Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
It is a brilliant, beautiful day for a backyard barbecue. Luckily, Dale has invited me over to his annual event.
As in prior years, the crowd are all nice people, mostly neighbors who are an older crowd, plus a few winos: Jay+Arnold, Jayson, Mike, and, of course, Dale and me.
It's so nice to talk to Dale's neighbors! They know to ask the winos about what to drink next but it's nice to have more broad-ranging conversations. I asked about Mike's ski hobby. The psychoanalyst fellow had interesting things to say, as did the fellow who did computer installations for building environment controls. And the trickster wearing the "Ossining" baseball cap was a hoot.
The food off the grill was mostly successful: chorizo, merguez, brats, dogs, morcilla, hanger steak, a wagyu tri-tip. The dining room table was setup with platters of deviled eggs and potato salad and pasta salad... you know, summer food. The kitchen held back desserts until later, including a really excellent cheesecake (and I'm hard to impress on that front), babka, blondies, cupcakes.
And there was some wine: in the order tasted
Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2011 Fleurie "Cuvee Tardive" - magnum; cranberry juice, bit of cherry, totally dry and grippy, many secondary flavors too, perfect bottle (Dale observes, "Despite being the only mag one of the few wines finished.")
Feudi di San Gregorio 2003 Irpinia Aglianico "Serpico" - dark, still oaky, tarry and zinny, overripe, bleh, others liked it better
Brovia 2022 Langhe Freisa "La Villarina Secca" - freisa grown in the Villero cru!, magenta, juicy, sweet cherry pie, total picnic wine
Extradimensional Wine Company Yeah! 2024 "Summer Salters Rose IV" - lightweight texture and color, pretty wine in the nose but not much palate presence
Blind Wine #1 - the wine is nearly brown and smells like old Bordeaux (yes); someone guessed 1979 due to the solid acidity still in the wine (yes); but we don't get that it's Pomerol and Dale does the reveal: Ch. de Sales 1979 Pomerol, "melted tannins" -Jayson, baked fruit tart, lots of bottle sweetness, quince paste maybe, wet leaves, pretty darn yum
Brice NV Champagne Brut "Heritage XX" - everybody said they didn't like the wine from this house until the son took over; seems bright and juicy, and beautiful to me; less lemony than a recent pour of Corbon; nice texture too, alas I don't have much use for Champagne but if I did...
Blind Wine #2 - hmm... the first whiff is like old Bordeaux with pine needles, maybe sangiovese?, spending a little time with it there is a note of mint or camphor, and a good long finish, Jayson guesses correctly that it is Cal Cab; he and Jay pin down the maker and decade: Phelps 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon "Backus"
Ch. de Fieuzal 1986 Blanc - opened yesterday... and it's already four decades on... lots of phenolic material but also too oxidized for me to enjoy
Thackrey 1992 "Orion" - 13.6%, California syrah but a little long in the tooth and heading for generic red wine; still some good plummy, cocoa-y flavors, and no obvious eucalyptus!, a nice surprise to see a bottle after all these years
Dom. Jouan 2014 Morey-St-Denis 1er "Clos Sorbe" - beautiful, perfumed nose, red fruit over chalk, bright, maybe a touch green? (nah)
Zilliken 2012 Forstmeister Geltz Rausch Auslese - 3 551 083-1-13, plenty sweet, plenty zippy, nice wine
Tiberio 2023 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Rose - bright, very cherry, a touch sweet, glou-glou wine
Dom. de la Pepiere 2014 Muscadet "Clos des Briords", Cuvee VV - beautiful yellow fruit in a cheesey package, a little tired, I hope mine in storage are doing better
Ch. de Fieuzal 1994 Blanc - way too oxidized
Dom. Baudry 2023 Chinon Rose - another perfect picnic wine, dry, bright and cheerful and full-flavored
Dom. Huet 2005 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Clos du Bourg" - 12%, Thor bottle, still in good shape: honey, wax, minerals; also a bit of apple and wool (after two decades); doesn't quite have the thrust of a pristine bottle but it ain't bad, nice way to end the afternoon
As in prior years, the crowd are all nice people, mostly neighbors who are an older crowd, plus a few winos: Jay+Arnold, Jayson, Mike, and, of course, Dale and me.
