TN: The Wild West (Sept. 2, 2023)

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
attendees: Marc, Jayson, Dan, Ira, Dan+JoAnna, Omar, Tolga, Jeff

In honor of Labor Day we toil in the alcohol mines of the far westerly clime... of Manhattan. Marc rings the bell and we slaver come on a Saturday, bringing bread and cheese and sliced meats and we even wash our faces and comb our hair for the social aspect.

Mystery Fizz - Ira likes testing us; this is champagne, there is white pepper and saffron and resin, medium weight, quite nice, definitely a high %age of pinot meunier
Reveal: Augustin NV Champagne Brut "Coeur Saphyr" - disg. 8/21, 100% PM (yay me!)

Becker 2021 Wallufer Oberberg Riesling Auslese Trocken - 37030 012 22, intensely aromatic, very strong and lovely bouquet, the wine tastes as if it has considered being sweet and started to make ready but decided against it at the last minute (meaning there's something liqueur-ish about the texture and a haunted-house sense of sweetness not there), very long finish, this is way more impressive than I expected it to be!

Peter Lauer 2021 Riesling "Stirn", Fass 15 - I'm told they can't say "Fass" on the label anymore... more German rules; anyway, the wine has a creamy mid-palate, frangipani finish, long and gently tangy, really excellent, I can see why Jayson says this is one of his faves

Mystery Red - Ira strikes again!: this wine has at least 10 years on it, there is rough texture and smells of some kind of blacktop paving material so everyone is guessing Barolo... except me, because I know this taste, this is goudron so there's aglianico here, not nebbiolo; not a gee-whiz wine, really, but this was good
Reveal: Fatt. Galardi 2001 IGT "Terra di Lavoro" - looking back on some of Levi's notes it may be that I was tasting the piedirosso component but I can't find a cepage manifest for the 2001 version, presumably 10-15% piedirosso, like all the other years, but who knows (anyway, yay slightly imprecise me!)

Ch. Simone 2013 Palette Blanc - a good Rhone-ish wine but this bottle is not very distinctive

P. Cotat 2014 Sancerre "Les Monts Damnes" - hm, this is really low in both fruit and acid, so pretty bland; an off-bottle

Joly 2014 Savennieres "Clos de la Coulee de Serrant" - full and rich, just a little floral lift, a good bottle but not a great bottle

Lafouge 2019 Auxey-Duresses 1er "La Chapelle" - nose is warm and roasty, maybe a touch of diacetyl too; palate is very rich, nearly (but not quite) so far as damp roots and cola flavors; this will probably be major yum when it has a couple years to settle down

Dunn 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain - suave old cab, good strength, wonderful ripeness, this dense wine has yielded ever so slightly to time and is really terrific now

Lafouge 2019 Auxey-Duresses 1er "Les Duresses" - another suave wine, cherry and tree roots and a little pale earth, I usually like this cuvee best and today is no exception

Eminence Road 2021 Finger Lakes "Acidalia" - better than the first bottle, still sharp but this time in balance, cool cab flavors, nicely done

Storm 20167 Pinot Noir "Ignis" "Wine of Origin Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley" - Ignis is the name of the vineyard; yup, that's pinot noir all right

Cavalotto 1999 Barolo "Bricco Boschis" - so good: spirity cherries (14% y'know) gently dabbed with orange rind and orange pith, cranberry sauce, medium weight, drink and hold, wow wine

Bergianti Perfranco IGT Lambrusco Rosato - tasty and the back-story is interesting but it is too late in the day to go back to careful consideration of rose, sorry

I missed a bottle of Pepiere "4".

A sincere thank you to Marc and MWC for hosting us, and to everyone who attended for bringing wine, food, wine, good cheer, and wine.

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(the bottle shot has not uploaded because the Politburo's software is broken)

 

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Crazy! A FLJim FB post shows him drinking a bottle of ‘91 Dunn HM. What are the odds? Even crazier is that you both agree that it’s ready to drink. Crazy talk!

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Becker 2021 Wallufer Oberberg Riesling Auslese Trocken ...this is way more impressive than I expected it to be!

Is that because previous experiences with Becker were not very thrilling?

The Auslese trocken wines can be interesting in balancing the ripe flavors with the dry body. Sometimes they remind me of big Anjou chenin, when the ripeness pushes it a tad past varietal typicity.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Becker 2021 Wallufer Oberberg Riesling Auslese Trocken ...this is way more impressive than I expected it to be!

Is that because previous experiences with Becker were not very thrilling?
Yes.

The Auslese trocken wines can be interesting in balancing the ripe flavors with the dry body. Sometimes they remind me of big Anjou chenin, when the ripeness pushes it a tad past varietal typicity.
That's a very apt association!
 
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