Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Camille+Ben, Bruce+Tammy, Dan, Jeff
Friends are cooking at their friends' house and I am invited. Of course, I was told there was no need to bring anything so I made a batch of pistachio gelato and grabbed a few bottles.
The friends' house had been renovated many years ago by a married couple, both of whom are chefs, so half the ground floor is the kitchen (the other half is seating). This kitchen is fabulously equipped and every inch of it is packed with dishes, pots and pans, serving ware, a vertical herb garden, and plenty of comestibles. I marvel at all this because my kitchen is the size of a postage stamp.
After much back and forth, the cooks decided on this menu:
Amuse: sauteed razor clam in lemon-butter
First: garganelli with sun-dried tomato pesto and fresh basil
Main: fricasseed chicken with leeks and mushrooms (could it be any more wine-friendly?)
Salad: simple green salad with slices of Beaufort and Tomme de Savoie
Dessert: tarte aux fraises and pistachio gelato
The hostess, Camille, favors les vins vivants, which corresponds roughly to natural wines. She has textbooks on the subject and has a good number of bottles in the house. She likes the vividness of the wines, the fragrances and flavors that pop. Interestingly, she does not like pet nat.
I harbor my prejudices about natural wines and mousiness and the bacteriological problems that beset the absolutely-no-sulfur makers, but I'm willing to try. ((And maybe I'm misunderstanding her?: If Les Vins Vivants means the school of Lapierre, then I'm all in.))
Here we go:
La Stoppa 2013 IGT Emilia "Ageno" - The 'welcome' cup. Tastes like I remember it: citric, tannic, a bit of rose water and pine oil, incredibly present, really good but an acquired taste; later in the evening, the wine's grip relaxes a little and it is more pleasant
Jean Vesselle NV Champagne Brut Rose "Oeil de Perdrix" - disg. 1/19/22, 100% pinot noir, big wine and fruit-forward, roses and strawberries, the minerality arrives during the finish, more rocks than chalk, works well at the table
Ferme de L'Yonnière (Jérome Forget) 2019 Poire "Champs de Poirier" - like my previous bottle, lots of stuff floating around in it but never mind: it's sweet and just a tad funky, somewhat heavy texture for a cider but a great bottle, sufficiently natural for Camille (yay)
Brocard, Jean-Marc 2022 Chablis VV "Sainte-Claire" - the nose screams Chablis but the mouth is kinda soft; after a half-hour, the palate comes to life, too, and this is a pretty nice bottle of Chablis, not as incisive as wine from better dirt but rings that Chablis bell and the persistence is decent
Dom. G. Lignier 2016 Morey-Saint-Dénis - a little pine-y when opened but that soon goes away; this is a beautiful Village wine with red fruits, balanced acids, moss or maybe dark greens, terrific
Dom. Brand et Fils (Philippe Brand) 2022 Vin d'Alsace "La Table des Rois" - 13.5%, 2 g/l rs, 100% pinot noir, whole cluster, 8 months in old barrels, no additions / sulfur / fining / filtering; vivid wine, aromatic (and a little rustic), black currants and cherries and forest-y smells, a little nutmeg maybe, excellent natural wine
Lame Delisle Boucard (Dom. des Chesnaies) 2011 Bourgueil "Cuvee Prestige" - from three steep hillside parcels (Beauvais, Brunetières, Bézards), medium weight, smooth tannins, Loire franc that shows a little citrus and well-behaved pyrazines, long finish, wow bottle
After dinner we went to a farewell party being thrown for yet another set of friends at the house of yet another set of friends. Bumped into fellow disorderly, Scott Reiner there, which was a pleasant surprise.
All the way around, a fun evening.
Friends are cooking at their friends' house and I am invited. Of course, I was told there was no need to bring anything so I made a batch of pistachio gelato and grabbed a few bottles.
The friends' house had been renovated many years ago by a married couple, both of whom are chefs, so half the ground floor is the kitchen (the other half is seating). This kitchen is fabulously equipped and every inch of it is packed with dishes, pots and pans, serving ware, a vertical herb garden, and plenty of comestibles. I marvel at all this because my kitchen is the size of a postage stamp.
After much back and forth, the cooks decided on this menu:
Amuse: sauteed razor clam in lemon-butter
First: garganelli with sun-dried tomato pesto and fresh basil
Main: fricasseed chicken with leeks and mushrooms (could it be any more wine-friendly?)
Salad: simple green salad with slices of Beaufort and Tomme de Savoie
Dessert: tarte aux fraises and pistachio gelato
The hostess, Camille, favors les vins vivants, which corresponds roughly to natural wines. She has textbooks on the subject and has a good number of bottles in the house. She likes the vividness of the wines, the fragrances and flavors that pop. Interestingly, she does not like pet nat.
I harbor my prejudices about natural wines and mousiness and the bacteriological problems that beset the absolutely-no-sulfur makers, but I'm willing to try. ((And maybe I'm misunderstanding her?: If Les Vins Vivants means the school of Lapierre, then I'm all in.))
Here we go:
La Stoppa 2013 IGT Emilia "Ageno" - The 'welcome' cup. Tastes like I remember it: citric, tannic, a bit of rose water and pine oil, incredibly present, really good but an acquired taste; later in the evening, the wine's grip relaxes a little and it is more pleasant
Jean Vesselle NV Champagne Brut Rose "Oeil de Perdrix" - disg. 1/19/22, 100% pinot noir, big wine and fruit-forward, roses and strawberries, the minerality arrives during the finish, more rocks than chalk, works well at the table
Ferme de L'Yonnière (Jérome Forget) 2019 Poire "Champs de Poirier" - like my previous bottle, lots of stuff floating around in it but never mind: it's sweet and just a tad funky, somewhat heavy texture for a cider but a great bottle, sufficiently natural for Camille (yay)
Brocard, Jean-Marc 2022 Chablis VV "Sainte-Claire" - the nose screams Chablis but the mouth is kinda soft; after a half-hour, the palate comes to life, too, and this is a pretty nice bottle of Chablis, not as incisive as wine from better dirt but rings that Chablis bell and the persistence is decent
Dom. G. Lignier 2016 Morey-Saint-Dénis - a little pine-y when opened but that soon goes away; this is a beautiful Village wine with red fruits, balanced acids, moss or maybe dark greens, terrific
Dom. Brand et Fils (Philippe Brand) 2022 Vin d'Alsace "La Table des Rois" - 13.5%, 2 g/l rs, 100% pinot noir, whole cluster, 8 months in old barrels, no additions / sulfur / fining / filtering; vivid wine, aromatic (and a little rustic), black currants and cherries and forest-y smells, a little nutmeg maybe, excellent natural wine
Lame Delisle Boucard (Dom. des Chesnaies) 2011 Bourgueil "Cuvee Prestige" - from three steep hillside parcels (Beauvais, Brunetières, Bézards), medium weight, smooth tannins, Loire franc that shows a little citrus and well-behaved pyrazines, long finish, wow bottle
After dinner we went to a farewell party being thrown for yet another set of friends at the house of yet another set of friends. Bumped into fellow disorderly, Scott Reiner there, which was a pleasant surprise.
All the way around, a fun evening.