It's so nice to talk to Dale's neighbors! They know to ask the winos about what to drink next but it's nice to have more broad-ranging conversations. I asked about Mike's ski hobby. The psychoanalyst fellow had interesting things to say, as did the fellow who did computer installations for building environment controls. And the trickster wearing the "Ossining" baseball cap was a hoot.
The food off the grill was mostly successful: chorizo, merguez, brats, dogs, morcilla, hanger steak, a wagyu tri-tip. The dining room table was setup with platters of deviled eggs and potato salad and pasta salad... you know, summer food. The kitchen held back desserts until later, including a really excellent cheesecake (and I'm hard to impress on that front), babka, blondies, cupcakes.
And there was some wine: in the order tasted
Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2011 Fleurie "Cuvee Tardive" - magnum; cranberry juice, bit of cherry, totally dry and grippy, many secondary flavors too, perfect bottle (Dale observes, "Despite being the only mag one of the few wines finished.")
Feudi di San Gregorio 2003 Irpinia Aglianico "Serpico" - dark, still oaky, tarry and zinny, overripe, bleh, others liked it better
Brovia 2022 Langhe Freisa "La Villarina Secca" - freisa grown in the Villero cru!, magenta, juicy, sweet cherry pie, total picnic wine
Extradimensional Wine Company Yeah! 2024 "Summer Salters Rose IV" - lightweight texture and color, pretty wine in the nose but not much palate presence
Blind Wine #1 - the wine is nearly brown and smells like old Bordeaux (yes); someone guessed 1979 due to the solid acidity still in the wine (yes); but we don't get that it's Pomerol and Dale does the reveal: Ch. de Sales 1979 Pomerol, "melted tannins" -Jayson, baked fruit tart, lots of bottle sweetness, quince paste maybe, wet leaves, pretty darn yum
Brice NV Champagne Brut "Heritage XX" - everybody said they didn't like the wine from this house until the son took over; seems bright and juicy, and beautiful to me; less lemony than a recent pour of Corbon; nice texture too, alas I don't have much use for Champagne but if I did...
Blind Wine #2 - hmm... the first whiff is like old Bordeaux with pine needles, maybe sangiovese?, spending a little time with it there is a note of mint or camphor, and a good long finish, Jayson guesses correctly that it is Cal Cab; he and Jay pin down the maker and decade: Phelps 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon "Backus"
Ch. de Fieuzal 1986 Blanc - opened yesterday... and it's already four decades on... lots of phenolic material but also too oxidized for me to enjoy
Thackrey 1992 "Orion" - 13.6%, California syrah but a little long in the tooth and heading for generic red wine; still some good plummy, cocoa-y flavors, and no obvious eucalyptus!, a nice surprise to see a bottle after all these years
Dom. Jouan 2014 Morey-St-Denis 1er "Clos Sorbe" - beautiful, perfumed nose, red fruit over chalk, bright, maybe a touch green? (nah)
Zilliken 2012 Forstmeister Geltz Rausch Auslese - 3 551 083-1-13, plenty sweet, plenty zippy, nice wine
Tiberio 2023 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Rose - bright, very cherry, a touch sweet, glou-glou wine
Dom. de la Pepiere 2014 Muscadet "Clos des Briords", Cuvee VV - beautiful yellow fruit in a cheesey package, a little tired, I hope mine in storage are doing better
Ch. de Fieuzal 1994 Blanc - way too oxidized
Dom. Baudry 2023 Chinon Rose - another perfect picnic wine, dry, bright and cheerful and full-flavored
Dom. Huet 2005 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Clos du Bourg" - 12%, Thor bottle, still in good shape: honey, wax, minerals; also a bit of apple and wool (after two decades); doesn't quite have the thrust of a pristine bottle but it ain't bad, nice way to end the afternoon