques and ingredients and flavors uncommon to Roy’s restaurants--such as sous vide and sweetbreads--to the menu. With the presence of all of Roy’s corporate chefs and the anticipation of uncorking some extremely rare wines, it was obvious that the occasion of Khoury’s 80th birthday was far from business as usual at the restaurant.

The Wines

If you knew nothing about Tawfiq Khoury, you could still guess at his personality by looking at the list of wines he offered for the dinner with Roy Yamaguchi. Not only were his wines from top producers—Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC, for those in the know) and Napa’s Harlan Estate are just two examples—but they are also from some of the best vintages in the last century. Take DRC’s La Tache Monopole 1990: This is a legendary wine from a legendary producer from a vintage that was stellar for all of Europe. And the rare, older vintages up the ante: 1961 is touted by many wine experts as the best vintage of the century; 1959 has been called one of the top three vintages in the past 100 years; and 1949 is legendary for France.

Even 1930, an ostensibly “poor” vintage for Bordeaux and Burgundy, didn’t seem to stop Khoury. And why should it? He apparently knew that 1930 was an excellent year for Armagnac, as he featured the venerable producer Laberdolive. Another unexpected wine? The Harlan Estate Propriety Red from the 2000 vintage. Originally the 2000 Napa Cabernet and Cabernet-blends didn’t gain much traction, but today those wines are opening up and showing delicate berry and intense chocolate notes. For Khoury to be offering this bottle reveals a connoisseur who devotes deep thought and attention to wine, as well as an adventurer’s spirit in seeking out the finest bottles from the last 80 years of winemaking.