Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Eden + Scott, Jay, Jayson, Jeff, Lisa, Seth, Victor
Jay and Eden pouring. Ten wines: two bad, two white, two sweet, four red. And Bacchus was messing with us.
It's the depth of winter so we're all as close to hibernation as homo sapiens ever are. Jay is pouring whatever he feels like but, get this, Eden is pouring samples from the wines set aside for Pierce's bar mitzvah.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
Pierce is a toddler. He plays with felt ravioli and is about the same size as the dog. He cannot possibly be 13 years old. That would make me... oh, it's too awful to consider.
We'll just indulge Eden and Scott in their 'little man all grown up' fantasy.
Shh, don't say anything.
Well, unless it's a tasting note:
#Jay1: Wirsching 2021 Iphofer Silvaner Trocken - from bocksbeutel; several of us immediately name it sauvignon blanc (no), "fresh and floral" -Eden, "I like it" -Victor, "something familiar about it" -Jayson, this is bone dry, herbal/vegetal and mineral, refreshing as a cool breeze, we eventually chase it down to Germany and silvaner; at the start of this round we are saying 'Frahn-ken' but by the end we are saying 'Frank-en' which is an old Mel Brooks joke (I think it's part of the Great Jeebus Vowel Shift that happens as we get sozzled...)
Day 3: still greenwood, fresh, salty, more body than I'd expect, herby maybe all the way to grassy, very good
#Jay2: Pepiere 2002 Muscadet "Clos des Briords", Cuvee VV - shot
Day 3: a shame as there is a core of zingy, juicy, yellow fruit down there but shrouded in stale funk
#Eden1: Chateau Simone 2010 Palette Blanc - saline and savory and a little funky, definitely needs food, Jayson is guessing all over the SW and SE of France but never does choose Palette, this was really hard to pick out
Day 3: very slight oxy (age-appropriate), broad palate but kinda vague, more resin leather spice than anything I could put my finger on
#Eden2: Marechal 2010 Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er "Les Lavieres" - corked
Day 3: not the usual corkiness, more rotten meat than old socks, cannot even bear to taste it
#Jay3: Xavier Gerard 2017 Cote-Rotie - right away: "Syrah" -Victor, very dry and drying tannins, "Not Rhone" -Jeff (wrong), "Serious" -Jayson, kinda blocky and boring, "I didn't like an older year of this but thought I'd try again" -Jay
Day 3: licorice and blackberries, maybe a bit of brown earth but still a syrah fruit bomb
#Jay4: Chateau Musar 1982 Rouge - complex and intense and totally has us fooled: we guess Bordeaux, Piedmont, Burgundy, Rioja when of course it's Musar //face-palm//, the '82 vintage is known for wide bottle variation but this is a great one
Day 3: in the nose... new sneakers!, maybe some black cherry and crispbread; but the palate is so much better: the weight of Burgundy with a SW France flavor profile (redfruity but light and dry)
#Jay5: Gouges 1996 Nuits-St-Georges "Les Vaucrains" - "Another Musar!" -Jayson (no), but it does have a lot of nasal defects so that's a reasonable guess, "salty on the nose" -Jayson, I think the wine is smoky and full of lavender sachet; we eventually guess Gouges Vaucrains in the 90s but no further
Day 3: Dr. Vins-Seuss adds: My nose is old, My acids are angular, My palate is bold, and the Whole tastes of lavender.
#Eden3: Dom. Lionnet 2010 Cornas "Terre Brulee" - incredibly beautiful and fragrant nose while unapproachably tannic on the palate, "Peppery" -Victor, "Syrah" -Jay, by now we know the vintage
Day 3: yet more juicy syrah, a touch of funk appears and gives it some depth, I still wouldn't know what region this is from; and this is so youthful: the color still purply, the tannins still plentiful (if fine), try again in 5 years?
#Eden4: Foreau (Dom. du Clos Naudin) 2010 Vouvray Moelleux - "Chenin" -Jayson, Eden says this was fresher in the morning, citrus over resin, maybe a whiff of sweet banana, it started with a 'bakery' or 'butterscotch' vibe but that has eased off
Day 3: a certain gras, almost buttery/confectionary, in the nose; beautiful wine, sweet without cloying too hard, as much fresh citrus as marmalade, there is a bit of funk/harsh late in the finish so maybe more time is needed
#Jay6: Muller-Catoir 1996 Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Eiswein - from 375ml, navel oranges served over bbq sauce, "So... Muller-Catoir!" -Seth, this is terrific: spicy on the palate, brown sugar, clove, "Artichoke" -Pierce (which is not a bad reminding), the grapefruity palate has become more passionfruit but excellent acidity holds it all together
Day 3: color of maple syrup, flavor of the best golden raisins you ever had, a whiff of spearmint and demi-glace, wow
During the evening we catch up a bit on our lives and we tell jokes.
Seth tells us an Engineer joke: A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer are asked to calculate the volume of a small red sphere. The mathematician pulls out a set of calipers, takes a few measurements, pops them into an equation and gives an answer. The physicist submerges the ball in a graduated cylinder full of water and measures the displaced volume. The engineer picks up the red ball, turns it over in his hands, and puts it back down. Then he picks it up again and turns it over in his hands and puts it back down. Then he pulls a book off the shelf called "Volumes of Small Red Spheres".
Later, somehow, possibly but not entirely related to the bar mitzvah discussion, I tell a mohel joke. I apologize if that was inappropriate but, in my defense, I'd been drinking. Anyway, it's the right crowd for it as everybody on this call is Jewish (a non-surprise for NYC).
Once again, many thanks to Eden and Jay for providing lovely wines and thanks to everyone for a fun evening.
