Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Brad, Jay, Jayson, Jeff, Manuel + Julian, Marty, Victor
Manuel is in the States for his regular medical pilgrimmage to Philadelphia, but he is in NYC for glitz, glamor, shows, art... and little ol' us.
We meet at Peking Duck House in midtown, a venue of good duck and a hit-or-miss menu otherwise. But they have big tables, nice service, they know us, it's convenient, and so we do.
Manuel is attended by his son, Julian, last seen about waist high but he has become a teenager with a personality all his own and front-row seats to see why his old man is the way he is.
Marty, another name out of our storied past, is here, too. We play that old favorite game, "What did you do during the pandemic?", and then conversation follows the course you might expect from a bunch of guys who drink fancy wine... what is this? where did you get it? how many have we had? what did it cost back then? is that a Gabriel Glas? Dressner would be proud of us. Give it a little time.
It's a Tuesday so we don't go too much beyond a dozen wines. In the order I tasted them, which may not have been optimal (but such is Life):
Roses de Jeanne (Bouchard) 2019 Cote de Val Vilaine - disg. 2021(!), 12.5%, fresh and lively, fine tension and texture, perhaps there is a peach in the next room, excellent
Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! 2019 Old Vine Orange Wine Yeah! - 13%, making me write "Yeah!" multiple times does not engender the kind of sentiment that perhaps the winemaker intends; the label says this is muscat, paolomino, chasselas, and others as yet unidentified - seems to me that "white field blend" covers it; 60(!) days on the skins, the nose is amazing: potently fruity, sage and cranberry twisted up with vivid yellow fruit; the palate, however, does not even come close: flat, limp, maybe even a little tinny; maybe I'm glad this isn't on my nickel
Josef Walter 2015 Spatburgunder "J" Hundsruck - trocken, 1076-001-18, 13.5%, pure pinot fruit with noseal threads of toasted barley, tea, and potting soil (I'm not doing it justice), so lightweight on the palate, an OMG finish of black earth, totally wow wine
Drouhin 1986 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er "Marquis de Laguiche" - technically Morgeot?; DOA
Pinon 2009 Vouvray "Silex Noir" - delicate, a mingle of green grapes and nectarines, a little sweet but maybe rather more unhappy to be opened
Clos de la Roilette (Coudert) 2019 Fleurie "Griffe du Marquis" - another wine unhappy to see the light of a Chinese restaurant: kinda gritty/earthy, something like madiran, interesting but really unforthcoming now
Clos Roche Blanche 2009 Touraine "Cuvee Gamay" - a fabulous bottle: potent, fragrant, blue-fruited, others taste more geranium than I do, just-so tannins, and a dancing texture, wow
Drouhin 1988 Musigny GC - someone says "the nose is intoxicating", which it is, but it does not follow-up in the mouth, yet another un-generous wine
Drouhin 2001 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Baudes" - this one is happy to join us at the table: tangy and very red-fruited, recognizably Chambolle from a warm but not too-hot year, yum
Dublere 2015 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er "Les Blanchards" - first scent is coffee... but it's not over-toasted barrels just the roasty grapes from the hot year, a complicated palate but not especially enjoyable; Day 3: the palate has settled down a bit, all black cherries and all a little too sweet
Prager 2016 Ried Klaus Smaragd (R) - marca registrada?, this was stunning: bright and dry and fruity, pale earth tones in the finish, an amazing bottle!
Ch. Belair 1983 St.-Emilion, 1er Grand Cru Classe - magnum; suave and stylish on top yet still quite sturdy below, acidity is a bit tame but this really deserves to have more time spent on it
Bod. Riojanas 1970 Rioja Gran Reserva "Monte Real" - very pretty wine, very Rioja wine (sandalwood and dry cherries), interesting and makes me salivate
Weegmuller 2002 Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese - 5 174 103 020 03, 9%, HGS assisted here... how do we know? "It smells like grapefruit, Jay is here, and it's from a half-bottle" -Marty, indeed it is very grapefruity and sweet, it's maybe lost a bit of its cut and acquired a whiff of maple, but it's still pretty amazing
Credit for all pictures to Brad Kane.
