Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Marc, Ira, Jayson, Hart, Jay, Jeff
Another hangout day at the "cellar" on the west side of Manhattan.
This time, it turned into Cheese-ageddon: Jay promised to bring a Rush Creek Reserve. For the uninitiated, this is the American answer to Vacherin Mont d'Or... washed rind, raw cow's milk, wrapped in spruce, and made only in the fall. It's a great cheese but one cheese will not suffice for half a dozen drunkards all afternoon.
Vowing not to bring a hopeless no-name, I visited a local fromagier and came away with a half pound of The Best Cheese In The World: Rogue River Blue. Also raw cow's milk, also seasonal, it is wrapped in syrah leaves macerated in pear liqueur. It is a bit crumbly, not strongly blue, a touch sweet, a touch snappy, really excellent cheese.
Jay also brought a chunk of Arethusa Blue, the Best Blue Cheese in America. It was quite good, firm and fudgy, but there was some leftover. (Quelle horreur!)
Rounding out the old milk festival was a wedge of "Goatlet" (cow/goat blend, firm, raised in the underground Brooklyn storage mentioned in a nearby thread), a pretty vigorous Comte (not sure of the age but can't be more than a year), and an anonymous Dutch cheese.
The table filled out with several baguettes and other loafs and flatbreads, some olives, artichoke hearts, salami, and an entire smoked duck.
We're ready.
We were born ready.
But now we've got victuals so we're really ready.
Go!
Thomas-Labaille 2004 Chavignol "Les Monts Damnes" - oxidized, a (monts) damnes shame
F. Cotat 1999 Sancere "Les Monts Damnes" - very pretty and well-balanced, no longer young and vigorous but maturity has not brought senescence either
Dauvissat 2007 Chablis 1er "Les Preuses" - textbook chablis but starting to show signs of oxidation; this bottle suggests drinking-up but I feel that provenance is very important for Dauvissat (because I've had good bottles of wine that many others have already written-off)
Meulenhof 2012 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese "Alte Reben" - 2 582 038 1113, 8%, a regular normal Mosel flavor profile but with a bit of extra substance, reminds me a little of the green-wood smell of snapping a twig, great QPR wine
Selbach-Oster 1997 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese* - 2 606 319 002 98, attack is full and rich and Pezzy but the mid-palate falls away faster, I think something is wrong here
Willi Schaefer 1997 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese - 2 583 154 12 98, beautiful, sweet-ish
Etienne Dupont 2015 Cidre Bouche Brut de Normandie - 5.5%, organic, unfiltered, unpasteurized, and... yup, that's Normandy cider: lean, bouche, more useful as a beverage than as an aperitif
Mystery Wine! - it's red! the bouquet is rich in pyrazines, though not thoroughly velveteen with them, so therefore a blend that includes cab franc rather than a varietal; oof, the palate is lean and grippy with a subdued florality/berry-ality that gives no clue; no one is really much taken with this one and we are one and all surprised to see it unwrapped: Ch. Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre 2001 Margaux GC Exceptionnel
Jean-Paul Brun (Terres Dorees) 2009 Morgon - so fresh! transparent, leafy (but not in an underripe way), especially after two recent unsatisfying 2009s it was nice to be able to be wowed; Day 2: same; Day 4: pretty much the same but the florality has settled a bit towards geranium and the red-berry-ness has simplified to cranberry/mulberry
Clos Roche Blanche 2014 Touraine "Cuvee Pif" - cot and cab franc still doing well (though I mistook them for pineau d'aunis!), there is a hint of leathery brett here so I might drink up, enjoy its vigor, and don't let the wee beasties over-power it
Ch. Rayas 1997 Cotes du Rhone "La Pialade" - kinda lifted for a heap of grenache, OK
Alexis Lichine (Dom. Jean Meo, Proprietaire) 1972 Clos Vougeot GC - 375ml; Mark Golodetz bottle; a whiff of chlorine at first but then a robust 'old Burgundy' nose of red cherries overlaid with Juicy-Fruit, palate is tactile, acidity is decent, pretty amazing
Dom. Tempier 1998 Bandol - foursquare, not much progress in 21 years, eh
Sequoia Grove 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon - beautiful, autumnal, not much leather but forest floor and just enough acidity to keep it all together, yum
I Vigneri (S. Foti) 2014 Etna Rosso "Vinupetra" - after a recent disappointing Vinudilice this was another pleasant surprise: juicy, vivid, fresh, resin and black cherry, Ira calls it "pizza wine" but I think it's a step better than that
Labet 2009 Pinot Noir "Les Varrons" - suave, light, bright red fruits (think Rose des Riceys with a bit of extra sour), energizing wine
O. Horiot 2014 Coteaux Champenois Riceys Rouge "En Barmont" - speaking of which, here's the rouge!: "Spicy" -Ira, Corton-like cherries and earth, the nose is more enticing than the palate (which just lacks a little excitement)
Zind-Humbrecht 1994 Gewurztraminer "Hengst" GC VT - 4.1 brix rs, lovely nose but a medicinal mouth, starts falling apart, meh
Another hangout day at the "cellar" on the west side of Manhattan.