Jay and Eden pouring. Ten wines: two bad, two white, two sweet, four red. And Bacchus was messing with us.
It's the depth of winter so we're all as close to hibernation as homo sapiens ever are. Jay is pouring whatever he feels like but, get this, Eden is pouring samples from the wines set aside for Pierce's bar mitzvah.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
Pierce is a toddler. He plays with felt ravioli and is about the same size as the dog. He cannot possibly be 13 years old. That would make me... oh, it's too awful to consider.
We'll just indulge Eden and Scott in their 'little man all grown up' fantasy.
Shh, don't say anything.
Well, unless it's a tasting note:
#Jay1: Wirsching 2021 Iphofer Silvaner Trocken - from bocksbeutel; several of us immediately name it sauvignon blanc (no), "fresh and floral" -Eden, "I like it" -Victor, "something familiar about it" -Jayson, this is bone dry, herbal/vegetal and mineral, refreshing as a cool breeze, we eventually chase it down to Germany and silvaner; at the start of this round we are saying 'Frahn-ken' but by the end we are saying 'Frank-en' which is an old Mel Brooks joke (I think it's part of the Great Jeebus Vowel Shift that happens as we get sozzled...)
Day 3: still greenwood, fresh, salty, more body than I'd expect, herby maybe all the way to grassy, very good
#Jay2: Pepiere 2002 Muscadet "Clos des Briords", Cuvee VV - shot
Day 3: a shame as there is a core of zingy, juicy, yellow fruit down there but shrouded in stale funk
#Eden1: Chateau Simone 2010 Palette Blanc - saline and savory and a little funky, definitely needs food, Jayson is guessing all over the SW and SE of France but never does choose Palette, this was really hard to pick out
Day 3: very slight oxy (age-appropriate), broad palate but kinda vague, more resin leather spice than anything I could put my finger on
#Eden2: Marechal 2010 Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er "Les Lavieres" - corked
Day 3: not the usual corkiness, more rotten meat than old socks, cannot even bear to taste it
#Jay3: Xavier Gerard 2017 Cote-Rotie - right away: "Syrah" -Victor, very dry and drying tannins, "Not Rhone" -Jeff (wrong), "Serious" -Jayson, kinda blocky and boring, "I didn't like an older year of this but thought I'd try again" -Jay
Day 3: licorice and blackberries, maybe a bit of brown earth but still a syrah fruit bomb
#Jay4: Chateau Musar 1982 Rouge - complex and intense and totally has us fooled: we guess Bordeaux, Piedmont, Burgundy, Rioja when of course it's Musar //face-palm//, the '82 vintage is known for wide bottle variation but this is a great one
Day 3: in the nose... new sneakers!, maybe some black cherry and crispbread; but the palate is so much better: the weight of Burgundy with a SW France flavor profile (redfruity but light and dry)
#Jay5: Gouges 1996 Nuits-St-Georges "Les Vaucrains" - "Another Musar!" -Jayson (no), but it does have a lot of nasal defects so that's a reasonable guess, "salty on the nose" -Jayson, I think the wine is smoky and full of lavender sachet; we eventually guess Gouges Vaucrains in the 90s but no further
Day 3: Dr. Vins-Seuss adds: My nose is old, My acids are angular, My palate is bold, and the Whole tastes of lavender.
#Eden3: Dom. Lionnet 2010 Cornas "Terre Brulee" - incredibly beautiful and fragrant nose while unapproachably tannic on the palate, "Peppery" -Victor, "Syrah" -Jay, by now we know the vintage
Day 3: yet more juicy syrah, a touch of funk appears and gives it some depth, I still wouldn't know what region this is from; and this is so youthful: the color still purply, the tannins still plentiful (if fine), try again in 5 years?
#Eden4: Foreau (Dom. du Clos Naudin) 2010 Vouvray Moelleux - "Chenin" -Jayson, Eden says this was fresher in the morning, citrus over resin, maybe a whiff of sweet banana, it started with a 'bakery' or 'butterscotch' vibe but that has eased off
Day 3: a certain gras, almost buttery/confectionary, in the nose; beautiful wine, sweet without cloying too hard, as much fresh citrus as marmalade, there is a bit of funk/harsh late in the finish so maybe more time is needed
#Jay6: Muller-Catoir 1996 Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Eiswein - from 375ml, navel oranges served over bbq sauce, "So... Muller-Catoir!" -Seth, this is terrific: spicy on the palate, brown sugar, clove, "Artichoke" -Pierce (which is not a bad reminding), the grapefruity palate has become more passionfruit but excellent acidity holds it all together
Day 3: color of maple syrup, flavor of the best golden raisins you ever had, a whiff of spearmint and demi-glace, wow
During the evening we catch up a bit on our lives and we tell jokes.
Seth tells us an Engineer joke: A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer are asked to calculate the volume of a small red sphere. The mathematician pulls out a set of calipers, takes a few measurements, pops them into an equation and gives an answer. The physicist submerges the ball in a graduated cylinder full of water and measures the displaced volume. The engineer picks up the red ball, turns it over in his hands, and puts it back down. Then he picks it up again and turns it over in his hands and puts it back down. Then he pulls a book off the shelf called "Volumes of Small Red Spheres".
Later, somehow, possibly but not entirely related to the bar mitzvah discussion, I tell a mohel joke. I apologize if that was inappropriate but, in my defense, I'd been drinking. Anyway, it's the right crowd for it as everybody on this call is Jewish (a non-surprise for NYC).
Once again, many thanks to Eden and Jay for providing lovely wines and thanks to everyone for a fun evening.