Manuel is in the States for his regular medical pilgrimmage to Philadelphia, but he is in NYC for glitz, glamor, shows, art... and little ol' us.
Manuel is attended by his son, Julian, last seen about waist high but he has become a teenager with a personality all his own and front-row seats to see why his old man is the way he is.
Marty, another name out of our storied past, is here, too. We play that old favorite game, "What did you do during the pandemic?", and then conversation follows the course you might expect from a bunch of guys who drink fancy wine... what is this? where did you get it? how many have we had? what did it cost back then? is that a Gabriel Glas? Dressner would be proud of us. Give it a little time.
It's a Tuesday so we don't go too much beyond a dozen wines. In the order I tasted them, which may not have been optimal (but such is Life):
Roses de Jeanne (Bouchard) 2019 Cote de Val Vilaine - disg. 2021(!), 12.5%, fresh and lively, fine tension and texture, perhaps there is a peach in the next room, excellent
Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! 2019 Old Vine Orange Wine Yeah! - 13%, making me write "Yeah!" multiple times does not engender the kind of sentiment that perhaps the winemaker intends; the label says this is muscat, paolomino, chasselas, and others as yet unidentified - seems to me that "white field blend" covers it; 60(!) days on the skins, the nose is amazing: potently fruity, sage and cranberry twisted up with vivid yellow fruit; the palate, however, does not even come close: flat, limp, maybe even a little tinny; maybe I'm glad this isn't on my nickel
Josef Walter 2015 Spatburgunder "J" Hundsruck - trocken, 1076-001-18, 13.5%, pure pinot fruit with noseal threads of toasted barley, tea, and potting soil (I'm not doing it justice), so lightweight on the palate, an OMG finish of black earth, totally wow wine
Drouhin 1986 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er "Marquis de Laguiche" - technically Morgeot?; DOA
Pinon 2009 Vouvray "Silex Noir" - delicate, a mingle of green grapes and nectarines, a little sweet but maybe rather more unhappy to be opened
Clos de la Roilette (Coudert) 2019 Fleurie "Griffe du Marquis" - another wine unhappy to see the light of a Chinese restaurant: kinda gritty/earthy, something like madiran, interesting but really unforthcoming now
Clos Roche Blanche 2009 Touraine "Cuvee Gamay" - a fabulous bottle: potent, fragrant, blue-fruited, others taste more geranium than I do, just-so tannins, and a dancing texture, wow
Drouhin 1988 Musigny GC - someone says "the nose is intoxicating", which it is, but it does not follow-up in the mouth, yet another un-generous wine
Drouhin 2001 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Baudes" - this one is happy to join us at the table: tangy and very red-fruited, recognizably Chambolle from a warm but not too-hot year, yum
Dublere 2015 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er "Les Blanchards" - first scent is coffee... but it's not over-toasted barrels just the roasty grapes from the hot year, a complicated palate but not especially enjoyable; Day 3: the palate has settled down a bit, all black cherries and all a little too sweet
Prager 2016 Ried Klaus Smaragd (R) - marca registrada?, this was stunning: bright and dry and fruity, pale earth tones in the finish, an amazing bottle!
Ch. Belair 1983 St.-Emilion, 1er Grand Cru Classe - magnum; suave and stylish on top yet still quite sturdy below, acidity is a bit tame but this really deserves to have more time spent on it
Bod. Riojanas 1970 Rioja Gran Reserva "Monte Real" - very pretty wine, very Rioja wine (sandalwood and dry cherries), interesting and makes me salivate
Weegmuller 2002 Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese - 5 174 103 020 03, 9%, HGS assisted here... how do we know? "It smells like grapefruit, Jay is here, and it's from a half-bottle" -Marty, indeed it is very grapefruity and sweet, it's maybe lost a bit of its cut and acquired a whiff of maple, but it's still pretty amazing
Credit for all pictures to Brad Kane.