This time, it turned into Cheese-ageddon: Jay promised to bring a Rush Creek Reserve. For the uninitiated, this is the American answer to Vacherin Mont d'Or... washed rind, raw cow's milk, wrapped in spruce, and made only in the fall. It's a great cheese but one cheese will not suffice for half a dozen drunkards all afternoon.
Vowing not to bring a hopeless no-name, I visited a local fromagier and came away with a half pound of The Best Cheese In The World: Rogue River Blue. Also raw cow's milk, also seasonal, it is wrapped in syrah leaves macerated in pear liqueur. It is a bit crumbly, not strongly blue, a touch sweet, a touch snappy, really excellent cheese.
Jay also brought a chunk of Arethusa Blue, the Best Blue Cheese in America. It was quite good, firm and fudgy, but there was some leftover. (Quelle horreur!)
Rounding out the old milk festival was a wedge of "Goatlet" (cow/goat blend, firm, raised in the underground Brooklyn storage mentioned in a nearby thread), a pretty vigorous Comte (not sure of the age but can't be more than a year), and an anonymous Dutch cheese.
The table filled out with several baguettes and other loafs and flatbreads, some olives, artichoke hearts, salami, and an entire smoked duck.
We're ready.
We were born ready.
But now we've got victuals so we're really ready.
Go!
Thomas-Labaille 2004 Chavignol "Les Monts Damnes" - oxidized, a (monts) damnes shame
F. Cotat 1999 Sancere "Les Monts Damnes" - very pretty and well-balanced, no longer young and vigorous but maturity has not brought senescence either
Dauvissat 2007 Chablis 1er "Les Preuses" - textbook chablis but starting to show signs of oxidation; this bottle suggests drinking-up but I feel that provenance is very important for Dauvissat (because I've had good bottles of wine that many others have already written-off)
Meulenhof 2012 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese "Alte Reben" - 2 582 038 1113, 8%, a regular normal Mosel flavor profile but with a bit of extra substance, reminds me a little of the green-wood smell of snapping a twig, great QPR wine
Selbach-Oster 1997 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese* - 2 606 319 002 98, attack is full and rich and Pezzy but the mid-palate falls away faster, I think something is wrong here
Willi Schaefer 1997 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese - 2 583 154 12 98, beautiful, sweet-ish
Etienne Dupont 2015 Cidre Bouche Brut de Normandie - 5.5%, organic, unfiltered, unpasteurized, and... yup, that's Normandy cider: lean, bouche, more useful as a beverage than as an aperitif
Mystery Wine! - it's red! the bouquet is rich in pyrazines, though not thoroughly velveteen with them, so therefore a blend that includes cab franc rather than a varietal; oof, the palate is lean and grippy with a subdued florality/berry-ality that gives no clue; no one is really much taken with this one and we are one and all surprised to see it unwrapped: Ch. Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre 2001 Margaux GC Exceptionnel
Jean-Paul Brun (Terres Dorees) 2009 Morgon - so fresh! transparent, leafy (but not in an underripe way), especially after two recent unsatisfying 2009s it was nice to be able to be wowed; Day 2: same; Day 4: pretty much the same but the florality has settled a bit towards geranium and the red-berry-ness has simplified to cranberry/mulberry
Clos Roche Blanche 2014 Touraine "Cuvee Pif" - cot and cab franc still doing well (though I mistook them for pineau d'aunis!), there is a hint of leathery brett here so I might drink up, enjoy its vigor, and don't let the wee beasties over-power it
Ch. Rayas 1997 Cotes du Rhone "La Pialade" - kinda lifted for a heap of grenache, OK
Alexis Lichine (Dom. Jean Meo, Proprietaire) 1972 Clos Vougeot GC - 375ml; Mark Golodetz bottle; a whiff of chlorine at first but then a robust 'old Burgundy' nose of red cherries overlaid with Juicy-Fruit, palate is tactile, acidity is decent, pretty amazing
Dom. Tempier 1998 Bandol - foursquare, not much progress in 21 years, eh
Sequoia Grove 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon - beautiful, autumnal, not much leather but forest floor and just enough acidity to keep it all together, yum
I Vigneri (S. Foti) 2014 Etna Rosso "Vinupetra" - after a recent disappointing Vinudilice this was another pleasant surprise: juicy, vivid, fresh, resin and black cherry, Ira calls it "pizza wine" but I think it's a step better than that
Labet 2009 Pinot Noir "Les Varrons" - suave, light, bright red fruits (think Rose des Riceys with a bit of extra sour), energizing wine
O. Horiot 2014 Coteaux Champenois Riceys Rouge "En Barmont" - speaking of which, here's the rouge!: "Spicy" -Ira, Corton-like cherries and earth, the nose is more enticing than the palate (which just lacks a little excitement)
Zind-Humbrecht 1994 Gewurztraminer "Hengst" GC VT - 4.1 brix rs, lovely nose but a medicinal mouth, starts falling apart, meh
